CES 2002 Show Report
By Jerry Del Colliano
January, 2002
With CEDIA 2001 ending 36 hours before the events of September 11, this year’s Consumer Electronics Show took on new significance. Despite the long-term boom in AV technology, nearly all audio-video companies took a significant financial hit in September and October 2001. The majority of companies have bounced back with stronger sales late in the fourth quarter 2001, so there was an air of optimism at CES (Jan 8-11, 2002). Attendance was way down from 2001’s record levels and the brand new South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center added an awkward feel to the show (mostly because of the ugly purple ceiling and obnoxious red carpets). Nevertheless, the people who did attend the show were there to do serious business.
Unlike past CES events, the 2002 show was not one of "vapor ware" or incredible technologies that will change the world five to 10 years down the road. This CES had much more real-world advances in important AV technologies. Entry level, non-HDTV DLP projectors are now being sold for $2,000. Texas Instruments also showed DLP big-screen TVs at 47 inches diagonal that are physically quite slim but not quite as heroin chic as plasmas. The most important part was that the prices were around $5,000 – about half the cost of an HDTV plasma of a comparable size. Plasmas were less expensive, especially the larger monitors. If you want a giant 61-inch set, you are still going to pay the big bucks but 50-inch HD plasmas are down as much as $10,000 in retail price from 2001.
The big technology hit of the show was XM Satellite. 2001 was supposed to be their coming-out party but technological failures prevented that. In 2002, XM was the buzz of the show. I haven’t met one AV enthusiast who will go to the mat defending traditional broadcast radio because of its weak-sauce programming, 16 minutes per hour of commercials and horrific audio quality. XM overcomes many of these objections. The satellite feed sounded indistinguishable from a CD in the changer and, with over 100 channels of programming, you would be hard-pressed as a music enthusiast to fail to find something cool to jam to that suits your particular tastes. For example, the rock grouping of stations has 10 uniquely programmed stations ranging from metal to hippie to alternative.
I spent more than 30 minutes listening to XM and never once heard a commercial. I am sure they are coming at some point, but the $9.95 per month is paying to keep the satellite free of promotions for now. Directly after the show, XM announced that GM will be making XM systems available in 23 models in the 2003 lineup. The XM fees can be added to the lease or purchase payment through GMAC. For those of us not ready to pick up an Escalade next year, both Sony and Pioneer have after market XM systems available for easy installation. Terk makes unique antenna products for XM that can be either glass-mounted or roof-mounted and painted to match your car. After-market installations including parts should cost around $500 exclusive of the XM monthly fee.
Faroudja showed a unique application, with a DVD player built directly into one of their NR series scalers and connected digitally for video. While this kind of connection isn’t commercially allowed between two components, it is possible within a single component and reduces an entire level of analog-to-digital conversion for video. The picture was clearly impressive, as it should be when priced at $10,000.
What I didn’t see at CES was SACD. Seemingly the heated audio format war has called a truce since 9-11. DVD-Audio was far more present, but many manufacturers have been holding off, waiting for a high-resolution digital connection to be ratified by the DVD Forum. That happened two weeks before CES, with a Firewire connection being crowned as the new standard for DVD-A. Now the AV industry needs to add both Firewire inputs and outputs to the DVD players and receivers, which will take six to nine months, if not longer, for the high-end guys. The good news is that non-enthusiast clients will have an easy way to connect the audio for DVD-Audio, as opposed to having to use the six analog connectors needed. Manufacturers will also be happy to gain valuable real estate on the backs of their receivers and/or AV preamps.
The AV industry as a whole is doing quite well and has its focus on selling the incredible technologies that we have developed to enthusiasts worldwide in 2002. Some of the most incredible technologies like DLP and D-ILA projectors, plasma TVs and satellite radios have become consumer realities and are actually affordable enough that we can actually own them today. I recommend that you make a trip out to your local dealer to see what’s new. You’ll be amazed not just by the technologies, but also by the lower prices.
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With CEDIA 2001 ending 36 hours before the events of September 11, this year’s Consumer Electronics Show took on new significance. Despite the long-term boom in AV technology, nearly all audio-video companies took a significant financial hit in September and October 2001. The majority of companies have bounced back with stronger sales late in the fourth quarter 2001, so there was an air of optimism at CES (Jan 8-11, 2002). Attendance was way down from 2001’s record levels and the brand new South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center added an awkward feel to the show (mostly because of the ugly purple ceiling and obnoxious red carpets). Nevertheless, the people who did attend the show were there to do serious business.
Unlike past CES events, the 2002 show was not one of "vapor ware" or incredible technologies that will change the world five to 10 years down the road. This CES had much more real-world advances in important AV technologies. Entry level, non-HDTV DLP projectors are now being sold for $2,000. Texas Instruments also showed DLP big-screen TVs at 47 inches diagonal that are physically quite slim but not quite as heroin chic as plasmas. The most important part was that the prices were around $5,000 – about half the cost of an HDTV plasma of a comparable size. Plasmas were less expensive, especially the larger monitors. If you want a giant 61-inch set, you are still going to pay the big bucks but 50-inch HD plasmas are down as much as $10,000 in retail price from 2001.
The big technology hit of the show was XM Satellite. 2001 was supposed to be their coming-out party but technological failures prevented that. In 2002, XM was the buzz of the show. I haven’t met one AV enthusiast who will go to the mat defending traditional broadcast radio because of its weak-sauce programming, 16 minutes per hour of commercials and horrific audio quality. XM overcomes many of these objections. The satellite feed sounded indistinguishable from a CD in the changer and, with over 100 channels of programming, you would be hard-pressed as a music enthusiast to fail to find something cool to jam to that suits your particular tastes. For example, the rock grouping of stations has 10 uniquely programmed stations ranging from metal to hippie to alternative.
I spent more than 30 minutes listening to XM and never once heard a commercial. I am sure they are coming at some point, but the $9.95 per month is paying to keep the satellite free of promotions for now. Directly after the show, XM announced that GM will be making XM systems available in 23 models in the 2003 lineup. The XM fees can be added to the lease or purchase payment through GMAC. For those of us not ready to pick up an Escalade next year, both Sony and Pioneer have after market XM systems available for easy installation. Terk makes unique antenna products for XM that can be either glass-mounted or roof-mounted and painted to match your car. After-market installations including parts should cost around $500 exclusive of the XM monthly fee.
