Posted 10/16/08 at 09:48:48 AM by Paul Lilly

The decision of whether or not to pick up a Blu-ray player at the same time an HDTV is purchased may soon get a little easier, as the two are poised to come together in a single package.  As of next month, Sharp will become the first company to offer an LCD HDTV with a built-in Blu-ray player and recorder.

• 26" LC-26DX1(1366x768)
• 32" LC-32DX1 (1366x768)
• 37" LC-37DX1 (1366x768)
• 42" LC-42DX1 (1920x1080)
• 46" LC-46DX1 (1920x1080)
• 52" LC-52DX2 (1920x1080)

Sharp's new Aquos DX series will allow viewers to watch a program on one channel while recording on another at the same time. By supporting H.264/MPEG4 AVC encoding, Sharp says its built-in recorder will be able to hold up to 11 hours of high-definition video in 720p on a single 25GB Blu-ray disc.

Pricing will start at about $1700 for the 26-inch model and run up to $5000 for the 52-inch set. Japan gets first crack at the new sets starting on November 20, with U.S. availability by the end of the year.

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Blu-ray, HDTV, consumer electronics, sharp

Posted 10/02/08 at 11:52:43 AM by Paul Lilly

Autostereoscopic. Ever heard that term before? Philips hopes you'll be hearing a lot more of it, and yesterday announced a line of Quad Full Autostereoscopic 3D HDTVs during a 3D event in Hollywood.

A Quad-HDTV means it's screen resolution checks in at 3840x2160 (8.29 million pixels), or four times that of the highest HDTV standard, and otherwise known as 2160P. Combined with autostereoscopic technology, the end result is that 3D images can be made to look believable without having to wear those funky glasses or other specialized headgear. Instead, images target a specific eye, but rather than require a strict viewing angle, Philips says its 56-inch HD 3D display has a generous 160-degree viewing angle.

As expected, first-run products won't come cheap with early rumblings putting this TV in the $25,000 ballpark. But Philips isn't the only one pushing 3D technology - Toshiba and Sanyo have both said they're working on competing autostereoscopic displays, which could drive down the price if this technology takes off.

Anyone yearning to own a 3D TV?

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philips, HDTV, 3D, high definition, consumer electronics, autostereoscopic

Posted 09/23/08 at 09:06:36 PM by Will Smith

You know it, we know it, the whole damn world knows it: On ever-so-rare occasions, there are technologies that we, the nerd elite, have ever-so-slightly... umm... overhyped. That's right, we said it. Overhyped. It's just that when we're talking with engineers or reading about about some hot new technology, we get so damn excited. So excited! And can you really blame us? I mean, who wouldn't get excited when you hear about CPUs that clock in over 4GHz, or instruction sets that will multiply your CPU's performance? And geez, who wouldn't want to turbocharge his gaming framerate? Hell, we shouldn't be blamed for overhyping, it's those damn engineers fault!

In case you do blame us, hit the jump before you collect your torches and pitchforks, and definitely read our apology to the world before you bring an angry mob to Maximum PC HQ.

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HDTV, iphone, spore, overhyped, battlestar galactica, hypetrain

Posted 09/18/08 at 02:00:00 PM by The Maximum PC Staff

I purchased a 37-inch Westinghouse LVM-37W3SE LCD 1080p HDTV monitor in June 2007. A few months later, I found out that this particular model has faulty firmware that prevents it from working properly with many devices. For example, the Nvidia driver recognizes it as a different model Westinghouse 1080i monitor and refuses to set it in 1080p mode. I contacted customer support and received permission to return it. The monitor was returned in November, and it was received by Westinghouse two days later. I hadn’t heard anything from them until about a month ago, when I finally made a call to find out about the RMA status. (I’ve been out of the country on a business trip.)

I was promised a follow-up by several people, but no one would commit to when the monitor would be sent. They basically asked me to wait until I received my product. It has now been more than seven months, and I believe I have waited long enough! Thank God my trusty 15-inch LCD is still working fine.

