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| Panasonic 42" 1080p plasma TV |
At the end of a ludicrously lengthy press conference as tedious as a school assembly, Panasonic unveiled a prototype of its new 42" 1080p plasma TV. It looked rather good. We suddenly woke up.
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| 50in + Panasonic 1080p plasma TVs |
The majority of Panasonic's press conference was devoted to asserting plasma's technical superiority over LCD. Just to prove it, the company unveiled a pantheon of new 1080p plasmas from 50in right up to 103in. There were some smaller LCD TVs too, but naturally they weren't talked about much.
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| Philips Wearable Lighting |
Philips kicked off its presentation with some wearable lighting technology, in the shape of some minions with shirts each displaying a different letter of 'PHILIPS'. There's the impression that the company isn't too sure what to do with this technology yet, but no doubt they'll think of something - fluorescent safety gear, cool club wear, who knows?
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| New Philips TVs |
Philips has some new LCD TVs on the way in 2007, each of them incorporating its Ambilight technology, plus the new Perfect Pixel HD engine and ClearLCD, both of which promise to improve picture performance, with deeper blacks and a 170-degree viewing angle. The screens will have a 120Hz refresh rate (double the standard 60Hz), which looks like being the standard for 2007, with Sharp, Samsung and other manufacturers matching its 4millisecond response time. New sizes for ambilight TVs include 32in, 47in and 52in.
There's also a new 42in version of the full Ambilight surround system (where the light panels completely surround the screen, rather than just the sides) and a mammoth 63in plasma.
Philips also launched its wireless HDMI system. SWW1800 claims to be the first technology to be able to transfer a full, uncompressed HDMI signal over the air, with no need for cables or wires. By operating in the ultra wideband (UWB) range, the wireless cable claims to experience no interference from traditional devices. It functions free from obstruction of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cordless phones, microwaves and cell phones. It can be placed anywhere within a 25 foot range - in an entertainment centre, in a wardrobe, on the other side of the room - without signal loss or degradation. It should be available in May for around $300.
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| Philips Blu-ray disc player |
Philips' first crack at a Blu-ray player, the BDP9000, looks quite promising. It includes 1080p resolution and will also upscale ordinary DVDs to 1080p, so there's no need to ditch your existing DVD collection. It's out now in the States for $999 with a UK release date due soon. By the way, Philips big-wigs at CES ruled out the possibility of a Philips player that will play both Blu-ray and HD DVD discs in the future - they're Blu-ray all the way.
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| Philips' Bling TV |
To celebrate the creation of its millionth Ambilight TV, Philips got together with New York-based jewellery company A.Link to add 2,250 diamonds to a 42-inch Ambilight LCD HDTV - 225 carats of diamonds in all. It's unlikely to find a home however, sinc Philips plans to show it off at corporate events around the world. Nice design though.
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| Philips portable DVD players |
Philips' new portable DVD players are the PET830 and PET1030, which sport 8.5in and 10.2in screens. They can handle MP3/WMA CDs, standard CDs and CD-RWs as well all the major DVD formats including DVD+/-R, DVD+/-RW, DivX and MPEG4.
The smaller PET830 comes in tablet format with Philips' first crack at a side slot disc loader and three hours of battery life. The PET1030 on the other hand comes with a fold-up screen that can swivel through 180 degrees and fold back on itself into tablet format. Both are due by the end of the first quarter of 2007, priced “199 and $279 respectively.
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| Sharp's biggest LCD (til the next one) |
Sharp has nudged ahead in the ongoing battle of the biggest LCD screens with a mighty 108in monster unveiled at CES. Yes it's big. Yes, it looks impressively crisp and vibrant but honesty, where would you put it? No sign yet that Sharp intends to release it commercially, mind, and no clue as to possible price.
