Back in the day, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was the 2nd biggest show in Las Vegas. But we professional video gadget freaks always assumed they got a leg up (so to speak) by holding their show at the same time as the Adult Video convention.
In the 1990s, I always attended the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention in Las Vegas. Back then it was Sin City’s biggest show of the year, where TV and video production people (like me) went to look at the newest cameras and special effects gear. The CES was just NAB’s annoying little brother – but times have changed!
The CES is now the biggest show of the year. This year 3,500 vendors exhibited their wares to 150,000 attendees. We talked last time about the many smartphone-related advancements on display, but there’s more to discuss!
Such as…
Wrist devices that stream content from your smartphone. They tell you when you have an important call, email or text message. Also streams weather, sports scores, stock tickers, and on and on. And the wrist devices are all digital, so you can create your own custom watch face, just like you would make a wallpaper for your PC.
Gesture controls. Sort of a remote without the remote, these allow you to control your TV, etc., with a series of hand gestures. A 3-D camera captures and interprets your hand signals. They think this is going to have a host of uses in the future. Hyndai’s even putting it in cars so you can control various functions like the radio.
Even bigger and sharper digital TVs’. Forget HD- the new buzzword is 4K. Also known as Ultra HD, it supposedly has a picture 4 times sharper than “regular” HD.
Even more intelligent bio-tracking devices. Miles walked, calories burned, all fed into your smartphone, where a fitness app tells you to pick up the pace, fatty! Related: a Smart Fork that vibrates when you are eating too fast!
3D printers. We have a long way to go before Captain Picard can tell the wall to give him “Tea. Earl Gray. Hot” and it simply appears. But it’s pretty cool to watch a printer make an actual 3D object out of plastic. Heck, one guy built a working gun, which is pretty cool and very disturbing.
Here are some links if you want to read further! And have a great weekend!
(photo: getty-ces-image.jpg)
I live in Las Vegas, been here for 10 years now, and I still can’t get into that show!!! I’d love to check the next CES out. Please let me know if you have any ideas on how to get a few extra passes!!! There were plenty on Craigslist and most were asking $50-$100 a piece. The thing is I’d only be going one day, not all 4, so i didn’t want to spend. $150- $300 for 3 of us just for a day. I’m hoping next year I have better luck
wish I could help, chris. they are NOT cheap! I remember NAB tix were $500, and that was 10 years ago!