A plasma TV that's 1.5 inches thick
Thin is in for Hitachi.
The Japanese conglomerate will unveil a 50-inch plasma TV that measures only 1.5 inches thick at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week.
The prototype TV is less than one-third of the usual thickness of a conventional plasma of this size, which ordinarily clocks in at around 5 inches or more, according to Bill Whalen, director of product development at Hitachi.
It will come to market in 2009, he added, and weigh around half as much as a standard plasma. Typically, a plasma of this girth might weigh 90 pounds, he added.
"It could be a new category in plasma," he said.
TV manufacturers still use the conference to compete over who can come out with the biggest TV. Last year, Sharp bested competitors with a 108-inch LCD TV. This year, Panasonic is expected to unfurl a 150-inch plasma TV.
But thinness and industrial designs are heated battlegrounds too. JVC has a 42-inch LCD coming out this year that measures 22 millimeters thick, while Sharp has a 52-incher that measures only 20 millimeters thick. (Release date is as yet unknown.)
Hitachi, though, seems to be putting the most emphasis on the subject. It has 35-millimeter thick LCD TVs coming out this year and 19-millimeter thick LCDs coming in 2009. (Hitachi, however, adds that these thin TVs technically aren't TVs. They are displays. The TV tuner card is in a separate box. Together, the two make a TV.)
A thin plasma will also help Hitachi. The company has been one of the primary backers of plasma. LCD, however, has outsold it.
for, I'm guessing the average person will not be able to afford one
at their initial release.
for, I'm guessing the average person will not be able to afford one
at their initial release.