It's done, it's here, and -- yes -- as always, it's very long.

My annual overview of this year's Consumer Electronics Show is finished, and it's now posted online at the Writers Guild of America website.  Because posting it and the myriad of photos requires a lot of coding, I'm just going to link it it there, rather than duplicate all that work here.  Hat's off to Dexter Kim and Kristin Allen at the WGA for the work.  Much appreciated.  You can find the article at this link.

A good amount of the material has been posted here, but by no means most of it.  So, even if you followed the travails that I wrote about every day during the show, the article contains mostly new material -- and hopefully in a structure that gives it all perspective, rather than just my random ramblings around the show floor.

And one other thing I say every year -- and make clear in the article:  it's long.  Not cute long, but "Oh, my God!!!  I can't believe it's this long and the end isn't even in sight!!!" long.  But it's intended to be a look at the breadth of the full show to get a sense of the year ahead in technology, not just notes about the splashy items.  Hey, don't think of it as an interminably long article, but a blessedly short book.  And you don't have to read it all in one sitting.  One caveat though -- if you don't like looooooooong articles, don't read it.  And don't complain to me that it's so long.  I know it is.  I just told you.  And I explained the reason for it.  But for those who do want to know about as much of CES as possible and get an idea of what the tech world looks like for the home, business, health, communications and more, check it out, here.
​

Well, I made it back.  Still decompressing a bit, and lots of CES work to catch up on -- in particular, I now have to dive in to all my notes to start writing my annual Really Long overview article about the show.  I always enjoy writing it...but always dread starting -- going through my notes, structuring the piece and tracking down graphics and such.  And knowing how long it will take.  But once I start, it's fairly enjoyable.  At the moment, I'm in the "dread" state.

I did do my laundry though already.  This may not seem like much of a big deal, but after decades having to use laundromats or my building's one machine when others weren't using it, it's really special to have an actual washing machine now in my new home and being able to dump everything in the machine, push Start and ignore it all as I get back to work.  Huzzah.

I also came back to an email scam.  It was a semi-concerning one because of the threat it made and because it used my real email address to send me the threat, saying my email and computer have been hacked, so send money and we'll give you the special code to clear it.

What made it less concerning are a few things.  First, it was address to "Dear Stranger:  You don't know me but I've hacked into..."  and if they had all the personal information they had, they'd likely address me by name.  Second, I got two of these, and one was from an account I set up by never send out new email from or log into accounts with.  So, they couldn't have gotten the information about me the way they said they said, while watching a video online.  And third, the video I supposedly was watching was from an adult site, so this was a form of blackmail, too, saying they'd release it to my friends -- but happily I felt thoroughly comfortable knowing I've never visited an adult site or watched one of their video.  Still, it's disconcerting.

I was assuaged by three reasons.  One, what I noted above.  Two, from an article I found online describing this same in detail.  And three, checking with my computer Big Guru Ed Bott, who quashed it and said he got these things all the time.

If you're interested in the scam and the letter, if only to be prepared in case you get such a scam email (forewarned being forearmed, and all that), click here to read more about it.

​And now, I got back to decompressing...

As CES headed into its second day, I spent most of it in the Central Hall, with a detour to the North Hall.  Once upon a time, I devoted a full day to the impressive and overwhelming Central Hall.  But over time I realized I could get through it far more quickly, and last year I even zipped through faster than I expected.

The Central Hall is where most of the Big Guys live.  Samsung, LG, Toshiba, Panasonic, Microsoft and more.  And more and more.  And that you realize after a while they they all pretty much make and sell the same things.  Some a little better, some with a few different bells-and-whistles, some a little less so.  But basically it's differences in degrees.  So, to go into detail about why what one has that's different and better is an exercise in futility.

Especially with TVs.  The TVs there are very impressive. But they're all impressive, even the low-end ones.  And they all have their own jargon to explain why theirs is The Best, but the jargon is meaningless.  Saying that their sets are best because they use Active Nano Differential VM Technology sounds great, and maybe even is.  But the guy next door has his own Best and Greatest Jargon to balance it.  And ultimately, TV choice is very subjective, and the best way to buy one is to ask friends what they have and like, and to go into a store and look at screens to see what most-appeals to you.  There is a new technology that all major companies are offering this year that makes a difference -- it's not actually new at all, but it was always cost-prohibitive in large screens.  That's been resolved, which is why it's now hit the bigtime -- OLED.  It's still more expensive, but presents a seriously impressive image.

