CES 2016

Another year, another CES. I’ve been doing them for so long you think they’d become second nature, or even boring. But they always surprise, and there’s always too much of interest to see in the show’s four short days, jostling through 175,000 of my closest friends.

Audio highlights and trends from CES 2016 worth writing home about.

Wolf Cinema has upgraded its existing four projector platforms for 2016. It showcased the STC-15 ($15,000) at CES on a 10-foot wide, Seymour Screen Excellence 2.35:1 screen. It's images were truly spectacular...

Like many demos at CES 2016, this 2.35:1 (21x9) “scope” curved LCD widescreen Ultra HD design was likely brought in to test its commercial viability with the army of retailers who attend CES. According to the information I received, however, TCL (a Chinese company) does plan to distribute it in Hong Kong, at least initially.

Changhong is virtually unknown outside of China, but it's a very big deal there. So why did the company attend CES 2016 (and CES 2015)?

Sony showed one of the coolest audio innovations of the Consumer Electronics Show with the debut of the company’s new PS-HX500 turntable. While the HX500 is a fully functional, belt-driven turntable on its own with an analog output that can feed any audio system, it also features a USB output that can be connected to a computer to create ultra-high resolution, exact digital captures of the album including all of the vinyl's signature sound.

Although not as buzzy as at last year’s CES, smart light bulbs, locks, thermostats, and pet feeders were still well-represented this year. Rather than overwhelm attendees with a bunch of new products and hubs, Nexia highlighted the fact that the company “is one of the oldest and most established smart-home pioneers with nearly a decade of experience with systems in hundreds of thousands of homes.” But, as I asked them, what has Nexia done for me lately?