Official CES 2008 Thread Of OMG 1.5" LCDs PLZ!!

The Consumer Electronics Show 2008 has been underway starting today, and runs through the early portion of the week. Already, we have seen some crazy announcements, like such as Warner supporting Blu-Ray, 1.5" screens, LCDs with 27,000:1 Contrast Ratios, both of the later for the CONSUMER market, and a 500GB laptop harddrive.

And the news keeps on coming! Here are some great stories that I've found so far. The rest can all be found at Engadget.
And Cnet.com

Stories of note:
-PSP Slim gets SKYPE
PS3 to possibly get Tivo in US!

Sunday, January 6, 2008
Tivo and SONY to combine efforts


Well, my first 'bit' of 'news' is something I picked up from a Tivo insider at the CES today.

Seems SONY and Tivo have extended their licencing agreement (see TivoToGo for PSP) with specific use in the PS3 gaming console.

An announcement is not forthcoming until E3 2008 but from what I heard SONY and Tivo will co-brand an add-on unit for approximately $100 that will bring Tivo functionality (DVR functionality) to your PS3. (The included photo is NOT a mock up of the Tivo add-on, there was nothing for me to see, but is the PlayTV add-on coming to the UK/EU later this year) If sales go well, a future revision of the PS3 platform may build this functionality into the console itself and allow Tivo to broaden its user base in the US and Canada. This is an exciting development for PS3 and SONY's attempts to claim your living room.

Target goes Blu-Ray exclusive!

Some rumors that just won't die eventually end up being true, and the latest to reappear is the Target is going Blu-ray exclusive one. Today at Philips' press event during CES, while Stewart Muller was introducing its new Blu-ray player he also mentioned that Target was going Blu-ray exclusive. Of course what his definition of exclusive means might be his alone, but unless Target pulls all the HD DVD movies off their shelves entirely, we're not sure we agree.

Networking, wireless and wired, seems to be a big deal this year at CES. Here's what Samsung has to offer:

If you've got a thing for cutting-edge LCD HDTVs, you've come to the right place. Starting with the big boy, we've got the 65-inch LN52A750 (also available in 40-, 46- and 52-inches), which sports a 1080p resolution with 120Hz Auto Motion Plus technology. Additionally, you'll find an Ethernet connection for accessing customizable RSS feeds, 1GB of internal flash memory that "includes interactive content such as cooking recipes, children's entertainment, HD artwork and more," a four-millisecond response time, four HDMI 1.3 sockets with CEC and a USB 2.0 port for connecting PMPs and the like. Also on the way is a slightly downgraded 6 series sans flash memory and side mounted USB port, due in March in the same sizes.

Sharp's new 1.5" LCD!


Toshiba is putting the CELL processor in their TVs and next generation notebooks.

Kuro from Pioneer: OMG. Click this link.

Microsoft's press conference starts in a few hours, 6:30 Las Vegas time, and can be streamed here. They're expected to make all kinds of crazy announcements, including game related. Xbox 360 Ultimate anyone? Two hours left!

108" LCD anyone?


Sony's Conference is up in 30 minutes!

500GB 2.5" HDD coming from Samsung!

Hitachi had to hack it to produce a 500GB 2.5-inch laptop drive, adding another platter (and a few millimeters thickness) that make their new 5K500 impossible to install in most standard laptops and enclosures -- but not Samsung. The Spinpoint M6 500GB drive brings a half terabyte at the standard 9.5mm height, and should land some time in March, meaning your current laptop -- and not just those new Asus machines -- should be able to accommodate one or two of these massive mothers.

In other news, Microsoft and Toshiba has had to cancel all kinds of meetings and other gatherings with vendors and other companies because of HD-DVD. With the cancellation of the HD-DVD keynote completely, and Target pulling support after the Warner move, the HD-DVD format seems to be done.

Picture of Microsoft keynote setup:


Live Blog of Sony keynote!

Crazy stuff going on! Post any interesting finds!

1.5"? Wow. Thin.

108" in LCD? Theres a 205" inch from Luxio.

http://www.ministryoftech.com/wp-con...-inch-hdtv.jpg

Originally Posted by ZeldaMaster#1#1

1.5"? Wow. Thin.

108" in LCD? Theres a 205" inch from Luxio.

http://www.ministryoftech.com/wp-con...-inch-hdtv.jpg

1.5" is BIG. (I fell victim to the hype. My bad.)

You obviously didn't check out the 9mm thick plasma.

