Highlights of The Best of the Rest

While most of the hubbub was about the audio and video at the show, there were still a few products that don't fit into those two big categories that caught our eye as well. 

From the futuristic to a new guitar hero (no, not that kind), we saw a bunch.

All the links... well, you know.

Video Highlights from CES

Audio companies weren't the only ones with products to show.

From flat panels to Blu-ray, there was lots to see on the video side of the A/V world.

All the links after the jump.

Audio Highlights from CES

There may have been fewer visitors, and fewer exibitors, at this year's CES, but the audio companies still had lots of new products to show off. 

Here's a roundup of all the cool stuff we saw/was announced. 

All the links after the jump.

Catch this wave.

PS Audio showed off its new PerfectWave digital audio system, which includes the first transport capable of directly playing high-resolution WAV files recorded on both DVD and CD.

The company demoed the system using Reference Recordings’ high-definition HRx DVDs, which have a 24-bit/176-kHz resolution.

Philips’ LCD swan song?

This year, Philips is handing over its TV production to Funai, so the new 7000 Series of 1080p LCDs is likely to be the final series designed exclusively by Philips. Marketing materials are already being branded “P&F USA” for Philips & Funai.

A little bass on the horizon.

Boston Acoustics has added a new model to its line of iPod speaker systems. The flagship Horizon i-DS3 is the first two-piece model in the group, combining a stereo soundbar with a wireless subwoofer.

Meridian embraces HDMI A/V switching…just not how you might think.

For those of you who've wondered when and if Meridian would add HDMI to its surround processors, the new HD621 might just render the question moot.

The Force is with Hitachi.

At this year’s booth, Hitachi was focused on the future. Sure, the company announced some new TV offerings, but the spotlight was on the Style-Unlimited showcase, which highlighted cutting-edge designs and technologies that are coming down the pike.

The showcase included prototypes of a 50-inch Ultra-Thin (35mm) plasma, an even thinner Ultra-Thin (15mm) LCD with LED backlighting, a Blu-ray camcorder, and more. Generating the biggest buzz, though, was a demo of Hitachi’s Gesture Remote Control TV.

Who says a two-channel integrated amplifier isn’t exciting?

Not Simaudio, that’s for sure.

The high-end audio company actually debuted several new MOON Series products at this year’s CES, including two disc players, two amplifiers, and a power supply upgrade.

Epson goes Home for CES.

Back at CEDIA, Epson showed off its new top-of-the-line PowerLite Pro Cinema 7500UB projector, a 1080p model aimed at the custom marketplace. At CES, the company demoed the new Home Cinema 6500UB, which shares many of the Pro model’s performance attributes but drops a few higher-end features.