CES 2005 Unveiled Part 1
by Ian Bell
More Head Turners
Outside of the three major trends we saw at this years show, we saw several products which deserve a mention. With Comdex out of the picture, several PC component manufacturers took up camp at this year's CES show.
ATI's new TV Wonder elite may not sound so special on paper, but after a special presentation, we were very impressed by what we saw. Featuring multiple digital comb filters, the TV Wonder Elite was able to take a regular analog cable broadcast and make the text and image being shown a lot sharper and clearer. This will be one hot product when it's released.
Pioneer had a prototype unit hanging on the wall of their booth. With this television/media server you can stream audio and video content directly to your television. The GUI interface was very simple to use. There is no word yet on product availability and price, or even how it interfaces with your computer. It's nice to see Pioneer acknowledge the connected home.
Recently added to Wired Magazines Vaporware list, The Phantom Gaming System was on display at the NVIDIA booth. We have to admit that the unit is very attractive to look at, albeit a bit larger than we would prefer. The unique thing about this gaming console is that you download games to the unit using your broadband connection. There is no CD or DVD drive to be found. If the company never makes it to market, we are positive that they could sell the mouse/keyboard controller to the home theater PC market and still make some money.
That wraps up part one of our CES 2005 coverage. We will have Dennis Barker's show write-up covering more home audio and video products later on in the week.
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