CES 2004


	The 2004 International Consumer Electronics Show


	by Ed Peters

Amazing how a small but glittering strip in the middle of the desert becomes the focus of the global gaze.
No, I'm not talking about Iraq but Las Vegas. The occasion is the 2004 International Consumer Electronics Show or the annual CES. Consumer electronics (or "CE") manufacturers, distributors and journalists from every corner of the world amass here every January to witness the unveilings of the latest, greatest, cheapest and priciest electronic gear in an environment designed to catch the eye, beckon the ear, and assail the mind. Turns out, this year's show was abuzz with some genuine news in the way of emerging technologies and their eventual materialization in our homes.

As with last year's report, I will focus on the areas that pertain to the home theater arena, specifically DVD hardware (players, recorders, etc.), display technologies (HDTVs, video projectors), and audio playback (surround

sound processes, components and speakers). While some specifics regarding manufacturers, models, pricing and availability are present, please consider this evaluation a "subjective overview."


	DVD The 2004 CES marked a decisive turning point for the future of DVD. Basically, the success of the digital disc has been so meteoric that the current format will peak within the next two years. Coupled with the parallel rise in the number of digital TV sets in US households -- estimating 50% penetration by 2007 -- the CE industry is slowing setting the stage for the next generation optical disc, namely HD-DVD. Of course, what would a format launch be without the clouds of a format war? In this corner, we have Blu-Ray Disc and the other corner, we have HD-DVD. Both have major manufacturers in each camp (Sony, Matshushita, and LG for Blu-Ray; Toshiba, and NEC for HD-DVD), both promise high definition playback on the current 12cm disc size and more importantly, both formats allow for backwards compatibility of existing DVDs. Naturally, neither are

compatible with each other. In a SRO-attended press conference, the Blu-Ray Group made their first U.S. appearance as a united front for the format, but also announced that computer heavyweights Dell and Hewlett-Packard are backing the format. Representatives from Matsushita, LG Electronics, Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment, Sony DADC, Dell, HP, and Philips all gave a VERY convincing argument that Blu-Ray DVD will be the high definition disc of choice. Lasting close to an hour, the presentation covered performance specs (up to 50GB on a dual-layer disc, as compared to the current 9 GB for DVD) content provider issues (the format promises "robust" copy protection) and technical data on the recording aspects for the disc (BD-R

burn-once and BD-RE rewritable). The Sony exhibit also hosted a demonstration of BD technology, playing clips from "Lawrence of Arabia," "Bad Boys II" and "The Chubb-Chubbs" on a 42" LCD display. The demos were very impressive, particularly the "Lawrence" snippet. From every angle, the conference demonstrated that the Blu-Ray Group definitely has a game plan to make their high definition "BD" the true heir to DVD.

HD-DVD, on the other hand, made a more muted appearance at the show. Toshiba exhibited a prototype HD-DVD player in their booth. The demo looked similarly impressive but, given that HD-DVD promises 30GB capacity as compared to BD's 50GB, going with a disc that offers less storage -- and the attendant dip in bit rates, audio bit stream capacity, and space for supplemental content -- seems just too short-sighted at this juncture. Toshiba cites that the their format does not require the protective sleeve that BD does (apparently plans are underway to remove it from the spec) and that their format requires minimal conversion of existing DVD manufacturing equipment, while Blu-Ray will necessitate new manufacturing and replicating hardware. (At the BD press conference, Mike Mitchell from Sony DADC acknowledged that

manufacturing costs will be high at first, just like any new format start, but that costs eventually coming down as it did with DVD.) What HD-DVD does have in its favor is the backing of the DVD Forum, thus the format war.


	Judging from the numerous new DVD products unveiled at the show, plenty of CE manufacturers still see more room for DVD machines in our homes. The BD press conference cited over 70+ million players in circulation right now. While it's the fastest growing consumer electronics product in history, it still has room to catch up with the 100+ million VCRs out there. Catering to the hunger for even better images than what DVD currently offers, many DVD players are offering DVI connections for pure digital connectivity to DVI-enabled HDTV monitors, upconverting 480p to 720i or 1080i playback at unbelievably low price points (Samsung's HD-931 DVD player converts DVD to 720p or 1080i image quality for only $299!). Combination VCR/DVD players continued to make their presence known and DVD recorders with hard disk drives are becoming more commonplace, allowing for completely digital recording and storage. Combi pioneer GoVideo is set to release the VR4940 DVD

recorder/player/VHS Hi-Fi VCR later this month (price TBA). Prices for portable DVD players continue to fall, while the features they sport continue to exponentially rise. Yamaha showed the SD-P1400, a portable DVD player with 7" LCD screen for only $299 and Mintek demonstrated a portable DVD player with 5" screen for only $199.

Despite all the talk of a new format, no one for a second should think that their DVD library will become obsolete overnight (like the 12" laserdisc) or that the new high definition DVD players will not be backwards compatible. I still plan to purchase and review some of the thousands of titles still awaiting release on the "old" format.

HDTV

HDTV has arrived. Even if it's still years away from being in half the US households, the component has reached a level of maturity so that there is more or less a digital set for practically every price point. Also, the numerous variations of HDTV displays (monitors, projectors) and the differing technologies for realizing it (plasma, LCD and DLP) were everywhere you looked.

DLP, or Digital Light Processing, typically has a huge presence at CES and this year was no exception. They invited convention guests to digital screenings of "The Last Samurai" at a local Vegas cinema. (I passed.) One item of note at the DLP booth was a prototype of a monitor capable of 1080 progressive playback. HDTV calls for a 1080 interlaced signal. Please, we haven't even gotten 1080i off the ground!

