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CES 2009: 8 Products Worth Checking Out So Far
SV Staff  |  Jan 07, 2009  |  0 comments

The show floor hasn't even opened yet, but the flood of stuff we want to get our hands on has already started. Last year's CES was kind of a let down when it came to getting new products we would actually get our hands on during the year. If last night's preview was any indication, we might leave this year's show with a longer wish list.

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CES 2009
Sony Goes 240
Tom Norton  |  Jan 07, 2009  |  0 comments
Sony, and other manufacturers as well, are big on 240Hz refresh rates this year. At CEDIA in September Sony showed one Bravia line that operates at 240Hz—the XBR7 (just beginning to ship now).
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CES 2009
Light and Easy
Tom Norton  |  Jan 07, 2009  |  0 comments
Sony's exhibit at the CEDIA EXPO in September leans heavily on flat panel displays and projectors. But at CES they back off on that emphasis and go for a wider range of audio, video, and other electronic thingys. We're not covering computers here, but I was drawn to the new VAIO P Series Lifestyle PC ($900, February). Especially attractive to long-suffering A/V bloggers suffering under the weight of oversized laptops at trade shows, this tiny compact computer tips the scales at 1.4 lbs. Its 8-inch screen is not for the weak or eye, or the smallish keyboard for the thick of thumb. I found typing on it reasonably easy, though wouldn't want to use it to write the Great American Epic. Wireless everything, of course. Why didn't Steve Jobs and Apple think of this first?
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CES 2009
Panasonic Loves 3D
Tom Norton  |  Jan 07, 2009  |  0 comments
Panasonic has announced a major initiative to bring true, full 1080p resolution on Blu-ray to the home theater. At their press conference they announced that they will be conducting demonstrations of 3D at their booth at the show. This demo will use active shutter glasses. No polarized lenses or glasses using funky colored filters. The company will work toward the adoption of an industry standard for the future of home 3D, and hopes to have such a standard in 2009 with consumer 3D products meeting that standard available by 2010. By February 1 of this year they plan to install a 3D disc authoring authority center at the Panasonic Hollywood Labs.
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CES 2009
Being Green
Tom Norton  |  Jan 07, 2009  |  0 comments
I went to six press conferences today, and every one of them made a big deal about "How green is my company." Whether it was the energy efficiency of the product itself, the manufacturing of same, or how you can dispose of it in ways that are friendly to birds, fish, and other living things (though perhaps not to Chinese villagers*), they were stumbling all over each other to impress the conservation- and ecologically-minded members of the press. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course, but I couldn't help thinking that the industry has discovered that there may be green in being green.
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CES 2009
The Internet Has Invaded Our TVs!
Barb Gonzalez  |  Jan 07, 2009  |  0 comments
We’re hearing it again and again from many TV manufacturers. TVs are becoming the center of our home entertainment beyond broadcast TV, cable or satellite. Networked TVs that can download content from the internet and can show photos, play videos and music from the computers on your home network. All of the TV manufacturers from LG, to Toshiba, Sharp, Panasonic, Sony and Samsung were announcing their partnerships with different content providers. Yahoo widgets were omnipresent. These mini applications—widgets—let you get local weather, news, sports, stock tickers and more. As widgets you can choose the type of stocks you want to follow or put in other customizable information. Yahoo widgets are open source which means that software developers can let their imaginations run wild and we’ll all benefit from what they dream up.
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CES 2010
CES Has Been Added to the Tour
uavKim Wilson  |  Jan 07, 2009  |  1 comments

During CES they commission pretty much every large vehicle they can find to shuttle attendees from one venue to another. Vegas has purchased some very old double decker buses from England and put them into service as tour buses. Here we are outside the Sands/Venetian Convention Center and heading out to the main Las Vegas Convention Center. How many Convention Center's does one city need?

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CES 2010
YAHOO TV
uavKim Wilson  |  Jan 07, 2009  |  1 comments

Both Samsung and Sony announced partnerships with Yahoo. Integrated into their top line TVs customers will have access to the Yahoo Widget Engine, to expand and personalize their TV experience. It adds on-screen applications that provide real-time information such as weather reports, stock ticker updates, financial news, Yahoo! Video, Flickr images, and much more content to come.

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CES 2010
When Technology Goes Bad
uavKim Wilson  |  Jan 07, 2009  |  0 comments

When the press conference for CISCO filled to capacity they announced it could be watched from the Press Room. Several of us headed over to find them still trying to get the feed linked in. However, once they did there was no audio, only the Power Point slide show. But wait, you can view it online. Everyone pulls out their laptops, heads to the URL, only to find a screen that says you must register first. OK! Logging in now...uh but you don't have the most current version of Real Player. Honestly, I didn't know that people were still using that. I haven't come across that in so long that obviously I didn't have the most current version. A quick download, but the site didn't recognize the plug-in. NEVERMIND

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CES 2009
A Small, Intimate Gathering
Shane Buettner  |  Jan 07, 2009  |  0 comments
You know, with several hundred of Sony's closest friends. This is a good snap shot of what CES press day is like. Lots of lines, lots of people, and lots of madness. It was hard to tell what was being said from back there. I think he said something like, "blessed are the cheese makers." (Hint- Monty Python reference.)
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