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October 25, 2006, 9:41 AM PDTPanasonic's professional plasmas pull a 1080p
Posted by: David Katzmaier
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Now primary plasma purveyor Panasonic has answered the challenge with its first 50-inch 1080p plasma, the TH-50PF9UK (November, $5,995). It falls in the company's professional line, meaning that it lacks speakers, a stand, a tuner, and all of that other fluff that HD diehards consider unnecessary. As with the lower-resolution TH-50PH9UK, which performed very well in our recent review, the new 1080p model will make you purchase any of those "extras" separately. Check out the TH-50PH9UK review for details, or just watch the video of last year's models.
In case you're wallpapering your palace or outfitting a TV studio to provide NFL pregame coverage, you may also be interested in the company's other sizes of 1080p professional plasma: the 65-inch TH-65PF9UK ($10,995 list) and the 103-inch TH-103PF9UK ($69,999). Cough. All three of these new sets include a DVI input and a component-video input, both of which can handle 1080p sources, and of course you can purchase additional inputs, such as HDMI, at your leisure. Panasonic's press release also mentions that you can "control up to 128 plasmas simultaneously from a single location." We'll be sure to test that capability that when they send us the $8,959,872 worth of review samples.
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September 14, 2006, 12:14 PM PDTCEDIA 2006: Toshiba shows new HD-DVD players
Posted by: David Katzmaier
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The new player also has an improved remote control with keys arranged in a much more logical fashion than those of the HD-A1's bulky clicker. Otherwise, the two players are identical: The HD-A2 has 1080i output, not 1080p; the HDMI jack still uses the 1.2 spec; and image quality should be exactly the same.
1080p and HDMI 1.3 are reserved for the new step-up model, the HD-XA2 (December, $999). The benefits of 1080p are hard to pin down--in fact, given a display that de-interlaces 1080i correctly, and most do, we expect the picture quality improvement from 1080i to 1080p output to be minor, if not nonexistent. HDMI 1.3's chief video-quality benefit, according to its backers, is better color depth that's less subject to false contouring, among other problems. It's worth mentioning that you only get the benefit of HDMI 1.3 if you mate your HDMI 1.3 source to a display with HDMI 1.3, and as far as we know, no HDMI 1.3 displays will be available this year (although next year is a different story; we've even heard an HDMI rep hopefully refer to HDMI 1.3 as "the 1080p of 2007"). The HD-XA2 also offers some control over picture parameters like contrast, color, and brightness.
At first glance, the HD-A2 looks like a better player than the HD-A1, and hopefully the company has indeed addressed some of the first-generation player's usability quirks. For HDTV owners with $500 to spend on a disc player that delivers phenomenal video quality, it looks like a solid value. The same can't be said for the twice-as-expensive HD-XA2, which is obviously aimed at buyers who don't mind paying a lot for cutting-edge features.
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September 14, 2006, 12:08 PM PDTCEDIA 2006: Hitachi's Ultra-ALiS 1080 plasma
Posted by: David Katzmaier
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The 42-inch model isn't technically "p" because Hitachi's ALiS technology doesn't actually have all 1920 physical pixels of horizontal resolution. Instead, it has 960 pixels, each electronically divided in half on the screen. This is a step up from the 1,024 horizontal resolution offered on current ALiS 42-inch panels, such as the 42HDS69 we reviewed recently. The company also claims that ALiS allows a brighter image and better depth of field than a true 1920 panel would. Speaking of true 1920 by 1080, the 60-inch panel does not use ALiS but instead goes with a more conventional, discrete pixel arrangement. When I asked the rep why Hitachi didn't employ ALiS on the larger panel, he said it would make the pixel structure too visible, which made sense to me.
In person, both looked impressive enough. Although I didn't walk up and count pixels, it seemed the sharpness was there, within the limits of the demo loop. The rep even pulled out a magnifying glass so I could see there actually were divisions between the horizontal pixels, a tactic I've seen before, and yes they were there, just like actual pixels. It remains to be seen how ultra-ALiS performs in the lab though, and it looks like it will be a while before we can test it.
