The 2009 international consumer electronics show, or CES for short, is the world's biggest technology tradeshow. 2700 companies holler for your attention as you wander aisle after aisle. Think Best Buy times 10 thousand. Oddly enough, this year’s CES didn’t have the same buzz as in previous years. Not surprising, I suppose, given all the economic doom and gloom in the air.
My goal in Vegas this year was to examine three maturing technologies… video cameras, TVs and how we connect it all with the web.
I should probably start things off by noting that this is not a gear-head posting, nor a review of new cameras and TVs. Rather it is a brief look at emerging tech trends. I am not the person to tell you which camera or TV to buy. With that caveat out of the way, let’s start with video cameras.
TVs Camera and Connections | CES 2009
There are a few (very few) standard definition cameras still in the market, like Panasonic's SDR-S26 with a jaw-dropping 70-times optical zoom. And there are a few tape-based cameras, like Canon’s Vixia HV40. But to no one's surprise, tape is nearly dead in consumer cameras. And 1080 (again to no one's surprise) is THE format for consumers.
Hard-drive cameras are emphasizing their maximum recording time. Sony’s HDR-XR500v has a 120 gig hard drive and the 520v offers twice that, with nearly a quarter of a terabyte, all recording in full 1080 HD, AVCHD.
The hard drive on Panasonic’s HDC-HS20 is only one third that size, but it records to either hard drive or memory card… Making the media easier to move from camera to computer, web or TV.
A majority of the cameras on display at this year’s CES use flash memory to store pictures and sound. One advantage of flash is it takes less battery power to store the file (the motors used to spin the hard drive can suck down the a battery’s power.) Also, the media is portable.
One example of a flash camera is Canon’s Vixia HF200. This camera uses a new image processor, again records full 1080 and uses technology that many of the higher end- video cameras were touting on the show floor… face detection for more accurate focusing.
You will also find face detection on Canon’s Vixia HFS10 and Sony’s HDR-CX100. Sony's little memory stick camcorder is about the size of your cell phone. Like many other cameras, it boasts full 1920 x 1080 High-Definition video. The camera has very few buttons or knobs, making it simple to operate and an excellent camera for new users and folks who want a minimum of fussing around when shooting.
The ultimate in flash-based cameras is Canon’s 5D Mark II. This camera is ostensibly a still camera. But it shoots full 30 frame per-second, 1080p HD, using an image sensor that is ten times the size of your average consumer camera. With access to all of Canon’s line of professional lenses, this camera’s only major drawback is audio quality. But if you are looking for images that will knock the socks off even the most expensive professional HD cameras, this would be the ticket.
The fastest growth in technology of any sort in the last year is not with Canon, Sony, Panasonic or any of the traditional leaders. It is Pure Digital and their Flip Camera.
Oddly, the Flip was not at CES this year, but Kodak was showing a direct competitor, the Zx1.
Kodak's camera has a 2-inch LCD monitor, and can capture up to ten hours of 720p 60 frame-per-second high-def video. It comes in pink, blue, yellow, red and black. Finally, just like the Flip, it has built-in software for easy editing and sharing of content on the web.
These little cameras are all fighting over the space in your front shirt pocket. They allow you to shoot anything, anywhere and easily throw it up on the web.
Televisions still rule at an event like this. CES overwhelms you with screens, beckoning as bright portals to entertainment, information, and connections anywhere in the world.
Honestly, I can’t wrap my head around 3D television. It smacks of a desperate ploy for TVs to stay relevant. Like Cinemascope in the 50’s, this screen is just a gag, and ultimately is not likely to change the storytelling experience. Gaming perhaps, but not TV. Besides, wearing the glasses is just plain dopey.
That said, Sony was one of several companies who demonstrated 3D displays… a Gran Turismo demonstration using a PlayStation 3.
This year, the focus for TVs was more on quality over size. Every manufacturer touted their adoption of 1080p, their efforts to reduce screen blur by overcranking screen refresh rates, and especially their slimmer televisions.
These flat-panel screens are popular for a reason… people love thin screens. HDTV companies are betting there's a market for ultrathin sets. Panasonic’s Ultra thin is a plasma set that is only 1/3 inch thick.
But honestly, who cares how thin a TV is, anyway? If you can see how thin it is, aren’t you sitting in the wrong place?
And these are not small little screens. Sharp was showing a 108” LCD. Uh… that’s nine FEET. This TV "wall" had incredibly crisp resolution and vivid color.
Increasingly what differentiates one TV from another is the software it runs and the Internet services it connects to. A lot of HDTV manufacturers are promoting their sets' ability to grab content off the internet. These TVs siphon content off Internet sites such as YouTube and Netflix. Sony is continuing to support its Bravia Internet Video Link service.
Personal video on the web is moving away from the "one to many" model of YouTube over to the "one to few" model of Facebook. Hard drive and flash memory cameras are making it not only easy but possible. Although you would be hard pressed to see evidence of this trend on the floor of CES.
Clearly YouTube is not going away any time soon because the push at this year’s CES (particularly with televisions) is the consumer as content receptors, not content generators. New appliances (not just TVs but blenders, refrigerators, radios, etc.) may talk to one another over the Internet using built in wif-fi and Ethernet ports, but don't expect people to use this technology to enhance the social experience. The big technology companies are only putting a careful toe into social networking, uncertain how to integrate it into their product lines. Good luck finding social networking on the floor, with one exception.
Microsoft is working to make Windows Live a sort of network of social networks, showing the updates that people make both within Windows Live as well as in other places like Twitter, Flickr, and now Facebook. It appears the goal is not to compete directly with Facebook or MySpace, but rather to give users a central sync point…. A place to manage all your personas.
At CES they were showing how everything fits together… Microsoft Windows 7 and Windows Live (including groups, spaces, mobile, Xbox, live gallery. and more.) Honestly, this display was really the only one at the Consumer Electronics Show to “get” the idea of transparent connectivity across all devices.
In contrast the other 9000 pound gorilla at the show, Sony, was showing a rather limited Sony Playstation network. The focus of this service is all about gaming and downloading content. It is not all that different from what your cable box at home currently provides and is less about social networking than selling stuff to you. Sony reminded us that by 2011 90% of their products - including television sets, cameras and video players - will be able to connect online. But theirs is still a “walled garden” approach, where they control all access and content on their network, with next to no interactivity between users, nor users and providers. And forget being an outsider trying to access the content. With Sony you are either a member of the club or you are an outcast.
Clearly networking these devices into a coherent system is a long way in the distance. Most of these device makers look to widgets and accessories as proof that they are integrating the internet into their devices. Widgets are mini-modules that show weather, stock prices, sports scores and other kinds of canned Internet data. You can argue that this business plan just points out their shortsightedness since these widget services largely just provide: 1) syndicated web information, 2) tightly controlled interactivity and 3) slimmed down social networking features.
Don’t look for a robust web experience on any of these devices soon.
A TV connected to the web needs to be an entirely different experience than just reruns on Hulu. Right now, when we turn on a TV we are looking to be entertained… a passive immersive experience on the sofa. No typing, no searching, and very little heavy lifting. I am uncertain people will want Web 2.0 on their TV sets — As though they don’t already have a thousand existing sources of these info-bits. Televisions need to be more than just a web portal… big screens playing YouTube videos is not compelling technology. And how do we connect our personal experiences, our home movies and photos, into this universe?
It is hard to guess if this story will be any further along when we see CES 2010. Perhaps the most we hope for is our view of the horizon will be a little more accurate.
