News from CES 2004

CES 2004 - DAY 2

January 10, 2004

Lance Crabbe, of Design Systems Ltd., in front of the Las Vegas Convention Center at the 2004 Consumer Electronics Show. The show is very crowded and the weather has been moderate and dry.

The Cerateq Iqtus is a German high-performance speaker with style. It can be used where in-wall speakers are not feasible and a low impact to the room cosmetics is desired.

This Clark Synthesis portable speaker is designed for in pool use. One transducer is above the water surface, one transducer is below the surface. A flotation ring separtes the 2 speakers.

This model of Clark Synthesis underwater speaker (side view left/front view right) is designed for permament installation in a pool light housing and must be installed at the time of pool construction. It provides music underwater.

The new Denon AVR3805 is a new mid-priced A/V receiver with home theater auto calibration system, and the latest Dolby ProLogic IIx for surround sound from standard 2 channel music sources. 2 auxiliary zones of music distribution make this unit capable of being a music controller for a basic whole-house system.

Denon continues to show a hard drive multimedia server component with the Denon NetClient - Denon NS100. It has the ability to send standard definition A/V signals to as many as 4 rooms simultaneously. A "network client" is required in each room where this signal is distributed. An amplifier, speakers, and TV display are also required in the auxiliary room(s). Many variations of this concept are being shown at CES 2004 - none ready to be shipped right now. Time will tell which of the many shown will actually work well in a real world environment.

Epson showed 2 LCD rear-projection TVs with built-in media slots (including Memory Stick, SD/Secure Digital and Compact Flash) so that you can take photos from your digital camera and see them on your TV. There is a photo printer and CD-RW drive to allow copying your photos to a CD or read photos from a Picture CD. 47" and 57" diagonal wide-screen models were shown. Expected pricing - $3,500 and $4,000.

Marrantz is the first to market a super-high-performance 3 chip DLP (Digital Light Processing) projector. This model uses 3 of the latest high-resolution Texas Instruments HD2+ DLP chips with color correction filters to achieve accurate color, incredible contrast and richness of colors. Estimated availability in the spring at approximately $38,000.

RCA showed a 61" DLP rear projection set that can be hung on a wall and is less than 7" deep. At $10,000 this set is much less than a comparable 61" plasma set.

Front view of the RCA 61" DLP rear projection set.

This is the Voom Client. Voom, a media server/satellite service provider is showing a combination hard drive-VCR that also distributes High Definition Audio/Video signals to up to 4 rooms via existing coax cable in a home. A Voom client is located at each TV location to receive the signal. Voom is promising the most HD content on 2 channels. Service is not available in Hawaii.

Here is the Voom Media Server with a large hard drive. It is capable of recording and storing HD quality programs on its hard drive. You can then access the program material on up to 4 other TVs in the home.

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						CES 2004 - DAY 2

		January 10, 2004 Lance Crabbe, of Design Systems Ltd., in front of the Las Vegas Convention Center at the 2004 Consumer Electronics Show. The show is very crowded and the weather has been moderate and dry.
		The Cerateq Iqtus is a German high-performance speaker with style. It can be used where in-wall speakers are not feasible and a low impact to the room cosmetics is desired.
		This Clark Synthesis portable speaker is designed for in pool use. One transducer is above the water surface, one transducer is below the surface. A flotation ring separtes the 2 speakers.
		This model of Clark Synthesis underwater speaker (side view left/front view right) is designed for permament installation in a pool light housing and must be installed at the time of pool construction. It provides music underwater.
		The new Denon AVR3805 is a new mid-priced A/V receiver with home theater auto calibration system, and the latest Dolby ProLogic IIx for surround sound from standard 2 channel music sources. 2 auxiliary zones of music distribution make this unit capable of being a music controller for a basic whole-house system.
		Denon continues to show a hard drive multimedia server component with the Denon NetClient - Denon NS100. It has the ability to send standard definition A/V signals to as many as 4 rooms simultaneously. A "network client" is required in each room where this signal is distributed. An amplifier, speakers, and TV display are also required in the auxiliary room(s). Many variations of this concept are being shown at CES 2004 - none ready to be shipped right now. Time will tell which of the many shown will actually work well in a real world environment.
		Epson showed 2 LCD rear-projection TVs with built-in media slots (including Memory Stick, SD/Secure Digital and Compact Flash) so that you can take photos from your digital camera and see them on your TV. There is a photo printer and CD-RW drive to allow copying your photos to a CD or read photos from a Picture CD. 47" and 57" diagonal wide-screen models were shown. Expected pricing - $3,500 and $4,000.
		Marrantz is the first to market a super-high-performance 3 chip DLP (Digital Light Processing) projector. This model uses 3 of the latest high-resolution Texas Instruments HD2+ DLP chips with color correction filters to achieve accurate color, incredible contrast and richness of colors. Estimated availability in the spring at approximately $38,000.
		RCA showed a 61" DLP rear projection set that can be hung on a wall and is less than 7" deep. At $10,000 this set is much less than a comparable 61" plasma set.
		Front view of the RCA 61" DLP rear projection set.
		This is the Voom Client. Voom, a media server/satellite service provider is showing a combination hard drive-VCR that also distributes High Definition Audio/Video signals to up to 4 rooms via existing coax cable in a home. A Voom client is located at each TV location to receive the signal. Voom is promising the most HD content on 2 channels. Service is not available in Hawaii.
		Here is the Voom Media Server with a large hard drive. It is capable of recording and storing HD quality programs on its hard drive. You can then access the program material on up to 4 other TVs in the home.
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