By the Staff of Digital Family Advisor

No surprises from the floor of the Vegas Convention center or the many private hotel suites that TV manufacturers showed off their wares. Prices quoted to retail buyers, dropped like stones on the 4K or now dubbed Ultra HD TVs. From major players like Panasonic, Visio, Sony, Samsung, Sharp, Toshiba  and LG to the wanna bees like Philips, , Westinghouse Digital,  JVC and even lower tiered models like Hisense, Sylvania, Coby , and Polaroid,  Ultra TVs are down nearly 40% in price from last year at this time. With some manufacturers expected to have under $1,200 models by spring time.

Ultra HD or also known as 4K sets produce pictures about four times the resolution of the previously highest 1080P sets.

Manufacturers are trying to return to solvency after relying on the now almost dead 3D craze of a few years ago. Almost all are producing Smart Internet enabled TVs. And almost all TV makers are producing sets in more sizes. Even the big names are flirting with Walmart, Target and K-Mart by making sets as small as 22 inches (kitchens and bathrooms) yet letting the mass market stores sell their feature laden 60 and 70 inch models too.

But while the TV companies all boasted about their Ultra HD models, they spent more time at their press events touting their latest Tablets, Smart Phones,  Digital Cameras and Audio products which still make more profits than TVs.

Here are some Day Two Highlights:

Sharp Unveils New Audio Products for 2014

Wireless High Fidelity Sound and Full HD Video

Sharp Electronics showed off its Sharp Universal Player and Wireless Bridge, Sharp’s first WiSA (Wireless Speaker and Audio)-compliant universal player system. The Sharp Universal Player (SD-WH1000U) is the first component to transmit uncompressed sound at 24-bit/96kHz and video at Full HD (1080p) — wirelessly.  The Sharp Universal Player has already been named a 2014 International CES Innovations Design and Engineering Awards Honoree in the High Performance Home Audio category.

Big Audio for Big Screens: Sound Bars

 In addition to its Ultra HD TVs, Sharp new sound bar, the HT-SB602, is designed to complement 60″ and larger flat panel televisions. This 2.1-channel, 310-watt sound bar system with a wireless subwoofer features a powerful “whole room sound”. It has built-in Bluetooth and also offers the convenience of easy pairing using NFC.  This system can be set up horizontally either in front of a TV base (including an IR extender for the TV) or wall-mounted and features dual HDMI inputs and output, 3D sound support, Dolby and DTS decoding and an optical input.

 Bluetooth Speaker Systems for Every Room in the House

Sharp audio line-up now includes Bluetooth speaker systems for home and office.

The GX-BT7 is an all-in-one 2.1-channel wireless Bluetooth speaker system with NFC support and dual subwoofer speakers that mechanically slide open when the system is turned on.  The GX-BT7 is compatible with most devices through either a USB or audio input and features blue LED light indicators that pulsate in sync with any music.

The DK-KP85P Bluetooth compatible slim micro system features a top mounted Lightning dock, a USB input, CD drive, audio input, AM/FM tuner and an accompanying iPad® stand.

Not to forget about its TV customers, Sharp augmented its Aquos HD TV lineup including new Aquos Q+ with 10 million more sub pixels, built in up scaling, audio and Bluetooth streaming (first on market to play UHD content); Smart Central – App compiles all content into one search function

Sony Play Station’s  Now’s Streaming Service

Sony announced that they will soon be rolling out their video game streaming service dubbed PlayStation Now. The service will allow users to not only play older PlayStation games (from PS1 to PS3) on their PS4, but also directly to televisions, smartphones and tablets. The announcement comes off the heels of Sony purchasing the game streaming pioneers Gaikai for $380 million last year. An open beta is expected in the near future and the service is expected to enter a full release this summer. Pricing has not yet been announced.

Samsung’s Notebook Computer Strategy

Samsung has announced a litany of new products from computers to speakers at WCES.  The company which suffered its worst financial quarter in many years, seemed to feature its home appliances and mobile products more than its highly rated TVs.  The ATIV Book 9 touch screen notebook,  an upgrade to last year’s model that extends the screen size by .6 inches and a boosted battery life. The biggest leap in the Book 9 is the ability to pair it with Samsung’s Galaxy phones and Tablets so that notifications like text messaging and important emails and even videos can be shared on a late model Samsung Phones and Tablets….a similar convenience that LG introduced a few months ago.

The Soundstand is Samsung’s new Soundbar is made to support the weight of TVs up to 55” while delivering the impression of surround sound.

The company also showed off its 105” curved UHD TV – world’s first and largest curved UHD that has 11 million pixels with auto depth enhancer giving a 3D effect without glasses; Bendable TV – 85” push button Ultra HD turns from flat panel to curved; New PRO tablet series 12.2” with full size virtual keyboard.

