CES marks the first public showing of Canon’s new digital cinematography camera, the EOS C300, since November’s launch.
Available in two weeks priced around $20,000 (body only), and in two versions: industry standard PL-lens mount or an EF mount for Canon lenses.
Records 50Mbps, 4:2:2 MPEG-2 MXF format to dual Compact Flash card slots.
Contains a Super 35mm-sized CMOS sensor, and can shoot up to 60 frames per second at 720p resolution and 30fps at 1080p.
A new set of Canon lenses is also available for the camera: 14.5-60mm and 30-300mm cine zooms in EF and PL-mount versions and 24mm, 50mm and 85mm primes for EF-mount only.
Richard Crudo, ASC has already used the camera to shoot the indie feature, “Max is Back.”
Where to see it: Central Hall 13304, North Hall N109
A technology demonstration showed how music could be transferred from a Blu-ray player to a set-top box simply by human touch.
Each of the devices is network enabled and includes electronic capacitors.
When a person — who also carries with them a digital identifier such as a smartphone — touches one of the devices the human body itself completes the circuit. Personal content stored in the cloud is downloaded to the hardware.
“Ultimately, we are the network,” said Ericsson CEO Hans Vestberg in his first ever CES keynote. He estimates there will be 50 billion connected devices on networks by 2020.
“We see a change in how we communicate — from always having our communicator in our hand and having to find ways to link it to things — to becoming more human using proximity, touch, eyes and voice,” explained Keith Shank, Ericsson director of advanced technologies. “We need to be able to link not just a few devices, but all connected devices regardless of the vendor’s ecosystem.”
Autostereoscopic displays point the way forward for the 3D TV industry, but the technology is far from mature.
Among several glasses-free displays is Stream TV’s Ultra-D technology, which will launch in Q2. The company, which makes autostereo software and firmware, says it has already signed a deal with a consumer electronics brand to embed the Ultra-D technology in its sets.
Toshiba is exhibiting its glasses-free 3D TVs, which have launched in Japan and will soon launch in the U.S. — priced around $11,500. On display are three 55-inch 4K panels of the REGZA 55X3. If they were to display 2D HD content, they would do so at a 3840×2160 pixel resolution using Quad Full High Definition (QFHD).
With the 3D function switched on, that resolution is split into 9 frames — or 9 views — of 720p HD. An automatic face tracking system will find the sweet spot for viewing by one person (problematic when there are multiple viewers).
At the 3D@Home booth is a small company claiming to trump rivals’ screens. Dimension Technologies uses a patented Time Multiplexed Backlight technology, which inserts a single active substrate between the LCD and its backlight.
“When turned on it allows the display to show real 3D images by creating light lines. These light lines are placed behind a conventional LCD panel,” said CEO Arnold Lagergen. “The ability to convert instantly from 3D to 2D display makes our displays unique. No other 3D display converts to full resolution 2D.”
Lagergen claimed interest from Samsung and Toshiba.
While the first large screen OLED consumer display panels are set to ship later this year, Sony has demonstrated what it believes is its successor — Crystal LED.
Crystal LED employs a thin layer of 6 million LEDs mounted on the display itself. This technique, says Sony, results in greater light efficiency and a higher contrast of images in both light and dark viewing conditions.
C-LED will have a longer life span than phosphor-based OLED. Screens larger than 55-inches can be manufactured, which just now is the limit for OLED. It is also said to have faster response times and wider viewing angles compared to LCD and plasma displays.
Showing at CES are two prototype 55-inch C-LEDs comparing side by side, favorably it has to be said, against its top of the range LCD.
When asked why Sony turned to Crystal LED rather than OLED in flat screens, at a Q&A session following the press conference on Monday, Sony chairman Sir Howard Stringer said: “It is the best TV out there and it is our technology. We are proud of it — it is the high end where we will lead the [category’s] recovery.”
Sony executive deputy president Kazuo Hirai added that Sony has OLED on the pro side and “as much as we are proud of the Crystal screen, we are not out of OLED.”
Sharp Electronics claims to be the market leader in large screen TVs at 60-inches and beyond with twenty new large screens to be released in 2012 — many featuring 3D in 120Hz or 240Hz panel options.
The company is also emphasizing its new entertainment hub, SmartCentral, which includes access to media services and apps including Hulu, Netflix and Facebook.
The flagship Aquos Quattron 3D LED TV (LC-80LE844U) is an 80-inch model with a new 240Hz LCD panel to virtually eliminate blur during fast-moving video. The unit boasts Wi-Fi, 4 HDMI inputs and the new SmartCentral user interface.
Two new Blu-ray players are launched: the BD-AMS10U and BD-AMS20U. Both models incorporate features from the new SmartCentral interface.
Additionally, a 4K display will be released later this year.
Showing in prototype on its stand is an 8K 85-inch display. This represents 32 million pixels of resolution or 16 times the resolution of HDTV.
Sharp Electronics announced two multifunction Blu-ray Disc players that incorporate features from Sharp’s new connected TV platform, SmartCentral.
The BD-AMS10U includes a USB interface for storage and playback via external hard drives. This model is wireless LAN ready for streaming content. It will be available in March for $179.
The BD-AMS20U features wireless LAN, a USB interface for external hard drive ports, and a smartphone interface via Mobile HD Link (MHL). It will ship in April for $199.
With MHL, Android users can access their mobile apps and content through their home entertainment system.
The global market for consumer electronics will hit $1 trillion in 2012, topping the $983 billion of 2011, predicts research commissioned by the Consumer Electronics Association.
While growth of consumer spending is slowing in developed markets, and actually in decline in Western Europe, the focus for the CE industry has shifted to emerging markets, notably India and China.
Figures from GfK Boutique Research (for the CEA) showed the shift from developed to emerging markets. In 2008, 63 percent or $572 billion was spent in developed regions versus 37 percent in developing markets. By 2012, the comparative figures are 54 percent ($557 billion) versus 46 percent ($482 billion).
“The trend is clearly that developed markets will slip below 50 percent of worldwide spending on CE products in the next few years,” said Steve Koenig, CEA’s director of industry analysis.
The growth of 3D TV was described as “surprising” and an opportunity for the CE industry in 2012. The research suggested that 3D TV grew 9 percent in sales worldwide in 2011, with the highest penetration in China.
CES marks the first public showing of Canon’s new digital cinematography camera, the EOS C300, since November’s launch.