Out of Sony's press conference, the biggest thing had to be the OLEDs. This year, they'll start to actually sell the 11" model at their Sony Style stores. It's got a 30,000 hour life span, which is about half of current LCDs, but a HUGE improvement from last year (as is even putting one on the market), and a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, compared to the newest LCDs and Plasmas that are being revealed at CES right now with a 30,000:1 contrast ratio. And as you can tell, it's thin as heck. Of course, it only costs $2,500. I don't think anyone would buy such a early product...


The biggest problem with this model obviously is the base, but that's easily manageable because it will be possible to just run a wire from the box to the screen. OLEDs are predicted to hit the market as a viable contender, at competitive pricing in 2010, just two years away.

I'm assuming this is going to be the main CES thread so here goes.

Sony Announces A200 DSLR
Sony Alpha DSLR-A200: Digital Photography Review
Sony Alpha A200 announced for US - Engadget

Originally Posted by DPReview

CES 2008: Sony has today revealed it latest Alpha digital SLR, the A200. This new entry-level digital SLR has a ten megapixel APS size CCD (note the switch back from CMOS), Super SteadyShot (sensor-shift image stabilization), three frames per second continuous shooting, Sony's Dynamic Range Optimizer (DRO) and a 2.7" 230,000 pixel LCD monitor. The A200 is set to ship in February for $700 with the 18-70 mm lens or $200 more for a dual-lens kit which adds the 75-300 mm. This model appears to be very similar to the A100 apart from higher sensitivity, faster AF, a new Fn button and other subtle control changes.

iriver announces P10 PMP and Homme DAP
misticriver.net Blog Archive iriver to Debut P10 at CES - portable.digital.lifestyle
dapreview.net: News / Comments / CES 2008: The iriver P10 - Awesomo Cool!

Originally Posted by misticriver

iriver is debuting its new P10 with a 1.3″ 33GB hard drive at CES. According to the iriver Korea site, the P10 packs a DMB receiver, bezel touch navigation system, multi-codec support (exact details unavailable), 600mhz CPU, built-in speaker, and the list goes on.

dapreview.net: Comments
iriver's "a player" redefines fashionDAP - Engadget

Originally Posted by DAPreview

The player looks unbelievably sexy, and is as sleek as any player I've seen. It may look like just another screenless DAP, but au contraire there is a display shown on one of the models, albeit a very tiny one. We don't have the full specs on this player yet, but as CES moves along we'll bring you everything you need to know.

Damn, more technology to drool at...Sadly no one can afford for another 5 years.

Although I'm happy with the way Blu-Ray is coming along, it's winning quite a few battles and is slowing coming on top. Good to see Sony is finally trying to make it affordable. Finally the $200 Sony Blu-ray drive for a PC - Engadget

I think I was on the Dell website a couple of months back, you could add a Blu-Ray Burner to a laptop of your choosing, only catch was, the burner itself was $1000.

Also impressed they're still working on the PSP, and the new memory stick size:
Sony intros 16GB Memory Stick Duo - Engadget Mobile

However $300 American is a little to hefty.

It's also good to see LCD technology coming along, I still haven't brought an LCD TV yet. By the time I probably do, it'll be when the LCD monitor is the interface to the computer, much like Star Trek you could say.

I found this interesting. This new DLP tv prototype can allow gamers to see different onscreen images for split screen multiplayer... and stuff.

Video: DLP prototype makes gamers look geekier - Engadget

Originally Posted by Neo-Link

I found this interesting. This new DLP tv prototype can allow gamers to see different onscreen images for split screen multiplayer... and stuff.

Video: DLP prototype makes gamers look geekier - Engadget

Clever idea, stupid shades you've got to wear though.

Originally Posted by V99

However $300 American is a little to hefty.

If it follows the usual pattern though, it'll drop quick.

Microsoft's conference was insane. Though I haven't really seen any great products coming out of it. I'll keep looking. I guess the coolest concepts as I understand them are using the 360 as a set top box (PS3 should do the same if that means getting rid of another box in my home theater), getting content from the major broadcasting channels like ABC for Live, and the "Live ID," where you have a Windows profile that carries over onto any computer that you go on.

I also like how Sharp is continuing to make it's gaming line for their smaller sized LCD sets. They're pretty much the only place you'll get 1080p in a 26" and 32" screen.

I also forgot to mention Surface. Surface looked really cool.

But this.

The concept of copying a lower-resolution version of a film from a packaged media disc to a portable device is not new--in fact, late last year, Fox and Warner released the first standard definition titles to offer this capability (on Live Free, Die Hard and Harry Potter: The Order of the Phoenix, respectively).

