CES 2003


	The 2003 International Consumer Electronics Show - “Quo Vadis HDTV?”


	by Ed Peters


	With the 2003 Consumer Electronics Show now faded into the sunset of conventions past, I have had some time to digest the wealth of brochures, white papers, handouts disbursed by attractive hawkers, and the goody bags of giveaways, worthy only because of the logos they sport. In short, now that CES is over, I can collect my thoughts and try to make some sense of that

annual circuitry circus.

While in previous shows, I went merely to witness the prototypes and demonstrations as an innocent lookie-loo, I trekked to Las Vegas this year with a more practical agenda. My faithful (for the last eight years) 41” projection TV recently pooped out and while I still have a decent 27” monitor, I wanted to see what I could look forward to this year when it’s my turn to buy a new digital television.

Well, if I were to summarize this year’s CES into one theme, it’s this: “YOU WANT YOUR HDTV!” The convention floor teemed with HDTVs of every kind. Plasma flat-screens, CRT, DLP, LCD, all were in ample evidence. Flat, thick, projectable and portable, 2003 will be the year that there’s a HDTV in every pot, if the consumer electronics industry has its way. Plasma

screens appeared to be the sexiest flavor of high definition display, as they were EVERYWHERE on the convention floor. And, as the editor of DVD Review already pointed out in the “Smell the Coffee” column, the amazing thing about so much electronic plasma pulsating at once was it all looked exactly and perfectly the same. Going to these shows, I always expected some minor variations in the picture generated, according to the one or two video demonstration clips that generally dominate each CES. (This year, the winning DVDs chosen to amaze and eventually wear out conventioneers was a three-way tie: “Lord of the Rings”

Extended Edition,” “Attack of the Clones” and “Monsters Inc.”). In demonstration after demonstration, each plasma display looked virtually the same in color balance, rendition and detail delineation. Granted, a modestly priced model won’t produce spectacular video like a high priced model (more on the price issue later), but the degree of similarity in reproduction was too pronounced to ignore. What that exactly means for the average bargain-loving consumer (count me in!) I’ll save for the end of this diatribe.

So come with me now on a shortened but lively tour of the world’s largest electronics love fest. Despite the countless booths devoted to cell phone faceplates and MP3 players the size of a turnip, I will focus on the areas directly related to DVD watching: home theater, video displays and, well, DVD itself. Also, once again, I must give the following caveat: this is an overview of the CES. For someone wanting a model-by-model account with specs rundown and comparative pricing, there are plenty of other venues available for such analysis.

DVD

In the case of DVD, this was the year CES stopped selling the disc. Ever since the 1996 show when prototypes first appeared, manufacturers took great pains to convince CES goers that DVD was the next great “thing” in consumer electronics. First, they sold the storage capacity, then the playback quality, then its convenience and finally its ability to “multi-task” as a multimedia platform. The hard sell paid off: there are over 50 million DVD players out there now, in home theaters, in computers, even in the

car. I remember when only four stores in my area sold laserdiscs. Now I can buy the latest mainstream DVDs at my local supermarket or 7-11! As a result, this year’s show rolled plenty of players in all shapes and sizes but nothing as the next machine that will make all current DVD players obsolete.

Having said all that, the industry does want the world to know that both recordable and high definition DVD are just around the corner. With HD-DVD, Sony demonstrated a prototype based on their “blue ray” technology. The disc was housed in a blue sleeve-like jacket and the machine looked bulky and faceless. A plasma screen (shocker!) displayed crisp, 1080i images of grassy meadows and far away exotic locales. Of course, everyone rushed over once “Spider-Man” popped on. While the promise of HD-DVD sounds exciting enough, I wouldn’t hold your breath for a speedy entry into the consumer market. There’s still a lot of wrangling to be solved between competing formats as well as Hollywood’s need of unhackable encryption. (Yeah, right, “unhackable encryption” they say).

Interestingly enough, recordable DVD might be the first arena where high definition DVD emerges. Yamaha, Pioneer and Panasonic exhibited models of high definition DVD recorders in various stages of development. Pioneer, Philips and Yamaha showed their DVD recorders, either available now or will be available shortly. Both encompass DVD-R and DVD-RW recording off broadcast or consumer video sources.

