THE FRONT LINE: SEPTEMBER 15, 2005
CEDIA EXPO 2005: Bigger Screens, Higher Resolution, and Lower Prices
This year’s edition of Cedia proved once and for all that the show has just gotten too big for Indianapolis. Maybe it was all of those big-screen TVs that took up so much space? Or was it all of those companies featuring low-price projection and flat panel TVs?
In addition to the big crowds, there were plenty of those big screens to go around. Front projection, rear projection, plasma, LCD – you name it, there was plenty of product out for inspection at over 500 booths, some of which spilled out to the main walkways around the Indiana Convention Center. Here’s a look at some of the TVs, monitors, and interfaces I found to be significant.
Not surprisingly, “1080p” was creating plenty of buzz at the show. Texas Instruments finally introduced full-resolution 1920x1080 DMDs with impressive single-chip and 3-chip demos at their booth, while projectiondesign already had a 1080p single-chip prototype up and running in the RCA Dome that was very impressive.
Figure 1. Sony’s VPL-W100 1080p SXRD projector
created the expected buzz with its $10K price tag.
Figure 2. SIM2’s C3X three-chip DLP was a workhorse at
the company’s Thursday night reception at Hollywood Filmworks.
Sony fired another salvo at DLP with their second-generation SXRD front projector, the VPL-VW100. This three-panel, 1920x1080 design sports a more affordable and efficient Cermax lamp, higher contrast, dynamic iris, and an eye-popping $10,000 price point. (I couldn’t see $20,000 worth of difference in picture quality between the VW100 and the older Qualia 004, by the way.)
The significance of Sony’s price drop is clear when you consider that SIM2 just rolled out the Grand Cinema C3X at Cedia, a 3-chip 1280x720 front projector that is priced at $14,995. InFocus also dropped the price on their Model 777 three-chip to a similar level before the show. Look for further price reductions in all three-chip DLP products as a result of the Sony move.
Samsung had an off-site demo of their H710 single-chip 720p DLP projector, fine-tuned by Joe Kane. It will retail somewhere in the $4,000 range. There’s also a high-end version of the Kane design, the H800, which will have a $13K price tag and very limited distribution.
A question popped into my mind during the Samsung demo: Why would someone spend $3,000 more than the VPL-VW100 for less resolution and single-chip performance? Is it because of the dead-on accuracy of a calibrated H710 or H800, as Joe maintained during our meeting? Or will the 1080p juggernaut force Samsung to make a jump in resolution? (I’m betting on the latter.)
Single-chip DLP models are also dropping rapidly in price, primarily because of the success of Panasonic and Sanyo’s 3-panel 720p LCD projectors. Panasonic upped the ante with their PT-AE900U ($3,199), which purports to have improved contrast and grayscale rendering, a less sloppy mechanical lens shift, and even better color correction.
Figure 3. JVC’s new 1080p HD-ILA rear-projection TVs had plenty of snap.
Figure 4. LG’s 71-inch LCoS RPTV uses the long-awaited SpatiaLight 1080p LCoS panels.
Sony also showed a pair of SXRD rear projectors, the 50-inch KDS-R50XBR1 ($3,999) and 60-inch KDS-R60XBR1 ($4,999), representing a significant drop in pricing from their older 70-inch model. Not to be outdone, JVC expanded their LCoS product line with the 70-inch HD-P70R1U and 61-inch HD-P61R1U, both of which use the new HD-ILA digital backplane LCoS panels.
Over at the Courtyard by Marriott hotel, Brillian had a private demo of their 65-inch LCoS RPTV. The 6580iFB is a 1920x1080, integrated DTV with a companion media server that will set you back $9,999. Back in the Convention Center, LG also had a new 71-inch 1090p LCoS RPTV in the spotlight, the 71SA1D (about $8,500). It uses LCoS panels from SpatiaLight.
The DLP camp was well represented. In addition to Mitsubishi’s 52-inch, 62-inch, and 73-inch models (covered earlier this year), Samsung had the HL-R6768W ($5,699), a 65-inch 960x1080 RPTV with CableCARD and a “floating screen” design for tight spaces, as well as a 56-inch model (HL-R5668W, $4,199). Toshiba unveiled three new 1080p TheaterWide DLP models, the 56HM195 ($3,199), the 62HM195 ($3,699), and the 72HM195 ($4,999).
