Arnie Williams: 1080p flat panels and wireless TV
The tie goes to high-definition and wireless. Let’s start with video. If there was any doubt before CES that high-def is here to stay (and there probably wasn’t), that notion has been forever laid to rest. New 1080p flat panels at every major manufacturer booth (and many not so major) carried the day. Yes, a format war is still going on in terms of high-def DVD, but no one is touting the merits of standard DVD anymore, so the move in the high-def direction is irreversible. And wireless, which was a conceptual trend at the last CES, manifested proof-of-concept products at this CES. There were wireless plasmas on display, wireless speakers, and wireless HDMI boxes, not to mention wireless mp3 players, headphones, and the like. No longer just a concept, the wireless product flow has begun, and we’ll doubtless be talking about and evaluating some amazing wireless devices in the years ahead—starting with this year.

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Scott Wilkinson: Consolidating Blu-ray and HD DVD
Without doubt, it’s the two-pronged effort to consolidate the Blu-ray and HD DVD formats and put an end to the tragic format war. First, Warner Home Video introduced a dual-format disc called THD (Total Hi Def), which puts Blu-ray on one side and HD DVD on the other. HBO and New Line have signed on, but it’s highly unlikely that Sony Pictures and its affiliated studios will budge from their Blu-ray exclusivity. 

Even more significant is LG’s BH100 Super Multi Blue combo player that will play both formats, though its HD DVD implementation is incomplete, especially in terms of interactivity. But it’s only the first generation; subsequent products are sure to provide complete implementations of both formats. This will go a long way toward easing consumer fears that they are buying discs destined to become the Betamax of the 21st century. 

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Barry Willis: Exceptional Innovation's Control4
As at CEDIA, it was the deepening integration of all forms of home automation, as exemplified by Control4, Exceptional Innovation, and to a lesser extent by other companies. Whole-house integration is part of a bigger trend for all sorts of devices to communicate with each other, regardless of their primary function.

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Robert Harley: Digital media The writing is on the wall; the days of packaged media and physical formats will soon seem an anachronism. In its place will be highly sophisticated music servers, high-resolution downloads (Music Giants has begun offering 96kHz/24-bit downloads), and instant access to the world’s legacy of recorded music without having walls of CDs in you listening room.

Christopher Jones: WiFi
Over the last few years we have seen unprecedented development in the fields of wireless technology and portable electronics devices, and the combined impact on our ‘digital lifestyle’ will be dramatic. No longer do we have to watch TV sitting in our living rooms, because we can stream it to a remote TV, PC or other device, around the house or in an airport over WiFi. Same deal for music, which can be carried en masse on portable media players, and then docked and streamed wherever we want to hear it.

The developments in voice over IP (VOIP) give us ever more options for wireless phone services, and new ultra-mobile PCs and smartphones give us seemingly unlimited features and processing power in the palm of our hand. The bottom line with all of this new technology, and the myriad devices that employ it, is that digital media has become more pervasive than ever, and now we have the flexibility to use and enjoy it wherever we are.

Chris Martens: Wireless and HDMI
Actually, I see two trends that at once fill me with hope… and a certain measure of dread.

The first is the headlong rush toward wireless everything, and the second is the emergence of the HDMI interface standard. Interestingly, both trends entice consumers with the promise of greater convenience yet carry the very real threat of unintended consequences.  

Wireless loudspeakers, for example, promise to set us free from having to run speaker cables all over our rooms, which seems like a good idea until we consider two things. First, wireless speakers lock us into complex transmitter/receiver schemes and onboard amplifiers that may or may not sound as good as traditionally cabled speakers and amplifiers do. Second, “wireless” speakers don’t actually free us from wires because they have power cords that must be plugged into AC outlets that may not be conveniently located nearby. My question: Are we making real progress here, or just trading one set of hassles for another?  

The situation with HDMI is equally troubling. On one level, who wouldn't appreciate a seemingly simple, foolproof, single-cable solution that makes all necessary audio and video connections. On the other hand, life with HDMI has thus far revealed some significant interoperability problems, plus other issues involving jitter or the inherent fragility of HDMI connectors. Some AV component manufacturers are already warning that damage to HDMI connectors will not be covered under warranty, and I’ve noticed—as have some performance-minded manufacturers--that digital audio signals routed through HDMI often sound worse when routed via traditional coax or optical inputs. What’s up with that? My question: Is HDMI potentially a case where the cure is worse than the disease?

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Stewart Wolpin: No Competition to iPod
Other than the influence that the Apple iPhone will have on the cell phone business, the most important trend may be a negative one -- the white flag that non-Apple MP3 makers seem to be hoisting. Fewer and fewer manufacturers are making their products AAC compatible, which means they're not even attempting to tempt current iPod users to try something new. Since even Microsoft couldn't core the Apple, it now seems that everyone else is content to simply fight over the remaining non-iPod 25 percent of the market.

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Wayne Garcia: Decline of the "other" show
For the high-end in Vegas, I would say the action has drifted drastically away from CES’s only competition—T.H.E. Show—toward the more corporate but definitely where-the-action-is venue of the Venetian. Given logistics, it was hard for even those of us assigned to cover the most exotic gear to justify more than a relatively brief time at T.H.E. Show, even though quality-wise it deserved much more. I ran into many unhappy manufactures that were complaining of the lack of visitors. Next year will tell the tale

Neil Gader: Wireless systems
The rollout of wireless speaker systems from JBL and KEF and even more sophisticated distributed network entertainment from Avega, indicates that wireless is not only a superior and economical solution to running multi-room systems but that it’s also going to make us call into question our bias’ against wireless sound in the very near future.

Jim Hannon: Subwoofers and use of high-end turntables
Two trends were of particular note. First, subwoofers are getting a lot better. A couple of companies, in addition to Wilson Audio, were showing systems with subwoofers that integrated nicely with the main speakers without “causing harm.” Sumiko paired REL subwoofers (both the Studio 3 and B1) with the Sonus Faber Elipsa and Vienna Acoustics Beethoven Concert Grand speakers respectively and they sounded marvelous, as did the WLM Duo 15 with the WLM Diva. Second, I was pleasantly surprised that so many of the exhibitors went to the trouble of using reference quality turntables from the likes of SME, Brinkman, Basis, and Clearaudio, among others, as well as lesser known companies like V.Y.G.E.R and Merrill-Scillia. These analogue front ends helped produce some of the best, most realistic sounding music at the show.

Alan Taffel: Affordability
Trickle-down products. The most important -- and gratifying -- trend at this year's CES was the profusion of affordable products benefiting from technology that had trickled down from their makers' flagships. Last year's CES was characterized by manufacturers attempting to outdo each other with ever more costly and marginal products. This year, sanity prevailed. The R&D that went into those limited-production models found its way to components that mere mortals can hope to afford. This is the only way the High End will ever expand beyond a cloistered community. 

The welcome trend was evident in virtually every segment. In speakers, companies such as B&O, Hansen, and Magico revealed new models that borrowed heavily from their respective big brothers. And in electronics, the same was true in new releases from ARC to VTL, with Burmester, TacT and many others in between. Where live comparisons were offered, such as in the Hansen room, it was clear that the trickle-down approach can deliver the vast majority of flagship performance at radically lower prices. Let us hope, therefore, that this healthy trend continues. 

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