September 14, 2006, 12:14 PM PDT
CEDIA 2006: Toshiba shows new HD-DVD players
Posted by: David Katzmaier

Today Toshiba announced a pair of second-generation HD-DVD players at the CEDIA show in Denver. The first, model HD-A2 (October, $499), improves on the current HD-A1 by using a smaller chassis that's mostly black, as opposed to the old two-tone black-and-silver. Toshiba's rep also claimed that load times on the HD-A2 were faster than the older model, although he stopped me when I reached for the power button to cycle it on and off to see for myself (I'll be back, Toshiba!).

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 PDT
CEDIA 2006: Hitachi's Ultra-ALiS 1080 plasma
Posted by: David Katzmaier

"1080? Where's the 'p'?" you may be asking. Well, that takes some explaining, so I'll start at the beginning. Hitachi's booth included a pair of plasmas with the capability to resolve all 1,920 by 1080 pixels of a 1080i or 1080p source, one that's 42 inches diagonally and the other is 60 inches. Both are the first I've seen of their respective plasma sizes with 1080 resolution. Before you get too excited, you should know that both models were preproduction only, and the company didn't announce pricing or get more specific than "2007" regarding availability (Update: Hitachi has since told me that they'll be out in the "second half of 2007."). If Pioneer's 50-inch 1080p PRO-FHD1 is any indication, they won't be cheap.

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 PDT
CEDIA 2006: Panasonic's new projector pair
Posted by: David Katzmaier

Panasonic took the opportunity to announce two new home-theater projectors at this year's CEDIA show in Denver. Both use LCD technology, one to achieve 1080p resolution, and the other to deliver good ol' 720p.

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.

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September 13, 2006, 4:00 PM PDT
CEDIA 2006: Sony polishes Pearl
Posted by: David Katzmaier

Sure, Sony introduced a couple of new LCDs today at CEDIA, but to home-theater enthusiasts, the company's most important announcement concerned its new front projector, the VPL-WV50 (September, $4,999), nicknamed Pearl. It's the less expensive version of the Editors' Choice VPL-VW100, also known as Ruby, and it offers the same 1080p native resolution, courtesy of an SXRD light engine, for half the price.

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 PDT
CEDIA 2006: Sony busts out bigger Bravias
Posted by: David Katzmaier

Today at the CEDIA Expo in Denver, Sony announced a few new high-end LCD HDTVs under the Bravia name. The company also gave official details on its so-called Pearl projector, as well as announcing a partnership with projector-screen manufacturer Stewart for a specialized Pearl-friendly screen.

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 PDT
CEDIA 2006: Mitsubishi offers up least-expensive 1080p projector
Posted by: David Katzmaier

The CEDIA show in Denver is all about high-end home theater, and nothing says home theater like a front projector. Mitsubishi fulfilled half of the high-end home-theater equation today by introducing a projector, but happily, it's not quite so high-end as most of the products announced at the show.

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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