That said, as it happens, I actually recently bought a new TV about six weeks ago and did pretty much just that.  One thing I found in comments and writing is that among all the technologies, the one that was most important was something called "Full array."  That allows for deeper colors and separation for more crispness and images to stand out.  In fact, when I went to the store, I had a pretty good idea what I was going to get -- but when I was there, that brand had two sets next to each other:  the one I was going to get with "array" technology, and the next step up that was notably more (though at a great sale price) but had "full array."  And the difference was actually very noticeable.  And seriously impressive.  So I bit the bullet and took the next step up.  Thankfully it was during the holiday season and there was that great sale price.  For the record, I got an LG SK9000, I believe the model was.  (The step below was SK8000, and extremely good.)  By the way, depending on the set-up where you'll be watching is how good a set handles viewing angles -- if you'll be watching head-on, everyone is great.  But some don't handle watching from the side, as well.  LG is not at the high end of angles, but above average.

And 8K sets are being pushed, as well.  But that's borderline pointless.  There almost no native 8K content.  And the human eye can't really, practically differentiative between 4K and 8K.  And 8K is massively expensive, perhaps in the $15,000-20,000 range for a large screen set.

As for TVs, though, I of course spent some time with the folks at the oft-mentioned here Stream TV Networks, who make the seriously-impressive Ultra-D technology for glassless 3D viewing.  As I wrote a few weeks back, they finally made a major announcement of a deal with the manufacturing giant BOE to put the product into production.  So, as you might imagine, they had good spirits all around.  And two things stood out.  The first is the improvements they made even from last year's high-end product, an 8K-Lite set (halfway between 4K and 8K).  With the use of backlighting and an 8K lens, the images pop out even better.  And the second thing is -- because of this, a lot of TV manufacturers are now coming to Stream TV Networks to talk because this gives their own 8K sets a value they didn't have before.  So, we'll see how things go.

A few random observations from the day's wanderings --

In the robot arena, the Samsung Bot division had something they called GEMS, for Gait Enhancing and Motivating System.  This is sort of a leg prosthetic for the elderly with a balance problem or a person with a walking issue that strap on at the hip that helps with walking.

Samsung and Qualcomm both had notable presentations with 5G, though there isn't much to show yet, other than displays with data about how it all works and how great it will be.  Qualcomm had a Mixed Reality (Virtual Reality goggles mixed with real world action) demonstration for 5G that I tried -- cliff diving in Hawaii that was streamed in.  It wasn't overly impressive for the content, but it was SO data heavy that it wouldn't have been able to be transmitted in the current 4G.

Lots of Smart kitchen appliance and Smart washers, dryers, steamers and the like, from most of the big companies.  That's one thing that was noticeable at the show -- service products have gotten very mature, some with Smart capabilities built in (using the Cloud and artificial intelligence) and others that just work more efficiently and conveniently.

It's been a long day wandering the halls, so we'll leave it at that for now.  Tomorrow I'm off to the Eureka Park area at the Sands Convention Center.  These are mostly start-up companies and pavilions from international companies trying to break into the U.S. market.  It's always fascinating and its own kind of madhouse zoo, with companies more crammed together and vying for your attention than even at the main Las Vegas Convention Center.  Some are products incredibly inventive which alas will never see the light of day (either for lack of funding or lack of a market for who will ever buy the thing), but I've seen a few subsequently make it.

And the start of the journey back home -- always done in two parts, stopping part of the way back in Primm at the Nevada state line for a shorter drive back on the last day, so it's still a day more off...

Onward. 

​

It's here at last.  The doors to CES opened today, and the circus has come to town.  

There's a lot that, like always, I won't be writing about.  There's just too much, and so much is in areas that are either so high-tech they're beyond my ken or beyond my interest.  Lots of accessories for all manner of products.  Lots of high-tech home beauty aids.  Lots of health products -- some seriously impressive and important, many meaningless.  (There are always a lot of products for improving your brain.  One test for that is whether you are interested in buying one of these things...)  And a huge amount of home security systems -- just a small list of some I jotted down when passing by were from ADT, interlogix, LifeShield, Ooma, First Alert OneLink, Alarm.com, Brilliant, Safe...and so many more that I haven't written down.

