The dichotomy made for a somewhat dizzying scene at the Consumer Electronics Show. As attendees crowded booths to watch adrenaline-pumping 3-D TV movies and sports, technologists packed panel sessions to sort through incompatible formats and unfinished standards.

One part of the picture that's already clear is the business rationale. TV unit shipments will rebound a modest 6 percent in 2010 after declining 1 percent in 2009, according to market watcher DisplaySearch (Austin). But the firm further estimates that TV set revenues were down 10 percent last year because of a 9 percent decline in global average selling prices--the first year of declining prices since the flat-panel transition began. Similarly, studios watched sales of movies on optical disks drop as much as 13 percent in 2009. Revenue from sales of content online is growing, but not nearly fast enough to make up for the losses.

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