In twelve hours, the CEDIA 2008 conference gets under way and opens its doors to thousands of fans and speculators, all ready for an orgiastic embrace with new home entertainment gadgets.
But right now, the majority of the booths are still under construction. Also, the floor is super dirty and hundreds of boxes are yet to be opened.
Did I see panic in the faces of many of the installers putting up signs and electronics at the last minute? I did. Did I see a man presumably call his boss and beg him for another assistant, while gingerly placing a $5000 TV on a tiny stool? Yes, and I walked away, slowly, pretending not to hear anything.
I also found out a couple of other booth installations with gadgets that confirmed earlier rumors: Runco will (now very likely) come out with a new 1080p HDTV that is heavily integrated with Microsoft’s Windows Media Center (see pic directly below) and that McIntosh will release their newest line of 1080p projectors and high-end amplifiers for very reasonable prices.
Finally, I ran into a dance group practicing a dance (that some people would call sensual), featuring two people held up in a hammock-style harness. After taking a couple of quick pictures I was quickly ushered out of that area without knowing what was going on. I will return there tomorrow.
Check out some of the behind the scenes pics below.
