Great coverage Lon! I am also pleased to hear the way you advertised the VPN instead of the nonsense I hear from other creators spreading misinformation about what a VPN is and does.
I am going to be very careful on this sponsorship - to their credit they sent along some guidelines about not overhyping the security which made me a lot more comfortable with the brand.
This is one of the best videos I've seen in recent weeks. Thanks for the level of detail. It's almost impossible for those of us who don't create video content to appreciate how much work goes into what you do, Vegas used to essentially give food (and Hollywood variety shows) away to attract the gamblers. The bad old days?
Thanks for sharing all of this Lon. This was my first CES as a lone operator and I wasn't nearly as organized as you obviously were. I'll be referencing this video ahead of my attendance next year for sure!
I agree that the microphone looks kind of old school, but as you say it’s worth it because the audio quality is SO much better. I’ve been watching some coverage from other channels, including LMG channels (literally a $100,000,000 company) and their audio quality is garbage compared to yours because they’re using shotgun mics and picking up insane background/ambient noise.
Thanks *a lot* for the great coverage of CES! Perhaps equally interesting and useful was your insights into your gear and your advice of what works. Superb info, thank you! PS: BTW, nice cameo of your brother. :)
I thought you were using a self balancing gimbal, wow! I tried one, by the way, cheap, from Amazon, but it was defective and I returned it. Have you ever tried those things? I had a nice experience and I might purchase another. The one I got also works as a tripod and it even has things like auto tracking not only for things we might focus on but if you have your phone on it while standing in your room and you move around the gimbal moves softly to track you. It was a shame mine came defective and always tilted to one side or another (I could adjust manually but it kept losing the adjustment randomly). I hope I can find a device that also charges the phone somehow, though, if I try another model, so I can record long videos (the gimbal battery was pretty good for itself but the phone runs out of battery quickly and I don't think we can add a secondary battery to the phone without exceeding the allowed weight, I tried using a cable to connect to a powerbank and I only had partial success as it would interfere with the balance a little. Nonetheless you have a nice setup there! I don't have an iPhone, though, just a plain cheap old Android phone, but it was enough as I am not a professional like you 😁
I feel for the people in the booths there. Many moons ago I did a couple of trade shows in a booth and believe me it was 3 long days. At the end of the show, there is a mad rush to pack up the stuff in the booth make a dash to the loading dock and get the heck out of there. Booths themselves are set up by a separate crew.
When using the native camera app on the iPhone just connect with the camera app on your Apple watch and you have live view and remote start/stop. No mirror needed! It just may control Final Cut Camera too.
In my experience it is not even close to reliable. It either doesn’t connect, or cuts out - even in low RF noise environments. I like it a lot, and it’s a really great feature when it works, but I wouldn’t try and rely on it in a professional setting when money’s on the line.
Thank you Lon for your thoughtful preparation and selection of what booths and content to show your viewers. Also, nice work as a solo producer. Since you sent your final edited video(s) to your home using Tailscale, did you then remote-in to your studio computer to execute the other uploads from home or did you delegate that? Also, I was a little disappointed you weren't able to show any Chromebook or Chromebox devices this year.
There were no Chromeboxes to see! I did see a few laptops and Chromebooks but visually they were not all that interesting for the dispatch pieces. I will get a few of them in for review later this year, however. Yes I used the Mac desktop sharing feature - I left my Macbook Air plugged in to my desktop docking station so I could pop in and access it. I also kept iPerf running so I could ping the bandwidth situation from various locations around the hotel and convention center.
Excellent coverage if CES as usual. Amazing what you can do with a small iPhone rig these days. How did you work around battery life? Were you able to film and record all day without a recharge?
Forgot to mention the battery - amazingly it went all day. I did have a battery in my bag so I topped off on the show floor days. But I would have made it without I think
Lon, thanks for a great video! I really appreciate you in-depth explanation of your camera rig. Who needs to spend thousands of dollars on video equipment when a phone delivers comparable quality for a fraction of the price (and weight)?
You talked about the Anker USB-C audio adapter, but have you tried the UGREEN models? They usually have pretty good products, and in particular they have a right angle dongle without a cord which might shorten up your adapter chain slightly. Assuming the audio quality holds up.
