As I mentioned earlier, I took a quick trip through the exhibit hall this morning to scope out the new tech toys on display.  If you are a gadget freak like me, this is truly nerd-vana.  My favorite so far has to be the MyVu personal video system.

I’ve seen similar personal video eyewear for sale in the SkyMall catalog for a while now and always wondered how good they would actually be.  Having taken a pair for a test drive, I have to say I am actually impressed.  With a retail in the $149 to $249 price range, they will still require a video source like the iPod.  For travelers who don’t want to watch Pirates of the Caribbean on a two-inch screen, they provide a pretty good option.

More after the jump.

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I had hoped to live-blog the Television 2.0 panel, but unfortunately was running late getting in (I took a stroll through one of the exhibit halls first, more on that later). By the time I got set up, I was mostly committing notes from the earlier segment and trying to keep track of the rest. So I’ll give you a recap.

The panelists included Luke Bradley-Jones (BBC Worldwide America), Steven Canepa (IBM), Doug Lee (MGM), Terry Mackin (Hearst-Argyle Television), Rishi Malhotra (HBO On Demand and Multi-Platform Marketing), Ryan O’Hara (TV Guide Network), and Jeff Weber (AT&T). The discussion focused on the changing ways consumers engage in entertainment and the changing television platform in a panel moderated by Shahid Khan (Interactive Broadband Consulting, LLC).

Bradley-Jones, recalling his trip to Vegas said he watched someone next to him viewing Pirates of the Caribbean on his Nano. He suggested that that would be the exception rather than the rule and he did not believe that consumers would consume long-form video in that way. He suggests that is an oddity likely limited to people attending CES.

This became a recurring theme of the panel. Lee agreeing with Bradley-Jones, suggested that long-form via personal devices is not appealing, but suggests that people may want to watch portions of long-form in that way. His example of The Good, The Bad & The Ugly as a movie too long for consumption that way, but he thinks people may want to watch pieces of it.

I’m not sure if that’s really true and would like to see some stats (if the companies have them) on research that indicates people won’t watch long-form content that way. It may be a chicken/egg discussion that people aren’t doing it now simply because it’s a new technology. Only the early adopters are really consuming mobile video. With advances in devices, and a marketing focus, would that change?

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As Kyle mentioned in his first post, we see this blog as a place for serious discussion of telecommunications policy and the potential impact of changes to legislation and regulation.  We’ll get to that very shortly.  However, we also recognize that the cable platform of video, voice and data have fundamentally changed the way we interact with our world.  The information resources available, the entertainment options it affords us, and the new ways we can share our lives with the world shape our day-to-day lives in ways we never thought possible a few years ago.

What better way to explore some of those possibilities than to spend a few days at the 2008 International CES - the showcase for consumer electronics.  Along the way, we’ll look into some of the issues facing both the cable industry and electronics manufacturers - things like the explosion of social media, the transition to digital television, and the best way to protect intellectual property in the age of easily transferable digital media.  Here’s just a few of the things I plan to cover between now and Thursday.

Monday - We’ll take a look at Television 2.0: How the entertainment platform is changing the way we communicate and access entertainment.  We’ll also explore the DTV conversion and the government coupon program, intellectual property and government policy

Tuesday - Smart and connected TVs, PVRs, advancements in set-top boxes and PC media centers may change the way we access and view content.  In addition, we’ll cover FCC Chairman Kevin Martin’s forum, social media, the spectrum auction, and staying connected in an increasingly mobile world.  Comcast’s Brian Roberts is giving the Tuesday keynote and has some surprise announcements.  We’ll cover it as it happens.

Wednesday - Discussion turns to the next generation of broadband platforms.   We’ll cover the “Last Gadget Standing”, where a panel of Yahoo! bloggers will look at the best gadgets on display to see which will last, and which will become the Macarena of consumer electronics.  Changes to mobile and broadband networks are also on the agenda.

Thursday - We’ll close the week with a look at CableCARDs and Gary Shapiro’s discussion of the regulatory environment facing consumer electronics.

Somewhere in there we’ll also stroll the show floor and  look at the latest and greatest gadgets for the home, car, and personal use on display here.  We thought we would spend a few days looking at the devices you’ll be using in the near future to get the most out of your cable service.

Have anything else you’d like us to look at while we’re here?  Leave a comment and let me know.  I’ll do my best to keep up with the feedback and answer your requests.