Far from a Madding Crowd
Walking around the hallowed halls (South and Central, just like L.A.) of the Las Vegas Convention Center last week, I stared in awe at a sight I'd never seen before: Carpet. For the first time in my rapidly fading memory, I did not have to elbow my way through an unbroken throng of septuagenarian product buyers and their tackily dressed wives on my way to the next booth appointment. The CEA says that attendance was down 20% or so from 2008 and I believe it, but that downsizing is not necessarily a portent of doom: Looking around at the quality of the activity if not the usual quantity, I felt like the people who really wanted to be there, who really needed to be there found a way. I for one was able to get my questions answered, the cab lines were manageable, and the johns never ran out of paper towels.
You know the "johns" I mean.
3D 4U B4 '010?
My grumblings about 3D HDTV being a "buzz" technology at the show--which it surely was--are twofold. First of all, 3D HDTV is already here, thank you very much, in the form of 3D Blu-rays like Journey to the Center of the Earth and in enhanced displays like the Samsung HL-T5087S DLP. I'm not saying that it's easy or elegant or fully established, but neither is it still out of reach. That being said, my second frustration is that, well, easy/elegant/widespread 3D is still out of reach.
The live, working demos being conducted at the show were apparently spectacular, but home 3D is still in the pre-planning stages, as Panasonic is lobbying for a set of industry standards that should help to make possible a compelling, reliable three-dimensional experience in the home. Someday. A brief chat with Fox Entertainment's Steve Feldstein at the DEG event Thursday night reaffirmed James Cameron's enthusiasm at the Panasonic press conference, when Feldstein unhesitatingly answered my request for a scoop, an upcoming title he's excited about, with a single word: "AVATAR!" One wonders if the eventual Blu-ray of Cameron's groundbreaking sci-fi epic will be in 2D, or…?
So the continual consumer and manufacturer ejaculations of "3D!" are still premature, reminding me of the old standby of the past few years, "Downloads are going to replace DVD/Blu-ray/human reproduction!" Yeah, okay: Is there a date set for that, 'cause I want to put all my discs up on eBay.
Thinner Was Inner
With kudos to Samsung for showing stylish new Blu-ray players not much thicker than a pancake (although not nearly as fluffy and delicious), and similar props to Panasonic for making high-def disc portable, I have to wonder at this point why certain manufacturers feel the need to design their flat-screen TVs so darned thin, when most people don't actually hang them on the wall like they do in commercials and in the pages of High-Def Architectural Digest. Probable motivation: They are showing off, touting their extensive research and development, thumping their hairless corporate chests, and that's a big part of what a global forum like CES is about, frankly. In a town where parking valets go topless and the bible salesmen have nipple rings, gear no fatter than the three credit cards we'd have to max out to pay for it is my idea of sexy.
Green Was the New Black
With a bottle of Sin City-brand purified water in-hand and mustering the same polite smile I would while watching a slide show of your kid in a grade-school production of The Crucible, I sat through more than one Power Point presentation chock full of photos/artist's composite sketches of new, environmentally sound (and video) factories featuring recycled coffee in the break room and carbon emissions offset 100% by the Hand-O-God 3000 Carbon Emissions Offsetter (Made in Japan, Patent Pending). The impact on the environment is an aspect of consumer electronics, of home entertainment that most people don't think about, and neither is it the sort of topic we would otherwise discuss much in our coverage here, but the message was clear: This stuff matters, people.
What we can actively feel good about in our daily lives are products like Monster's Green Power line, designed to shut down specified outlets in order to reduce standby power drain, which adds up over a year's time. Technology like this not only protects the planet, it can save us money. So you can impress the ladies with your hippie-style tree-hugging and still maintain your capitalist ideals. "Hey baby, want to see my power strip?"
In Vegas, Everyone Could Hear You Stream
In a past life, I was a "Convergence Editor" (my business cards even said it, one included free with each used Blu-ray I sell online) and so the allure of streaming content directly to the TV, sans computer, is self-evident. Making it happen painlessly has been a challenge, and the thought of the experience being "fun" (does anybody remember laughter?) seemed an impossible dream, until the creation of Yahoo! Widgets technology. What's great about these web application shortcuts for CE use--designed for simplicity, requiring only the included TV remote--is that the platform is open to all developers, which could ultimately translate to some unexpected creativity of genuine benefit to consumers. Of course, exactly when that'll actually appear on a TV screen near you is "to be determined," although the sheer quantity of 'net-streaming TVs promoted at the show means that it could be The Next Big Thing. And isn't that what CES is all about?
(For a decidedly different perspective on the International Consumer Electronics Show 2009, check out Chris Boylan's CES Round-Up--Yee-ha!)
