International CES - Day 3
January 10, 2002
(continued)
 Toshiba displayed a hint of the future of DVD with its blue-laser recording technology. |
Toshiba fights ennui with what it claims are the first "Tri-Mode" TV/DVD/VCR combos, the MW20FM1 with a 20-inch screen, and the MW24FM1 with 24-inch screen. Both incorporate hi-fi VCRs.
A Clearer Picture
Fujitsu seems to think its 61-inch PDS-6101 widescreeen plasma display triumphed
in the plasma screen-size derby, but it was matched by Marantz and trumped by
Samsung, which showed a 63-inch model, the HPL6315. While Fujitsu announced
a $25,000 price for its display, Samsung will announce the price for its plasma
later in the year. Samsung also displayed a 42-inch LCD model, but company representatives
were unclear whether this was conventional LCD, which would make it the largest
conventional LCD screen at CES, or if it was a Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCoS),
a technology shown by several manufacturers, including Toshiba, in large screen
sizes.
Digital Radio's Forgotten Cousin
In the automotive sound exhibit hall, the two competing satellite systems, XM
and Sirius battled with back-to-back booths. Show-goers mobbed both. Little
noticed across the aisle was the iBiquity display promoting terrestrial digital
radio, the supposed successor to AM and FM. Perhaps this prophesizes the future
of radio. Similarly, most car stereo manufacturers crowed about including either
XM, Sirius, or both in new models. None even mentioned future terrestrial digital
broadcasts.
This was the first CES in recent memory housed under a single roof. Formerly
the show sprawled over multiple convention centers in Las Vegas, as well as
makeshift temporary buildings and even tents. The Las Vegas Convention Center,
and adjacent display space in the Las Vegas Hilton stretch close to three city
blocks, but even so it was the most convenient and compact CES in at least a
decade.
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