CES 2009

Definitive Technology expands on their offerings of SoundBar solutions. The
new Solo Surround Array Series consists of two models, the SSA-42 and SSA-50. The numbers say it all because they are designed to fit neatly under a 42" or 50" flat panel TV. Unlike their highly regarded Mythos SoundBars that contained left, center, right speakers in a single enclosure, these new models provide five descrete channels, eliminating the need for additional surrounds. Moreover, the SSA-42 and SSA-50 are attractively priced at $799 and $1099, respectively.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the number of techy terms that go into the latest speaker systems and A/V receivers. But Onkyo takes the guesswork out of choosing a quality HD-capable system with its HT-S9100THX HTIB ($1,099). The model features a tonally matched 7.1 speaker system and an A/V receiver with 130 watts per channel. Onkyo’s quality A/V receiver boasts THX’s Integrated System Plus certification and claims to be compatible with just about any component you can connect it to. It features four HDMI v1.3a inputs and a number of legacy connectivity options. The HT-S9100THX also has Faroudja DCDi video upscaling along with Audyssey 2EQ and Dynamic EQ, and it provides decoding for the latest audio codecs.

Thiel's Dawn Cloyd shows off the back panel of one of the powered, wireless Thiel SCS4D speakers that will be the backbone of the THIELnet system.

We’re hearing it again and again from many TV manufacturers. TVs are becoming the center of our home entertainment beyond broadcast TV, cable or satellite. Networked TVs that can download content from the internet and can show photos, play videos and music from the computers on your home network. All of the TV manufacturers from LG, to Toshiba, Sharp, Panasonic, Sony and Samsung were announcing their partnerships with different content providers. Yahoo widgets were omnipresent. These mini applications—widgets—let you get local weather, news, sports, stock tickers and more. As widgets you can choose the type of stocks you want to follow or put in other customizable information. Yahoo widgets are open source which means that software developers can let their imaginations run wild and we’ll all benefit from what they dream up.

Here's our own Fred Manteghian blogging away in the press room. I was wondering how he was getting some of his entries up so fast until I discovered he uses his Blackberry to get online while he's still on the show floor. Way to go Fred, use that technology !

From left to right: Luke "I am your father" Jervis, Amber Bell, Scott Wilkinson, Rosemarie Torcivia, Jon Iverson, Shane Buettner, Fred Manteghian, Jon Banner, Angela Speziale and Wes Phillips.

The use of music servers rather than CD/DVD transports was a common occurrence among high-end manufacturers at the Venetian exhibits. By using servers, they can store high resolution, loss-less files that are far superior to standard CDs, which are limited to 16bits.