LCD monitors continue to be a fairly pricey but still lower cost alternative to plasma. Manufacturers like Sony, Panasonic, Zenith, Toshiba showed

off their latest LCD TVs in all sizes, from 15-inch all the way up to 60-inch. LCD and DLP projectors still command high prices for their ability to truly recreate a theater environment in the home. Yamaha unveiled their new DPX-1100 DLP projector ($12,000 retail) in an elaborate demonstration that featured clips from "Seabiscuit" and "Pirates of the Caribbean." (For the record, this year's CES Clip Demo crown was split between "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Finding Nemo."). Even more dramatic was Marantz's VP-10S1 DLP projector which promises theater-grade digital projection for a mere $37,999. On the other side of the screen, I visited the Pixa exhibit and saw very compelling demonstrations of home theater gear that gives a LOT of bang for the buck. I saw their new combination DVD player / DLP projector that lists for $1,999. Granted its contrast ratio of 1800 to 1 doesn't match the Yamaha or

Marantz (e.g. 4000:1 on the Yamaha), but if my arithmetic is correct, there is an incremental drop in performance but at a fraction of the price of the big boys' toys.

Plasmas still continue to be the Playboy bunnies of HDTV: sleek, very attractive, and for the most part, unattainable. Ah yes, let's not forget, both are judged by their dimensions. You'd think there was nothing small about a 42" or even 50" plasma display? Apparently, Samsung thinks differently. They unveiled "the world's largest plasma TV," measuring a staggering 80 inches or 6.75 feet; LG's Plasma-zilla measures a scant 72 inches. Many exhibited plasma screens of 50 and 60 inches. Prices vary, but once you drop below $3,500, you are looking at plasma capable of "enhanced definition" as opposed to "high definition." Basically, these sets will display a progressive scan DVD signal fine, but nothing higher than that.


	HOME THEATER Dolby Laboratories showcased their new "Dolby Pro Logic IIx" audio process at their elaborate exhibit. Whereas Dolby Pro Logic II transformed two channel stereo into 5.1 channels, IIx can take either traditional stereo or 5.1 channel program material and expand it for 6.1 or even 7.1 channel playback. In short, we STILL don't have enough speakers in our home theater. Less than two years old, DPL II raised a few hackles because there was no means of upgrading receivers to the new process (unless you own either the

top of the line Denon AVR-5803 or Onkyo TX-DS989 receivers, which offer after-market modification). Now, even last year's DPL II-enabled receivers will shortly become obsolete. After hearing a couple of demonstrations, I wouldn't say that the differences warrant running out and buying another receiver. Kenwood has already committed to the format in a big way, offering the format on their entire 2004 line of audio products. Still not convinced of channel-envy? Yamaha's flagship receiver, the RX-Z9, has a proprietary circuit for outputting 9.1 channels of sound from stereo sources. At $4,500, it better also cook breakfast.

For the last couple of years, one off-shoot of the DVD phenomenon has been the "home-theater-in-a-box." You've seen them at discount and warehouse stores: one box containing all the electronics -- audio receiver, five matched speakers and subwoofer -- for a very reasonable price. HTiBs appeared in full-force at the show, with all the major manufacturers chiming

in. Kenwood is even offering DPL IIx on their new 2004 HTiB models. Pixa offers a $500 HTiB, complete with combination receiver and DVD-RW recorder as well as wireless rear speakers. (Wireless rear speakers for home theater were also demonstrated by Kenwood, Pioneer and Taiwan-based Jazz Hipster, who showed a completely wireless 5.1 audio system.) I heard a DTS audio cut demonstrated on the Cerwin-Vega AVS 5.1 system ($400 retail) and it sounded full-blooded with channel separation so distinct, you could hear each individual guitar string strum.

However, many audio enthusiasts view the concept as cut-rate goods sold at the lowest common denominator. (Count me in the Pro camp; I happen to love them.) Yet some of the "high-end" audio manufacturers are looking to bridge the HTiB "mass market vs. audiophile" gap. Anthony Gallo Acoustics, makers of the "Nucleus Micro" baseball-shaped speaker, will offer a 5.1 system comprised of 5 Micro speakers and their new TR-1 100w subwoofer for $1,000. Klegg Audio, a European audio company about to

	enter the American market, unveiled their M6 501 Speaker System. The most dramatic element with this system is the speaker's shape -- an oversized egg. Measuring no more than 3 ¾" by 2 ¾" inches, five "kleggs" are complimented by a surround decoder featuring DTS, Dolby Digital, DPL II and MP3 decoding and a subwoofer housing the total 230 watts for the system, all for $1,500 retail (available by spring.) Using the "depth charge" scene from "U-571," the Klegg system gave a surprisingly adept performance. I walked out wondering that the LFE might have loosened a filling.


	EPILOGUE What DVD accomplished was nothing less than a miracle -- taking the digital revolution and putting it in everyone's hands. "High-end" performance no longer means expensive. A new $100 progressive scan DVD player readily outperforms a $1000 player from just a few years ago. Home theaters that once had to be boxy, cumbersome and astronomically priced are now slim, unobtrusive and very affordable. HDTVs that cost $10,000 three years ago are now less than $2,000. All because of a little disc that shrunk high quality and low price into a five inch space. As to the future, well, we just won't know what it is until we get there. But evidenced from this year's CES, we should have a lot of fun along the way. Happy shopping! P.S. Have fun with the photos. Digitally taken, of course!


	January 19, 2004

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