Sorry for my absence, but I was out of town for nine days and I’m still catching up. Here are some thoughts on the CES conference.
If you know anything about hi-def TV, you’ve heard of the formats 720p and 1080i. The grotesque simplification is that the two formats are trading off number of lines of resolution versus how the picture is refreshed (progressive or interlaced). The hot new thing at the show was 1080p/60, which theoretically represents the highest possible (so far) resolution (read more in this column by Leslie Ellis). Honestly, I couldn’t see the difference. I have found that hi-def depends on so many factors: the TV set, whether it’s been adjusted properly, the source of your hi-def signal, the type of programming, and so on. So, digital TV generally looks better than analog, but I have trouble telling much of a difference between different formats.
Research has steadily shown that most HD sets out there aren’t connected up to any source of hi-def content. Mostly people are using them to enjoy movies on DVD, which are not currently in high definition, but rather in 480i. Also very highly visible at CES were the two competing HD formats: HD-DVD and Blu-ray. Given that most theatrical movies are shot on film and then converted, I don’t see much of a difference. At one booth, they were showing technology that does an up-conversion to 1080p. On one screen they split the picture to show the original 480i on one half and the up-converted 1080p on the other. It works, in the sense that it renders the picture, but it didn’t look any different to my eyes. But what do I know?
There was a consumer DV cam that shot in HD, probably retail price of $1,500. Therefore, HD may become an affordable consumer format pretty soon. This only means that your poorly-shot home movies will look even worse. Lighting lessons, people!
I’m not sure all of this adds up to much. My quip on the new HD formats for DVD was, “Boy, that’s really going to help Borat!” In the end, it’s always going to be the content, not the technology, that people respond to.
Any way, probably the coolest thing I saw was the Crosley Songwriter CD Burner. Pop your vinyl record on the three-speed turntable and it converts it to CD. It handles 78 RPM and cassettes. Doesn’t seem to do sound clean-up, but it still automates the process a great deal. Once the CD is burned, you could rip the files and do your own scrubbing and editing.
More to come — highlights from the automotive section!
Tags: CES, HDTV, HD-DVD, Blu-ray, Crosley Songwriter CD Burner