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September 14, 2006, 11:19 AM PDTCEDIA 2006: Panasonic's new projector pair
Posted by: David Katzmaier
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The 1080p projector gets model number PT-AE1000U and will be available in December. The company didn't announce pricing, but I assume the unit will be competitive with the other new "budget" 1080p projectors introduced at the show, namely Sony's $5,000 VPL-VW50 and Mitsubishi's $4,500 HC5000U. The PT-AE1000U uses the same Epson 3LCD chipset as the Mitsubishi but claims a higher contrast ratio (11,000:1 vs. 10,000:1) and light output (1,100 lumen vs. 1,000)--although as with most such numbers, I take them with a healthy grain of salt. Panasonic also touts the unit's built-in waveform monitor (!), saying it can measure brightness output from video sources to better optimize picture settings (that does sound pretty cool). Horizontal and vertical lens shift, as well as a 2X-powered zoom, should make installation easier, as should the short-throw lens. These are some pretty juicy specs, so I was excited to see the unit in action, but unfortunately when I visited the Panasonic booth, it wasn't set up; instead the two theaters were devoted to displaying the new 720p model.
Said 720p projector, model PT-AX100U (available now, $2,999), is the successor to 2005's impressive, value-conscious Panasonic PT-AE900U. Improvements include a room-lighting sensor, said to automatically adjust the picture to compensate for some ambient lighting, as well as improved black levels. I saw both in action at the booth; the ubiquitous Blu-ray demo of Corpse Bride exhibited nice, deep blacks and good detail for a 720p projector, and like the 900U the screen-door effect was minimal; I had to stand closer than 6 feet from the 100-inch diagonal screen to see pixel structure. I'm no big fan of room-lighting sensors in general, however, and with projectors, they seem doubly questionable: if you're using a projector, just darken the room as much as possible and leave it that way. Of course we'll back up these cursory first impressions with a full review as soon as possible; Panasonic's rep says an AX100U should arrive at CNET any day now. Permalink | Post a comment
September 13, 2006, 4:00 PM PDTCEDIA 2006: Sony polishes Pearl
Posted by: David Katzmaier
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Judging from the specs, the main difference between the two lies in the lamps: the physically much smaller Pearl has a conventional 200-watt UHP lamp as opposed to the bulky Ruby's exotic 400-watt Xenon lamp. One of our few criticisms of the Ruby was the price of replacement lamps ($1,000 a pop, so to speak) and the fact that, at its quoted brightness of 800 ANSI lumen, screen sizes are practically limited to 100 inches diagonal or less. According to its specs, the Pearl has a 900 lumen lamp, so it should be a bit brighter than its big brother. Other than that, we can't really speculate on its image quality, but we expect to have a full review in the next month. And in case you're wondering, the VPL-VW50 is not the least expensive 1080p projector announced at the show. That honor belongs to the Mitsubishi HC5000, at least for now.
Speaking of screens, Sony and Stewart Filmscreen also announced a specialized screen that's supposedly designed with the Pearl in mind. No word on pricing yet, but the new screens have a catchy abbreviation: Stewart Firehawk SST, for Sony/Stewart Theater, and will be available this month in a variety of sizes.
Update: I attended Sony's VPL-VW50 demo and learned a few new pieces of information. First off, the new projector looked pretty darn good, although some of the footage appeared a bit soft to my eyes. That could be due to any number of factors, such as setup or source, but either way I'm looking forward to seeing one in a real lab environment. Sony had one of the new screens in use and the rep claimed that it cost about $2000 for the 100-inch wide version. Replacement bulbs cost around $300 and should last 2,000 to 3,000 hours, depending on which setting you choose. We'll have a full review as soon as possible.