Hey Lon I enjoyed your coverage of CES 2025. I was wanting to hear if Synology had any info on new releases for the DVA Surveillance line? Any info would help
Low-latency, high-quality Bluetooth audio seems to still be a bit of a unicorn in 2025. I can't use Bluetooth on my desk for my mouse because something on my desk interferes with it. My computer is not even 2 feet away. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to keep it stable in a massive convention center full of all those people.
@@LonSeidman wouldn’t there also be a lot of creators using old-fashioned wireless microphones in a setting like this also and wouldn’t those run into interference?
I feel like it’s more common now. A couple years ago I felt like they all had free (if kinda crappy) wifi. But the last two hotels I stayed in charged for wifi, and these were not super low-end hotels. I think technically one of them had a free tier, but it was so limited as to only be good for checking email, and even that was slow. Even modern websites would take a long time to load.
That's ridiculous with the mirror! Sony Xperia Pro-I has an external monitor screen you can attach to the top. No stab in 4k/60, haven't tested to see if it is as good as your iphone (I don't like 30 fps!) And the Xperia Pro I has a mic input.
Looking at a different person's report it looks like CES is way too crowded for me. Don't know how people get to the areas they want which means I don't know how the vendors make enough money on the show to make it worth it to them.
It's incredibly crowded - but from a business standpoint I think it makes sense for many companies - mostly because everybody in the business is there so lots of meetings get scheduled, etc. Generally I found showfloor booths are easy to access as the show is large the crowd is distributed :)
For better or for worse, there’s no “it” or extremely hyped up product or tech for CES this year. The coverage from other media and creators felt evenly balanced. I wonder if it’s a function of the possible tariffs since products would most certainly come from outside the US.
How horrible to have to spend literally 1 second pressing the skip button a couple times in exchange for an otherwise FREE 25 minutes of entertainment.
Go to expressvpn.com/LONTV and find out how you can get 4 months of ExpressVPN free.
Noooo
I always say that it doesn’t matter what big or small a channel is, the important thing is the content. You provide an amazing content. Thanks. 👍
Great recap and finally a VPN ad in a RUclips video that correctly articulates what a VPN does and doesn’t make ridiculous claims.
finally someone who actually knows what should be said for an ad for VPN. Glad to be a supporter of your channel!
Great coverage Lon! I am also pleased to hear the way you advertised the VPN instead of the nonsense I hear from other creators spreading misinformation about what a VPN is and does.
I am going to be very careful on this sponsorship - to their credit they sent along some guidelines about not overhyping the security which made me a lot more comfortable with the brand.
This is one of the best videos I've seen in recent weeks. Thanks for the level of detail. It's almost impossible for those of us who don't create video content to appreciate how much work goes into what you do,
Vegas used to essentially give food (and Hollywood variety shows) away to attract the gamblers. The bad old days?
Thanks for the as always great CES coverage!
Very good! I like this behind the scenes.
Great work as usual Lon! Thanks for bringing us along with you!
Thanks for sharing all of this Lon. This was my first CES as a lone operator and I wasn't nearly as organized as you obviously were. I'll be referencing this video ahead of my attendance next year for sure!
Let's tag team it!
@LonSeidman I'm totally game.
That 10 year review of the company from your first ces will be awesome😊
Thank you Lon! Enjoyed this year just as I have each year. I’ve stopped following CES on other sources and tend to just watch your videos now.
Fascinating stuff - thanks for this info. Enjoyed all your CES videos
You always do an awesome Lon!
You did a great job putting that together. What an amazing rig. You're a beast.
In Lon We Trust.
Very effective setup. I hope you keep up the momentum you gained with CES coverage.
I agree that the microphone looks kind of old school, but as you say it’s worth it because the audio quality is SO much better. I’ve been watching some coverage from other channels, including LMG channels (literally a $100,000,000 company) and their audio quality is garbage compared to yours because they’re using shotgun mics and picking up insane background/ambient noise.
Thanks *a lot* for the great coverage of CES! Perhaps equally interesting and useful was your insights into your gear and your advice of what works. Superb info, thank you!
