CES 2010 latest news
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Is plasma dead yet? Not if Panasonic can help it.
(Credit: Panasonic)The television category is a perennial CES staple and this year was no different. For some reason nobody showed a TV bigger than Panasonic's 150-inch plasma from last year (have we maxed out in flat-panel screen size?), but most of the other trends I discussed in the preview were borne out in the show's extensive announcements. Here's my take on what CES 2009 bodes for HDTV this year.
Plasma ain't dead yet.
I get more than my share of e-mails, and have seen plenty of blog comments and forum posts that are quick to claim the demise of plasma at the hands of LCD. Judging from CES announcements by companies that comprise the "big three" of plasma--Panasonic, LG and Samsung--those big glass flat panels have a brighter future than Detroit, at least.
Panasonic, by far the biggest and most-committed of the group, bragged about its newest plasma factory (No. 5) coming online, and showed its largest plasma lineup ever, with five new series and a new 54-inch screen size. I'm really excited to review the company's new "NEO PDP" panels, the first of which, members of the S1 series, will ship in March. They boast significantly improved black-level performance and contrast ratios, according to the company, yet manage to cut power consumption in half. If the latter claim proves true, LCD will lose perhaps its biggest arrow in the antiplasma quiver (at least among consumers who care about the planet and are savvy enough to ignore the nonissues).
Absent any announcements by Pioneer (which will come in late spring, most likely), Panasonic's G10 series is probably the surest bet for Editors' Choice of any TV I saw at the show. That's why I awarded it Best of CES in the TV category. In case you're wondering, however, all of the Neo PDP panels, including the least-expensive S1, share the same basic picture-quality specs.... Read More
The Philips 7000 series FlatTV line features a new design.
(Credit: Philips)With Funai licensing the Philips brand in 2009, things have gotten a little confusing about just what's going on with Philips home audio and video products. But it appears that all the products that Philips announced at CES 2009--including the new 7000 series Flat TVs--are true Philips products. Philips had already planned out its 2009 line and Funai Electric will be taking over the production of that line this year.
Thus far, details are scant on just when the new 7000 series LCD TVs will be released and how much they'll cost. However, they do have a new design that features an ultrathin bezel surrounded by a rounded acrylic edge. The 120Hz, 1080p sets will range in size from 32 to 52 inches and they have a fast 2-millisecond refresh rate.
The press release also notes these models feature the proprietary "Halo-Free technology, which removes the faint halo accompanying fast moving action." This new video processing technology allegedly helps eliminate artifacts "that are prevalent in LCD technology."
As we said, we're still trying to get the lowdown on pricing and availability, but for the time being we'll leave you with a quote from the umbrella company, P&F (Philips and Funai), that now is the exclusive manufacturer and distributor for Philips televisions and home-theater products in the U.S.
"The new design and superior technology in our FlatTV line will strengthen our offerings in the fast-growing, large-screen HDTV market," says Todd Richardson, senior vice president of sales and marketing for P&F. "The ultrathin frame design differentiates Philips from other sets on the market and the technology inside is certain to win over even the most discerning HDTV consumer. Consumers can look forward to an unparalleled viewing experience, thanks to the unique combination of exceptional picture quality and design at an attractive price level."
We'll add details as we get them.
Home theater is Samsung's game at this year's CES. Though the company did announce the new P3 touch-screen MP3 player, an inch-thick plasma TV, feature-packed Blu-ray home theater systems, and backlit LCD TVs dominated the show.
Samsung unveils P3 touch-screen MP3 player
Photos: Hands-on with the Samsung P3 player
Samsung's slick HT-BD7200 Blu-ray home theater system
Samsung's funky Blu-ray and DVD players
Samsung's PN-B850 series of plasmas get down to an inch thick
Samsung HT-BD1250: 5.1-channel home theater offers Blu-ray, Netflix, Pandora
Samsung HT-BD8200 home theater sound bar includes Blu-ray, Netflix, Pandora
Samsung DVD-H1080: Portable-sized DVD player for the home
HT-BD7200: 2.1 Blu-ray home theater from Samsung
Samsung goes green with the LN-B6000 series of LED-backlight LCDs
Samsung BD-P4600: Wall-mountable Blu-ray player with Wi-Fi add-on
Samsung LN-B8000 LCDs put LED-backlighting and 240Hz in a 1-inch frame
Samsung's step-down LED-backlit LCDs feature Yahoo widgets, 120Hz
Samsung unveils the MBP200 Pico Projector
(Credit:
NEC)
NEC is staunch in its support of professional-level computer monitors and that's great for those who consider themselves of a professional level. However, I'm hoping for some more love for we average Joes before the week is done. In the meantime, the company announced another professional display.