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Samsung's next Blu-ray player |
Hot on the heels of the UK's first Blu-ray player, Samsung has announced the follow-up. The BD-P1200 includes an upgraded processor, which Samsung is calling Hollywood Quality Video (HQV) and it's added HDMI 1.3 support to include a bit of future-proofing, though everything else seems much the same. The price should drop when it's available in March, from $1,000 to $800 - in the UK we can probably expect the same figure in sterling.
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Samsung's new TVs |
Samsung have new TVs on the way in seemingly every category, with a heap of new technologies and some pretty cool styling - 'an objet d'art in your living room', as they kept saying. They've got some equally fancy names for various new technologies that they've incorporated into the new ranges too. FilterBright2 promises improved contrast ratio and has some fancy algorithms designed to minimise glare and improve picture quality, while FilterBright2 Plus promises an even greater contrast ratio than its predecessors, offering a picture that looks good even in brightly lit rooms.
Many of the models also feature AnyNet or AnyNet Plus, both of which use their HDMI connections to link to and control a home entertainment system (many of the pricier models now feature three HDMI ports).
As well as the expected LCD models, Samsung also had a fairly strong showing of plasma TVs (there's a 54, 64 and an impressive 84 series of new plasmas), including the company's first full 1080p HD plasma. More surprising perhaps, Samsung also showed off some new, 'slimline' (10in depth) DLP models. Even the company president seemed surprised by this, but said that there'd been a renewal of interest in the technology.
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BH100 LG Super Multi Blue Player |
The Blu-ray/HD DVD war shows no sign of ending in the near future, so thank heavens for LG who unveiled its BH100 LG Super Multi Blue Player - the world's first dual HD-format player. Capable of Full HD (1920 x1080p) playback, the BH100 is also backwards compatible with standard DVD. It's available in the US next month for $1,199.
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LG's 1080p LCD TVs |
In keeping with most other TV manufacturers at the show, LG showed off its comprehensive range of Full HD 1080p LCD screens. Sizes range from 37in to 52in and all boast LG's proprietary Advanced LCD technology which it reckons will combat motion blur.
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LG 100in Full HD 1080p LCD TV |
Another show, another world's first. Sure we've seen 100in LCD TVs before, but this one goes the extra mile, boasting Full HD 1920 x 1080p resolution. This uber screen pumps out an impressive 3,000:1 contrast ratio and a pretty nippy 5ms response time.
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Pioneer Elite plasma TVs |
Like Panasonic, Pioneer is one of the few remaining manufacturers still implementing plasma technology in its flat panel TV range. The company announced three new screens in its flagship Elite PureVision range; 42in PRO-940HD ($4,000), 50in PRO-1140HD ($5,500) and 60in PRO-1540HD ($8,000). The main advantage of the Elite range over lower-end models is its improved dark colour performance, and sure enough the model on view (50in PRO-1140HD - seen above) looked mightily impressive. A word of warning though - a whole new line of Elite models are due this summer.
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Pioneer BDP-HD1 Elite Blu-ray player |
Recently released in the US, the BDP-HD1 made an appearance at the show although it was a shame it wasn't hooked up to a screen. It's available now for around $1,500.
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Toshiba Regza Full HD LCD TVs |
This year Toshiba is launching not one, but two 1080p LCD TV ranges in the US; the HL167 series and the LX177 series. The HL167 series comprises 42in, 47in and 52in models and the higher spec LX177 Cinema Series boasts four models; 42in, 46in, 52in and 57in. These flagship screens feature new ClearFrame 120 Hz anti-blur technology. Out in the US in June, expect to see them on UK shelves towards the end of the year.
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Sony SXRD Micro Display Laser Light Engine TV |
Nestled among an army of Bravia LCD TVs was a 55in prototype of Sony's new SXRD screen technology. Other than having a Full HD 1080p resolution, details on the model were scarce, but first impressions looked good with excellent contrast and no hint of motion blur.
