2016 Pacific North West Consumer Electronics Expo

[Scottmichaelj]

Yesterday my company Alpha Concepts, attended the 2016 Pacific North West Consumer Electronics Expo. There were quite a few manufactures there, JVC, Screen Innovations, IC Realtime, Klipsch, LG, Pioneer, ONQ/Legrand, RTI, Samsung, Soundstream, Vanco, Wolf Cinema, Peerless, Martin Logan, Monitor, etc. (Full list here - http://www.pnwcee.com/manufacturers.html)

 

I walked the main floor in the morning and checked out the new wares and spoke with a few people. I spoke in detail with Alan over at Monitor Audio USA (http://www.monitoraudiousa.com) regarding their Platinum speakers as well as their sounders, in ceiling Dolby Atmos speakers. I haven't sold these yet but I am looking forward to getting some for my home theater to test out. Product line looks strong and they make a nice speaker.

 

I also went to a demo/training and met Craig Eggers who is the Senior Director of Dolby Labs Home Theater, who taught me all about Dolby Labs Atmos (http://www.dolby.com/us/en/brands/dolby-atmos.html), which is a revolutionary new object based audio technology that enables sound to come from all directions, including overhead. Klipsh were using their Atmos speakers clips atoms speakers (http://www.klipsch.com/products/reference-premiere-dolby-atmos-series) with Dolbys new Atmos demo disc, which he gave me got a copy of. There are a scenes from Unbroken and Gravity in Atmos that just sound amazing. If you have not heard Atmos it really is the next generation of Home Theater sound. Dolby also is growing their number of Dolby Cinemas. If you have not been to one, I urge you to find one and go see the newest movie. Its truly a great experience. (http://www.dolby.com/us/en/platforms/dolby-cinema.html) Go hear Atmos!

 

I also spoke with Matt from Vantage by Legrand (http://www.vantagecontrols.com) and played around with his controls. Recently Legrand acquired QMotion motorized shades, so I stopped by their booth too and are getting a nicer range of fabrics and integration. Unfortunately nothing is open and everything is locked down. No APIs or dev stuff to speak of. I attended another demo by TiO "Turn it on" (http://www.tiohome.com) - I forgot his name sorry, hell of a nice guy, the company is in its infancy still at just 3 years old, but they are working hard to get going. Everything they have works on WiFi. Basically its a Asus router flashed with their firmware and then that controls everything. They want to open the APIs up and get RESTful access, its just not there yet. Programming seems like a snap, but again I would love to have actual hardware to test. They also have music streamers you can put in as many zones as you like. These guys understand local control, APIs, and so I think maybe worth looking out for. No one from UDI was there showing off the ISY nor was Smarthome.

 

I am biased here but in my personal home theater I own a Screen Innovations Black Diamond Zero Edge screen (http://www.screeninnovations.com) paired with the JVC DLA-X950R (http://procision.jvc.com/product.jsp?modelId=MODL029573&pathId=71&page=10) but I had to stop by SI booth to say HI and see whats new. They were showing Mad Max Fury on Ultra High Def Bluray (Samsung player) on their Slate screen via the new JVC projector. Everyone who was in there was just blown away by the quality. If you are looking for a high quality projector/screen setup you won't be disappointed with any of the JVC projector line or SI screens. I highly recommend them!

 

Of course there was LG showing off the LG Signature OLED TV, I probably sound like a broken record but if you have not seen this TV in person you should. Its incredible. My company has installed 3 so far and each time the customer has been blown away. (http://www.lg.com/uk/lgoled/sub/signature/signature.html) I am a plasma guy and HATE LCD/LED TVs. That being said I could actually see myself owning this TV. I don't currently own one personally, I am happy with my "old" Samsung F8500 plasmas which replaced my "old" Pioneer Kuro Plasmas. Every year the OLED tech is getting better and pricing is getting lower. We should be there soon. The 3D fad and curved screens are now going away. I also suspect we see more dumb TVs again - just panels with the outside boxes being used for apps. I feel this is the best option. I personally have an AppleTV4 and the Nvidia Shield TV with Android. I prefer the Android box myself but the ATV comes in nice for streaming AirPlay video too so I have one.

