Geoffrey Morrison Blog

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Geoffrey Morrison Blog
CEATEC 2006 - SED Lives! Sort of…
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Oct 03, 2006  | 
As rumored, Toshiba/Canon showed off three 55-inch SED displays, proving without a doubt that they can make at least three SED panels. They looked as impressive as the oft-seen 37-inch, with a mix of pre-recorded (and motion filled) colorful images, and even a live action scene (with a camera on a person and puppet that was in sight of the audience). Here’s the bad news: They’re now saying the end of 2007, but with no definite pricing or quantity.
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Geoffrey Morrison Blog
CEATEC 2006 - Pioneer’s Next-Gen Plasma
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Oct 03, 2006  | 
The most surprising demo at the show was a demo of a next generation Pioneer plasma that stole quite a bit of SED’s thunder. It had legitimate blacks (seemingly as good as SED). They’re claiming a 20,000:1 contrast ratio, and from the demo it sure looked like it could be close to that. I’d love to tell you more, but the entire presentation was in Japanese. I’ll put up some photos later of the Powerpoint, and you can try to translate them. At the earliest, it may be a model for next year. I’m sure we’ll hear more at CES.
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Geoffrey Morrison Blog
CEATEC 2006 - JVC HD-ILA Front Projector
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Oct 03, 2006  | 
Like I mentioned in my CEDIA report, JVC has a new front projector. It will be around $7000. In demo here at the show, they showed it beside their old $30,000 projector. No contest. It wasn’t even close. The $7k projector blew the old model away. Better blacks, better contrast ratio, better color, better detail. That’s twice I’ve seen this projector look good, and I can’t wait to get a hold of one (they’re saying early next year).
Geoffrey Morrison Blog
CEATEC 2006
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Oct 03, 2006  | 
CEATEC is an interesting show. The portion that deals with the stuff we cover is rather small. The rest of the show tends to be manufacturers that make the parts of the stuff we cover. I’ll take some pictures of those bits tomorrow.
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Geoffrey Morrison Blog
CEDIA 2006 Link
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Sep 29, 2006  | 
In case you missed it, here's the link to all our CEDIA coverage. Next week, I'll be at CEATEC, and I'll hopfully have some cool things to blog about while I'm at that show.
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CEDIA 2006 - More Photos
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Sep 18, 2006  | 
I've posted some more photos from the show in our Galleries.
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HDTV TechGeoffrey Morrison Blog
Who Needs Light Bulbs? Part II
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Sep 18, 2006  | 
Lasers: They're not just for guns anymore.

If there is one thing that just screams "future" to me, it's lasers. Sure, they've been around since the 1960s, but come on—it's lasers! Right now, they can be found in your CD and DVD players, but a few companies are hoping to put them in your TV, as well.

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You don't need 1080p
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Sep 08, 2006  | 
Ok, I admit that I stole this week’s blog post from myself, but I’m still getting questions on this, so here it is. I’m also posting older Gearworks and Hook Me Up articles over the coming weeks so we have a better catalog of helpful articles that had been in the mag but hadn’t been posted here.
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HDTV Buying TipsHDTV TechGeoffrey Morrison Blog
Specs, Myths, and Lies
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Aug 22, 2006  | 
Dont believe the hype.

No matter what type of display you're looking for, you're no doubt going to be comparing the specs and feature lists of each. Things like contrast ratio, lumens, 3:2 pull down, and others are a marketing departments favorite tools to make their product sound better than another. Take many of these with a grain of salt. Take others as an undersold but vital aspect of a product. To sort though them, here's what they all mean.

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More 1080p Questions
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Aug 16, 2006  | 
I've gotten a number of really good questions on my last blog post about 1080i and 1080p. Instead of burying the answers at the end of the comments in the last blog, I figured I'd post them here and answer them. I edited them down for space and stuff (sorry).
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Geoffrey Morrison Blog
1080i v. 1080p
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Aug 07, 2006  | 
There has been a lot of concern and confusion over the difference between 1080i and 1080p. This stems from the inability of many TVs to accept 1080p. To make matters worse, the help lines at many of the TV manufacturers (that means you, Sony), are telling people that their newly-bought 1080p displays are really 1080i. They are idiots, so let me say this in big bold print, as far as movies are concerned THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 1080i AND 1080p. See, I did it in caps too, so it must be true. Let me explain (if your eyes glaze over, the short version is at the end).
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HDTV TechGeoffrey Morrison Blog
Who Needs Light Bulbs? Part I
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Jul 24, 2006  | 
Bring on the diodes.

Bulbs are so 20th century. You can gussy them up, charge a bunch of money for them, even call them fancy names (lamps), but the fact of the matter is, they're still basically light bulbs. Almost all new RPTVs and front projectors use UHP (ultrahigh pressure) lamps to create light. These lamps are fairly efficient for the light they put out but are very hot, costly, and don't last very long. One new technology that's aiming to replace the UHP monopoly is LED, or light-emitting diode.

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Geoffrey Morrison Blog
Samsung BD-P1000
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Jul 15, 2006  | 
It's taken a while to get all the facts straight. In fact, a few are still not in. But one thing is sure, the BD-P1000 doesn't look as good as the Toshiba HD-XA1. The reasons why took dozens of phone calls and a trek to the far side of Los Angeles. The complete story will be in two complete articles in our October issue. For now, here's the story of how we figured out most of it:
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Projector Buying TipsProjector TechGeoffrey Morrison Blog
A Screen for All Seasons
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Jul 05, 2006  | 
Special screens for special purposes.

There are a number of reasons why front projection doesn't have the same popularity as other display methods. The biggest factor is integrating the screen and projector into an environment that has to be lived in. Sure, some of us (like me) have no problem blocking out all light in our living rooms so we can watch our projector during the day. I also don't have kids that could muck up the screen. If either of these issues has prevented you from going front projection, check out these screens.

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AV GlossaryHDTV TechGeoffrey Morrison Blog
Advanced Super In-Plane Switching (AS-IPS)
Geoffrey Morrison  |  Jul 05, 2006  | 
A different "twist" on LCD.

It may not sound very exciting, but Advanced Super In-Plane Switching (AS-IPS) is a pretty neat technology. It is yet another improvement in the world of LCD, brought to you by Hitachi, as well as Panasonic and Toshiba.

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