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lcd, nvidia, Watchdog, HDTV, 1080p, westinghouse, firmware, 37-inch, video drivers

Posted 09/10/08 at 02:05:26 PM by Paul Lilly

Is there no end to the laser's usefulness? From being mounted to frickin' sharks to popping a house full of corn in the 80s, the answer appears to be no. Fast-forward to today and lasers are now going to be found in television sets.

First announced earlier this year at CES, Mitsubishi's LaserVue series is being billed by the company as the world's first laser-power TV. It's also one of the more expensive sets for its size. Set to initially make its debut this month as a 65" HDTV, the LaserVue will carry an MSRP of $7,000, or roughly comparable to that of higher end LCD TVs of the same size. If you can wait a little longer and have an extra $3,000 to drop, a 73" model will be available in the fourth quarter priced at $10,000.

According to Mitsubishi, LaserVue TVs are capable of about twice the color range of non-laser powered LCD TVs, while providing a brightness of 500 nits, 3D viewing capability, and will consume less than 200W of power.

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tv, DLP, HDTV, consumer electronics, displays, laser

Posted 08/15/08 at 01:44:41 PM by Paul Lilly

Coming this fall, Sony will unveil its first WHDI device, the DMX-WL1T. If you haven't been following, WHDI is a new technology co-developed by Amimon, Hitachi, Motorola, Samsung, Sharp, and Sony that provides a high-quality, uncompressed wireless link for transmitting video data rates of up to 3Gbps between an HD source and an HDTV.

Giving the device widespread flexibility, Sony's DMX-WL1T will come equipped with four HDMI inputs, one component input, one digital audio input, and a stereo analog input. The two-piece system will transmit uncompressed 1080i video and audio, but according to Sony Insider, HD content will likely only stream to a Sony DMex compatible Bravia HDTV.

Concrete details have yet to emerge, but it looks as though the WHDI device will offer a range of up to 100 feet and possibly more. Three IR Blaster ports also suggest that users will be able to control other third-party devices. Sony is expected to officially announce the DMX-WL1T later this month at the IFA conference in Berlin. Until then, it's all speculation, including pricing and availability.

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wireless, sony, WiFi, HDTV, HDMI, consumer electronics

Posted 07/29/08 at 12:59:10 PM by Paul Lilly

In just two more years, your swank high definition television might be obsolete, or at least the technology behind it. That's the time frame Matsushita has given for when it plans to start selling an OLED television with a screen size of 40 inches.

If you haven't been following the HDTV landscape, OLED technology promises thinner displays, a better looking picture, and lower power consumption, making it the frontrunner to succeed both LCD and plasma. Cost continues to be a prohibiting factor in the here and now, but Matsushita hopes to tackle that problem by investing several dozen billion yen into a prototype production line for 20-inch OLED panels, while also doubling the personnel involved in developing larger screen OLED displays.

While Matsushita's 2011 deadline might appear to be overly ambitious, the company already has a head start on the technology. Earlier this month a report from Japan's Nikkei BP said Matsushita and Toshiba were ready to begin mass-producing 2.5-inch organic screens by the fall of 2009. Meanwhile new breakthroughs continue to drive down the manufacturing cost of OLEDs, so if even we don't see OLED televisions by 2011, the writing will at least be on the wall.

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lcd, tv, television, HDTV, oled, high definition, consumer electronics, Matsushita

Posted 06/24/08 at 04:03:29 PM by Mark Edward Soper

Fox, NBC, and CBS are already playing in the Internet TV pool, and now ABC is jumping in with a major deal with Veoh Networks. ABC's taking a different approach than its competitors with a high-quality video player that supports Streaming HD. Find out how much better the results are, what shows are being broadcast in Streaming HD, and the best sites to find lots of your favorite TV programs past and present.

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tv, HDTV, Internet TV, IPTV, ABC