And yes, as I noted, a LOT of robots and artificial intelligence products this year.  Most of the robotic products so far seem to be either on the toy-ish ends, or an attempt to jump in as an early adopter without filling an actual need.  But a few things are interesting, and and in reality the world of robotics far transcends that, and I' eventually got around to some of those.

Just a few examples: robotic arms used in manufacturing.  The Hobot, a Roomba-like product that can clear windows.  The Breadbot, an impressive device for baking bread in stores where fresh bread would be a bonus (like restaurants or grocery stores, not for the deli section but in the bread aisle).  And Horizon Robotics which uses artificial intelligence for face and body recognition in crowd situations.  (While most people viewing this were identified in limited age groups of 10 years or so, I was identified as "Male, 55-100.")  And lots more.

Also, I generally don't write about mobile phones because that field is SO massive, and they're phones, the worst does what you want and does it well.  But this year, there is a change.  The new 5G technologically is industry-changing and just starting to make its presence felt.  The speed is monumentally higher, like 100 times, which not only let you stream and connect world's faster, but it allows other technologies to actually exist, like usage in medical procedures.  So far, Verizon and AT&T have made tiny inroads, but much more is to come.

Also, there are now some foldable mobile phones ( from Samsung) which open their screens to provide larger, more-usable browsers and screens for viewing movies and playing games.  And even a flexible screen from Royale, the Flexi Pai.  This is already in sale in China.  The standable screen is so thin you can literally roll it up.  (Though when part of a phone, there are more limitations.)  While this allows for expanding the screen, it also eliminates concerns of breaking your screen.

For a long time, I've been trying to find a good, easy device that lets you write on paper, which then converts it digitally into a text file.  Some of have been good, and easier to use than others, but still more of a bother than ideal.  The ReMarkable is not this, but in the ballpark.  It's a table that lets you write on and easily manipulate it all into text files and more.  And can be used as an e-reader.  The quality of the device and its e-ink is seriously impressive, and it seemed to work extremely well and fairly simply.  (Although there are so many options -- a good thing -- it can get a little overwhelming, if you let it.)  Without testing it, it seems very good for meetings and students and such.  The one big problem right now is the cost which is $600.  Whether that will come down, since it's a very new product, remains to be seen. 

(In fact, later that night, at the ShowStoppers event, I spoke with someone from the fine Wacom company that has a similar product, the Cintiq, which is mainly for artists.  The person had seen the ReMarkable and said, "It looks really cool, I'd love to get one.")

Speaking of ShowStoppers, they had a good collection of products this year, and a few stood out to me as very clever and well done.  Just a few --

The myCharge Lumen 20K comes from one of my favorite portable charger companies.  It's a small charger holding 20,000 mAh (which is a LOT, enough to charge your phone about seven times) -- but also provides four levels of light, from normal to overwhelmingly bright.  But what's so special is how long it will hold that light -- important for camping or during a blackout.  At the incredibly bright level, it will last for 16 hours!  At the normal light level, it will glow for a stunning 68 hours.  It should be available mid-year.

The Faytch lapscreen is a good-sized, very thin, light portable screen about 12 inches diagonally that connects to your mobile phone.  So, you can use a bigger screen for watching videos, gaming or presentations.  It looks very good, though doesn't come cheap -- $200, or $300 for a touch screen.

I also liked the Jammy Guitar, which is a respectable digital, electric guitar with three modes  (rock, acoustic and classical) that comes apart for easy traveling.  When taken apart, no section of the neck is longer than 17 inches.  You can put your guitar in your carry-on bag.

Lots more.  And more of CES to come...

The Consumer Electronics Show doesn't officially open until 10 AM this morning, but as I've mentioned they've still had a bunch of events, including a few in the evening where a large ballroom is taken over about 100-150 vendors are invited along with press to have a more focused, semi-congenial experience than the morass once CES begins and the circus comes to town.  Last night it was Pepcom's Digitial Experience, which is close in style to ShowStoppers which is tonight.

The two events are very similar (CES Unveiled is, too, though much more barebones), and which is "better" largely depends on which one gets more companies that year that fit what I write about.  It goes back-and-forth.  Companies aside, Showstoppers is better run, so I enjoy the experience more -- Pepcom always has some "theme" which is generally pointless and annoying.  (This year it was football with "Tailgate Technology.")  They also make the aisles smaller, on the assumption that being crowded gives a sense of excitement and urgency -- which all it does is make things more crowded and difficult to get around.  And their food, while tasty, is more basic.  (Hey, it's at dinner time, so these things matter.)  But they get good companioses there, just like ShowStoppers (some years better, some not, as I said), and that's the most important thing.