HP, although they were stuck way out at the end of the west access corridor, brought along one of their three new DLP RPTVs for exhibit. The two largest models use the same 960x1080 DMDs, and the line includes a 50-inch size (MD5020N, 1280x720), a 58-inch skew (MD5880N, 1080p), and a 65-inch offering (MD6580N, 1080p). (Good luck finding any of them on the www.hp.com web site.)
Epson showed a pair of 1080p HTPS LCD RPTVs in their booth, but couldn’t nail down a price quite yet. These stripped-down models lack tuners and also the “nice try, but no cigar” built-in photo printer from older LivingStations. But they did have good-looking pictures, and that’s all that really matters.
The interesting thing about all of these RPTV products was not so much the widespread adoption of 1080p technology, but rather the price points. A 1080p DLP RPTV for $3,199 is about where same-size 720p DLP sets were priced in early 2004. Is the bottom falling out of the 720p RPTV market? Judging by Samsung’s ($2,999) and Toshiba’s ($2,499) prices for 50/52-inch DLP models; that would seem to be the case.
If you are starting to figure out that the rush to 1080p has more to do with maintaining price margins than it does with content availability or image quality, you win first prize! Some previous players in the DLP RPTV space didn’t even show models this year, with RCA’s DLP line conspicuous by its absence (they occupied a small part of a shared booth to show media server products).
It’s not unreasonable to assume that in the next 12 to 24 months that you’ll see 720p and 768p models dropped altogether from RPTV product lines, with 1080p becoming the de facto standard for all microdisplay TV products (simultaneously putting Sony and JVC right in the catbird seat!)
Figure 5. JVC’s 40-inch 1080p LCD TV is still awaiting a price sticker.
Figure 6. Is it a TV, or not? BenQ says “nope” by labeling their
37-inch DV3750 with NTSC tuner an “LCD Display”
Of course, you don’t need projection technology to get to 1080p resolution. Samsung had the LN-R469D 46-inch LCD DTV ($5,999) up and running in their booth. It’s a CableCARD set with DNiE processing and had acceptable picture quality, but higher black levels than nearby plasma monitors.
Across the way, JVC hung up their LT-40FH96 (no price yet), a 40-inch LCD TV with 1920x1080 resolution that comes out of the Samsung factory. Around the corner, SIM2 had yet another version of this panel, the HTL40 and HTL40 LINK with outboard video processor. The former sells for $6,995 and the latter for $9,995.
BenQ unveiled the DV3750 ($3,299), one of several 37-inch 1920x1080p LCD TVs at Cedia, but identified it as an “LCD Display” in a clever piece of wordsmanship. The reason? As you probably know, all 36-inch and larger TVs must now have digital (ATSC) tuners built-in. By bringing this product into the country as a monitor and making the NTSC tuner optional, they get around the FCC requirement.
Ovideon also had a 1080p 37-incher (no price yet) in their booth, while Mitsubishi had their LT-3780 all spiffed up, running the same 1080p content loop as their 1080p DLP RPTVs. Now that 1920x1080 LCD glass is available from AUO, CMO, LG Philips, and Samsung, you’ll see plenty more of these products real soon.
Figure 7. LG’s 55LP1D 55-inch LCD TV was pretty big…
Figure 8…but not as big as Sharp’s “twenty-grand” 65-inch Aquos LC-65D90U.
Want proof? During the show, I logged on to the Radio Shack.com web site and found the Syntax Olevia L37HV (1366x768 resolution) LCD TV on sale for $1,649.99, a discount of 56% off its MSRP. With 1080p panels coming, do you think manufacturers and re-sellers are possibly trying to clean out inventory? (Can you spell D-U-M-P?)
While there were plenty of 768p 37-inch LCD TVs at the show, LG made a statement with their 55-inch 55LP1D (about $14K) integrated TV. It also has 1920x1080 resolution, but as impressive as it looked, it was only the second-largest LCD TV at the show.
The honor of being the largest went to Sharp for their Aquos LC-65D90U ($20,999). It’s a 65-inch integrated digital TV with improved color rendering and a claimed contrast ratio of 800:1. The 45-inch category has also been upgraded with the metal finish Aquos LC-45GD7U ($6,499) or black finish LC-45GD5U ($6,499). Both are CableCARD sets with outboard media control boxes.