Magellan Renews Battle with Tom-Tom and Garmin

Magellan which has made somewhat of a comeback against industry leaders Tom-Tom and Garmin has introduced a new 7-inch navigator GPS made specifically for RVs. The Magellan RoadMate RV9490T-LMB is customizable depending upon the users specifications and comes pre-loaded with RV specific navigation tools and points of interest. The RoadMate RV9490T-LMB also has cloud-based functionality that will alert the driver to any messy conditions or weather on the road ahead. The RoadMate RV9490T-LMB is expected to launch in Q2 2014 for $349.99.  Mahgellan also showed off its next generation SmartGPS Eco V2.0 cloud technology for automotive OEM and Tier 1 customers. The SmartGPS Eco V2.0 is the latest advancement in Magellan’s cloud based content services that deliver money saving content, keeps drivers informed with relevant location and social content, and provides safer navigation.

Pioneer’s NEX Auto Device

Pioneer announced the Networked Entertainment eXperience. The in vehicle touch based product allows the user to control services from the dash including music libraries, Pandora and Bluetooth audio features.  The product also includes navigation as well, complete with cloud-based features such as minute-to-minute traffic and weather updates. The products boasts integration with Siri and the first capacitive touch screen in the in an after market navigation device. The NEX has several models ranging from $750.00 to $1,400.00.

TiVo Network DVR

TiVo, pioneers in television entertainment, have demoed a new product: The Network DVR (NDVR). The NDVR will allow the user and the programmers to take advantage of varied content using TiVo’s cloud service.

IZON’s Glasses-free 3D Gaming TV

IZON has unveiled a glasses-free 3D gaming. The company will offer the line of LED screens with 24-inch, 32-inch, 47-inch and 55-inch glasses-free models.

Cerwin-Vega’s SL Series Home Audio System

Cerwin-Vega! has announced a new home audio system, the SL Series Home Audio System. The system has a variety of options making it easy to figure out how many speakers and/or woofers you’ll need for any given space. The system is designed to be customizable for a home, office, dorm room or any other environment.

Other official announcements and introductions

LG – LG G Flex – curved OLED display with world’s first curved battery (6” HD display; LG Homechat with voice-messaging/texting option to appliances.

Monster – DNA WirelessPro Headphones – wireless, noise cancelling with controls built in; GODJ – Portable, standalone DJ device that fits in hand. And an 11-inch Android Tablet.

Huawei – Another new entry into the  Smart Phone market with its Ascend Mate2 4G Smartphone– curved shape, 6.1 display, LTE Cat4 150mbps, Bluetooth 4.0, Quad core 1.6 Ghz processor, multi-screen tech, 4050mAh battery (two days performance), reverse charging to charge other devices, 6.1 enhanced HD (EHD), 5MP front camera and panoramic selfie.

Tarsier – MoveEye – 3D glasses with stereo cameras that allow interaction with what’s on the screen, “direct interaction.”

Livio Radio – SmartDeviceLink to standardize a way to bring apps into the dashboard of all vehicles.

DISH – New additions to the Hopper lineup of whole-home DVR service, SuperJoey which when paired with the Hopper allows users to record up to eight shows at once and 2,000 hours of content; Wireless Joey streams content to any TV in the house.

VOXX  – Myris – Iris identifying authenticator for increased online security; 360Fly – 360 degree self-contained waterproof mountable camera; Soundboard power Plus – 5200mAH charging power plus wireless audio capabilities.

Panasonic – The venerable CE leader is still riding its Industrial strength laptop to profits. The Toughpad FZ-M1 7 inch rugged tablet is its flagship laptop, while the ; 4K Ultra HDTV the new “Life+Screen” AX800 series now has voice activation and face recognition technology and advanced personalization; They also featured the  4K Varicam – first waterproof 4K professional camera; and the  Toughpad 4K tablet with 20-inch LCD display – first to offer 4K resolution.

Intel – New brand RealSense – revolves around a thin, embedded 3D-sensing camera that can be embedded in desktops, laptops, tablets, etc. RealSense 3D cameras will scan objects for 3D printing.

TouchJet Pte. – TouchJet – A precise touch enabled pico projector with a built-in Android OS that transforms any empty wall into an interactive 80 inch tablet.

Hisense – VIDAA smart TV platform – Android powered lets users seamlessly toggle between live TV, on demand entertainment, recorded programming, personal content, apps and more with a single touch of a button. The company recently lost out to its competition at Wal-Mart but expects the new line to do better.

Formula E – Revealed and demoed first electric racing car; Qualcomm will begin to integrate Snapdragon into the cars adding WiFi and Bluetooth.

Toyota – North American debut of Toyota’s fuel cell sedan concept with 300 mile driving range, zero-to-sixty in 10 seconds, no emissions and hydrogen tank refueling in 3-5 minutes.

MakerBot – Replicator 3D printer series including the Mini, Replicator and Z18 with 100 micron layer resolution, full color LCD displays, app and cloud enabling with onboard camera options for print monitoring and sharing.

SKULPT – SKUPLT device calculates body composition via electrodes sensing the difference between muscle and fat – provides exercise advice based on individual goals and progress.

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