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Sony Bravia 1080p 82in LCD TV
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It looks as though not even Sony can resist getting drawn into the LCD TV size war currently doing the rounds with all the big manufacturers. This one, an 82in prototype is powered by its award-winning Bravia engine and naturally comes with a 1080p native panel resolution. No word on pricing, but rest assured it's expensive.
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LG Flatron M4200D LCD 3D Monitor
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While the concept of 3DTV is still very much in its infancy, LG was bold enough to show off its 42in effort, the Flatron M4200D. Specs are decent with a Full HD 1080p panel resolution, 1600:1 contrast ratio and 480 cd/m2 brightness. At first glance though it appears there's still some work to be done - the 3D effect was convincing enough when standing in the optimum head-on position. Look at the M4200D from an angle though and the picture is horribly blurred.
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Sharp LC-52D62U 52in 1080p LCD TV
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Sharp's flagship 52in model was littered all over its exhibition stand. The spec sheet includes two HDMI ports, two component inputs, 4ms response time and 2,000:1 contrast ratio. Its Four Wavelength backlight gave beautiful depth to the picture, but it would have been good to see some fast moving imagery rather than endless tranquil shots of foliage.
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Hitachi plasma vs LCD |
Hitachi had a huge LCD vs plasma stand, and although our photo doesn't properly demonstrate this, it was plasma that consistently came off best with better dark colours, contrast and motion handling. Unsurprising really, considering Hitachi was showcasing its Full HD 1080p plasma line-up. The three-strong range includes the 42-inch P42H401, 50-inch P50H401 ($2,500) and 55-inch P55H401. All will be out stateside by summer, but no word on a UK release date yet.
However, just to confuse matters on the whole plasma vs LCD debate, the company also unveiled some smaller LCD product lines, the H201 and CineformTM T301. Both are available in 32in and 37in and have 1366x768 resolutions, with the T301 range sporting 120Hz processing.
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Arcam Solo Movie 5.1 home theatre system |
Joining Arcam's small but extremely auspicious Solo stable is the Movie one-box home theatre system, which we got a chance to see ahead of its official launch at next month's Bristol Show. It will play virtually all non-HD discs, including DVD-Audio and SACD and packs in 5x50wpc amps, internal video scaling to 720p/1080i, 2x HDMI inputs, and a DAB/FM tuner.
Unusually these days, Arcam took the decision to have it fully designed and manufactured in the UK rather than outsourcing to China (it was so tricky to put it together, it just wasn't cost-effective to do so, says company president John Dawson. It should be available here from February for £2,000.
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Arcam DV139 universal player |
Arcam's bid for 'best DVD player ever' comes with 1080p upscaling, 24-bit 192kHz DAC conversion, top-notch video processors from Anchor Bay Technology, a feast of connection options, support for virtually all non-HD disc formats and a very clever learning remote. Yours for £1,800.
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Classé act |
Canada's leading high-end showed off a fancy pair of high-end boxes that looked like nothing else. The CDP-502 DVD player will play DVD-Audio (though not SACD) and includes a built-in 1080p scaler, slide-in disc mechanism, touch-screen control and battleship build for $8,500. The CAP-2100 integrated amp offers 200 watts of power into four ohms and has an almost infinitely configurable touch-screen interface which allows for all sorts of imaginative configurations and digital updates.
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More Rotel |
Other standouts from Rotel's stand included the RSX-1058 surround receiver with four HDMI ports and options to control four separate room zones; the RDV-1093 DVD player with 1080p upscaling; the RVE-1060 external HDMI video scaler, which allows you to up the scaling ability of your existing equipment to 1080i.
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Marantz DV7001 universal disc player (£600) |
Marantz's latest universal disc player, the DV7001, also launched at the show. Taking its engineering lead from Marantz's revered flagship design, the DV9600, it employs the same chassis, DACs, circuit topology, HDAM modules and 1080p upscaling facility. It aims to emulate the DV9600's performance, though at a fraction of the cost, being as it is a more modest £600.
