New At Marketnews: Upselling To LED-LCD TV

Marketnews: Custom Corner: Up-selling to LED Backlight LCD TVs

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LG bows next-gen products

I've been a little slack on re-reporting new product announcements, since I'm up to my eyeballs in projects lately. But with LG's latest announcement, I can kill two birds with one stone, and both play to two of my particular peccadilloes: LED illumination and digital delivery.

TWICE.com: LG Bows LED LCD TV

In TVs, LG unveiled its 47LG90 1080p LCD TV with TruMotion 120Hz frame-rate processing and LED backlighting. The unit, which ships in September at a $3,599 suggested retail price, has a 47-inch screen size and uses an array of 1,536 individual white LEDs. LG has developed local dimming technology to control the lighting of each individual LED to vary between full brightness or full shut off, enabling a 1,000,000:1 mega contrast ratio, the company said. The set also features a new teardrop design, blue color accents and a “high-gloss” black finish.

In addition, and perhaps most importantly, LG showed a 3rd gen Blu-ray player that incorporates download technology via NetFlix:

The highlight of the showcase was LG’s third-generation Blu-ray Disc player, model BD300, which is slated to reach market this fall. It will be only the second set-top device compatible with the Netflix instant-streaming offering. The first was a dedicated $99 Roku player introduced earlier in the year. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 will also add the capability this fall.
The Netflix instant-streaming video service offers more than 12,000 movies and TV episodes in standard-definition format online for virtually instant playback. Users will be required to register for a Netflix subscription membership, allowing its traditional mail-delivered disc rentals and now streaming video services via a broadband connection.

It may seem incongruous to incorporate downloads into an optical media player, but hey, why not? Think of it as a bridge for consumers from one format to the next. Clever.

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Sim2 Demonstrate Prototype LED-LCD Projector

If you are into video technology, then you know that Sim2 makes products that are the cat's pajamas. Well, they're turning up the heat.

TWICE.com: Sim2 Presents LED-LCD Prototype

Sim2 Multimedia and Dolby unveiled here Monday evening one of the first prototype LCD TVs to employ LED backlighting driven by Dolby Labs’ set of High Dynamic Range technologies for local dimming control.
The 46-inch display is one of only four produced so far as Sim2 continues to analyze its ability to mass-produce the sets for introduction through high-end custom installation and specialty A/V retail distribution. The sample model offered 1080p full HD resolution and a 60Hz frame rate.

As some of you are aware, I am hugely long on LED technology and it's potential for everything from lighting to video applications. It's always good to see progress on this front.

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This Week in Marketnews: LED's are taking over

Marketnews: Custom Corner: Fired up over LEDs

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Advances in projection illumination technologies, and why not everybody cares about it

In the past month, Panasonic and Samsung announced new microdisplay rear projection televisions that abandon HID (High Intensity Discharge) lamps in favor of new, high tech light sources. New Samsung units will use a high output LED in place of the fragile, short-lived HID lamps, and Panasonic has partered with Luxim for a new longer life light engine.

My point (and I did have one): two weeks ago I pigeonholed a source at Hitachi, and asked him, in Socratic fashion: "Gee, two major brands are trumpeting their breakthroughs in rear projection technology. At the same time, I notice that your line of plasma and LCD flat panels is expanding, even as your line of microdisplay rear projections is shrinking. Given how Hitachi prides itself on being an innovator, is it reasonable to assume that you don't believe there is a future in rear projection technology, and rather than design a better deck chair for the Titanic, you intend to throw all your weight behind the flat panel market?"

Playing the Glaucon to my Socrates, he confirmed that Hitachi sees no point in gussying up the RP business, since its days are numbered due to the increasing acceptance and decreasing price points of flat panel technology. Don't forget, after Sony debuted the WEGA flat-front picture tubes in 1998, the entire industry chased them, trying to offer flat-front tubes of their own. In 2001, Hitachi very pointedly abandoned the tube television business entirely. Why spend money perfecting a flat tube of our own (they declared) when the writing is on the wall for tubes in general? Instead, they eliminated their tube business, and turned their resources over to becoming a major Japanese plasma maker, and have enjoyed great success not only with their own brand, but OEM'ing their panels to other brands as well.

Back to my point: a 65-inch CRT-rear projection HDTV was $6500 in 2002. Today, it's $1499. Next year there won't be any. In 2005 a 65-inch DLP rear projection HDTV was $4999. In 2008, will there even be any?

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Philips LED production kicks into high gear

TWICE

For those of you who are super-keen on cutting edge lighting technologies (and I know you are!), Philips has announced plans for a new Singapore plant for high power light emitting diodes (LED).

Philips said the power LED market has an expected annual growth of 25
percent over the coming years. The long-lasting LUXEON range of power LEDs
matches the brightness of conventional light sources and for the first time,
makes it possible to replace incandescent, halogen and fluorescent bulbs in many
products with smaller, longer-lasting and more energy efficient LEDs.

Exciting stuff!

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