DisplayBlog

The most popular TV technology today is LCD. LCD TVs come in many sizes: from smallish 13″ ones to huge 70″ and larger ones. Although 32″ seems to be at the sweet spot now, 40″ and 42″ LCD TVs will take the spotlight in 2008, mainly because top brands will have lower-end models that dip below $1000. LCD TV wasn’t always popular. Just a few years ago, it was plasma TVs. Remember Gateway when the company introduced 42″ ED plasma TVs for just $1999? That was big news back then. Of course, now, you can get a 42″ HD plasma TV for just $999. For 50″ and larger TVs, plasma TV still has the edge in price but that won’t be for too long. But I’m not interested in either LCD TV or plasma TV. My interest is in liquid crystal on silicon or LCoS. LCoS-based rear projection TVs to be a bit more revealing. And to be ultra-precise, my next TV will be a 55″ Sony 3-chip 1080p SXRD rear projection TV. I will give you three reasons why.

1. Thin might be in, but is a waste of money. Unless you are intending to put your LCD TV or plasma TV on the wall, paying for thin is a waste of money. Although the display might be thin, the base needs to be fairly deep to prevent it from tipping over. For 40″ and larger sizes, you want a pretty sturdy base. Another reason why thin is a waste of money is because you will most likely put it on top of a table or furniture piece that is significantly thicker than the TV. The reason for this is simple: most if not all A/V equipment that will connect to your thin over-priced TV will have a depth that is 2x to 3x more. These include DVD players, A/V receivers, Blu-ray and HD-DVD players, game consoles such as Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, etc. So why do you need your TV to be thin?

2. EMI. Electro-magnetic interference is everywhere and the most come from when the microwave is on, but next to that is when your large TV is on. We, as in folks that live in the US, live at a time when 40″ is about the bare minimum size of a living room TV. In addition to that, I have kids, who love to sit or stand right in front of the TV and exposing themselves to all that EMI. Since kids will be kids, I want to get a TV that has minimal EMI. And guess what? Plasma TV is known for very high levels of EMI. LCD TV has much less, but rear projection TV is significantly less than both.

3. UHP. Ultra-high-performance lamps. Yes, these go out every 3-4 years and, some say, is a pain in the butt to replace. Add to that the $200-$300 price tag on one of these and a TV that uses a UHP bulb sounds downright expensive. Well, I want to look at this differently. A CCFL or LED backlight will last 50,000 or more hours before brightness levels drop to 50% of original. That turns out to be a very long time. So what happens when your TV’s brightness falls to a point where you don’t like it anymore? You can’t do anything. You can possibly find a company that can replace the backlight unit, but that is very unlikely. Most likely, you’ll need to get a new TV. And that will cost you quite a bit more than $300. With a UHP-based rear-projection TV, you can basically get a brand new TV every 3-4 years for just $300. I like that.

There is another reason why I want Sony’s 55″ SXRD TV. Soon, it will come below the $1000 mark. And that’s a great value for a 1080p 50″ TV. Sony’s LCoS implementation in its SXRD technology is a gem. Although many of you might disagree with the reasons I put forth, one of my goals is to maximize the return on my investment. Thin is nice, but is way overpriced and in most cases (unless you’re putting it on the wall) is not even a useful feature.

On 2007.09.29, Sony Taiwan introduced two 1080p LCD TVs series: X and W with three different sizes for each series: 40″, 46″ and 52″ that will be available in October. The 52″ (KDL-52X3500) will cost NT$219,000 (US$6719) and the 40″ (KDL-40W3100) will be NT$74,900 (US$2297). Sony expects total demand for LCD TVs in Taiwan to reach 700,000 units in 2007. Sharp’s 42″ Full HD LCD TV is priced at NT$109,000, significantly higher than Sony’s KDL-40W3100, by NT$34,100, even compensating for the extra 2″ in size.  Competitors have announced that they will not enter into a price war in the short term with Sony. This will most likely lead to Sony capturing a significant amount of market share. Not only does Sony have a strong brand presence worldwide, when Sony’s TVs can be had for substantially less, the decision would be quite simple, in my opinion.