Sony today demonstrated the next level of disc copying. At the company's booth at CES, Sony demonstrated how you could put a Blu-ray Disc movie into a Playstation 3 and copy the film to a Playstation Portable or a Memory Stick. "This way, you can have a portable copy you can take with you," explains David Bishop, president of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

"There was always the promise of greater interactivity. You'll see that coming in the new year," Bishop added. In addition to the PSP copying example, Sony also demonstrated how you could download ring tones and new content to a BD Live player, using Men in Black as the example.

BD Live is proving to be a big catchphrase at the show: Panasonic announced its BD Live player yesterday, Fox showcased an early version of its Alien vs. Predator multiplayer game at the Blu-ray Disc Association's booth, and Sony showed its interactive Men in Black trivia game. The game was being played by two people in two locations on a Playstation 3.

Transfer your Blu-Ray movies to your PSP and other devices to watch anywhere you go. Does it get any more awesome than that? Profile 2.0 actually sounds like something to look forward to now.

Wow thats impressive, so I could get a 50Gb Movie onto my 2Gb PSP memory stick?

I wonder how long it takes, how much it can compress it to while still keeping good quality.
Good to see Sony trying to improve the relationship between there products. Although it's doubtful Sony will ever win me over to buy a PS3, unless I win one of course. Thats how I got my PSP D:

Originally Posted by V99

Wow thats impressive, so I could get a 50Gb Movie onto my 2Gb PSP memory stick?

I wonder how long it takes, how much it can compress it to while still keeping good quality.
Good to see Sony trying to improve the relationship between there products. Although it's doubtful Sony will ever win me over to buy a PS3, unless I win one of course. Thats how I got my PSP D:

Most likely the portable version of the movie would be on the disc, ready to be transfered to your portable device.

Originally Posted by Mr. Wonderful

1.5" is BIG. (I fell victim to the hype. My bad.)

You obviously didn't check out the 9mm thick plasma.

Out of Sony's press conference, the biggest thing had to be the OLEDs. This year, they'll start to actually sell the 11" model at their Sony Style stores. It's got a 30,000 hour life span, which is about half of current LCDs, but a HUGE improvement from last year (as is even putting one on the market), and a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, compared to the newest LCDs and Plasmas that are being revealed at CES right now with a 30,000:1 contrast ratio. And as you can tell, it's thin as heck. Of course, it only costs $2,500. I don't think anyone would buy such a early product...


The biggest problem with this model obviously is the base, but that's easily manageable because it will be possible to just run a wire from the box to the screen. OLEDs are predicted to hit the market as a viable contender, at competitive pricing in 2010, just two years away.

technically OLEDs would have an indefinite contrast ratio as they are not backlit.

and depth means nothing if image quality isn't good and lifespan is poor and price is high.

Originally Posted by nighthawkx

and depth means nothing if image quality isn't good and lifespan is poor and price is high.

True, I mean LCD technology was a huge leap over CRT. We all have room on our desks now, what's a couple of centimeters going to do?

Originally Posted by V99

True, I mean LCD technology was a huge leap over CRT. We all have room on our desks now, what's a couple of centimeters going to do?

More like:

True, I mean LCD technology is thinner than CRTs but the image quality sucks.

I love iriver's new designs. Their new phone concept that is promised to be delivered stateside looks to be great.

Always improving and expanding on ideas.

You lost me there, Mr. Wonderful.

Originally Posted by F3

You lost me there, Mr. Wonderful.

LCD technology in it current form sucks.

I've heard that in a few places recently, but I don't see it. CRTs always seemed fuzzy, flickery and distorted. LCDs have been crisp and clear. What's the deal?

Originally Posted by F3

I've heard that in a few places recently, but I don't see it. CRTs always seemed fuzzy, flickery and distorted. LCDs have been crisp and clear. What's the deal?

LCDs don't have color quality, black level, contrast, or the resolution during motion that CRTs have. Their refresh rates are also always by nature of design going to be worse than CRTs.

I'm no HDTV/LCD expert like yourself, but let's get realistic.

Originally Posted by Mr. Wonderful

LCD technology in it current form sucks.

So you would prefer having a 22 inch CRT monitor on your desk?

According to me, LCD monitors at their native resolution are very good. They're sharp, crisp and clear. There's no large amounts of radiation and they are easier on the eyes.

I'd have to say some LCD TVs I've seen in stores don't look terribly crisp and sharp, but I've always put that down to that they aren't at there native, high resolution like they're suppose to. Or they're plasmas.

LCD technology has a lot of pros:
-Compact Design
-Low Radiation
-Lower power requirements
-Without LCD tech, we wouldn't have Cellphones or PSPs
-They're easier to take to LAN Parties FFS

I mean really, with our naked human eyes do you really give a damn about color depth and refresh rates that you can't honesty tell apart?