So far, between CES Unveiled and Pepcom, there's been a good mix of things to see.  Some wonderful, some very odd, and some very good but nothing I'd ever write about.  Lots of beauty care tech products, for instance, and it seems more this year than in the past.  Including more "Smart" mirrors that connect to the Internet to provide information on the mirror, stream music, change lighting and more -- many explaining that they each are the first to do this, even though I've seen them at CES for the past couple of years.  But then, LOTS of companies tell you they are the "World's First" at CES.  Also, lots of products that are high-end techie -- one, from France, creates multi-dimensional imaging of geography to help cities plan development, including underground for plumbing systems.  Very impressive, but nothing I'd ever review...needless-to-say.  Unless I decide to transition into city planning.

Among some of the additional products that have caught my eye -- for good reasons and other.

The Planet Cosmo Communicator is a combination mobile phone and camera that opens up into a pocket computer.  When folded, it's a bit large compared to today's phone market -- perhaps the size of an All-in-One remote control -- but it's an interesting, multi-use device that will retail for around $800 when it's released mid-year.  That may seem high, though consider that a lot of mobile phones sell for that, if not more.

Lumicharge is the updated, second-generation of a very nicely-designed bedside/reading lamp.  It provides updated time-date-weather information on the stem, is very flexible for where the light will focus, has several adjustments for three types of lighting (bright white, soft white, yellow) and a dimmer.  But also there is a wheel that lets you choose which sort of adapter plug to use for charging your phone (micro-USB, Apple Lightning and USB-C) and even a night light.

On the odd end is Moona -- which is a Smart pillow.  Yes, really.  They say that the temperature around a person's head and shoulders most impacts sleep (whether this is true or not, who knows?).  So, you can regulate the temperature the change throughout the night, letting you  (they say...) got to sleep faster, have a deeper sleep and wake up gently.  Me, I suspect one's mattress has more of an impact than a few degrees at your pillow, but perhaps it does help.

Even more odd is Dfree, which is the "first" wearable device for incontinence.  I do suspect this is the first and perhaps only.  But I also think, odd as it is, it is actually useful.  For people who actually do suffer from the condition, what this does is you stick an ultrasound sensor on your abdomen, and it predicts ahead of time when you will need to go to the bathroom, and then send an alert to the app on your cell phone.

There also was the Navatics drone -- but a very different one from those we see flying overhead.  This was for underwater.  So, it's a device you can manually control from afar to take underwater photography.  Quite interesting I think, particularly if you don't care to scuba dive.  But I'm sure it has even more substantive applications, as well.

I mentioned yesterday that I've received email press releases about several pocket translators, and saw one at Sunday's CES Unveiled.  I ran across yet another at Pepcom, this the Pocketalk and had a chance to check it out -- and from my limited look, it worked extremely well.  It quickly translated my English phrases into French -- and my French phrases into English.  And it did so in text and speech.  The device handles 74 languages and retails for $300.

There were a couple of interesting devices that were basic in concept but with some added twists.  The problem is that both -- perhaps they're still in the early stages of release, and prices may eventually drop (though they'd have to plummet) -- are wildly expensive:

One is the Reviver Auto, which is a digital license plate.  It's been approved in California and Arizona, which about 10 more states on the cusp.  (It can be used anywhere, but these are the only states so far where you can register your car with them.)  It allows you to personalize your plate, include messages, and with upgraded apps will allow registering your vehicle and use auto-pay features (and show you've paid).  But right now, it costs between $500-800, depending on which version.  When I asked the head of the company who they've found is buying these, he enthusiastically said said "Everyone from Toyota owners to high-end cars."  As politely as I could, I smiled and said, "Please don't tell me that 'everyone' is willing to spend $500-800 on a license plate."  After a pause, he replied, "Oh, no, I don't mean that, just that we've found that..."

The other Changer from 49101 -- this is a clever wireless, Bluetooth earphone that allows you to separate the cord and use it not only as a charger cord with a power pack, but also connect to another mobile phone and recharge your own phone with it.  I said to the PR person, "So, all you need is this device...and a really, really, really good friend who'll let  you deplete his own phone's power."  The guy smiled and said, "Exactly."  Quips aside, it's great, simple technology.  The problem is that right now it costs $150.  That's for basically earphones and a cable.  The price has to drop drastically, or this will go nowhere.

