Texas Instruments revs up TV, theater

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7 inches deep. The reduction in size was accomplished by blowing up the TV images through multiple magnification steps, rather than one, said John Van Scoter, senior vice president of Texas Instruments and general manager of DLP Products.

Analysts are mixed on whether DLPs, and projection TVs in general, can begin to cut into the base for LCD TVs or plasma, although the public so far seems to like projection-style TVs. "There has been a question of whether DLP can move up in resolution with other technologies, but given the acceleration in shipments, it seems to be doing well," Kim Allen, an analyst at iSuppli, said in a recent interview.

The experience of digital cinema is unparalled. For this business to stay robust, exhibition must be better.

--Jeffrey Katzenberg, DreamWorks Animation founder

For digital cinema, TI is working with producers and film distributors to reduce the cost of retrofitting existing movie theaters for digital. Typically, the procedure costs about $100,000 to $150,000, depending on the theater. Movie exhibitors, however, don't want to incur the capital costs. One proposal on the table is to have film producers charge theaters an incremental fee for existing movies and bank those fees into a retrofit fund, Scoter said.

Although it's uncertain who will fund the retrofits, film producers assert that the conversion is essential.

"The experience of digital cinema is unparalled. For this business to stay robust, exhibition must be better," said Jeffrey Katzenberg, a founder of DreamWorks Animation who joined Templeton during a presentation at the show. (As an aside, Katzenberg noted that the cost of computer-animated movies hasn't increased for six years, meaning that the cost savings achieved from technology have offset rising personnel costs).

TI is also trying to convince the Federal Communications Commission to set a firm deadline for the conversion from standard-broadcast TV to HDTV. While this would force analog viewers to upgrade their sets, Templeton said consumers would end up with a better viewing experience. It could also potentially help U.S. industry, he asserted. Executives from Europe and China often mention the lead the United States has already carved out in this area, and HD will expand outside the home and onto phones. Among others, TI will come out with a chip, code-named Hollywood, for HD phones. These will begin to appear in 2007.

"The U.S. did not lead in broadband," Templeton said. "We have an opportunity to take the lead in high-definition TV and the broadcast signal. It will be a painful transition, as any, but it will be beneficial for more reasons than not."

Currently, there are about 5,000 hours of HD broadcasts per week, and the upcoming Super Bowl will be broadcast in HD.

[San Lee Wong]

Work Cheaper, Not Harder.

Hey Rich Templeton,
work a little harder and get excellent 42" HDTVs into the
sub $500 market.

TV is on the way out mostly, like AM Radio.
Sure, every home has one, but how much do you use it?

A lot of people spend more time on computers than TVs these
days, and a good computer with a 21" flatscreen is better than
most TVs.

$1,000 for a TV?
Please, I can get 2 PCs+monitors+printers for $1000 bucks.

You'll get my attention when a 32" LCD HDTV is $399
and a 42" HDTV is $499.