Digital to hold court at CES; high-end goods show off

Discount Store News, Jan 4, 1999 by Laura Heller

LAS VEGAS -- When retailers, manufacturers and industry experts start the new year by agreeing on the viability of a product, it's obvious things are off to a good start. And that's exactly what's happening in digital.

"Digital, again, is the word at the Consumer Electronics Show," proclaimed Jeff Joseph, vp, communications and strategic relationships, the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association.

Retailers that will be attending this year's CES show in Las Vegas Jan. 7 to 10 have echoed the same feeling. "Digital is hot," came the message from Best Buy's CE group.

Among the items slated for the spotlight are HDTV, digital camcorders and set-top boxes Last year, HDTV just had demo sets Today, the product has finally made it to market, and with 42 stations broadcasting at least some digital content six months before the federally mandated start date, the technology is really picking up steam.

There will be a live HDTV broadcast of an NFL playoff game by CBS on the show floor (last year's show featured a taped feed), and nearly every major manufacturer will be showcasing some form of digital technology, Joseph said Set-top converter boxes will also be in abundance, although price points ($1,500) are almost as prohibitive to the mass market as HDTV units.

Products that operate on the Windows CE platform will be in abundance, and digital imaging products will be showcased in a dedicated pavilion, according to CEMA, In addition, Internet telephony products and home connectivity will generate lots of interest this year, Joseph said

Diamond Multimedia's Rio is getting a lot of attention. This method of digitally downloading music from a PC onto a flashcard will finally make its U.S. debut. Piracy issues had kept the product out of the country; but Circuit City and select retailers began selling the ultracompact player in November. This will be the first real opportunity for the industry at large to check out the product. "This looks to be as hot as it is controversial," said Laurie Bauer, spokeswoman for Best Buy. "The impact on audio may be huge."

MiniDisc and other recordable CD products will be on display. "Sony believes this is a critical component of the digital future," Bauer said. "In fact, we'll see more product from more vendors this year." For DVD fans, there are even rumors that there may be DVD audio products for display on the show floor this year.

Another item to gain considerable attention this year is the Auto PC, which combines music with information, such as e-mail and travel directions, and responds to voice commands. Much like HDTV, the Auto PC was on display at last year's CES, but the product is finally making it to market in 1999 According to Joseph, car manufacturers. Ford, GM and Chrysler all plan on offering the technology on the next generation of cars.

Antennas will be hot in 1999, and they will remain so "until cable companies come on board and agree to pass digital signals," Joseph said. To help retailers make sense of the breadth of products and requirements on this category, CEMA will present its Antenna Mapping Program in the Antenna Pavilion on the show floor. The system offers retailers an easy-to-use map that breaks out broadcasting regions and makes antenna selection simple and accurate.

Attendance this year, at more than 90,000, is expected to equal that of 1998 Although continued consolidation in the industry is decreasing the retail attendee pool, CES is garnering interest from other sources, as well.

"We increasingly find a lot of corporate buyers coming to CES," as more consumer products cross over into the corporate domain, Joseph said Handheld devices such as PDAs are in demand in this environment, and the rise of telecommuting makes CES a great forum to reach this new market.

Conference sessions are broken out into nine tracks consumer technologies, emerging technologies, retail management, mobile communications, Habitech Institute '99, Digital Hollywood, eTV world, CTJA wireless sessions, and a music and film seminar series.

Howard Stringer, president of Sony Corp and chairman, Sony Electronics, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sony Canada will deliver the show's first keynote speech on Thursday, Jan. 7. And John Chambers, president and ceo of Cisco Systems, will address attendees on Jan. 8.

The one thing missing from CES '99 is a conference track focused on Internet commerce. But Joseph promises the topic will be addressed in depth at CEMA events later in the year.