This is the week. Throngs of unsuspecting innocents are expected to descend on the Las Vegas Convention Center. (That's in Nevada, not Las Vegas, NM. Yes, there is such a place, but they don't hold conventions (there aren't enough rooms at the Motel 6).
<B>Intel Leaps Ahead To Convergence</B>
<BR>
In what is sure to be a preview of CES 2006, word is out that Intel is going to be re-branding itself with a new product line focused on the nascent digital home entertainment market. Rather than staking its name awareness with consumers on its chips and microprocessors, Intel's new marketing campaigns will be focused instead on the digital lifestyles that the company's new product lines will enable.
The <I>UltimateAV</I> editors are getting ready for CES 2006 and will be reporting live from the show starting Wednesday, January 4. Join us for reports and photos.
Denon's flagship AV receivers have long been rated among the best, if not <I>the</I> best that money can buy. They've also been loaded with features, sometimes to the point where using them for anything but normal operations is a real challenge for the average user. The company's latest top-of-the-heap effort, the $6000 AVR-5805, is both of these things, and much more.
Check out the latest news and hottest products, direct from the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show. CES is North America's biggest and brightest electronics trade exhibition - the place where audio and video manufacturers from around the world gather to demonstrate the exciting products they will be bringing to market in the new year.
This month, Denon's no-holds-barred DVD-5910 replaces the DVD-3910 as our pick for the ultimate DVD player (at least till introduction of an HD disc format). We've also listed a trio of XM2go portables from Pioneer, Tao, and Delphi as well as the new Xbox 360 game console. As for deletions: Pioneer and Denon have replaced their PDP-4350HD plasma and AVR-3805 receiver, respectively.
Pioneer says they'll begin shipping one of the industry's first Blu-ray disc computer drives during the first quarter of 2006. The new Pioneer BDR-101A will be able to store up to 25 GB of data on a single-layer Blu-ray disc.
<B>LG Electronics Introduces Two Big LCoS RPTVs For 2006</B>
<BR>
LG Electronics' 2006 lineup of RPTVs will feature two large screen microdisplays powered by LCoS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) imaging panels from SpatiaLight that feature full 1920x1080 resolution. Counting pixel for pixel, a 1920x1080 display contains over two million pixels- twice as many pixels as the 900,000 and change a 720p display puts up on screen.
Venice: La Serenissima, and serene it is. Gondolas ply the blue-green waters of the canals while thundering water-buses hop round the exterior
of the islands in a blue-grey lagoon kissed by Adriatic sea air. Tourists cheerfully lose themselves in a maze of quiet pollution-free streets.
Unleashed dogs walk themselves, tails wagging. Workers patiently replace wooden piles under sinking buildings while old folks haul lightweight
shopping carts over pedestrian bridges. People are gentle and tolerant in this 1250-year-old former nation-state, and that's a good
thing—because there you are, in a supermarket, aiming your digital camera at home theater gear. I could have killed you.
