Consumer Electronics Show 2005: AT's Coverage
by Anand Lal Shimpi on January 10, 2005 3:49 AM EST- Posted in
- Trade Shows
Going into CES this year I didn't really know what to expect. Last year's CES was what CES had always been, a Consumer Electronics Show with a few motherboard manufacturers scattered throughout the show. But also remember that last year saw the nail in the coffin for Comdex and most of the companies in the tech industry said that they would instead be at CES, showing off their "convergence" devices as well as some of their conventional PC technology products.
Well, walking the show floor I get the feeling that while some companies do get a clear impression of where we're headed, the vast majority are simply in a confused state of mind. For example, historically I've never found Microsoft's booths at any tradeshow interesting, but for the first time ever at this year's CES, I'd say that the Microsoft booth was by far one of the most interesting. Then I look at other more consumer electronics based companies and I see that they're here at CES promoting the same unintelligent CE devices that they have been for the past several years, maybe with the addition of "HD" to their name.
For years Intel and Microsoft have been talking about this "convergence" between PC technology and consumer electronics and for the first time ever you can actually truly see it happening on a much larger scale than just being able to play your MP3s over your home stereo. At the same time, despite the huge movements forward in this idea of convergence, walking the halls of CES tells me plain and simple that the road to convergence is still a very long one. There are far too many companies that still don't get it and there's still a lot of network infrastructure that needs to be in place before companies can really begin to offer some cooler convergence products.
So this year's CES ends up being far from a smoothly integrated show featuring consumer electronics, PC technology and the futures of both. Very few showcases and demos actually presented the convergence of all three, with far more displaying segregated products falling into each individual category. Not that this is a bad thing, it's just more of a wake up call that there's still a lot of work to be done.
That being said, the CES show itself this year is absolutely massive. Transportation to and from the show and meetings is basically impossible unless you have a car or are close to a monorail station. The upwards of 120,000 CES attendees have put a full strain on the Las Vegas taxicab system, making waiting for a cab during CES show hours a 1.5 - 2 hour ordeal. The organizers of CES will make things even more difficult next year as they revisit the Comdex legacy and add a third location to CES - the Sands Expo Center connected to the Venetian hotel in Las Vegas (which always proved to make scheduling meetings and covering the show fun).
With the show over and the AnandTech team out of Vegas, we can finally bring you coverage of the highlights of this year's Consumer Electronics Show.
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sprockkets - Monday, January 10, 2005 - link
Forget using a DLP television, I want a DLP projector on a 100"+ screen.Oh well each has its advantages and disadvantages.
Better not have any stationary images on a plasma I've heard :)
snorre - Monday, January 10, 2005 - link
#23: Well, so you're telling me that the Inquirer are deceiving us then whey reported the following less then a month ago:http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=20211
"The good news for all of you Sound Storm 2 supporters is that Nvidia decided to get this audio back. It just prematurely announced it, as it will take Nvidia at least nine months to put it back to Southbridge. The decision has been made.
Soundstorm 2 will come back but not before roughly the "fall" of 2005."
AtaStrumf - Monday, January 10, 2005 - link
To my displeasure ATi has managed to get at least one product with their new RS300 chipset for Intel out the door. It's called:SHUTTLE ST62K ZEN Barebone
It's could have been a fine product IF only they made it a little bigger so they could put in a PSU, which would enable them to power a graphics card in which case they would actually put in an AGP slot, which they didn't, hence it's a freakin' dead end machine if a word 3D games is in your vocabulary. The on-board 9100 IGP isn't as horrible as I feared, but it sure isn't what you would want to be stuck with, especially at that price.
Why the hell get that thing them? Why not just get a laptop instead?!?!
Do these people even think when designing such products?!?!
Enough ranting.
bob661 - Monday, January 10, 2005 - link
#24It ain't happening. SS is dead and long gone. Accept it. Wallow in it. Order out for more.
Richthofen - Monday, January 10, 2005 - link
#23well The Nvidia CEO seems to tell a different story at least during the last conference call :)
I don't believe for a second either that Nvidia is out of the sound business. They are out of that business right now but that doesn't have to be the case in the future.
I would expect a comeback from them in the sound business once they have made a big step into the Intel chipset business or when they manage to combine sound technology with GPU technology.
Reflex - Monday, January 10, 2005 - link
#9: This has been confirmed multiple times for months now. In fact, the SoundStorm team was completely disbanded before the release of NF3 almost two years ago.I have stated it multiple times, its been both officially and unofficially confirmed before as well. I work for a large software company that has extensive dealings with nVidia. Specifically I work in the audio group, and believe me, the nVidia guys are long gone.
You don't have to believe it, but we are now two chipsets past the last SS enabled one and a lot of people don't quite get it that SS is dead and buried. Will they continue to post about it when the nForce9 is released..?
thraxes - Monday, January 10, 2005 - link
#14While technically correct that the gases in Plasmas wear out with extended use, the effect is hardly noticeable.
I work in a TV studio where we use Pioneer Plasmas and professional grade Barco DLP-RP monitors. The Barcos and the Pioneers have both been in almost continuos use for at least 8-12 hrs every day since 2001. Guess what: The Plasmas are still way way brighter than the DLPs. In fact, the DLPs are probably going to be replaced soon by... plasmas.
Reasons:
1: Brightness - especially when the DLPs are visible on Camera and need to show graphs etc. they are very lacking. Plasmas are bright enough for this and more importantly - camera angle independent. This is even after running them 12 hrs/day for 4 years.
2: Cost of ownership. Run these machines over 12 hours a day EVERY DAY and the money starts to add up. The DLPs are slightly less expensive to buy but need the lamp replaced every few months which is comes to a significant amount of money over the lifetime of the unit. Energy consumption of DLP vs. Plasma is identical at about 400W. The DLP loses out because of your perceived advantage of "just changing the light bulb".
Phantronius - Monday, January 10, 2005 - link
Grrrr no PCI express cards till mid time this year? WTF is this?SunLord - Monday, January 10, 2005 - link
This is amusing but do we have any proof it was a dualcore and not just a dual system they called a dual core?thraxes - Monday, January 10, 2005 - link