Source: DigiTimes

SonyDrive XEL-1 TV

Size: 11″
Pixel Format: 960 x 540
Contrast Ratio: 1,000,000:1
Technology: Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED)
Inputs: HDMI, USB, Ethernet
Weight: 2kg (3.3lbs)
Dimension: 287 x 140 x 253mm
Price: ¥200,000 (~$1,740)
Availability: December 1, 2007 (Japan)

More pictures at Engadget

I believe this is the very first OLED TV product that will actually be available for purchase by a regular consumer, that is, if you’re living in Japan on December 1st. The design is a little different, I must say. The pixel format is not quite HD, but sufficient for DVD playback and standard TV. HD could very well look fantastic on a OLED screen even if scaled down. The 1 million to one contrast ratio should lend to very good pictures. The price of $1740 is a bit on the high side for just a 11″ TV, but isn’t so far out there that early adopters would completely shy away from. And at just 3.3lbs, the XEL-1 is more than portable. I would hope Sony will introduce the one and only OLED TV in the US market as well, soon.

Source: Impress (translated) via Engadget

On September 14, Sony, Sharp and Hitachi Displays announced a joint technology study aimed at reducing LCD TV power consumption. The three companies are targeting 2011 to develop technology that will reduce power consumption to less than 50% of current levels. One current effort that has been undergoing in the notebook market has been the transition from CCFL backlights to LED backlights to reduce power consumtpion and profile. In my opinion, a thinner and lighter device positively impacts our environment and productivity as it requires less materials to manufacture (less polution) and less effort to lug around.

Source: Japan Today

Technorati Tags: Sharp, Sharp, Hitachi Displays, LCD TV, Power Consumption, LED Backlight,

An image of Sony’s updated eBook reader, the PRS-505, surfaced on Engadget that linked to Abt Electronics. However, the page on Abt Electronics is gone. The new unit seems to have a few changes, but still too many buttons. In a world of touch, all of these buttons make it look a bit old even before its release.

• The power button has moved from the side (left bottom) to the top. This is an improvement. But. It is still a slide-on slide-off design, similar to the PSP and other Sony electronics gear. I personally like my iPhone’s simpler button.
• The forward/back page buttons move from the left to the right. True, most are right-handed and this seems to be the right move. But. There are 10 other small buttons right next to those and I foresee at least a few accidental pushes of the 7 and 8 buttons.
• I would recommend taking a page out of Apple’s UI design and simply integrating the menu button into the center of the directional pad.
• There’s so much more to fix… and this device can be so much more…

The PRS-505 can be a revolutionary device: replacement for textbooks, manuals, and books in general. It’s just that Sony seems to be having a bit of a problem with the user interface. I say, go touch, and get rid of most of the buttons. Also, put in a solar cover so it automatically recharges. I hope Sony got rid of the power input and simply used the mini-USB as a charge connection. Before Abt Electronics took the page down, it seems as though Engadget got a glimpse of the price: $299.

Source: Abt Electronics via Engadget

Technorati Tags: Sony, PRS-505, eBook Reader

Update 2007.10.02

Engadget is reporting that the PRS-505 is official and will be available sometime this month for $300. There are two color choices in addition to silver: dark blue. The USB mass storage mode is a very nice step toward increasing the usability of the PRS-505. I wonder if Sony packed in a good PRS-505 printer driver so you can print anything you want into Sony’s eBook format, copy it over, and carry it with you anywhere you go. Now that would be nice. Just $300 and available now.

Oooh, there are accessories! Let’s start off with the luxurious premium leather covers that are a very reasonable $40 in black or pink, and some less-than-premium ones (only good for PRS-500, weird) for $30. Then there’s a LED reading light you can clip on to your PRS-505 for reading at night for just $15.

I like nice leather. Wish there was a soft premium leather cover for the iPhone by Sony. Haha.

This book light might be just good enough for regular books. I don’t think I’ve seen a Sony-branded book light before, so as long as it’s not made in China, the quality might be top notch.

And finally, you can engrave your Sony PRS-505. If Sony would have just watched what Apple did with its iPod line, this would have happened a long time ago.