Who says rear-projection is dead?
(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)If the heyday of the gigantic-screen rear-projection HDTV is over, somebody needs to tell Mitsubishi. The company is the sole remaining proprietor pushing out 60-inch-plus TVs too thick to hang on the wall and too inexpensive to merit a cameo on MTV's "Cribs." Its 2009 lineup features two series of what it calls home theater TVs--to differentiate from its flat-panels--and the WD-737 is the cheapest.
The main reason for buying this TV is to get as much screen for as little money as possible, and the WD-737 series fulfills that role admirably. It can't match the black-level performance of most flat-panels we've tested, it has some uniformity issues unique to its category and, of course, you'll eventually need to replace the bulb. However, the replacement is relatively inexpensive ($99, plus shipping), color accuracy is very good, and did we mention the picture is gi-normous? If you want to go really big for less, the WD-737 series is the only game in town.
Samsung's 61-inch LED-powered DLP TV.
(Credit: Samsung)Around the holiday season we get a lot of e-mails from readers agonizing over what TV to buy. With the economy the way it is, consumers aren't completely shying away from buying new TVs, but they're on tight budgets and appear to be predominantly interested in screen sizes 52 inches or smaller. The big problem with going bigger is that you jump into a whole new price class when you start looking at the Panasonic 58-inch plasma--and it gets worse when you check out Pioneer's 60-incher.
The exception to all this is DLP-based rear-projection HDTVs, where Samsung and Mitsubishi are the only real remaining players. Remarkably, Best Buy is selling our editors' choice Samsung HL61A750 for $1,600 and the 67-inch inch model in the same line goes for $2,000. Meanwhile, Best Buy has the 65-inch Mitsubishi WD-65735 for a mere $1,500.
But rear-projection is a dying breed, right? Or, as one reader commented, "Everyone seems to be getting out of the rear-projection market. What happens if Samsung completely kills it? What happens then? Will they service my TV?"
Rear-projection is only popular in really big screen sizes.
(Credit: CNET)A press release describing a new report (PDF) says that rear-projection HDTVs, including DLP-based microdisplays, now serve only a niche market of people who want 60-inch or larger televisions. The report by Quixel research shows that in the second quarter of this year, the 60-inch and larger screen sizes accounted for 86 percent of sales of all rear-projection HDTVs; up from 32 percent in 2007. The firm's spokesman says that the reason has to do value. "The market has changed and there is no value for 42-inch, 46-inch, and 50-inch MD RPTVs, but there is great value in the screen sizes above 60 inch," said Tamaryn Pratt, Quixel Research principal.
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The Samsung HL61A750 snagged an Editors' Choice award, but is it the last rear-projection HDTV to do so?
CNET's review of the Samsung HL61A750 just went up, and if you're still open to the idea of a rear-projection HDTV, it deserves a long look. With the HL61A750, you'll get a 61-inch 1080p HDTV for less than $2,000, which is one of the best screen size-to-price ratios you'll find. Not only that, but the HL61A750 bests the competition in terms performance, with very accurate color and respectable black levels. (Granted, that competition only includes Mitsubishi, as just about everyone else has left the rear-projection biz.)
Perhaps the more interesting question is: how much longer will rear-projection HDTVs be around? Will we be able to give a rear-projection HDTV an Editors' Choice next year, or will large screen flat-panels drop in price enough to make rear-pros an irrelevant category? Let us know what you think in the comments.
Rear-projection TV: heading toward extinction.
(Credit: CNET)Will rear-projection TV sales plunge to near zero within the next 48 months? That's what a new study from IDC Group claims. With ever larger plasma and (especially) LCD flat-panel HDTVs becoming ever more affordable, IDC sees sales of RPTV sets--those utilizing DLP and LCoS microdisplays--dropping to under 30,000 units by 2011. That's a dramatic drop from the peak of 3.51 million sold in 2004 (according to the CEA).
None of this is shocking news, of course--the trend toward flat panels has been increasingly irreversible as large plasmas and LCD screens continue to break key price-point barriers. For the consumer, however, it's the best news of all: LCD and plasma prices continue to drop, and even larger rear-pro TVs will approach fire-sale prices as they have their last hurrah.
