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HDTVs / CES 2007 Wednesday Report
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Dick
De Jong
January 10, 2007
HDTV Solutions
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| Wednesday
I have a few meetings, but I have reserved part of the day to roam the CES floor. Though if you have ever been in the Las Vegas Convention Center, you’ll know that I would need one of these hotrods to even make it around the North, South, and Central Halls.
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But first, I had what was perhaps the most informative visit at the VIZIO suite on the 57th floor of the Wynn. VIZIO, has followed their slogan, “Where Vision Meets Value,” and turned it into a business model that has grabbed an increasing market share of HDTVs. To hear their executives talk about how they have managed their success is fascinating. The bottom line to the consumer is epitomized by their new plasma slated for February. Not the bleeding edge of technology at 1366 x 768, but definitely the cutting edge of value, priced at $2999, especially considering its 60" screen size. |
VIZIO VM60P 60" Plasma
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| Back to the Convention Center and Westinghouse Digital, who is also applying downward pressure on prices with its offerings like their new 1080p 42, 47, and 52" LCDs arriving in Q2. We have a Westinghouse 1080p review unit that we will be testing this month.
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| As I walk around the show floor, I am struck by the homogeneity of the black bezeled flat panel designs. Despite the occasional silver stripe, almost all of these TVs look boringly similar. That’s why I made a pilgrimage to the Proton booth. |
Proton Nanosphere Front & Back |
Proton hosted the INTERMIX Project where ten artists and design groups applied their creativity to Proton 32" LCDs. Of course, these were unique pieces not for mass production; but hopefully, the project will be an impetus for more imaginative TV facades.
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Proton Ano Front & Back
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A major attraction at the large Panasonic booth was its Living in High Definition stage, with eight, yes eight, 103" 1080p plasma displays. And these, I-don’t-think-it-would-make-it-through-my-front-door-but-I’m-willing-to-try, behemoths are not just for convention shows. The list price on the TH-103PZ600U is $69,999.
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Toshiba is reinvigorating their REGZA LCD line with thirteen new models from 26 to 57". The 52 and 57" Cinema Series (due in June/July), are first time offerings at those sizes and include the 120Hz technology that improves playback of fast action scenes.
Toshiba also announced their HD-A20 HD-DVD player that will output a 1080p signal like the already available, but higher priced and with more features, HD-XA2. Expect to see the A20 in the Spring for about $599.
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Toshiba HD-A20 Second Generation HD-DVD Player
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| LG caused a minor stir when they announced their BH100, a dual-format high-definition disc player. Available in Q1, this DVD player will be capable of playing both Blu-ray and HD-DVD discs. With a price of $1199, it seems that you will be paying a bit of a premium for the ability to play Switzerland in this ongoing format war. LG is also coming out with 52 and 57" 1080p LCDs. (Are you starting to see a pattern here?) But they also continue to push their plasma development with 50 and 60" 1080p models. And if you want a more door-friendly plasma, LG makes a 1080p 71" plasma that now sells for $14,999.95, which is a considerable drop in price from when it first came out last year. |
LG BH100 |
| Now, if you desire a 1080p LCD at that size, you could sidle over to the Sony booth and take a gander at its new 70" BRAVIA KDL-70XBR3. With specs that include a 10-bit panel, 120Hz motion compensation, a 7000:1 contrast ratio, and a 178-degree viewing angle, this beauty can be pre-ordered, (due to ship in February), for $33,000. |
Sony KDL-R70XBR |
| I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t see everything that CES had to offer this year - or even half of everything, but I want to end this report with one of the first booths I encountered on Monday and the last suite I saw on Wednesday before I had to catch a plane home. |
On Monday, I entered the Convention Center through the back door #9 and the first booth I hit was Audiovox’s. Audiovox is one of those companies that has been around for a long time, but has reinvented itself through acquisitions and new products. Their family now includes Jensen, Advent, Acoustic Research and Terk, which rings “audio” in my ear. But not surprisingly, Audiovox is offering a range of LCDs and plasmas. What caught my eye were two products that fall into categories that we’ll be investigating closely in 2007: wireless and design.
In the wireless market, Acoustic Research is introducing what they are calling the industry’s first high-performance wireless 5.1 speaker package. Availability is scheduled in April with an MSRP of $799. And if you want to hide those speakers, Audiovox’s booth was showing some ingenious coverups, including a working clock. |
AR Home Decor Products |
Finally, we ran a divine gauntlet of suites in the Venetian towers to reach Bang & Olufsen’s. This floor of the hotel was taken over by the High Performance
Audio & Home Theater Exhibit, so as you floated down the hallway, luscious sounds were wafting out the open suite doors.
One of the products that earned Bang & Olufsen an Honoree for Innovation was their BeoVision 9, a 50" plasma home theater system. The image was sublime, the sound intense, but the design was the surprising delight and a refreshing break from the constant barrage of black boxes. The plasma is encased with a center channel speaker in a rotating stand that sits on the floor. You can change the bezel to match the color of your BeoLab 9 speakers. The whole system with speakers and an integrated media server is $75,000. What a great way to wrap up CES. |
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Bang & Olufsen BeoVision 9 with Speakers |
Tomorrow, I will offer my general impressions of CES and what it indicates for the HD World in 2007.
Stay tuned |
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