PS: BTW, nice cameo of your brother. :)
Shows what old school is just able to do the job and do it well👍🏼👍🏼😄
I thought you were using a self balancing gimbal, wow!
I tried one, by the way, cheap, from Amazon, but it was defective and I returned it. Have you ever tried those things? I had a nice experience and I might purchase another. The one I got also works as a tripod and it even has things like auto tracking not only for things we might focus on but if you have your phone on it while standing in your room and you move around the gimbal moves softly to track you. It was a shame mine came defective and always tilted to one side or another (I could adjust manually but it kept losing the adjustment randomly). I hope I can find a device that also charges the phone somehow, though, if I try another model, so I can record long videos (the gimbal battery was pretty good for itself but the phone runs out of battery quickly and I don't think we can add a secondary battery to the phone without exceeding the allowed weight, I tried using a cable to connect to a powerbank and I only had partial success as it would interfere with the balance a little.
Nonetheless you have a nice setup there!
I don't have an iPhone, though, just a plain cheap old Android phone, but it was enough as I am not a professional like you 😁
Osmo pocket 3 may be able to do all this and it won't hurt your arms
Thank you for your hard work!!!
The lookback video should be fun. Looking forward to it
Back without the sniffles? 👏👏👏
So far :)
Your sound quality was really good!
Thanks for this video!
Wow. So much into your production. Thanks for sharing
I feel for the people in the booths there. Many moons ago I did a couple of trade shows in a booth and believe me it was 3 long days. At the end of the show, there is a mad rush to pack up the stuff in the booth make a dash to the loading dock and get the heck out of there. Booths themselves are set up by a separate crew.
Helluva job, Lon!
Love your enthusiasm, thanks for all you do, we appreciate it. 💛
The Mic worked EXTREMELY well! It sounded like you were dubbing over the footage!
Wow, covering that thing is a lot of work, and a lot of technology! Regards from Baltimore.
It really was overwhelming. I wish I had saw this video last week! Lots of good tips. I went as a content creator and was unaware of the free food 😆
That's such a great little camera rig, love the idea of the mirror! You don't even sound sick after CES!
Great rig setup!
Great stuff, Lon. Thank you for your coverage, and cool that you could get some sponsorship to help with costs.
i really like the idea of the mirror, might have to look into that
When using the native camera app on the iPhone just connect with the camera app on your Apple watch and you have live view and remote start/stop. No mirror needed! It just may control Final Cut Camera too.
I contemplated that (in fact even bought a mount to go back there) but the Final Cut app doesn't work with the watch.
In my experience it is not even close to reliable. It either doesn’t connect, or cuts out - even in low RF noise environments. I like it a lot, and it’s a really great feature when it works, but I wouldn’t try and rely on it in a professional setting when money’s on the line.
Senheiser makes a XLR to USB-C adapter that seems to work well. That could simplify your setup.
Got a link to that? Sounds great!
Thank you Lon for your thoughtful preparation and selection of what booths and content to show your viewers. Also, nice work as a solo producer. Since you sent your final edited video(s) to your home using Tailscale, did you then remote-in to your studio computer to execute the other uploads from home or did you delegate that? Also, I was a little disappointed you weren't able to show any Chromebook or Chromebox devices this year.
There were no Chromeboxes to see! I did see a few laptops and Chromebooks but visually they were not all that interesting for the dispatch pieces. I will get a few of them in for review later this year, however.
Yes I used the Mac desktop sharing feature - I left my Macbook Air plugged in to my desktop docking station so I could pop in and access it. I also kept iPerf running so I could ping the bandwidth situation from various locations around the hotel and convention center.
Thanks Lon!!!!
can confirm your audio is great.
Excellent coverage if CES as usual. Amazing what you can do with a small iPhone rig these days. How did you work around battery life? Were you able to film and record all day without a recharge?
Also wondering the same thing. Must have charged up during lunch?
Forgot to mention the battery - amazingly it went all day. I did have a battery in my bag so I topped off on the show floor days. But I would have made it without I think
Lon, thanks for a great video! I really appreciate you in-depth explanation of your camera rig. Who needs to spend thousands of dollars on video equipment when a phone delivers comparable quality for a fraction of the price (and weight)?
