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"Looking huge" is an understatement when applied to Marantz's new PV6480W HDTV-ready rear projection television set. Not only is its 64" (diagonal) screen among the biggest on the market, so are its 9" CRTs.

Size is only the most superficial of the PV6480W's attributes, however. When coupled with the proper set-top box, the projector is capable of several ATSC digital TV formats, among them 480I, 480P, and 1080I---including full 1920 by 1080 interlaced TV image - the highest HDTV resolution available. The flat surface mirror, high-resolution screen, top-quality five-element color-corrected lenses and state-o-the-art electronics insure superb images whether the source is analog or digital, legacy video 4:3 or widescreen 16:9.

The PV6480W's comb filter is claimed to reduce "dot crawl" and motion artifacts to negligible levels. The inboard Genesis line doubler/scaler guarantees excellent images from any source, including NTSC video---as in your garden-variety DVD player. The set accepts computer-generated VGA and SVGA inputs, as well as wideband component video, S-video, composite video, and RGB+H/V signals. Its automatic phosphor aging compensation boosts the drive to the CRTs by a pre-determined amount to compensate for their slowly diminishing light output, meaning the PV6480W should suffer minimum picture degradation over its lifespan.

Marantz's RC5000 programmable touchscreen universal remote control is a standard accessory. The PV6480W measures 63-5/8" H x 62-5/16" W x 27-1/16" D and retails at a suggested list price of $9,999.