10.06.2006 — In the HDTV world, 1080p is currently king. The recently completed CEDIA Expo featured boatloads of 1080p projectors, plasmas and LCDs. But at CEATEC is Japan, Sharp showed off a 64-inch LCD monitor, sporting a 4096 x 2160 resolution, featuring 8.84 million pixels. 1080who?

The screen, still in the development phase, will be targeted at film and television producers as well as medical researchers, a Sharp representative said. The exhibit is one of the more popular at the weeklong trade show taking place outside Tokyo. But eventually, these technologies trickle down to the consumer market.

And TV personalities thought current HDTV resolutions made them look bad.

This isn't the first beyond 1080p screen we've covered -- back in June, we talked about three German companies developing technology capable of displaying a 5000 x 2000 resolution image -- but it's the first by a major HDTV manufacturer.

Following up on the news that Samsung, a Blu-ray supporter, would be releasing a laptop computer with a built-in HD DVD drive, comes an in-depth look at the companies getting involved in both formats from Home Theater Blog.

So here we have four of the biggest companies in consumer electronics working with other companies on next generation optical disc projects, companies that again to the uninitiated may have given the impression they were unyielding in their support of the other format.

While these partnerships may indeed appear to make for strange bedfellows they're really not all that surprising. All of these companies share [at least] two things in common, the pursuit of financial gain and a reliance on stockholder satisfaction.

It's hard to say what exactly these cross-allegiances will bring to the consumers table in the coming months/years, but one thing's for certain; in the world of consumer electronics the bottom line trumps pride.

There's no doubt about that.

Speaking of HD DVD, RegHardware is reporting that the DVD Forum is planning on introducing a region-coding system for HD DVD next year.

The moves was [signaled] in May this year, when the Forum set up a working group to "develop a specification and enforcement plan for RPC [Region Protection Coding] on HD DVD Video, including region map and requirements in consultation with the studios".

That will disappoint many consumers who hoped studios would abandon the largely unpopular region-fixing system introduced with the DVD format. To date, HD DVDs have not been tied to a specific region.

That should change next year, it emerged yesterday at a DVD Forum meeting in Japan.

And finally -- with CEATEC ending in Japan, some of the focus has shifted from the technology to ... the booth babes.

At Japan's biggest technology trade show on Friday, Wataru Tatebayashi, 35, aimed his camera at the women in miniskirts lining up in front of the gadgets to wave visitors goodbye.

"Someday these photos will be worth good money," he said, shifting his weight to put down his tripod. "I'm putting some of these on my blog, but the best ones I'm saving for myself and for when the women become famous."

For fans like Tatebayashi, the "companions" posing next to some of Japan's most technologically advanced gear are far from gratuitous.

I know that I shouldn't be surprised -- it is a technology show -- but still ... oy.