The last day of the CES always produces a number of
predictable results: tired-and-worn attendees; less-than-energetic booth attendants;
shorter lines for all things such as food, demonstrations, and bathrooms; talk about what
might be at the next show, which, for many of the CES participants, is CEDIA, this year in
Denver, Colorado.
For the SoundStage! Network crew, we have lots of things to plan for after the show:
all of the new products that we’ve arranged to have shipped in for review; follow-up
e-mail to the companies that we want to ship us review samples; thank you's that
need to be sent to the people and companies that extended all types of pleasantries to us
while in Las Vegas; and, last but not least, all of the work that we have ahead of us in
2006. CES generates a to-do list for our SoundStage! Network management team that seems a
mile long.
I am, however, ready to forget audio, video, walking, lines, hotels, heavy meals, and
marketing slogans. (This year, the marketing term seemingly everyone used was, "This
is our so-and-so solution." If only I had a dollar for every time I heard
"solution.") I am ready to get home and see my family, sleep in my own
bed, drink my own coffee, eat less of my own food, listen to my own stereo, watch my own
television, and rest. Next year we’ll do it all again, but for
now...we’re done.
***
Meanwhile, on the other side of town, no one seemed to care
about video. I spent Saturday afternoon cruising the rooms at the Alexis Park. It was
two-channel audio in every corner, with no home theater, no multichannel audio, no new
formats, and no worries. It warmed my heart to see folks listening to music and having
fun. That's what I want to do.
One manufacturer -- who, by the way, had multichannel
demonstrations the last two years at CES -- said that he thought people were getting back
into stereo. Who can blame them? Using only two channels allows you to focus on buying
quality equipment. And the great thing is that amplifiers and speakers will still be
needed to play back whatever format wins at the end of the day. So if you're sitting and
waiting to buy a new disc player, buy other hardware instead. You'll always need good amps
and speakers, after all.
Take Threshold, for example. They displayed a new very old
product: the S/350e amp. Using the same classic circuit, the same classic chassis, and
hopefully sporting the same classic sound, this amp gives audiophiles wanting that magical
Threshold performance an option other than buying used. They can buy a new one for $2000,
which seems like a deal when you consider that you won't have to replace aging capacitors,
and you'll have a mint-condition unit, too. I used to own an S/550e, the S/350e's bigger
brother, and according to Threshold's head honcho, Kevin Lee, if the S/350e is successful,
we may just see the S550/e come back as well. With used ones selling for $2500 on
Audiogon, there has to be demand for that one. I'm pulling for it. If you have a nostalgic
bone in your body, call Threshold and voice your support for their efforts.
***
The Blu-ray Disc contingent is clearly trying to send a
message to the consumer-electronics industry. There are so many "coming soon"
players here at CES that I lost count at ten. Each supporting company had a rep to tout
the format, and an entry in the race was present. From what I could gather Pioneer would
be first to market. The rep told me that the Elite player shown below (very attractive, by
the way) would be shipping in May at a list price of $1800. It will be fully backwards
compatible with DVD-Video. Mouths are watering.
But there weren't just Blu-ray players. There were
recorders, PC drives, not to mention the PS3 -- all Blu-ray equipped. HD DVD, on the other
hand, wasn’t as impressively represented, not that I could see anyhow. There was
a Toshiba demo that looked half-hearted. Maybe I missed something.
The two pictures from yesterday’s diary showed walls
of discs: titles on HD DVD and titles on Blu-ray. Were there actual discs in those boxes?
Of course not, but how quickly those boxes are filled will be a major factor in how this
thing plays out -- or doesn't.
***
I started Thursday at the Las Vegas Convention Center. It
was the first day of the show, and I was anxious to see if I could spot any trends
regarding new formats. And no, "new formats" do not apply to SACD and DVD-Audio.
Those formats, for the record, have no presence at CES. So far I’ve not seen
one DVD-Audio logo or one SACD logo up in the lights of the Convention Center floor. There
were a few products that had SACD and/or DVD-A capability, but this seemed to be by
default rather than as part of any aggressive strategic initiative. Is anyone interested
anymore? Not if day one of the 2006 CES is any indication.
The real story is Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD. Which one will
be the winner of this potential format war?
Roger Kanno next to a wall of proposed HD DVD titles...
Not so fast. Let’s start with what we wanted to
see: if there was any clear momentum behind either of these wannabes. Momentum, in this
case, means a push for serious market share. How many companies would be supporting the
new formats? Would there be any production players ready to ship? Would the movie studios
really get behind high-definition video discs? Has the day for a new optical-disc carrier
passed us by already?
...and with what's coming on Blu-ray.
Here’s what we've seen so far: Blu-ray Disc has made a
bold pronouncement -- "Better than High Definition." With High Definition (HD)
DVD’s namesake, this is a serious shot across the bow of the competition by the Sony
contingent. That slogan was seen virtually everywhere, and there was no counter-punch from
HD DVD camp.
Tomorrow the saga continues….
