Smart TV & Sound CES 2002 Wrap-Up

by Alan Sheckter, SmartTV & Sound news editor

The Associated Press called the 2002 International Consumer Electronics Show a “cornucopia of gadgetry,” the Sacramento Bee dubbed it “a glitzy gizmo fest” and the USA Today said “Christmas stretched into January for true gadget lovers.”

Whatever the moniker, more than 100,000 people, including a large segment of the Smart TV & Sound staff, took part in the annual electronics pilgrimage to Las Vegas, Nev.
The most extravagant exhibits were full of dancers, entertainment personalities and even a team of synchronized swimmers who dazzled the crowd in a giant water tank. While Smart TV & Sound editors ogled the endless aisles of high-tech gear with the rest of the attendees, we brushed aside the grandiose glitter to get to the heart of the matter — new “smart” video and audio products. New products abounded at CES. And forward-looking companies showed off prototypes of what’s to come.

Of the 15,000 products shown at CES, the Moxi Media Center, not yet available to the public, evidently captivated a lot of people. It won the CES “Best of Show” award as well as the “Best of Category” award for Home Video. Steve Perlman, co-founder of WebTV demonstrated Moxi Digital’s new home media center. The five-in-one wizard offers a digital cable or satellite receiver, digital music jukebox, personal video recorder with 80GB hard drive, DVD player and cable/DSL modem and Internet tool. And it is designed to share that Internet connection with TVs and computers around the home. Price points and street availability dates for the Moxi Media Center have not yet been set.

Aside from winning awards, Moxi also announced that it would put its software platform into advanced EchoStar satellite television receivers.

Samsung also showed off its new entertainment hub at CES. The Home Media Center, Samsung said, was designed to allow consumers, via a remote control, to operate a variety of home electronics devices from anywhere in the room and enjoy a variety of digital media content on multiple video display types. The Media Center was designed for users to watch any digital format, including live television, an electronic program guide, DVDP and PVR. Consumers will also be able to choose and play music in CD, Windows Media Audio and MP3 formats, Samsung said.

Also at CES, Motorola touted its DCP501, which it said combines a digital cable set-top box receiver, a CD/DVD player and AM/FM stereo receiver. Pioneer showed its Digital Entertainment Server home entertainment system.

Stand-alone DVD recorders for the living room made a big splash at CES, with Pioneer, Philips and Panasonic showing off new models. Signs point to these player/recorders replacing VCRs in many homes.

Interactive TV companies TiVo, DirecTV, DISH Network all announced advancements, some in terms of new service technologies and some in terms of storage capability.

DirecTV announced that it will bring local broadcasting in 10 new markets in 2002, bringing it to 51 total markets by year’s end. The company also announced the NBC Virtual Channel, a DirecTV–subscriber-only interactive channel.

RealNetworks’ RealOne Player (which combines the company’s RealPlayer and RealJukebox products) is slated for widespread use, judging by the announcement the company made at CES. Real announced alliances with TiVo and Moxi Digital, to integrate the RealOne Player into their set-top box platforms. TiVo will also begin to offer the RealOne subscription to its subscribers, which will combine the RealOne Player with a media browser, allowing fee-based entertainment, news and sports content. In addition, Hitachi, NEC, Philips Semiconductor and STMicroelectronics will optimize set-top boxes, DVD players and portable media devices for RealAudio and RealVideo playback formats.

Competing satellite radio services, Sirius and XM, both had large presences at CES. XM got a head start, launching last September, while Sirius anticipates a Feb. 14, 2002 blast-off. XM recently reported that it garnered 30,000 subscribers in its first eight weeks. Both companies, however, are spending millions, banking on the fact, just like cable versus free TV, that consumers will pay ($9.99/month for XM, $12.95/month for Sirius) for superior reception and more (100 channels) choices.

Auto and electronics manufacturers are on the satellite radio bandwagon. Several companies, including Kenwood, Sony, Panasonic, Alpine and Clarion have agreed to manufacture specially designed (and required) digital audio (AM/FM/Satellite) receivers for one or both of the satellite services. And car manufacturers, including General Motors, have stepped to the plate and said that they would offer satellite audio receivers with new autos, beginning in 2003.

Both satellite services tapped stars of the entertainment world to perform live from CES. Sirius performers included Blues Traveler, Sheila E. and Eddie Money, while XM offered such stars as Lauren Hill, k.d. Lang and Yes.