CES - Consumer Electronics Show 2007 - Wrap Up Special

The annual CES (Consumer Electronics Show) is held in Las Vegas every January. This is the event where Consumer Electronics Manufacturers, Retailers, and Journalists gather every year to see not only what products will be available in the coming year, but to see prototypes of future products that are still in development. The Annual CES is organized by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the largest trade organization for Consumer Electronics Manufacturers, Retailers, and others associated with that industry. Read More...

First off, Warner Bros announced the development of new hybrid disc technology that allows both the Blu-ray and HD-DVD version of a film to be put on the same disc. Warner has already been marketing dual hybrid DVD/HD-DVD discs for some time, so developing a Blu-ray/HD-DVD combo disc format may be the next logical progression...

The second development is that LG finally "came clean" about rumors that it will be marketing a Blu-ray/HD-DVD combo player.

The third major announcement is coming from Toshiba, the main force behind HD-DVD.

For more details on all of the above, Read More...

LG announced that it is the first manufacturer to release a Blu-ray/HD-DVD Combo Player. LG executives provided an on-hand demonstration of the new player. The BH100 features Blu-ray and HD-DVD playback at 1080p using a single drive, as well as 1080i upscaling of standard DVD content. However, the BH100 does not play standard music CDs. Also, the disc loading time for Blu-ray and HD-DVD discs has been reduced to about 25 seconds, making the BH100 the fastest loader to date. The best news of all, however, is the $1,199 price point. Read More...

The impact of Flat Panel Television is quite evident at CES 2007. With almost no traditional CRT televisions to be found anywhere on display, exhibitor real estate is now devoted to Plasma and LCD Flat Panel sets.

On the LCD side, manufacturers, such as Sharp, JVC, and Toshiba are showing LCD sets with improved contrast ratios, 120HZ screen refresh rates (which eliminates motion lag), more 1080p models, and much larger screen sizes in the 47-inch and above category, in direct competition with large screen Plasma sets. Sharp also showed a 108-Inch LCD TV prototype. For More LCD and Plasma CES News, Read More...

I found four new technologies to watch for:

1. Neosonik demonstrated a totally wireless stereo and home theater speaker system.

2. Smyth Research demonstrated a new Virtual Surround Headphone technology that places the sound field in a more natural environment, giving the illusion that one is listening to loudspeakers.

3. Wireless HDMI was demonstrated by several companies. This allows wireless transmission of high resolution audio and video from a source to an HDTV.

4. Philips demonstrated a prototype 3D flat panel display that does not require special viewing glasses.

Read More Details on Each Technology...

Due to requirements of the FCC, beginning this Spring (2007) all DVD Recorders that have built-in analog TV tuners must also include an ATSC (Digital TV/HDTV) tuner. At CES 2007 this past week several pre-production units from Panasonic and Samsung were on display. As far as the exact date these models will be released, you just have to keep watching the store shelves and ADs. <p> With ATSC tuners built-in to all DVD recorders, this does mean that you will be able to record programming from DTV and HDTV channels; however, you have to also keep in mind that DVD recorders cannot record in High Definition. Read More...

The latest technology and product innovation in consumer electronics is showcased at the annual CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas, Nevada. This year's event was held from January 8 - 11th, 2007, with press-only events held on January 6th and 7th.

Check my photo highlights of this year's show at: CES 2007 Photo Gallery Report