Picture is fading for projection TVs
LAS VEGAS--Samsung has been one of the big backers of rear-projection TVs, but its interest is waning.
"Over time, that (projection TV) will probably go away," S.I. Lee, Samsung's senior vice president of marketing for digital media, said at the Consumer Electronics Show here.
A 55-inch rear projection TV from start-up MicroDisplay. (File photo from April 2007.)
(Credit: Erica Ogg/CNET News.com)That could be a death knell for the format. Other companies, most notably Hitachi and Sony, have already killed their projection TV lines.
"We were interested in the business until the end of last year," said Makato Ebata, CEO of the consumer business group at Hitachi.
Projection TVs, which blast images onto a big screen with the help of microscopic mirrors, have great picture quality and aren't too expensive. However, they are big. Most manufacturers have sold them only in the U.S.
Markets like those in Japan and Europe don't have the oversized family rooms to accommodate projection TVs.
Samsung came out with thinner versions of projection TVs last year, but they haven't sold well. The TVs are cheaper than LCDs of similar size, but are thicker.
"Do I pay a little more to get thin?" Lee said.
Last month, Sony said it will no longer make rear-projection TVs in order to focus on LCD and OLED technology.
View complete CES 2008 coverage from CNET.
I've got nothing but praise for the DLP technology and whether or not it was 4" or the 20" in depth that it is would not matter a whit in my entertainment center as the depth of my other components have the center at plenty of depth to hold it already anyway.
looked at a lot of different HDTVs. Initially I thought I wanted an
LCD or Plasma, but then I saw some RPTVs and noticed how
much thinner they have gotten, so I started looking at them as
well. To my eye, the picture on the Sony A3000 series sets was
the best of ANYTHING I saw, so that's what I got.
When you go into the store, the sales drones push the new tech
because "new" is sexy and has a higher mark-up. In the stores I
visited the Plasmas and LCDs were in front, while the RPTVs
were hidden in the back. But just because a technology is older
doesn't mean it can't be better than the "new" technology.
- Rear Projection TV
- by barryr1dog January 8, 2008 4:11 PM PST
- I purchased a DLP rear projection TV early last year. It is great, excellent picture quality and can be clearly seen from all angles unlike the old style which you had to sit directly in front of to see the picture.
- Reply to this comment
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(9 Comments)I see the main reason that companies don't sell many is that they don't advertise them. I see retailers are also very hesitant in advertising this product.
I suggest there is more to this, I would not be surprised if the company's are streamlining their products and are using the argument that no one is purchasing these products. Well if no one knows about them then no one is going to buy them.
SWLAK