The Consumer Electronics Show, better known as CES, began in 1967 with a conference held at a New York, NY hotel. Since then, companies have repeatedly hit CES with announcements that quickly revolutionize the technology in our homes. Remembering the ten best products from CES is a trip down memory lane that includes legendary retro tech.
1970: Philips N1500 Videocassette Recorder
Arguably the first historic consumer technology product ever shown at CES, the Philips N1500 was the first videocassette recorder for the consumer market. Showcased in 1970 and then released in 1972, the N1500 was for recording home television rather than playing big-budget movies.
VCR technology wouldn’t become mainstream until later in the decade. Still, this early effort proved the technology’s potential and sparked consumer interest in the tech.
1975: Atari Home Pong console
Atari hit CES hard with a demonstration of its Home Pong console. Though not the first home console to hit the market, the game’s popularity in arcades gave Atari an instant edge over the competition. It brought significant attention to the company, which made another notable announcement at CES 1979.
This announcement was part of a shift in focus in CES. Initially centered on music and then video, the show’s expansion made room for new categories throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Today, CES hosts announcements that span every type of consumer electronics, from amplifiers to robot vacuums.
1979: Atari 400 and Atari 800
CES was rarely a key venue for early announcements in personal computing, but Atari challenged that trend by announcing the Atari 400 and Atari 800 personal computers. High on the success of its games and Home Pong console, these early PCs established the company as a leader in home computers.
Atari would remain competitive in that market throughout the early 1980s but would later fall behind with its disappointing Atari 1200XL, announced at the Winter CES of 1983. However, the company would continue to produce home computers until 1993, when it discontinued its last PC, the Atari Falcon.
1981: Sony and Philips Introduce the CD
Sony and Philips introduced the CD format in 1981, touting it as “the phonograph record of the future.” The CD, which could deliver one hour of interruption-free music, was far more convenient than the vinyl records that dominated at the time. CDs were much smaller and more durable than vinyl records and even bragged of superior audio quality, though modern vinyl fans beg to differ.
Though the companies showed only prototype players in 1981, the technology’s promise was actualized in October 1982 when Sony released the CDP-101 in Japan. Philip’s CD100 followed in November of the same year.
Variants of CD technology, such as CD-ROM drives for computers, would appear at CES time and time again throughout the 1980s. By the early 1990s, the CD-ROM had replaced vinyl records, floppy disks, and game cartridges (in some game consoles, at least).
1982: Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 took CES 1982 by storm, seizing the moment to deliver an affordable yet capable home computer to challenge Atari’s 400/800 and the Apple II. Often referred to as the C64, Commodore’s home computer impressed CES attendees with attractive graphics and high-quality audio.
Despite its capabilities, the C64 sold for just $595 U.S. dollars (about $1,600 today), which was incredibly aggressive pricing. Most home computers sold for at least $1,000 in 1982, and many exceeded $3,000.
The Commodore 64 would sell over 12 million computers and become a dominant force in computing throughout the mid-80s.
1985: Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
The video game crash of 1983, which drove out market leader Atari, put the entire industry in peril. Nintendo saved it by showing the Nintendo Entertainment System at 1985’s Winter CES. The NES proved video games were more than a fad, featuring colorful graphics, an attractive design, and reasonable pricing.
The console’s 1985 debut also served as Nintendo’s introduction to the North American market. Although popular in Japan, Nintendo’s operations in the U.S. were made up of about a dozen employees when they introduced the NES. CES 1985 was the company’s breakout moment in the U.S. market, putting Nintendo in front of families across the nation and filling a vacuum left by Atari’s collapse.
Nintendo also reaffirmed gaming’s place at CES. Large game companies repeatedly attended CES through the 1980s and 1990s, a trend that changed when the gaming industry grew large enough to found E3, its industry conference.
1996: The DVD Arrives
DVD technology seemed to arrive all at once in 1996. RCA, Samsung, Pioneer, and Toshiba, among others, embraced the standards and announced DVD players or DVD-compatible devices. This industry agreement stands in contrast to most new media standards.
Even the Blu-Ray, now used today for all physical copies of high-definition movies, had to fight off HD-DVD.
The agreement came from an unlikely meeting of minds across multiple industries. Past media formats usually grew from a specific slice of the tech industry before expanding into others. This time, the entire consumer tech industry agreed that the DVD was the way forward for disc-based media.
The consensus included significant companies in the PC industry, such as Microsoft. Although best known today as a standard for movies and television, the DVD was equally crucial for the PC, as the expanding size of programs had forced companies to ship software on multiple CDs. The DVD’s adoption stopped this growing annoyance in its tracks.
1999: TiVo’s digital video recorder
TiVo came to CES 1999 with a digital video recorder it had trialed in the San Francisco Bay Area in late 1998. Although not alone in the category, TiVo sucked up the attention with its slick device and attractive, user-friendly interface.
The introduction of the TiVo, and other DVR devices, made recording and storing television easier and more reliable than any VCR ever invented and paired nicely with the rise of HDTV.
Unfortunately for TiVo and other companies making similar products (like ReplayTV), the idea proved easy for others to emulate. TiVo had some success, seeing nearly seven million subscribers at its peak. TiVo merged with a technology licensing company, Xperi, in 2019.
Today, most cable companies provide a form of DVR as part of their monthly subscription fee, making it a fixture in homes across the United States.
2001: Toshiba, Hitachi Plasma Televisions
Although talk of high-definition, flat-panel televisions surfaced at CES throughout the late 1990s, it became tangible with the 2001 introduction of plasma televisions from Toshiba and Hitachi. Boasting a stunning resolution of 1,366 x 768, they were the first flat-panel TVs readily available to consumers.
This innovation marked the start of two trends in televisions; the rise of flat panels and the arrival of HDTV. Today’s televisions have 3,480 x 2,160 resolution and use either advanced LED or OLED technology, but the basic look and feel haven’t significantly changed.
Plasma technology eventually went out of fashion. Plasma televisions were heavier and used more energy than the LED and OLED TVs that followed them. Retailers sold the last plasma televisions in 2014.
2011: HTC Thunderbolt and Verizon 4G LTE launch
Major smartphone announcements rarely happen at CES, but HTC’s Thunderbolt was an exception. It was the first Verizon smartphone to contain 4G LTE wireless technology, a giant leap forward over 3G technology. It was, for most U.S. consumers, the first chance to try 4G.
The HTC Thunderbolt’s mobile data speeds blew away all competitors, including the iPhone. A modern 4G phone can sustain data transfers of several hundred megabytes per second. A 3.5G phone, by comparison, could manage a peak of about 15 megabytes per second. That’s a huge difference and one that people could quickly notice.
Unfortunately, the HTC Thunderbolt had an array of issues, including poor battery life and overheating. Alternatives launching shortly after stole its thunder, and the phone is considered one of the smartphone industry’s all-time biggest flops.
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