SOURCE: CNBC video interview--Becky Quick discusses the IDC report with Ruben Roy, Pacific Crest Securities semiconductor analyst, and Eric Haruki, IDC research director.
Mitsubishi's trying to bring 3D to the home.
(Credit: news.com.au)Along with a few other tech journalists, I spent a couple of hours today over at the Westchester Country Club, which is gearing up for The Barclays PGA Tour event. What the hell was I doing there? Well, as part of a marketing deal with the PGA Tour, Mitsubishi is the "official large outdoor video display provider" of the Tour, and the PR team wanted us to see some of these displays in action--along with the Tour's ShotLink technology, which tracks players' shots almost down to the centimeter (the info is then displayed on those giant Mitsubishi scoreboards). That's all sorts of interesting if you're a golf fan, but things got a little sexier when Mitsubishi representatives took us into a hospitality suite, handed us each a pair of fancy 3D glasses (a little smaller than the ones shown in the photo), and showed us a demo of some new 3D-imaging technology the company's working on.
The demo was run from a massive Dell desktop and output onto a large DLP set. In an effort to inject new life into the fading rear-projection category, the company's pitch was that the 3D technology worked with existing DLP TVs and projectors (due to DLP's native 120Hz refresh rate, which allows you to split it into 60/60 for 3D) but not with LCD and plasma displays.
Most of us were pretty impressed by the demo, which included clips from movies, commercials, and sporting events. There was real depth to the 3D, and you got that 3D-feeling of objects poking out at you from the screen. All the demo material had been shot in 3D, but the kicker to the whole presentation was that Mitsubishi apparently has a Blu-ray player in its labs that can convert existing 2D movies into 3D on the fly. Better yet, according to company representatives, it may be available early next year.
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Sony has a total of three series of SXRD-based rear-projection televisions for 2007, which works out to eight total models. We can't review all of those sets, but we can give you an idea of how they stack up against one another, and the differences between the baseline versus the step-up models. This info only covers the company's SXRD-based rear-projection HDTVs; Sony also produces a less-expensive line of LCD-based RPTVs, detailed here. For more info on rear-projection technologies, including how SXRD and LCD stack up against DLP, check out our guide.
Sony KDS-A2020 series
(Credit: Sony)This is Sony's entry-level SXRD series. It's actually a holdover from the company's 2006 line, with black cabinets replacing silver as the only change. Check out the KDS-60A2020 review for more information.
Models (all prices are estimated selling prices)
- Sony KDS-50A2020 ($1,999)
- Sony KDS-55A2020 ($2,300)
- Sony KDS-60A2020 ($2,600)
Entry-level features
- 1,920x1,080 (1080p) native resolution
- Two HDMI inputs
- VGA-style PC input
- Bottom-mounted speakers
Sony KDS-A3000 series
(Credit: Sony)Sony used to be satisfied with just two series of SXRD HDTVs, but this year it's added a third--the A3000 series--to fit between the entry-level A2020's and the high-end XBRs. These three rear-projection sets are priced higher than many brands' top-of-the-line models, and Sony tries to justify the cost with a few enhancements over the A2020 sets, which themselves cost about $1000 less.
That extra investment nets HDMI 1.3 connections, which in this case don't count for much. The only "extra" HDMI 1.3 provides these TVs is compatibility with a wider color space (Sony's xvYCC, or "x.v. Color"), which is said to provide a more realistic range of color that comes closer to what the human eye can perceive. That sounds great, but in practice you'll need an xvYCC source -- of which there are currently none, aside from a couple of Sony camcorders -- to take advantage of it. These sets also include Sony's Motionflow 120Hz technology, which is said to double the frame rate for smoother, more realistic motion. We're skeptical of its benefits, especially in SXRD TVs that haven't had any problems with blurring or other motion issues as far as we've seen, but we'll know more when we can test this feature. In addition, Sony claims these sets have better standard-def video processing ("Sony's BRAVIA Engine EX full digital video processing system with Digital Reality Creation-Multifunction v1.0", if you're keeping track) and the company includes an easy-access Theater mode to make optimizing the picture for nighttime viewing a one-button affair.
