The big event of the week wasn't even at CES, as Steve Jobs announced the iPhone at the Mac World conference. Then lawsuits commenced.

But there were other things more relevant to the cable industry. One big issue for programmers visible at the show is the issue of multiple platforms. Consumers can already get content on a wide array of devices. Programmers will have to create new strategies, figuring out how to take the content and push it out to many platforms simultaneously, while still figuring out the best way to handle Digital Rights Management.

Sling Media announced a new technology called Clip+Sling, which may address the question of how programmers can tap into the current trend of viewers taking clips from TV shows and throwing them on up YouTube and Google Video. While there are still lots of details to be worked out, to my eye, Clip+Sling offers some intriguing possibilities.

If you follow hi-def TV, you know about 720p and 1080i. Well, 1080p was highly visible at CES. This is 1080p/60 -- that is, 60 frames per second. There doesn't actually seem to be much content available now or in the near future in this format, but carrying such programming may present bandwidth issues.

There was also the HD Camcorder from Panasonic, with 8 GB of storage (about 90 minutes of footage), and set to be priced about $1,500. If consumers start shooting videos on it and then uploading them to the web, this may be another bandwidth hog to keep an eye on.