Digital Trends

The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was a tough show this year, with two large convention centers to cover, plus all of the manufacturers' suites in hotels. As always, it was a tiring but exciting show. As I noted in my most recent blog ("Post Partum CES"), the two major themes of the show were 1080p displays in all screen technologies and the looming next-generation optical disk format war. Will this format war play out like Red versus Blue states, or will it be a different scenario? (In case you didn't know, HD DVD's packaging is red, and Blu-ray's is blue. How quaint.)

Before I discuss each theme, we need to get the "wow" product out of the way. Every year, people ask about the "wow" product. Sad to say, that there were no truly "wow" products this year. That's not to say that there weren't gadgets like Sony's new eBook-type product called the Sony Reader, which is the size of a paperback book. Or Intel's newly proposed Viiv system, found in ED Digital's new Digitrex TV with server product, to help bring the television and PC closer together. While these and other products were interesting, they did not have the "wow" factor like some products have had in past years.

Sony Reader

In terms of displays, I saw many splendid examples all over CES. While most were 1080p models, others offered innovative designs. First of all, Texas Instruments (TI) privately showed me their new flat DLP design, which offers an entirely new light engine design in a greatly reduced cabinet depth so that it can easily compete with other flat-panel displays. TI also showed a Samsung prototype DLP set that features LED lighting instead of the current high-powered lamp, and it doesn't need a color wheel! It was truly amazing! While slightly less bright than current models, I expect that it will be as bright or brighter by the time it reaches the market. HP also showed a prototype of an LED light-sourced DLP for delivery later this year. Amazing! Hopefully, someone will combine "flat" and LED light-sourced DLP into one cabinet for an exceptional Micro-Display. Sony also showed the press a reduced depth 55-in. 1080p SXRD, which was under 12-in. deep. Cool! Contrary to many manufacturers' belief by, TI and Sony still firmly believe in Micro-Displays. As a side note, some manufacturers are starting to leave out CableCARD on their HDTV models. Once two-way CableCARDs are approved, they will again start including them on their higher-end sets.

Turning to plasma displays, all of the major plasma manufacturers showed 1080p models. Panasonic had the largest, with a 103-in. model outdoing Samsung by an inch, to their great dismay. These 100-in.+ displays are showpieces only. Mainstream 1080p plasmas will be in the 50-in. and 55-in. categories this year. Companies such as LG, Panasonic, Pioneer, and Hitachi showed models that offered exceptional clarity for a plasma display. Hitachi showed the largest 1080p plasma model in a 55-in. size, and offering three HDMI inputs for delivery later this year. I can't wait to review it! In other plasma news, prices continue to fall dramatically. V, Inc.'s Vizio line will be selling 720p tunerless plasma monitor models for $2,499 (50-in.) and $2,999 (55-in.) during the first half of 2006. Surprisingly, the image quality looks quite good for 720p, and certainly a terrific value for the consumer. V, Inc. originally supplied Gateway several years ago when they broke the $3,000 price barrier.

Vizio P42

In terms of LCD displays, most manufacturers now are carrying models up to 47-in., with 42-in. and 47-in. now becoming the new popular larger screen sizes. These larger screen sizes are all 1080p models. Of course, there are companies like LG and Sharp who also offer 55-in. and 65-in. HDTV models, but they are somewhat pricey. Speaking of prices, they continue to fall on all flat-panel displays. There could easily be price parity this year on some screen sizes. We'll just have to wait and see.

A word about SED:  Both Toshiba and Canon publicly showed SED for the first time. When launched this coming fall (September-November), it will be a 1080p 55-in. model. Pricing is unavailable, but I expect to get more details in May at Toshiba's line show. What I can say is the image quality is truly exceptional! As one TV engineer confided, "It made the hairs on my neck stand on end, the picture was so stunning!" While some journalists think that the window is closing for SED (if it doesn't launch), others feel that the picture quality is so good that people will certainly buy it. We will just have to wait and see.