Since the first CES took place in New York City in June of 1967, this event has grown ever so quickly. In 1967 there were 200 exhibitors and 17,500 attendees, but since then, this trade show has grown more than ten-fold. Companies clamor to have a chance to speak or go to this trade show because they know it makes for remarkable media coverage. According to a Burson-Marsteller Most Valued Podium survey, CEOs even rank the CES as one of their top 10 most desired speaking opportunities.

Here are some of the winners of the 2010 CES show.\:

For Best In Show–the Panasonic VT25. This TV will be among the first 3D-capable flat-panel HDTVs available for sale in the United States. Its release date is set to be late this spring. Ridiculous! The CES 2010 People’s Voice Award went to the Intel Wireless Display. Called WiDi, Intel has created technology that allows one to connect their PC to the TV. To do this, one would use a WiDi-enabled laptop and wirelessly connect to an adapter box that plugs into the HDMI port of any display.

Another piece of technology that turned some heads was LG’s Blu-ray player. Here are some key features of the LG BD590 according to Cnet.com:

• 250GB built-in hard drive
• capable of storing music, photos, and videos
• Can rip CDs directly to the hard drive
• Online streaming media services include Netflix, Vudu, CinemaNow, YouTube, Pandora, Picasa, AccuWeather
• Purchased Vudu movies can be stored directly on the hard drive
• Built-in Wi-Fi
• Allows you to stream music, photos, and videos from a connected PC

CES is the ultimate technology trade show.

In 1975 Sony developed the Betamax video cassette and player, trying to dictate the industry’s standard and monopolize it. JVC decided instead of buying into the rights of developing Betamax players they would develop their own player, and thus VHS was born. By 1988 Sony conceded defeat as VHS became the industry standard.

Another format war played on behind the scenes in 1993 between Sony and JVC, among others, over high-density optical storage formats. Sony was backing MultiMedia Compact Disc (MMCD), and JVC backed the Super Density (SD) disc. Sony lost out again to JVC and others when the industry standard settled on DVD’s, basically the SD disc with a few MMCD implements.

In 2006 Blu-ray was available for the mass market along with the Playstation 3, which supports blu-ray gaming discs as well as being a blu-ray player. Coincidence? I think not since Sony is at it again, trying to set an industry standard with their format. And as of February 19, 2008, when Toshiba bowed out of making HD DVD players causing the rest of the industry to follow suit, Sony actually won a format war.

Blu-ray players range from $399.99 on up, and Blu-ray discs are $29.99 for new releases. I already miss the $19.99 DVD, especially when I can’t see a difference between the two visually when played on a television. I give it about 10 years, and, as history shows, the DVD format will be obsolete. So I will have to jump on the Blu-ray band wagon, but when I do I’ll just buy a PS3, which incidentally is one of the cheaper Blu-ray players on the market right now.