CES 2007 - The Best of CE from the Show
by Manveer Wasson on January 18, 2007 12:01 AM EST- Posted in
- Displays
Vista and DX10 Gaming
CryTek, makers of Far Cry, were over at Microsoft’s booth this year showing off their latest FPS, Crysis.
This is one of the most visually impressive games we have seen in a long time and it will take advantage of DX10 on Windows Vista. We played through the short level being demoed and came away pleased. Most of the objects and buildings in the level were destructible and the explosion effects looked great. Crysis was running smooth on a PC running Vista and an NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX.
Bungie was also at Microsoft’s booth showing off Halo 2 on the PC. The booth had six stations set up to play game. Each station had both an Xbox 360 USB controller and a keyboard and mouse. Initially we were surprised to see the majority of players using the 360 controller. However when it came our turn to play we found the keyboard and mouse to feel a bit lacking compared to the controller. This may be due to the fact that we’re so used to playing the game with a 360 controller already. Those who have spent countless hours playing Halo 2 on the Xbox will feel right at home playing it on the PC. Graphically, the game is noticeably improved with sharper textures and higher resolution. Halo 2 will be a Vista exclusive.
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SignalPST - Thursday, January 18, 2007 - link
I'm very interested in the Samsung 30" LED LCD. Awesome resolution, great response and contrast, and most imporantly, it'll have very good color reproduction.sprockkets - Wednesday, January 17, 2007 - link
Those micro projectors are sweet, and being LED powered, and priced right, will be something I'm lookin to buy.semo - Wednesday, January 17, 2007 - link
about the quad hd displaythat got me thinking so i phoned westinghouse and here is the conversation word for word:
1st phone call:
me:we need those 4 in 1 plasmas.
westinghouse: do you mean our quad full hd displays
me: yeah, yeah those jobies. we need 10. 5 minutes ago. move it move it.
wh: who are you?
me: military.
wh: that will be $250,000 per display sir.
2nd phone call:
me: [in poorly imitated feminin voice] we are interested in buying a qhd display from you.
wh: and you are?
me: nuns.
wh: we can give you one for $10,000 but let me speak to my manager.
me: ok dear.
---muzak---
wh: yeah ok great news, we can get you one $5,500.
me: [voice almost back to normal] thank you child.
kirbalo - Wednesday, January 17, 2007 - link
I was at the show and the LG Rep. told me that both the Consumer player, and the PC Drive would both retail for about $1100 next month...not $2000.ManveerW - Wednesday, January 17, 2007 - link
kirbalo,The cost of the drive will actually be around $1200. I corrected it in the article. Thanks for pointing it out!
Manveer Wasson
somegeek - Wednesday, January 17, 2007 - link
After the first CES 2007 article "Convergence Happened" I was expecting something new. None of the products at the show have made convergence a reality. It's still an ambiguous, convoluted idea, like converging movies and games.- Set top boxes, like AppleTV, have been around for years and have failed to catch on.
- Xbox 360 is not an option for people who don't play games, so it won't be mainstream.
- IPTV on the Xbox 360 will have a smaller audience than the Xbox 360.
- Small HTPCs haven't caught on, DTX won't change that.
- The iPhone is a Jack of All Trades, Master of None.
Convergence hasn't happened and it won't ever happen. Specialized, divergent technology is:
- Cheaper to buy
- Cheaper to build
- Easier to use
- Easier to make
- Easier to sell
- More efficient
- More reliable
- More profitable
- Smaller
- Simpler
mesyn191 - Wednesday, January 17, 2007 - link
Sure, there were a few cool things, but so hideously expensive even if I sold my right kidney it'd only be enough for the down payment on the loan to pay for em'. All the HD stuff is so DRM'd no freakin' way am I gonna be paying money for it, don't see how many other people will either.randomlinh - Thursday, January 18, 2007 - link
I doubt people will care about DRM for now. Not many people seem to bother trying to back up their movies they buy. I don't see that changing. Therefore those who complain are in the minority.srue - Wednesday, January 17, 2007 - link
I like the "No Cameras" sign below the Samsung Wireless Plasma.