Hello all
Just arrived back home from a 4-hour drive and am a little tired but will try to answer some questions.
#1 HD DVD vs. Blue Ray. This is short and sweet and early but I will make the prediction that Blue Ray will be the successful format unless something changes. After seeing both It should be. HD DVD is limited to 720p or 1080i how they are calling that HD DVD I have no idea.
Blue Ray on the other hand is 1080p. at least that is what we were told at all of the demos The only saving grace I see for HD DVD is that the players are cheap and it still has Microsoft’s backing I guess when you have that company behind you your not dead yet
#1 The Real HD projector is the first to have 2K resolutions we received no pricing info on the projector but I am guessing you would need to sell your house to own one
#2 1080p Plasma hit a home run at CES t was everywhere and it looked fantastic The new Pioneer Elite in particular Please keep in mind that many manufactures show off their new displays with near static feeds Pioneer was showing their new 55” panel with full motion 1080p @ 24fps this tells me they are confident in their technology and they should be. I am calling it the best looking flat panel at CES. Panasonic’s new 65” would be a close 2nd
#3 I didn’t get a chance to see many of the new front projectors because I am not going to stand in line for an hour to get a demo, but the new Yamaha 720p projector looked awesome. Remember resolution is not everything and Yamaha definitely has incorporated great optics into the new mid priced DLP
The new Optoma H-81 1080p projector looked very nice and at $10k msrp should be very popular.
The H-72 is a pricing breakthrough very nice 720p DLP projector for $1999
It should kill all 720p LCD projector sales when it streets.
The Sanyo Z-4 looked awful my old Sony 400Q would put it to shame on a bad day. With the rave about this projector what I viewed was pathetic at best I hope it was content and set up.
The Infocus 777 3 chip DLP projector was absolutely mind blowing
Yep its 720p but it spanked the 1080p stuff. Told ya! Resolution is not everything
LED projection technology looks like it is almost ready for the marketplace and if it is matured and refined will dominate the rear projection market for the reasons explained in the coverage. Try as I might I could not get anyone to answer my tech questions so what’s up on the coverage page is all I know. I hope LED will make it way into front projection
For all of you looking into budget flat lcds you should be looking at the Westinghouse models that will ship in the spring very high bang for the buck panels For mid priced panels the Olivia line would be the best bet
I looked at so many displays at the CES my eyes are burned out but if you have specific questions I will try and answer them
A couple more points and then I need some rest
It is my understanding that Mitsubishi did not exhibit at CES. They were not listed in the guide and when I asked I was told they were not there. I don’t understand that one because they have some remarkable looking HD TV's
Sony’s booth was a disaster It was so crowded and taking pictures was an impossibility I think our Photographer Jeff was able to sneak a few in but I am not sure. I did view some of the new SXRD TVs and they all looked good
Read the coverage first and then fire away with questions