VEGAS: More than 20,000 new products will be on display at the Consumer Electronics Show, opening Thursday in Las Vegas. A substantial chunk of them will feature 3D capability, the latest feature to take the video industry by storm. The trade show opens in the wake of James Cameron’s “Avatar,” a 3D tour de force that’s so far broken the $1 billion mark at the box office.
Among the 3D product line-up, AMD of Sunnyvale, Calif., will demonstrate a 3D Blu-ray standard. DirecTV will announce the launch of its forthcoming 3D HDTV channel, slated for later this year. Discovery, in partnership with Sony and IMAX, previously announced a 3D channel, expected sometime in 2011. ESPN announced its 3DTV network in the days leading up to CES. ESPN 3D will go live June 11 for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
A plethora of HD 3D TVs will be on display, including the new Vizio line, and models from Sony and Panasonic. Even 3D audio technologies will be hand.
The MPEG Industry Forum’s recently formed 3DTV Working Group will meet for the first time at CES on Saturday, Jan. 9. The group intends to coordinate 3D standards activities between mastering and display technologies.
The exhibits at this year’s CES will be consolidated in and around the Las Vegas Convention Center, rather than spilling over into the Sands Convention Center as they’ve traditionally done. The Consumer Electronics Association wants to provide a quality experience, according to trade group chief Gary Shapiro.
Various areas of the exhibit floor will be dedicated to specific technologies, like an iLounge for Apple gizmos, one focused on digital homes, another on green technologies and one focused on gaming hardware and software. The CEA is expecting around 2,500 exhibitors for the 2010 show, which officially opens Thursday. More than 330 of those are new to the event. CES expects attendance of around 110,000 compared to last year’s 113,000.