 

So there you have it. Just wanted to share with everyone here my thoughts and experiences. I have a unique opportunity to be inside the circle owning an AV Integration Company.

 

Heres the site to the 2016 Pacific North West Consumer Electronics Expo if you want to read up about it. http://www.pnwcee.com - Feel free to ask me any questions about the show, or what I posted and I will do the best to answer them.

[Teken]

The whole curve and 3D TV fad can't go away fast enough. This is right up there with the vertical TV Samsung showed off in the last few expos.

 

Truly a dumb idea which has been driven by the small minds in that company.

[Scottmichaelj]

The whole curve and 3D TV fad can't go away fast enough. This is right up there with the vertical TV Samsung showed off in the last few expos.

 

Truly a dumb idea which has been driven by the small minds in that company.

The vertical TVs have a place in the market for digital signage. We have done a few in restaurants and ordering with touchscreen. As for a consumer, there is really no need. I have used the Microsoft Surface (back when it was a table) and in vertical position was nice as well. So there are places these could be used in.

 

I never personally liked 3D, or curved TV. However that being said I do love using my Ultra Wide Curved Samsung Computer Monitor. http://www.samsung.com/us/computer/monitors/LS34E790CNS/ZA

[TheFallenAngel]

The whole curve and 3D TV fad can't go away fast enough. This is right up there with the vertical TV Samsung showed off in the last few expos.

 

Truly a dumb idea which has been driven by the small minds in that company.

Ooohh not dumb at all once you watch the 60" Curved..

 

Cheers,

Alex

[Teken]

Used in a kiosk mode that is fine for this technology but sadly the people running the show are hell bent in making the industry swing to a direction where they believe its fanciful to have a TV which is life sized.

 

Hey I get the glitz and glamour and how cool that would be to see actual life sized people doing what ever. But again that is right up there with the 8K, 12K TV's and other random tech people are trying to push.

 

Its like when I see people foaming at the mouth when they say their little phone has 9999999999999999 mega pixels. I just laugh because these people are completely clueless about the basic principles of imaging.

 

Yes, DSP, processing and all the fancy tech does some impressive stuff. 

 

But people have to dial back and ask some basic questions like how come any cheap to $9999999999999999 camera use the proper optics?!?!

 

If every industry from security, military, space, all thought it would be a good idea to use super tiny optics, with shutter speeds, and various other elements that make a solid image possible.

 

Why don't they?

 

The Black Bird SR-71 didn't fly 80 thousand feet in the air going Mach 2 plus taking photo's with a iPhone / Android Toy. The Hubble telescope doesn't use a lens the size of your car because its fun.

 

Nor does any serious security camera use a 0.0000000000000000000001 lens and rely solely on processing to capture an image.

 

Essentially it pains me to see the basics always skipped over for the fluff . . .

[Teken]

Ooohh not dumb at all once you watch the 60" Curved..

 

Cheers,

Alex

 

Hey Alex,

 

Everyone has different tastes and that fine. But for me after using one as a demo for about 90 days the allure simply went away. As for 3D what LG and similar companies have been able to do with the whole tech is impressive.

 

Gone are the days of the paper red / blue glasses . . .

 

Great for the kids and those young at heart - unfortunately the bulk of the 3D movies released have been complete and utter sh^t!

 

When I go to a theater and the commercial is more fantastic then the entire movie I just paid a premium to watch. 

 

No . . .

 

I think its great the steps and bounds the different companies have been able to push. But again these are fads that just die and never come back or fully supported.

[TheFallenAngel]

Hey Alex,

 

Everyone has different tastes and that fine. But for me after using one as a demo for about 90 days the allure simply went away. As for 3D what LG and similar companies have been able to do with the whole tech is impressive.

 

Gone are the days of the paper red / blue glasses . . .

 

Great for the kids and those young at heart - unfortunately the bulk of the 3D movies released have been complete and utter sh^t!

