The CES (International Consumer Electronics Show) for this year may be over, but its after effects are still reverberating around the blogosphere and beyond. Electronic giants, Media conglomerates, Satellite Television Companies, HDTV (High Definition Television) manufacturers and everyone else in the digital universe attend the CES. The CES is the premier location for them to show their wares. How we sit on the cusp of the transition from an analog to a digital world was one of the big topics explored this year. From the popularity of all-digital Satellite Television, digital video cameras and the newest digital televisions, we see proof that the transition is very real. Monumental changes are happening in the entertainment world. Mobile TV or streaming video on the handset or cellular phone was another one of the stars at the CES.

Another topic was the fact that consumers are purchasing, recording, saving, using, moving and creating more of all types of digital media. The emerging digital lifestyle is changing all of the time and one way that companies try to get a handle on this shifting universe is doing research. One small, but very important method, is for the experts to actually come to your home! They call it Environmental Observation Research. They come to your home (with permission) and bring digital video cameras and watch you interacting with your digital stuff! They also conduct interviews and in general snoop around and try to discover all that they can about the home entertainment habits of consumers. Anthropologists call this ethnographic research and they do the same thing, except that they stay around for a year or two.

Some experts in the industry are worried that consumers are falling behind in their knowledge of the new technologies. For example, many consumers confused HD television with Digital Television. Some erroneously thought that HDTV was coming in about two years. Plasma television was also a source of confusion for some—one consumer thought that he would have to spend 20,000 dollars to get a plasma set. Most consumers knew little to nothing about DVR technology (Digital Video Recorders). After they were told that DVR’s allow you to record and pause live television and replace and improve the old VCR technology, they could readily understand it. However, this research underscored the lack of information in large segments of the population. Interestingly, the researchers found out that every household has an unofficial IT manager, and they are the go-to person when someone in the family needs help and information on a new topic or device. I just bet you are the IT expert in your home, aren’t you?

One of the largest lessons from the CEA: Back up your digital memories, files, photos, and videos… And do it now! This is a poorly understood and poorly actualized area. Most consumers just aren’t aware of the importance of backing up, and furthermore they don’t know the technologies to back up their files, such as burning data discs, having copies at other locations, and storing their information on the Internet. Do not lose those precious videos!