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THE 1999 CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW |
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THE 1999 CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW |
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The world's largest showcase of consumer technology, the 1999 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) reflected the growth and technological innovation of an industry in the midst of a digital revolution. The momentous launch of digital TV, the growth of the convergence market, emergence of home networks, and exponential proliferation of new digital technologies such as DVD were among the highlights of CES; now in its 32nd year. Several products on display are capable of integrating digital television (DTV) broadcasts with Internet content. The year 1999 will see 900MHz cordless telephones squeeze out most 25-channel suppliers; caller ID will become a standard feature, headsets will arrive in a big way, and the multi-line business will continue to grow, fueled by the consumer rush to the Internet. Exhibitors described CES as "fantastic" and "fabulous", an indispensable part of their marketing efforts, offering tremendous exposure to their current and potential customers. "I have been able to meet with every one of our major accounts," said John McDonald President of Casio Inc. Gary Shapiro, President of the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association (CEMA) and CES producer said: "CES continues to be the place where everyone in the business of technology can get the information and build the relationships they need to succeed." The growth of industry was reflected in record attendance with more than 1,800 exhibiting companies, showcasing technologies in a record setting 1,090,000 square feet of space. Final attendance numbers increased significantly at 97,334 up 6.5% over last year. Darrell Issa, CEMA Chairman, said the industry anticipates a record year with projected overall 1999 factory sales reaching a new record of $79 billion. (1998 sales reached an estimated $75 billion.) Keynoter Howard Stringer, CEO Sony Corp., highlighted open architecture, flexibility, and universal standards as crucial. "Digital devices in the home must be supremely easy to use, and consumer electronics companies, retailers and others must achieve an unprecedented level of cooperation in creating this new environment and bringing it to the consumer." He called upon attendees to change the way we do business, embrace open standards such as the open architecture developed by eight consumer companies -- Matsushita, Grundig, Phillips, Hitachi, Sharp, Thomson, Toshiba and Sony -- called HAVi. This architecture will allow consumer electronics, PCs/other devices in the home to be interconnected and inter-operable. He emphasized adoption of IEEE 1394, or iLINK, the high-speed digital interface cable to link a multitude of devices in a home network. NetZero is providing free Internet access and electronic mail, while offering advertisers highly sophisticated targeting capabilities. It's free, so call now. Using the accepted model of commercially supported network TV & radio, NetZero's revenue is generated entirely through advertising. NetZero is redefining Internet advertising with their patent-pending zCast TM software, which provides an unprecedented level of subscriber profiling/ad targeting. Presenting a Universal Plug and Play initiative, Microsoft's senior VP of consumer strategy, Craig Mundie, outlined his vision of the digital home of the future, where portable hand-held devices, electronic tablets, home PCs, TVs and Auto PCs were able to share information, resources and services without manual configuration. Telephone Market The combined household penetration of wireless devices, phones & pagers, increased in 1998. Phonex launched its unique "Easy Hang Up" accessory, which politely and easily terminates unwanted phone calls. Simply push a button and replace the receiver. The caller will hear: "Sorry, this number does not accept this type of call"! The Phonex Wireless Modem jack turns any electrical outlet into a phone jack. Cobra offered free headsets with its 900MHz cordless phones. Kash 'N Gold's novelty phones include a Michael Jordan limited edition signature model. Panasonic announced five new 900MHz cordless models; Sony introduced a digital standalone answering machine; and Thomson offered a 25-channel line for 1999. In its GE line, Thomson showed a 900MHz cordless handset/headset model. Uniden displayed a new 2.4GHz, and is also offering a broad selection of digital spread spectrum 900MHz. CSI/SPECO displayed its convenient 2.4GHz Wireless Camera System, ideal for any residential home security application. HDTV (High Definition Television) & DTV This new digital form of television will accelerate throughout 1999. Digital TV is a broad umbrella term and HDTV is a sub-part of the overall. As defined by CEMA, HDTV has exclusive wide-angle sets with the 16:9 aspect ratio. Sony introduced a fully integrated HDTV rear-projection sets and unveiled the D8 system that allows DV recordings on conventional 8mm tape. Toshiba introduced several HDTV-ready widescreen rear-projection sets and a DTV set-top decoder. They also unveiled their next-generation DVD Video player line with two twin-tray DVD; one of which will offer progressive-scan output to connect with many DTV-ready television sets. Audible displayed a MobilePlayer II Web Recorder, which plays digitized spoken audio downloaded from the Internet. It has 16 MB of Flash memory, and can play back through headphones, transmit to FM radio, or plug into a cassette deck. CEMA research predicts Digital Television (DTV) sales of 150,000 units by the end of 1999, and another 600,000 units in 2000. Faroudja showed its RP-5800 DTV-ready rear projection set capable of presenting 720p and 1080I formats. Hitachi showcased their 1999 DTV product line featuring the long-awaited 61W" fully integrated rear-projection set. Philips rolled out model 64PP9901, a 64" fully integrated widescreen HDTV rear projection receiver with 9" CRTs for picture clarity. Panasonic marketed a two-piece HDTV-ready set and DTV set-top |
decoder component solution. Pioneer featured a two-piece 64W" rear-projection set, and plug-in set-top receiver module SHD-07. Runco offered a range of nine HDTV-ready display products and a new three-chip
DLP-front projector. Samsung claimed its Tantus Digital HDH551W 55" widescreen rear projection set was the first to hit select retail outlets. The next two Tantus Digital models will incorporate a trio of newly developed Fero LCD
(FLCD) panels. This new technology developed by Denver-based Display Technology, produces 18% more reflected light than conventional TFT LCD designs. Sharp presented three HDTV products along with TU-DTV1000 and 64LHP5000 64W" fully integrated rear projection sets, and a new HDTV-ready 64W" widescreen projection that will connect with Sharp's set top DTV tuner. Sanyo presented "product concepts", its DTV set-top-box capable of receiving all 18 formats and outputting 1080I HDTV format. Sony expanded its digital TV lineup with a fully integrated rear-projection HDTV receiver, Model KWP-65HD1 with 65"
widescreen. Thomson demonstrated RCA and ProScan direct-view multi-media monitors with 480p capability, and its first HDTV-capable direct-view sets, including the ProScan 61" fully integrated HDTV rear projection set. |
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