NEC is targeting the 26-inch MultiSync LCD2690WUXi2 at professionals in graphic arts, desktop publishing, and photography.
Derived from the LCD2690WUXi, the new display purportedly has a new, wider color-gamut panel, which delivers expanded blue coverage and improved brightness uniformity.
The MultiSync LCD2690WUXi2 is certified with Specifications for Web Offset Publications (SWOP) software, assuring users achieve accurate soft-proof images. The display passed the "GRACoL Grade 1" test, which, according to NEC, is one of the highest-level examinations available for SWOP certification.
The LCD2690WUXi2 also has the following features:
- 97.8 percent coverage of AdobeRGB color gamut
- Compatibility with the NEC SpectraViewIIT Color Calibration Solution
- Auto luminance control with X-LightT Pro backlight/sensor
- ColorCompT technology, which purportedly compensates for slight variations in luminance and color uniformity, providing even color across the screen
- IPS active matrix LCD panel, which usually provides wide viewing angles and deep black levels
- Support for internal programmable 12-bit look-up tables (LUTs) for calibration
- Ambient light sensor and automatic backlight adjustment
- 1,900x1,200 native resolution
- 1,000:1 contrast ratio
- 320 cd/m2 brightness
- Three selectable inputs (DVI-I, DVI-D, 15-pin D-sub [VGA])
The MultiSync LCD2690WUXi2 ships with a four-year parts and labor warranty, including backlight, and is available now with an MSRP of $1,199
On Sale Now:
$1,169.99
View the latest prices for NEC MultiSync LCD2690WUXi2 Monitor
The 26-incher is basically just a small verison of the 30-incher. Or is that vice versa?
(Credit: NEC )Professional displays can sometimes cost thousands of dollars. Particular consumers usually don't mind paying this premium, however, as the display usually provides an accurate image that some pro users consider a necessity.
NEC continues its support of such displays with two new large-screen monitors. This week, NEC is introducing the 26-inch MultiSync LCD2690W2-BK-SV and the 30-inch LCD3090W-BK-SV. The company is also introducing a new SpectraView Kit, the aptly named SprectraViewII.
The SpectraViewII is a color calibration tool compatible with both Mac and Windows that measures color using a colorimeter based on the iOne Display 2 from X-Rite. Once the user takes a color measurement, the software analyzes the measurements and sends color adjustment commands directly to the display monitor, which purportedly allows the full color resolution and fidelity of the display to be maintained.
NEC cites the following advantages to using the SpectraView II over the previous version.
- Three internal 12-bit look-up tables (LUTs), which, according to NEC, allow precise adjustments to be made to the display's tone response curve with minimal reduction to the number of displayable colors
- Fully automated calibration, which makes adjustments directly in the display hardware, allowing optimal settings to be configured without any user interaction
- Multiple calibration sets, which enable quick and easy switching between different calibration settings without the need to re-calibrate the display.
- Calibrated display information, which shows the results of the calibration, including the measured color gamut, grayscale color tracking, Delta-E and luminance values
- Calibration status validation, whereby SpectraViewII queries the system to see if any controls have changed since the last calibration and restores to the previous calibrated state
- Monitor locking, which allows the on-screen display controls to lock the monitor once calibrated to prevent accidental or unauthorized adjustments
- Monitor profiling, which allows the monitor to be automatically profiled after calibration, generating a highly accurate ICC/ColorSync color profiles
- Colorimeter function, which allows direct measurements to be taken by the color sensor and the results displayed in a variety of formats
A Linux version of SpectraViewII will also be available in February.
Each monitor uses the ColorCompT technology, which purportedly reduces LCD uniformity errors by compensating for differences in color/grayscale and luminance across the screen area.
According to NEC, each monitor's backlight technology enables the displays to produce 98 percent coverage and 107 percent the gamut size of the AdobeRGB color. The 26- and 30-inch displays incorporate in-plane switching (IPS) panel technology, which is widely accepted by industry professionals as being the highest-performing LCD technology available on the market.
The SVII-PRO-KIT is available as an accessory for select NEC LCD displays and includes the new color measurement sensor and SpectraViewII calibration software. Existing customers with a supported color sensor device can purchase the SpectraViewII software separately at an estimated street price of $104.99. The SVII-PRO-KIT is available separately with an estimated street price of $329.
The LCD2690W2-BK-SV and LCD3090W-BK-SV are backed by a four-year parts and labor warranty and will be available sometime later this month for a suggested retail price of $1,449 and $2,449, respectively. The new version of SpectraViewII software will be available for free download for existing SpectraViewII customers.
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