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September 13, 2006, 4:00 PM PDTCEDIA 2006: Sony busts out bigger Bravias
Posted by: David Katzmaier
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The new LCDs include the company's first 52-inch models: the KDL-52XBR2 (November, $6,500) and the KDL-52XBR3 (November, $6,800). Both join their smaller cousins in Sony's lineup and offer similar feature sets and styling, although the XBR2 model doesn't have the option to swap out its silver bezel for another color. Both 52-inch sets deliver 1,920x1,080 pixels, or 1080p native resolution, as well as the same picture-quality enhancements found on the smaller models. Given the picture quality evinced by the KDL-40XBR2, we expect these larger LCDs to be among the best-performing LCDs on the market.
Apparently unsatisfied by the depth of its relatively affordable S2000 line, the company also announced two other LCDs, the 32-inch KDL-32S2400 (October, $2,600) and the 40-inch KDL-40S2400 (October, $1,700). Aside from price, the main difference between the new sets and the S2000 models is color: the S2400s have a black bezel instead of a silver one.
We expect to review one of the 52-inch models when it becomes available, but we probably won't review either of the S2400 sets. Check out our review of the KDL-32S2000 for an idea of how the S2400 series may perform.
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September 13, 2006, 12:46 PM PDTCEDIA 2006: Mitsubishi offers up least-expensive 1080p projector
Posted by: David Katzmaier
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The Mitsubishi HC5000BL (due in October, $4,499) is currently the least expensive 1080p home-theater projector we know of, beating out Sony's $5,000 VPL-VW50 SXRD model by a relative nose. This Mitsubishi is also the first relatively affordable 1080p projector to use LCD panels. In the past, LCD-based projectors haven't performed quite as well as DLP or SXRD models in our tests, but recently, they've made significant improvements. Mitsubishi touts the unit's HQV video processing, inorganic panels, and 10,000:1 contrast ratio as delivering a smoother picture, more accurate color, and deep blacks, but of course, we won't know for sure how well it performs until we test it. Regardless, the price point alone makes the HC5000 a noteworthy introduction.
Also announced today was the company's new entry-level 1,280x720 (720p) DLP projector, called the Mitsubishi HD1000U (September, $1,499). Its specs are similar to those of the HC3000U, which delivered solid performance and value in our tests, and its price is among the lowest yet for DLP-based 720p projectors.
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August 18, 2006, 7:46 AM PDTUpdate: Federal court reverses injunction against Dish Network's DVRs
Posted by: David Katzmaier
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Yesterday a Texas judge ordered EchoStar to disable its DVR service within 30 days. The order would have affected "several million" Dish DVRs, nearly all of those on the market today. The judge further denied EchoStar's request for an injunction staying the order pending appeal.
I'm no legal expert, but I would be very surprised if EchoStar actually had to shut down any of its DVRs. EchoStar was strongly encouraged by the Texas judge to strike a licensing deal with TiVo, and fought back with appeals. Both DVR heavy-hitters Comcast and DirecTV have already inked deals with TiVo.
Sources: CNN, News.com, TVpredictions.com, DBStalk.com, Zatz not funny
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July 28, 2006, 8:10 AM PDTDirecTV targets August, L.A. for HD-DVR launch
Posted by: David Katzmaier In response to reports that DirecTV will delay the launch of its new HD-DVR until this fall, company spokesman Ron Mercer told TV Week that the device will first be deployed in mid-August in Los Angeles. He added that the DVR would then roll out to other major markets within subsequent weeks, but didn't get more specific as to which markets and when.
Via HDBeat
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July 25, 2006, 7:39 AM PDTDirecTV delays new HD-DVR until fall
Posted by: David Katzmaier
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The report mentioned that many DirecTV customers were holding out for the new DVR before making the leap to high-def. With the news of this delay, I wouldn't be surprised to see some of those customers lose their patience and defect to cable or to Dish Network, which has had its HD-DVR on the market since February, to get their HD fix.
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