Thank you sharing some of the behind the scene magic :-) I also wonder what it takes to produce all that content.
Very cool, you show your AV set-up from late 80's to 2000's. Could be a great vertical💗👍
Vertical doesn't pay like horizontal does!
Q: Does that mic setup work with Facebook live
Great insights. Also, Tailscale might be one of the most useful things ever!
Wow! An accurate sales pitch for an VPN. Nice! 🤣
Thanks! To their credit they were very clear to spell out the boundaries of what a VPN can really provide in their materials to me.
You talked about the Anker USB-C audio adapter, but have you tried the UGREEN models? They usually have pretty good products, and in particular they have a right angle dongle without a cord which might shorten up your adapter chain slightly. Assuming the audio quality holds up.
Looks like you got a text notification at the 11:21 mark. You might want to review and blur if needed.
Thanks for spotting that - it was from my brother nothing interesting :)
there is a device call camcorder and you dont have to do all those contraptions to the cellphone
a cellphone is to make phone calls
Too heavy for solo operation - my iPhone’s video quality is much better than both of my camcorders
Hey Lon I enjoyed your coverage of CES 2025. I was wanting to hear if Synology had any info on new releases for the DVA Surveillance line? Any info would help
They did not have any announcements of that at the show.
Are there no microphone systems that connect via Bluetooth nowadays?
There are probably some out there but very prone to interference given how common the standard is.
Low-latency, high-quality Bluetooth audio seems to still be a bit of a unicorn in 2025.
I can't use Bluetooth on my desk for my mouse because something on my desk interferes with it. My computer is not even 2 feet away. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to keep it stable in a massive convention center full of all those people.
@@LonSeidman wouldn’t there also be a lot of creators using old-fashioned wireless microphones in a setting like this also and wouldn’t those run into interference?
CES 2026? Does ShowStoppers have a time machine?
I think they're getting ready for next year already :)
LONBALL don’t take a boxed lunch. Demand a filet mignion.
One day.. One day...
@ and demand marble potatoes so you aren’t hungry in two hours.
Express VPN is great
I've never seen a hotel charge extra for wi-fi. I guess they saw all the techies coming,
to CES
I feel like it’s more common now. A couple years ago I felt like they all had free (if kinda crappy) wifi. But the last two hotels I stayed in charged for wifi, and these were not super low-end hotels. I think technically one of them had a free tier, but it was so limited as to only be good for checking email, and even that was slow. Even modern websites would take a long time to load.
They do it through a mandatory “resort fee”
I really wish you used and showed android & windows gear.
Did you not see the tablets and mini PCs covered?
That's ridiculous with the mirror! Sony Xperia Pro-I has an external monitor screen you can attach to the top. No stab in 4k/60, haven't tested to see if it is as good as your iphone (I don't like 30 fps!) And the Xperia Pro I has a mic input.
For some reason your sound is tinney, lacks base? Need better mic or adjust filters?
When did you become a silver fox
I blame my children
Looking at a different person's report it looks like CES is way too crowded for me. Don't know how people get to the areas they want which means I don't know how the vendors make enough money on the show to make it worth it to them.
It's incredibly crowded - but from a business standpoint I think it makes sense for many companies - mostly because everybody in the business is there so lots of meetings get scheduled, etc. Generally I found showfloor booths are easy to access as the show is large the crowd is distributed :)
For better or for worse, there’s no “it” or extremely hyped up product or tech for CES this year. The coverage from other media and creators felt evenly balanced. I wonder if it’s a function of the possible tariffs since products would most certainly come from outside the US.
dji pocket 3 could've solved this
That is the most ridiculous apparatus I've ever seen.
Sponser spot. Tuned out.
Not hard to click ahead to skip. The content is still free.
Glad to see you get a sponsor, Lon. Been watching since your HDHR-CC videos. I sold mine last year.
Need to pay the bills dude, there weren't any fake claims on the ad and you can always skip ahead.
How horrible to have to spend literally 1 second pressing the skip button a couple times in exchange for an otherwise FREE 25 minutes of entertainment.