A Sea Of Red

The Consumer Electronics Show gets underway next week in Las Vegas, as it always does at this time of year. For those who don't know, this is when we gadget and tech nuts usually find out what the year has in store for us. I'll try to hit the important announcements thus far and update the thread as more are announced. I'm starting this thread now because a few big announcements have already hit the wire. Here we go...

1. LG's Hybrid HD-DVD/Blu-Ray Player - This will, by far, be the biggest product to launch at CES '07. Players in the industry have been predicting the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray format war to last at least five years. Most agreed that the casualties in this war would be consumer's wallets. LG swoops in to the rescue! By releasing this hybrid player, LG has effectively launched the beginning of the end of the format war. Consumers will no longer have to make a choice for which HD disc format they want to use when watching Ernest Saves Easter in HD on the 55" LCD they picked up at Christmas.

2. Hitachi's 1TB SATA II Hard Drive - Hitachi becomes the first company to break the 1 Terabyte barrier in ATA hard drives. It was only a matter of time, and now the wait is over. You'll be able to store more music, movies, photos and homework (riiiight) than you know what to do with. In fact, this will be the first consumer drive that will be capable of storing the entire Library of Congress uncompressed on a single drive. One suggestion for what you might do with it: Buy two so you can back up all of the data!

3. Microsoft Windows: Home Server - As technology marches forward, home users are increasingly finding themselves in need of server functionality such as a file server, dns server or even a personal email server. Microsoft Windows Server 2003 is too expensive and has too many features home users will never touch. Microsoft is (smartly) looking to fill in this gap. If you've got an old PC laying around, this might be a great use for it.

Those are the biggest three to hit pre-show. One can only imagine what will actually be launched next week. Of course, MacWorld is also the same week. Many industry folks are expecting Apple's announcements to completely overshadow anything that happens at CES. The rumors are flying so hot and heavy on Steve Jobs' keynote speech, that at this point, no one really knows what Apple will actually release and what they won't.

1. LG's Hybrid HD-DVD/Blu-Ray Player

The Blu-Ray is going to revolutionize the way we watch movies, play games, etc. It's what makes the Playstation 3 so intriquing. Once developers figure out how to use the Blu-Ray and core system of the PS3 itself to it's fullest capacity, gaming is going to be unreal. Not to mention it's probably going to be the cheapest HD-DVD/Blu-Ray player available for awhile at $600.

It would be cool to have a tech section on here, a place where one could go with questions or discussions on the latest gadgets, tech developments or just discuss how to set up the latest Terabyte Server to control one's house. If the content were good, perhaps people looking for tech help might stumble on the site, just as Microsoft Windows reports an error and shuts down their system; but at least they'd know all about Medic's 'stache while they waited to reboot.

I am intrested to hear what Apple says about this new IPhone in San Fran later this week.

TDDance234 wrote:

1. LG's Hybrid HD-DVD/Blu-Ray Player

The Blu-Ray is going to revolutionize the way we watch movies, play games, etc. It's what makes the Playstation 3 so intriquing. Once developers figure out how to use the Blu-Ray and core system of the PS3 itself to it's fullest capacity, gaming is going to be unreal. Not to mention it's probably going to be the cheapest HD-DVD/Blu-Ray player available for awhile at $600.

Eh. I agree that the Cell processor is underutilized in the PS3 right now, but Blu-Ray and HD-DVD are really not that far apart in terms of specs. Besides, you can get the HD-DVD drive as an add-on for the Xbox360 for $199 right now. If you already own one, that is certainly the cheapest way to go. Speaking of, the Xbox 360 version 2 is on the way. Looks like they've got a smaller, cooler-running processor in there and an HDMI port on the back for full 1080p res. Pretty slick.

I havent' been back to Vegas in years. (Ever since LU stopped paying for it!!)
Have they torn down the Sahara??? I always liked the displays and vendors that set up shop there during this week!!!!!

Let's save the Vegas stories for another thread.

I admit being blown away by the Bluetooth DVDs.

Purple Haize wrote:I havent' been back to Vegas in years. (Ever since LU stopped paying for it!!)
Have they torn down the Sahara??? I always liked the displays and vendors that set up shop there during this week!!!!!

I always thought "that" convention was the week after CES?
The week of CES always provides some great reading into what new tech. is coming out.

Sly Fox wrote:I admit being blown away by the Bluetooth DVDs.

Old-timers! Sheesh.

It's "Blu-Ray disc", Sly. The competitor to Blu-Ray is HD-DVD. Blu-Ray is a proprietary Sony format, while most everyone else is in the HD-DVD camp. There are pros and cons to both, but in the end the quality is exactly the same, and so is the medium. They're both on discs the size of CD's and DVD's. The both are read using blue laser technology. They both store ridiculous amounts of data.

That's why LG's announcement was a huge deal. The two formats are so close to being equal that the war was solely between manufacturers and content providers. Rather than figuring out a standard before they went to consumers, they decided to release both formats and let consumers pay the price when one finally bites the dust. Consumers would either be duped into buying one format discs that could become obsolete, or they'd just end up not buying either, missing out on what their super duper new TV's are capable of displaying. LG said "Not so fast sneaky format alliances! We will save consumers with our super special magic hybrid blue laser disc reader!"

Other companies will follow suit after they finish development of their own hybrid lasers (or after however long it takes them to reverse engineer LG's). It's a big win for consumers.

As for you old-timers, think VHS versus Betamax (another Sony proprietary format, I might add), except this time one format isn't superior to the other. They're just in competition for the moolah.

nickrichard wrote:I always thought "that" convention was the week after CES?