HOME THEATER

First off, it looks like the “channel envy” that has characterized this sector of consumer electronics seems to have leveled off for the moment. Luckily, and probably momentarily, neither Dolby nor DTS trumpeted a new surround sound format that increases the number of channels and corresponding speakers. Right now, 6.1 channels is the current gold standard. Some audio manufacturers like Harmon Kardon, EAD, Krell and Sherbourn Technologies showcased 7.1 channel audio systems, but they are based on proprietary DSP extensions of the current 6.1 matrix and discrete technologies. Personally, I’m happy with 5.1 surround sound. So is my wife; she started to wonder if I bred rabbits or speakers.


	While most new receivers encompassed some form of Dolby EX (6.1 matrix) or DTS-ES (6.1 discrete) decoding, the one phenomenon that did catch my eye was not so much about the quantity of speakers, but rather their girth. Plainly said, home theaters are getting smaller. The industry even has a spiffy moniker for it: “home theater in a box” or HTIB. From the high end to the bargain end, speakers and subwoofers have shrunk to a manageable size and subsequently packaged to meet all price points and tastes. After years of dealing with bulky speakers, receivers heavier than anvils and subwoofers the size of coffee tables, I like the idea of a compact, efficient, unobtrusive audio system.


	A friend of mine recently bought a $300 Kenwood HTIB, with tiny bookshelf speakers, a passive sub, and a high- powered Dolby Digital/DTS receiver. I helped him hook it up, although everything is color coded for super easy connection. He loves the fact that he has a home theater without breaking his wallet and frankly, the sound isn’t half bad for the price. Kenwood showcased their latest HTIBs, as did Pioneer, Yamaha, Sony, and quite a few others. On the other side of the spectrum, Pioneer displayed a $40,000 prototype of a true, all-in-one home theater with a combination HDTV, surround sound decoder and 5-channel audio system fused together into one piece. Basically, the unit looks like a projection TV sitting on top of an aluminum grill. Yet, Pioneer chose a demo scene from “Get Shorty” that’s all dialogue so I couldn’t really judge if the “5 from 1” speaker actually generated any kind of surround effect.

HDTV

Finally, HDTV is poised to enter the mainstream. Judging from this year’s holiday sales where the big electronics dealers were selling direct view HDTVs for under $2000, it was only a matter of time when high definition would not necessarily be equated with “unobtainable.” Everywhere I looked, there was a HDTV of some kind. While pundits have been prophesizing the extinction of CRT televisions, manufacturers like Panasonic, Sony, Samsung, Zenith and Philips displayed 2003 HDTV models attesting to their belief in the venerable tube. Yet not three feet away in the same booths, plasma TVs were give much more prominence and attention. Sharp certainly wanted me to believe that LCD TVs are not just a computer accessory anymore. Their “Aquos” line of LCD monitors were displayed with almost religious intensity, like looking from the base of a pyramid towards the heavens.

Digital light projection or DLP continues to make inroads as a consumer format, but at the same sluggish clip of acceptance as its cinematic counterpart. While anyone who has seen a movie digitally projected raves about the image quality, the same prohibitive cost factors that prevent widespread commercial theater conversion are preventing the format from mass migrating into the home. The new crop of DLP projectors still hover around $10-20,000 for the top of the line models from Runco, Yamaha, Faroudja and Sim2. Plus Home Theater showcased an HDTV upgrade to their Piano DLP projector. At $3,200, the colorful diminutive component is a relative bargain compared to the other contenders in the field. Plasma TV prices also seem to be fixed around the $5,000 mark. However, with Gateway selling a 42” plasma TV for $2,995, it’s only a matter of time before other manufacturers follow suit.

So that’s it. I’m not sure there’s a grand conclusion to draw from this year’s show. I do believe that this is the year a lot of people will seriously consider buying a HDTV. Yet the question remains: if prices don’t seem to be falling very fast, how can the industry expect consumers to jump into the HDTV fray? With the sheer amount of different HDTV sets I saw, competition in the marketplace should do the discounting for us. It’s

inevitable, as surely as one progressive scan leads to another. Don’t be surprised if by mid-year, one major electronics manufacturer offers a HDTV-capable monitor for under $1200. Brand-new in the box. At that moment, HDTV will become the province of not Joe Millionaire, but the average Joe…like me.

I brought along a few pictures, just for extra flavor. Enjoy!


		January 31, 2003


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