Its ALMOST The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!
Yes it is almost the most wonderful time of the year. And no I am not talking about Christmas; if you’re an electronics geek like me the most wonderful time of the year is the start of the Consumer Electronics Show.
The 2008 Consumer Electronics Show opens up on January 7th in Las Vegas. Thousands of reporters will be there to report on all the new products and technologies introduced at the show. I personally have been covering the CES show for about 5 years now and it is still just as an exciting show for me now as it was the first time. For some reason to me its exciting to see new products and technologies before anyone else in the world, but that may be just me, I admit it… I am a geek.
While many go to CES to see the latest in Plasma and LCD TV’s I go there to see what’s new in the world of Satellite Television. I enjoy getting one to one face time with the guys who make the industry tick. Over the past 5 years I have not only been able to meet these folks but build up friendships with some of these folks. To see some of them again face to face is starting to feel like a family reunion to me.
As far as new equipment and offerings I am not really expecting much from Dish Network or DirecTV, sure they may have a newer model receiver and some new HD channel announcements, but from where I sit both companies equipment is just about perfect now they both offer you all the current technologies and features you could want. And while I am looking forward to more HD programming any HD announcements are not going to surprise me or even make me happy. (Because with HD content you can never have enough, no matter how many HD channels they announce I know HD fans will still cry for more)
What I am most looking forward to at this years CES is being able to attend the launch of a new satellite service This new service is called XStreamHD. This service is not a DBS service (it does not carry any channels such as ESPN or HBO) instead it uses medium powered KU satellites to transmit full 1080p HD movies to a set top box in the consumer’s home. Many HD fans have been sitting on the sidelines about getting an in home HD movie player as they watch HD-DVD and Bluray duke it out in the great HD format war, however with XstreamHD for many the format war could be a thing of the past.
So while many folks around the world will be going to bed this week with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads, I will be going to bed dreaming about CES. (Man I truly am a geek!)
Merry Christmas Everyone!