 

When I go to a theater and the commercial is more fantastic then the entire movie I just paid a premium to watch.

 

No . . .

 

I think its great the steps and bounds the different companies have been able to push. But again these are fads that just die and never come back or fully supported.

As you said - to each their own.. It's just not dumb.. I would not go back from my 34" Curved monitor to a flat one.. And I live my 60" Curved Samsung.. As for the 3D yeah this is just a step towards something, so is the current VR hype.. Where we need it to end up is the StarTrek's holodeck

 

Cheers,

Alex

[Teken]

Well, if the whole holodeck ever came to be I would surely be in the line . . . VR at this point in time is another fad which isn't being done in a way that makes sense.

 

Having had the opportunity to trial it in a force protection environment that made perfect sense. Seeing it used in aerospace for training and testing - awesome.

 

To help people in a health specific nature - excellent.

 

To see millions of sheep strapped with a goggle all day long in hopes of killing some random cartoon?!?!?

 

No . . .

 

When people make video games about killing prostitutes, homeless, or random pedestrians. This essentially means our entire society has embraced the core nature of what we are (killers) but doing it to make money at the expanse of the rest of the people in the world.

 

No other nation in the free world has ever sat in a tin box 9999999999999999 miles away and flew a bomb into another sovereign nation - then summarily killed people.

 

To think we sell games to kids depicting the very same real world actions is quite unbelievable. But this is the world we live in now where life is like a used sneaker.

 

Life is throw away idea to people these days . . . 

[Scottmichaelj]

Well, if the whole holodeck ever came to be I would surely be in the line . . . VR at this point in time is another fad which isn't being done in a way that makes sense.

 

Having had the opportunity to trial it in a force protection environment that made perfect sense. Seeing it used in aerospace for training and testing - awesome.

 

To help people in a health specific nature - excellent.

 

To see millions of sheep strapped with a goggle all day long in hopes of killing some random cartoon?!?!?

 

No . . .

 

When people make video games about killing prostitutes, homeless, or random pedestrians. This essentially means our entire society has embraced the core nature of what we are (killers) but doing it to make money at the expanse of the rest of the people in the world.

 

No other nation in the free world has ever sat in a tin box 9999999999999999 miles away and flew a bomb into another sovereign nation - then summarily killed people.

 

To think we sell games to kids depicting the very same real world actions is quite unbelievable. But this is the world we live in now where life is like a used sneaker.

 

Life is throw away idea to people these days . . .

Your getting way off topic again my friend. Reel it back down to earth.

[TheFallenAngel]

Well, if the whole holodeck ever came to be I would surely be in the line . . . VR at this point in time is another fad which isn't being done in a way that makes sense.

 

Having had the opportunity to trial it in a force protection environment that made perfect sense. Seeing it used in aerospace for training and testing - awesome.

 

To help people in a health specific nature - excellent.

 

To see millions of sheep strapped with a goggle all day long in hopes of killing some random cartoon?!?!?

 

No . . .

 

When people make video games about killing prostitutes, homeless, or random pedestrians. This essentially means our entire society has embraced the core nature of what we are (killers) but doing it to make money at the expanse of the rest of the people in the world.

 

No other nation in the free world has ever sat in a tin box 9999999999999999 miles away and flew a bomb into another sovereign nation - then summarily killed people.

 

To think we sell games to kids depicting the very same real world actions is quite unbelievable. But this is the world we live in now where life is like a used sneaker.

 

Life is throw away idea to people these days . . .

LOL yeah you did go off topic again, but I guess that's part of your "charm" On another hand PLEASE don't presume everyone on this forum are in US - thankfully that's not the case

 

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk

[larryllix]

Interesting enough it seems over half the participants here, are from Canuckland.

That is unusual in most forums, eh?

[Scottmichaelj]

Dolby Atmos is not just for movies and you can get the experience just using headphones on a PC.

 

"You have a way better sense of what’s happening in the game with #DolbyAtmos.” #Overwatch developers talk Dolby: https://t.co/aPN2nyjtgq