As for going somewhere, the doors open pretty soon, so I'll finish up some work here and dive into the circus that awaits.  More later...

Last night I went to the CES Unveiled event that the organization puts on itself, filling a huge ballroom with vendors and press members.  (And only a few appetizers. Perhaps I shouldn't have eaten light during the day in anticipation.)  There were some interesting -- and some odd -- products.  But if I had one overridding comment, it would be a suggestion that other friends of mine there said the same thing --

"Dear vendors:  When you have a booth at one of these events...HAVE A POSTER THAT ACTUALLY EXPLAINS WHAT YOUR PRODUCT DOES!!!  Just putting your name on a sign doesn't cut it.  When you are competing for the attention of hundreds of people trying to decide which of the 150-200 other vendors they want to stop and talk to, you have to do something to get their interest!!!!:"

I would say at least a third of the companies there -- perhaps even more -- had nothing to promote their product, just their name.  And when you're reporting on an event like this, with a limited amount of time, and close to 200 companies to choose from, it's stopping to read those posters or standees or whatever the smart vendors have that explain what they're selling that makes a massive difference.  If a company didn't say what they did, I had too little time to waste spending talking to them all, so I just skipped them by.  Same with the other people I talked with.

I see this at such shows all the time, but never as prominently as I did here tonight.  So much so that it was almost weird.

That aside, there were some interesting products being presented, along with some very odd ones.  The tech of the odd ones was impressive, to be clear, it's just that you sometimes scratch your head wondering who they think they'll be selling the product to.

One example.  There was an impressive-looking product from ForwardX called Ovis, which they described as a robot (I told you there would be LOTS of robots at CES this year...), though it really wasn't a robot like we think, but it uses Artificial Intelligence to do its job and "computer vision".  It's a piece of carry-on luggage on rollers that you could use hands-free, since it follows you around.  It doesn't use a chip that you wear and sensor recognizes -- instead, it scans your body and recognizes you.  Very impressive and it got a lot of attention -- but I think it's a terrible idea.  Most importantly, if there is one thing I'd want to absolutely want to keep my hands on, it's my luggage in an airport.  That aside, it follows-behind you, so you have to keep turning around to make sure it's still there, which not only is sort of annoying but a definite hindrance to having a conversation with your party.  Furthermore, pulling a rolling piece of luggage not only isn't very difficult, it's actually extremely easy.

There were indeed a LOT of robots there, and I'm sure the CES show floor will be awash with more.  But I found none terribly interesting yet.  Most were toys for kids.  I've seen more substantive robot products at last year's CES, so they'll likely show up there.

I was intrigued by something from a start-up company called Heatworks.  It's not ready for the market yet, but it creates hot water...without using electricity.  I didn't get the full science of it, but basically is based on graphite plates that serve as electrodes and create electricity when water naturally interacts with it.  They had a demo, and whatever its future holds, it was certainly fascinating.

​Helite had a very clever idea to complement cycling helme ts -- it was a smart airbag for cyclists.  I saw something similar at last year's show for skiiers, so this is sort of a natural progression.  But that was fairly expensive and bulky.  This is very thin to wear, and is reusable.  They demonstrated it (a bike rider rode down the aisle and crashed), and it worked -- the airbag popping open before he hit the ground.  The bag didn't look like it offered a huge amount of protection, though I suspect any protection is a very good thing.

I also saw one example of a kind of fascinating artificial intelligence product that I got about 4-5 different companies sending me emails for their own version.  So, apparently this is a thing this year.  It's an automatic translator.  The WT2 Plus understands 36 languages and operates in three modes:  automatic (which translates your words and the response back in real time), touch mode (where you touch a button when you speak and when you want to hear the reply, in case you're in a noisy environment), and speaker mode.

Lots more, but we'll leave it for there now.  Tomorrow is Pepcom's Digital Experience.  Another event like tonight, but it's usually more focused.  Then the show officially starts on Tuesday, and that night is the third of these events, ShowStoppers.

And that's the news.  Onward into the morass...