Figure 9. Fujitsu wants in on the integrated digital plasma TV market.
Figure 10. It was difficult to find a better-looking group of plasma TVs than these.
All the flat panel news wasn’t about LCD; it just seemed that way. Panasonic demonstrated their 8th generation plasma TVs, ranging in sizes from 37 inches (an “endangered species” category for plasma; see 37-inch LCD above) to 65 inches. The latter (Onyx TH-65XVS30U) retails for $18,999, and the 50-inch Onyx TH-50XVS30U will set you back $7,999. Don’t need anything fancy? You can get Panasonic’s 50-inch TH-50PX500U for $4,499. All models are fully integrated digital TVs with CableCARD slots.
In what amounts to a major shift in marketing, Fujitsu is moving into integrated plasma TVs. The P42XTA51US ($5,999) is a 42-inch integrated CableCARD TV, while the 50-inch slot is filled by the P50XTA50US ($7,999). Look for a 63-inch model later this year. NEC has redesigned and re-priced their line of plasma monitors with the 42XR4 ($5,995), 50XR5 ($7,995), and 61XR4 ($13,995). No digital tuners in the near future, however.
Pioneer had four new models to go with what were probably the best-looking integrated digital plasma TVs at the show. The PRO-930HD is a 43-inch model with improved black levels and color that will retail for $5,000, while the PRO-1130HD fills the 50-inch space at $6,500. Both panels use a new crystal emissive layer for more efficient operation. In the PureVision line, the PD-4360HD ($4,500) and PD-5060 ($6,000) also made their debut. Both offer the new crystal emissive layer and first surface color filters.
Does 1080 mean much in the flat panel market? Not at the moment, because the largest 1080p LCD TVs you can actually buy are stuck at 37 inches. While plasma fabrication technology can’t pull off 1080p resolution in small panels, plasma TV prices continue to plummet with name-brand models right around $3,000 street as of this writing and 42-inch HD models closing in on $2,000.
One reason that video is starting to look better on all of these displays: Improved interfaces and format conversion. Silicon Optix’s Realta HQV processor had numerous design “wins” at Cedia, including NEC for the latter’s TheaterSync video processor ($3,595). It helps clean up analog and digital sources as well as scale them to plasma resolution. Digital Projection will also carry a branded version (VP1000) of this processor.
Lumagen’s RadianceXD ($5,999) is a more advanced video processor that will be using the Realta HQV processor. Radiance is a 10x2 video switcher with audio-follow and latency correction and supports numerous HDMI inputs and outputs. Calibre also introduced a new scaler using the Realta processor, and you’ll find it in new TVs coming from Syntax and Brillian.
DVDO, which uses its own processor, showed the latest generation in their line of video processors. The iScan VP30 has four HDMI inputs and HDMI / RGBHV output, and comes with numerous presets for plasma, LCD, and microdisplay standard resolutions. It will cost you $1,999.
CONCLUSIONS
First off, 1080p is here to stay for better or worse, and the only reason that matters is rapidly declining prices and sales margins in the Cedia sales channel. From the looks of things, 720p front and rear projection is quickly headed to the generic, low-cost marketplace and big-box stores, a place already familiar to 768p plasma and LCD TVs and monitors.
Secondly, plasma is getting more and more affordable with every passing month and is poised to run a great deal of 720p RPTV product out of the market altogether. Don’t believe me? Watch what happens when 50-inch plasma street prices start to hit $2,500 later this year.
Third, Texas Instruments’ hand has been forced with respect to full-resolution 1920x1080p DMDs. The prices of 960x1080 RPTVs have already dropped too far in too short a time for many models to even appeal to the Cedia channel, and pressures by manufacturers to get production and shipment volumes up will force these products into big-box stores quickly.
Fourth, video scalers and processors are getting doggone good and doggone cheap at the same time. The smart Cedia dealer will bundle video processors and scalers with every sale, particularly with plasma and microdisplay RPTVs which need lots of help with analog and MPEG noise correction.
One last thought: If you are a consumer who just spent several thousand dollars on a new 1080p DLP TV using the 960x1080 DMDs, wouldn’t you be a little upset if you discovered the Sony, JVC, Epson, and other non-DLP 1080p RPTVs have full 1920x1080 resolution at or near the price you paid?
I know I would.