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LED Projection in Abundance
We have been following the ground swell in LED-based projection
system for some time now, but CES was a watershed of new
devices. This includes pocket projectors, an RPTV and LCD-TVs
- all driven with LED illumination.
Let's start with the pocket projectors. We spotted palm-sized
projectors from the likes of Mitsubishi (shown in photo,
InFocus, BenQ, Samsung and LG Electronics. All appear to
be based upon using a 0.55-inch SVGA DLP chip set and have
light output in the 10 to 30 lumens range. The InFocus,
Samsung and BenQ units were concept products. Mitsubishi
plans to sell its pocket projector for $599, and $699 with
an optional battery. This seems like a very low price to
us. The unit is very small and weighs only 400 grams. Brightness
may be good enough for a 10 to15-inch image, but it is unclear
if consumers will use such a product yet.
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In LED-based RPTVs, we were quite impressed with
the results that 3M displayed in its suite. 3M retrofitted
a 50-inch Samsung DLP-RPTV by removing the UHP lamp
and inserting an LED illumination stage that fit entirely
within the existing cabinet, demonstrating its small
size. The engine output 80 lumens, which produced
a good, but dim, image on the screen, as would be
expected. Will the performance be good enough in a
year? Maybe… but in two years, a certainty, in
our opinion. There were other LED-based MD-RPTV demos
behind closed doors at CES, and with benefits like
long life, we think these RPTVs will become viable.
The other category gaining attention for LED illumination
is direct-view LCD-TVs. Sony showed off its 46-inch
Qualia 005 LCD-TV with colors that exceeded the NTSC
color pallet by 105% and displaying 1080p resolution,
the Holy Grail in HDTV.
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This means we were seeing colors displayed on TV that have
never been seen before, and with eye-popping resolution. In
fact, with resolution this fine, it was the content that posed
the limiting factor, not the extremely impressive display
hardware.
Sony's panel maker, Samsung, also showed a similar set
(albeit not in quite the luxurious Qualia setting) with
the same LED backlight technology. The company went a step
further with a video presentation documenting the development
of LCD backlights and highlighting the significant advantages
of LED over CCFTs (cold cathode fluorescent tubes), including
extended color range; extended lamp life (100K hours vs.
60K hours); and backlight response time (20 ms vs. 500 ms).
The Sony 46-inch model (not the 40-inch version) will be
offered for sale in the US this spring. The Samsung version
will be available this May for $13K. Brightness is speced
at 500 cd/m2, and contrast at >1000:1. Hands down, these
are the best LCD displays we have ever seen.
We have one last comment about LCD backlight improvements
at the show. Philips presented the Aptiva hot cathode tube
technology (versus standard cold cathodes), which claims
to improve the LCD image at the light source. The hot cathode
solution is said to enhance motion sharpness through reduced
exposure time and offers 300% more light output over standard
CCFTs. The backlights operate in a scanning mode to cancel
out a common LCD problem that Philips calls "sample
and hold."
The company also introduced dynamic dimming for the backlight,
which helps reduce the effects of light leakage, especially
in dark scenes viewed in low ambient light. The company
uses a video processor for backlight control that is "content
adaptive" to achieve this solution. Philips said it
will not make the technology exclusive to the Philips-brand
LCDs, but rather will re-sell the technology to its illumination
business customers. The company did not have pricing and
availability information, but indicated it was far cheaper
than LEDs and uses half the number of lamps as CCFT solutions.
Factor this with the enhanced display benefits and you have
a significantly viable LCD illumination alternative.
Is All-in-One
a New Category?
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Following HP's lead, CES saw the introduction of
new "all-in-one," or "instant,"
projection systems. This potentially new category
combines the projector, DVD player and audio system
in one integrated unit. Place it on your coffee table,
plug in power and a DVD, and project the movie. Very
cool.
Equally compelling about the new product category
is the retail partner that will now be offering one
of these products - Radio Shack. Priced at about $1,250,
this will appeal to almost everyone, and Radio Shack
could help bring instant theater to mass audiences
like nothing else.
Shown in the photo on the top is the HP ep9010 "Instant
Theater" projector that debuted last fall and
now carries an estimated street price of $1,999 (see
Projection Monthly, October 2004, page 39). It uses
an SVGA chip set and includes a sub-woofer.
The center unit is the Radio Shack product that will
be branded under the name Cinego. It will ship in
February and features 1000 lumens, two speakers, and
a resolution of 854 x 480, so it is perfectly matched
to the wide-aspect resolution of the DVD. But as an
integrated product, there are no A/D conversions,
so image quality will be better.