Well, it's that time of year -- CES is upon us.  I'm off to the Consumer Electronics Show today, driving to Las Vegas.  I left early for two reasons.  The first is "early" by the clock -- the Chicago Bears have their game in the playoffs today at 1:30, and I want to get to my hotel in time to watch. I should be there by now, and hopefully the Bears did well.  And then I head off again because of the second reason for being there early.

This second "early" is by the calendar.  There have always been two evening events I enjoy going to:  Pepcom's Digital Experience and ShowStoppers.  These are where an organization takes over a huge ballroom, gets about 100-150 vendors to show up and invite the press to attend.  Plus a buffet.  Can't forget that.  (Both shows are very good, and it just depends on which has better vendors that year -- but ShowStoppers always has a FAR superior buffet...)  There's a third show that I've never gone to, called CES Unveiled.  It's very similar to the other two and run by CEA which puts on the Consumer Electronics Show -- and I've always been interested in going, but it starts two days before CES begins, so I've always passed.  This year I decided, what the heck, and RSVP'd.  And that's tonight.  So, we'll see.

Anyway, I don't know if I'll have access to Internet access later in the day, so this may be the last not for the day.  But if I do get online and am not exhausted, then I'll pop in.

As for the rest of the week, I'll post here about the ongoings of the show.  I'll be pretty much out of touch with news and politics, so probably not so much on that. And the timing of things will be random, when I can get to the press room and off the show floor and gotten my work out of the way.

I do have a pretty good sense what the big themes will be for the show this year already though.  That's because my Inbox has been inundated with two particular technologies.  And subsequent tech articles have largely confirmed this.  Both are related to one another, though one will surprise you.  The first is artificial intelligence (the sort of thing that used predominately in Smart homes, but also elsewhere).  The other is -- robots.  Yes, robots.  Go figure.  To be clear, just because these will have a particularly big presence at CES doesn't mean they'll be making their way into the consumer world with as much prominence.  I don't consumers are ready yet for robots, but I do suspect they're part of the future.  And artificial intelligence has been developing strongly over the past few years.

Another area of interest this year will surprisingly be mobile phones.  That's because of two advances -- one huge, the other could be but is still wait-and-see.  That's a development from Samsung for foldable screens.  I've seen it demonstrated in the past as a sort of beta to come, but now it's going to market.  What this does is allow your small phone screen to double in size, without increasing the size of the phone.  The other advance is something I've written about in the past -- 5G connectivity.  This is a massive development, and it's now here with a couple of service providers.  Verizon and AT&T, though very limited in very few cities.  But this is a major, massive change from the 4G broadband you have now, not an incremental one.  The short version -- it's like the different between sending a message from New York to Los Angeles by train...and using email.  More on this later, but here's a fairly detailed article I wrote about it from the IFA tech show in Lisbon in April, 2017.

​Back soon-ish...

Last week, I wrote here about the press conference being held in Beijing with Stream TV Networks, the company I've been writing about for seven years with the Ultra-D technology for glassless 3D television.  As I noted, their technology works wonderfully (I've seen working TV sets for several years now), but there have been hurdles getting the product out and deals set up.  Also, at one point, they pulled back from their 4K sets because they wanted to get ahead of the market and began working on 8K sets, which would be backwards compatible.

Last week's press conference was the first time they've been able to announce a major deal, which suggests that production is -- or should be -- around the corner.  I've spoken with Mathu Rajan, the president of Stream TV, and he's given me a date which is encouraging, but with the industry being what it is, I'm looking forward to it being definitive.  But this new announcement is a major step -- forming a partnership with BOE, the top supplier of panels in the world, including supplying LEDdisplays for Apple (iPads, as well as Macbooks) and Huawei, a major worldwide company in mobile phones and televisions.

Here's how they announced it in the first two paragraphs of their longer press release --

"Stream TV Networks, Inc. and BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd. are pleased to announce the finalization of their long-form strategic agreement to combine the high-resolution panels of BOE, the number one panel supplier globally, with Stream TV's award-winning Glasses-Free 3D technology, Ultra-D. With the new agreement, BOE is entering into the 3D market hand in hand with Stream TV.

"Stream TV Networks and BOE have just concluded a joint press conference in Beijing, attended by Senior Executive Staff from both companies, to showcase the latest versions of Stream TV's Glasses-Free 3D technology. At the press conference, BOE expressed its intention to include Stream TV's technology on their entire series of product lines going forward." 

So, at least this step of the journey is official.  Updates as they occur...

If you want to see the full press release, click here. 

