The 2002 Consumer Electronics Show officially opens Tuesday, January 8th, but several major manufacturers took advantage of the relative peace to host press conferences on Monday.

As HDTV slowly rolls out across the US, more and more consumers are finding that those simple days of common connectors and out-of-the-box compatible equipment are now over. What many unsuspecting consumer electronics buyers are now discovering that not all HDTV equipment is configured to the same operating standards.

Back in September, DTS announced that Pioneer and Denon were planning to be the first companies to incorporating the new 96kHz/24-bit high resolution surround sound technology in their flagship A/V receivers. It would appear the companies have made good on that promise, with some help from integrated circuit manufacturer Analog Devices.

If you've been steadfastly waiting for the perfect reason to buy a new HDTV set, here it is: NBC and HDNet announced last week they will broadcast selected events at the upcoming 2002 Olympic Winter Games from Salt Lake City in 1080i high definition video with Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround audio.