The “Digital Answer Man” for the nonprofit Consumer Electronics Association is the spokesman for new and cool in-home technology. He travels to more than 60 cities across the United States annually to promote the industry, and his group said he is not paid by the manufacturers to select particular products to showcase. He has held editorial positions at Video magazine, Dealerscope and the Bartex Publishing Group. He is on the board of electors of the Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame.

What are some of the products you’re speaking about right now? One is converter boxes for your analog TV. When analog broadcast stops in 15 months or so, in February 2009, if you don’t have a digital television, you’ll have to get a converter box. The 10 to 15 percent of people who still get their TV the old-fashioned way, with an antenna or rabbit ears, if they don’t have a new TV, they’ll need to get one of these boxes. The feds are going to have a coupon program. Congress doesn’t want to make anybody pay to make this conversion.

What’s the other major category? I also have and will show the hottest new devices, like iPods with some of these cool glasses that let you simulate a 40-inch screen.

So you’re actually looking inside the glasses? It looks like a funky pair of glasses, or like LeVar Burton’s character on “Star Trek” ... it’s called Video EyeWare. The company that makes it is called Vuzix.

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Watching a movie just two inches from your eyes, is that safe? As far as I know, as long as you’re sitting down and not trying to walk around.

kwilliamson@examiner.com

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