uavKim Wilson

Well the answer to that questions appears to be 9mm. Pioneer intent is to have your next HDTV appear to be floating on the wall. Kuro's slim bezel flat panel HDTV is pretty cool looking, appearing to be a thin sheet of glass.

Also, Pioneer is making the claim they have made a major breakthrough in contrast ratio. Its so amazing that it is beyond measurement. They call it the Extreme Contrast Concept Model and it eliminates all idling luminance. Can't wait to actually get a demo of it.

At least its in a nice place. The Venetian is one of the classiest hotels in Las Vegas, especially if you like ornate Italian decor. The Venetian plays host to several esoteric and high-end manufacturers during CES. The larger all-suite rooms make for better demonstrations and more comfortable surroundings.

I was encouraged by the amount of time Sharp investing in their press conference addressing the real problem of electronic waste. Its a huge problem and one that is only going to get a lot worse as our rampant consumerism for our favoite gadgets increases.

Sharp has formed a joint venture with Panasonic and Toshiba to provide a recycling service called MRM (Manufacturers Recycling Management Company) to electronics manufacturers and others, including state and local governments. Currently they are setting up recycling programs in several states from late 2008 or 2009, including Connecticut, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas and Washington. They anticipate eventually creating a long term national solution. A spokesperson for Sharp said, the formation of an independent company to manage collective electronic recycling programs is the best way to achieve the economies of scale and efficiencies necessary to create a sustainable recycling system for used electronics products. MRM has already entered into collection and recycling agreements with Hitachi Electronics, JVC, Mitsubishi, Philips, Pioneer, Sanyo and Olevia brand maker Syntax-Brillian. More will surely sign on.

Sharp also commented on their continued commitment to toward solar cell research and that they are working on new cost effective ways to further worldwide greenhouse gas emissions.

Kaleidescape, Inc. was showing their extensive and comprehensive music server in a small meeting room at the Venetian. They weren't introducing any new components for their system, however, they were showcasing the latest version of their proprietary Kaleidescape Entertainment Appliance Operating System (KEAOS 3.5), providing Kaleidescape owners more ways to enjoy movies and music.