CES 2009

In other Dolby news, Dolby Volume, tamer of blaring ads and dodgy surround levels, is coming to Toshiba Regza TVs in both the U.S. and Europe, as well as in a Harman Kardon receiver. It's also built into the cool Airfonix transmitter/receiver device pictured above, which accepts two-channel sources both RCA and XLR. Dolby's mobile strategy is (of course) Dolby Mobile, which manipulates the soundstage in cells and other portable devices. Dolby Axon provides surround-like effects in online voice gaming applications. And Dolby Digital Plus is now being used in Italian as well as French television broadcasts.

If the above Panasonic plasma isn't thin enough for you, this one-third of an inch-thick prototype might fit the bill. But the above design is closer to production.

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.

Joseph Audio announced the Pulsar, a two-way stand mount speaker that will retail for $7000/pair when it streets later this year. There's no center channel, but if you can spare the dime you could buy five (or seven) of them for identical performance in each channel!

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.

KEF also demonstrated the smallest entry in its Reference series, the 201.2, in 2-channels. It sounded superb. $5000/pair now, going up to $6000/pair soon. Get 'em while they're hot.

There is no way to convey the noise level on the show floor. In fact, you've not truly had a CES experience until you've been inundated by the cacophony of sights and sounds in these giant, cavernous halls.