Yes, another TV, and yes, this time for the TV. Pioneer smartly went the reverse of their peers and went beautiful instead of big with almost all their product lines, but most significantly in the TV realm. CES is one million square feet of exaggerated, overblown, overly lit exhibit space that not only overwhelms but blinds you after a while. For a TV monitor to make you stop and admire the picture in the midst of such confusion is a major tribute the superiority of this product.
Pioneer’s high end ELITE brand debuted its experimental KURO project, a set of high performance TV monitors that produce “absolute black” contrast ratios. So black, in fact, that pictures taken of iit live at CES come out too dark to register. Colors pop so intensely that they nearly mimic 3D.
Proof positive that men run the electronics industry. Sharp launched its massive 108″ LCD monitor, but it’s relatively thin. Panasonic came up short with a 103″ plasma, but it’s thicker and works it (you know, the picture) better. Clearly overcompensating for its shortcomings, Panasonic whipped out this 150″ monster.
Norcent, better known for its specialization in web-connected digital frames takes on the the big boys with a super sharp 42″ LCD monitor. Still a tad thick compared to others, but quality imaging and contrast.
Aside from the ability to watch Thelma on Good Times in lifesize, there are other practical applications of 108″ of TV screen: The Aquos Wall. With the Wall technology, Sharp comes up with about the closest thing to actual interactive television, by turning the screen into a widget-based interface, similar to the dashboard on a Mac. In this formation, the TV monitor function shrinks to 52″ while web-connected screen widgets pull down news, weather, calendars, photos, maps and other useful content from the web.
*A clear Contender for My Coolest Things at CES
From Sharp, the largest LCD TV ever - 108 inches of entertainment power. The whole thing measures 52.9-inches high by 93.9-inches wide.
It may or may not ever be able, but in producing it, Sharp puts a cap on the argument for plasma over LCD because of LCD’s size limitations. Another nail in the plasma coffin.
The folks at Sanyo have visions of outdoor environments and beachhouses dancing in their heads. They’ve introduced a completely waterproof LCD TV monitor designed for outdoor living rooms, and the waterproof XACTI camcorder, a gun-style video camera for boating, snorkeling and pool-bottom filming.
A lovely bunch of flowers. Well, yes, but this a picture of the screen of a new Sharp high contrast HD LCD TV prototype with the most incredible color of anything in the show. A crowd of admirers stand in front of it every few minutes and just murmur to themselves “Omigod, Omigod.” Sharp is known for its deep blacks, but this is in abyss deep - a jaw-dropping 100,000:1 contrast ratio. For comparison, that flat screen in your basement is - if you’re real lucky - no more than 30,000 to 1, more likely 5000:1.
It’s all about the design. From LG, a 60″ widescreen LCD with a bottom panel that masks a subwoofer and two virtual surround speakers without the use of a speaker grill.
LG, the electronics company that’s been popping out of nowhere to get serious attention in the affordable high end market has teamed up with audio design guru Mark Levinson on a series of all-in-one home theater systems that your normal HTIB (home theater in a box) can’t hold a candle to. The focus here is not only on sound but (as is this year’s trend), a real look toward integrating home theater design into the current state of home decor - i.e. - chick friendly so guys can spend the milk money without sleeping on the couch.