Over the past few years, I've written several times with updates about a company called Stream TV Networks, which has developed a terrific glassless 3D-TV technology called Ultra-D.  You can get the whole story here, but the short version is that the technology is tremendous, it works exceedingly well and resolved the huge problem of needing to wear those 3D glasses, since it doesn't require any.  And it's resolved, too, the issue of there being almost no 3D content for TV by being able to convert 2D material to 3D in real-time.

That's the good.  (And it's very good.)  The bad is all those updates.  The technology has been ready for primetime for at least five years, and I've seen working models.  In fact, the Ultra-D technology is being actively used in a related business, that of signage.  But for a variety of reasons, the TV division hasn't kicked in yet, despite having deals with major TV set companies and several "it's coming in a few months" false starts.  It hasn't been because of no market -- among other things, they not only do have those deals in place, but also TVs that use Ultra-D can watch normal programming in 2D, unlike the older 3D-TVs requiring glasses which could only watch in 3D, so at its core, TV sets using Ultra-D have the same basic market as any television -- but the continued delays are the results of other hurdles which its president Mathu Rajan has discussed with me along the way.  One of them, for example, has been the desire to stay ahead of technology, and these new sets aren't just 4K models which are now prevalent in the marketplace, but rather 8K and 8K-compatible.  (Again, as before, there's no issue with there being no 8K content, since the Ultra-D technology can convert standard content to 8K compatible in real time.)

I now come to the part where I once again say about the delays, "That may be about to change..." and we'll find out if it is, indeed, about to change this time, or if another hurdle gets in the way.  A wait-and-see attitude is always a good starting point here.  But this one seems to have a couple of things going for it that make it appear that serious progress has been made.

The first is that I was recently in the market for a new Smart TV (long story...), and I like the Ultra-D technology enough to be willing to wait a bit if the sets had a specific date when they'd be coming to the market.  So, I brought it up to Mathu.  He gave me a target date they now have -- and it's reasonably close, but not imminent and given the uncertainty of market dates being "flexible" in the past, I didn't want to put things off.  

And the second is that just yesterday I received an email from Stream TV Networks announcing a big press conference.  This is something that Mathu has spoken about having "soon" -- and that was initially a couple years ago, but they each ended up having to get cancelled and no invitations were ever sent out.  So, to actually get an invitation is a huge leap forward in this all becoming a reality.  Furthermore, the date of the press conference is close enough that there's no wiggle room to cancel it.  I don't mean "little wiggle room," I mean none.  The press conference is set for...tomorrow.

(I did find one thing amusing about the invitation.  Over the past years when they've been planning for the press conference, Mathu has always said how he'd like me there, since I've been writing about Ultra-D so much.  And though I'd love to go to press conference -- not only is heading off out-of-town with two days notice a bit of a burden, especially now (long story, see above...), this would be an even significantly bigger burden, since the press conference is being held at 10 AM at the Westin Hotel in...Beijing, China.  It was great to see that they're finally having the press conference, but I do have my limits.)

Anyway, for these two reasons together, I do sense that their hurdles may actually have been overcome, and the glassless 3D TV sets may actually be coming to market reasonably soon.  (I don't want to jump the gun of the press conference, since the date Mathu told me was off-the-record.)  Also the press conference will not only be introducing their 65" model, but also a 10.1" glassless 3D display -- which seems to be the tablet screen the company has been developing alongside the TVs.

So, we'll see what gets announced at the press conference, and how it overlaps with the latest news I'd been told about the upcoming entry to the market.  And again, if you're coming to this after the initial articles I've written on the subject, and are interested (which if you've gotten this far, you probably are...), check out the link above.

Watch this space.  Still.  Updates as they occur.  We'll see.  Hopefully, literally.

It's been a while since I've posted one of my "The Writers Workbench" tech review columns, so tonight we'll jump right back in.  This month it's pretty low-tech at the core -- light bulbs -- though in different incarnations that you might be used to.  The first device is quite low-tech but very versatile and clever, the Luminoodle -- basically a cord with lights embedded in it, though there's more to it than that.  The second is a Smart bulb for those who might be interested in controlling your light bulbs but don't yet want to wire your residence as a Smart Home.

As always, since the column is written for the Writers Guild of America, and they've gone to the effort of formatting it all for their site, I'll provide the link to it there, rather than go through the headache of reformatting it all over again on these pages.