In case those dubious picture quality improvements don't seem worth stepping up for, Sony offers design-based incentives including slimmer cabinets -- the company claims "20% slimmer than last year's sets," which works out to depth of 14.1, 15.2, and 16.2 inches, respectively, on the 50-, 55- and 60-inch models. These models also have the unique ability to replace the black speaker grilles with grilles of a different color (red, silver, black or brown; $50 each). Sony also throws in its newly designed menu system as well as compatibility with the Bravia Internet Link.
Models
- Sony KDS-50A3000 (August, $3,000)
- Sony KDS-55A3000 (August, $3,300)
- Sony KDS-60A3000 (August, $3,500)
Step-up features
- 120Hz refresh rate
- x.v. Color
- Theater Mode
- Improved video processing
- Slimmer cabinets
- Interchangeable speaker grills
- Bravia Internet Link compatibility
Sony KDS-ZXBR5 series
(Credit: Sony)Much like last year's XBR line--more on that in our full review of the 2006 KDS-R60XBR2--Sony's 2007 XBR models don't offer massive improvements over the step-down series. In fact, aside from the glossy black, noninterchangeable styling, a pedestal stand (pictured; component shelf not included), and an extra-large screen size option, there's only one substantial difference as far as we know: a further-improved version of Sony's video processing, entitled "BRAVIA Engine Pro circuitry with Digital Reality Creation-MultiFunction v2.5." No matter how much further of an improvement it represents, we don't expect too many discerning shoppers to choose the 60-inch XBR, which will initially sell for a full $1500 over its A3000 counterpart.
Models
- Sony KDS-Z60XBR5 (October, $5,000)
- Sony KDS-Z70XBR5 (October, $6,000)
Step-up feature
- Further-improved video processing
We'll update this information if and when we find out more, including when we can actually review the new models.
The KDF-50E3000 is a 1080p LCD RPTV.
(Credit: Sony)
Sony's slim 37-inch KDF-37H1000 rear-projector
(Credit: Sony)Some of the more notable products announced at the Sony line show today are three rear-projection HDTVs--remember those?--that use LCD technology housed in foot-deep cabinets. Sony has been selling LCD-based RPTVs such as these as its somewhat less-expensive alternative to SXRD-based rear-projectors such as these (more info), but this year there's a new twist: Two of the three LCDs have 1080p native resolution, the highest available today. In other words, just one 2007 Sony RPTV so far, the KDF-37H1000, will have less than 1080p resolution.
The two new 1080p LCDs, the 46-inch KDF-46E3000 and the 50-inch KDF-50E3000, are both due in July. They boast slimmer cabinets than many like-sized RPTVs; the 46-inch model measures 11.9 inches deep, and the 50-inch measures 12.6 inches deep. Aside from 1080p, they include an adjustable Iris, which we've found does help improve black-level performance; the ability to accept 1080p at both 60 and 24 frames per second, the latter of which is said to cut down on judder and flicker when paired with a compatible source (we'll be sure to test that claim); and three component-video along with two HDMI inputs that can also accept PC signals. Sony did not announce pricing, but we assume the 50-inch model will cost less than its 2007 SXRD-based counterpart, the $2,299 KDS-50A2020.
Sony's lone non-1080p rear-projection model is the relatively tiny, 37-inch KDF-37H1000 (May, $1,300), which has a native resolution of 1,280x720 (aka 720p) and a slim cabinet of its own, but exactly how slim was not specified. Sony's press release positions the KDF-37H1000 against CRT-based direct-view televisions, but with numerous 37-inch flat-panel sets, such as Sharp's LC-37D40U, available today for similar prices, we're skeptical that this rear-projection model will achieve popularity.
Sony also announced new flat-panel LCDs and details on its BRAVIA Internet Link product (with which all three of the above sets are compatible), but didn't say much about SXRD-based rear-projection HDTVs.
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