The Optoma unit on the bottom, the DV10 MovieTime,
has features similar to the Cinego, except it adds
a dynamic iris to boost contrast to 4000:1. Wow! This
will sell for $1,495, or $999 without the dynamic
iris. This one looked great in the Optoma booth, even
displaying images directly onto the wall without a
screen.
Pixa also made a strong showing here, winning a CES
Innovations Award in the Home Theater category for
its plug-and-play DHT-200 integrated DLP projector
system, featuring a built-in DVD player, 6-in-1 digital
media player, TV tuner and wireless remote speakers.
Resolution is 1024 x 768, contrast is 1850:1, and
brightness is 1800 lumens. The 10-pound unit has been
selling in Japan for about six months and it's now
available online in the US for $3,999.
Another all-in-one on hand in the Pixa booth was a
60-inch DLP-TV (DVT-450) with a built-in DVD, tuner,
etc. This is being produced for an unnamed Japanese
customer and it's due out in the summer. Pixa claims
it solved some typical drawbacks of DLP (limited grayscale,
brightness, etc), and the image quality on this model
was indeed among the best we've seen for DLP.
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1080p
Prominent This Year
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It looks like 2005 will see the introduction
of quite of few 1080p RPTV models… if all of the
demos from CES turn into products. On display were DLP,
3LCD and LCOS examples - all of which showed very good
image quality, with some showing some of the best projected
images ever.
Starting with DLP-RPTVs, TI probably had the best demonstration
in its booth at CES. The company showed all of the image
enhancement features it has developed in a 70-inch RPTV
that was showing a very clever musical animation that
drew enthusiastic crowds. It featured contrast of 6000:1
using a dynamic iris and offered exceptional image quality.
Powering the TV was the company's new xHD4 chip, which
will soon be renamed the .85-1080p chip. This is a wobulation
display system, but there were no visible artifacts. The
technology has been perfected on the 720p versions and
now looks ready for the 1080p versions as well.
Other 1080p DLP-RPTVs were shown by TCL-Thomson Electronics
(TTE), Samsung, LG Electronics and Toshiba.
In the 3LCD 1080p camp, we saw RPTVs from Epson and Panasonic,
plus a front-projection system from Fujitsu. We were particularly
impressed with the Epson and Fujitsu results. Epson has
developed a 0.9-inch panel with 1920 x 1080 resolution,
using both its D4 and D5 technology. It showed an RPTV
in its booth, and an even better one in the 3LCD pavilion.
With 12-bit processing, the grayscale precision is very
good, and the colors are bright and vibrant. There was
one shot of a parrot where the iridescence of the feathers
was visible! The set with the D5 chip set showed over
5000:1 contrast using a dynamic iris approach, and the
results were spectacular. Fujitsu's implementation is
a home theater front projector that showed equally impressive
results.
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LCOS 1080p sets are also
looking very impressive. Topping the performance
list was a 65-inch set from Brillian that has now
boosted contrast from 2500:1 to at least twice that
level. LG Electronics was showing an LCOS 1080p
set behind closed doors, while Daytek showed a single-panel
52-inch RPTV, featuring a single panel from Microdisplay
Corporation, with a four-primary color wheel developed
with help from Genoa Color Technologies. We also
saw very impressive 1080p demonstrators in the eLCOS
suite and in Taiwan engine maker Thintek's booth
in the Hilton.
In addition, JVC has introduced two HD-ILA (LCOS)
1080p sets, in 61 and 70 inches. Both will offer
integrated ATSC tuners and dual HDMI inputs, and
the larger set will include a memory card reader.
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In LCD-TVs, Westinghouse Digital is
introducing a line of 1080p LCD video monitors,
starting with a 37-inch model (LVM-37w1) that will
be available at Best Buy for $2,500 in March. Following
in July will be 42- and 47-inch models. Claiming
to be the first to introduce a "line"
of 1080p models, Westinghouse says it is now a technology
leader as well as a price pioneer. However, perhaps
the price partially explains the jitter, fuzziness
and noise we noticed on the 37-inch demo, despite
excellent color saturation and depth. The feed was
live football on ABC, so perhaps that's partly to
blame.
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BenQ showed a new fully
integrated 46-inch 1080p LCD-TV. Response time has
been improved to 8 ms, contrast is 800:1, and brightness
is 600 cd/m2. The DV4680 will ship in March at an
MSRP of $9,999.
JVC is also offering a fully integrated 40-inch
LCD-TV with 1080p resolution, dual HDMI inputs,
and a memory card slot. And Syntax will also launch
a line of 1080p LCD-TVs featuring glass from LG.Philips.
First up will be a 37-inch model available this
spring. |
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FOR MORE
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go here for more information
Contact:
Insight Media
Dave Torromeo, 203-831-8464
dave@insightmedia.info
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