Last year "that" convention was the same week as CES which was...interesting. This year it starts in the middle of CES week.

Sad to say, but "that" convention's business is what typically drives technology forward. Not many people outside of the tech industry, "that" industry or the business/financial world want to think about that, though. Which, pretty much, doesn't leave a whole lot of people now that I think about it.

Thanks are in order for lobbing that one up to you, Scorcho.

But eventually one format will have to win out. And as Beta vs VHS shows, it genewrally has little to do with quality of the product.

ok.

until the Beta vs. VHS comparison was made- I was completely lost. That puts it into perspective for me. (I got lucky with THAT choice back in the day, but know a lot of people stuck with piles of Beta Max tapes at garage sales)

question for the techno-geeks.

I have to replace our TV set in the living room- looking at various LCDs and Plasma sets from 40-50 inches. Should I be afraid of LG? don't know anything about them- evidently Asian product, but what isn't anymore. They always appear to be cheaper than the Sonys, Sharps, Panasonics, etc so I wondered if they were'nt absolute junk. Please advise.

LG is a completely acceptable company, afaik. If you put in some research time on the 'net you can usually find out who actually manufacturers the display inside of the outer casing. A great number of LCD and Plasma displays are made by very few manufacturers, and then branded by the middleman company who adds a computer to control it, their proprietary features, etc.

For anyone else who may be in the market, the best advice I've heard is to go to the stores and see what looks good to you. Don't be afraid to take a DVD of something you know so you can gauge the display properly. Play around with the settings and see if the store has the display set up as well as it could be (the usually don't). Then, after you've found one that looks good to you, walk out and do some research online about that model. Find out the pros and cons of that model online and then make your decision. It sounds like a lot of work, but if you're about to drop a grand or more on a piece of electronic gear, it's worth the time.

Meanwhile, I'll give up my CRT television and analog cable service when they pry it from my cold dead hands.

El Scorcho wrote:

nickrichard wrote:I always thought "that" convention was the week after CES?

Last year "that" convention was the same week as CES which was...interesting. This year it starts in the middle of CES week.

Sad to say, but "that" convention's business is what typically drives technology forward. Not many people outside of the tech industry, "that" industry or the business/financial world want to think about that, though. Which, pretty much, doesn't leave a whole lot of people now that I think about it.

PBS, I believe it was Frontline, or similar that just ran a show about that very equation.

if you want to read some reviews, try cnet.com. it is a good website to find information on for just about anything electronic.

No usually THAT convention is during the CES. There is also an "industry" one around the same time. (I am not sure why I know this)
PA - I also am looking into upgrading. Personally, I am shying away from the LG products. Don't trust em myself. My thinking is that if I have to spend a few hundred more than I will do it since this is a pretty big investment. Also, I am not as much a technophile as I used to be so usually what Best Buy is peddling I am looking at. (PLUS they throw a 18-36 month free financing and I get "points") You usually know you are going to get solid product, but not top of the line. Which I don't need anymore. Therefore I have narrowed it down the the Pioneer, Toshiba and Samsung (a late arriving member to the list as I have had bad experiences with them) 50"ers. Now I am just waiting for the perfect storm of 1) 36 month financing 2) 15% Discount mail coupons 3) Dish Network to get our loacals in HD.

anyone have experience with Visio?

4. Sharp's 108-inch LCD Display - Yes, Sharp ups the ante again and gives the world a display that's 7.8 feet high. According to Sharp's press release the official specs are as follows: It's 93.9 inches high, 52.9 inches wide and 107.8 inches on the diagonal, and shines with 2.07 million pixels (1,920 x 1,080). Yep, that's 15 feet (diagonal) of 1080p goodness. Amazing.

Whole Lee Crap

5. Microsoft's IPTV for Xbox360 - We're not talking IPTV like you're used to at LU. This is real HD (720p) television being sent directly from Microsoft to your Xbox360. It looks GOOD. It was announced by Microsoft tonight as an upcoming feature, and there's demo video at the link I just posted. Don't let Sony fool you, the 360 is far and away a better buy than the PS3 right now.

hello? Visio? anyone?

Buehler? Buehler?

I thought true HD was 1080p at this point.

Maybe THAT is your answer PA LOL

1080 HD varies depending on model. A 1080 LCD or DLP is = to 720 (?) in a plasma. Now a 1080 Plasma, is great, but at this point not sure it is worth the money over the other

LUconn wrote:I thought true HD was 1080p at this point.

Yes, according to Jessica Simpson...but then again it is Jessica Simpson...

Purple Haize wrote:A 1080 LCD or DLP is = to 720 (?) in a plasma.

No. The HD resolution is simply a measurement of the resolution of the signal or display, just like your computer's display. It does not vary between the type of display (LCD, Plasma, SED). The resolutions are as follows:

Standard TV = 720x480
720p = 1280 × 720 (progressive-scan)
1080i = 1920 × 1080 (interlaced)
1080p = 1920 × 1080 (progressive-scan)

Currently, Fox, My Network TV (also owned by Fox), ABC, and ESPN (ABC and ESPN are both owned by Disney) currently broadcast 720p content. NBC, Universal HD (both owned by General Electric), CBS, The CW, HBO, Showtime, Starz!, INHD, HDNet ,TNT, and Discovery HD Theater currently broadcast 1080i content.

The only place you'll find 1080p content, for now, is on the Xbox360, HD-DVD and Blu-ray.