Audio Video News

Big plasma displays are among the home theater industry's most desirable and expensive products. Only a handful of companies have ventured into the market for truly big plasma screens.

Integra has joined the select group with its first video package, a 50"-diagonal HDTV-capable plasma display, the PLA-50V1, combined with a Faroudja FPV-1 video processor. The combined system, which debuted at CEDIA 2001, carries a suggested retail price of $23,000.

Slightly over 4" deep, the 16:9 display is light enough to hang on a wall, has resolution fine enough (1 megapixel, or 1,326 x 768 pixels) to render readable text from computer data. A combination of capsulated color filters, embedded in each square pixel, and a mask matrix of black stripes reduces reflections and enhances sharpness and black levels. Multitasking is possible with the PLA-50V1: users can leverage the display's picture-in-picture or picture-out-of-picture features to view two different sources simultaneously, such as email and a TV broadcast. A 16-step digital zoom enables the magnification of important picture details up to 9X. The Integra PLA-50V1 is said to be the first advanced monitor with these features.

The display has inputs of every type, and is capable of all computer graphic formats and all analog and digital video formats, including NTSC, PAL, SECAM, RGB, DVD, DTV and HDTV formats. Windows PCs and Macintosh computers, as well as digital equipment with the DVI interface, all connect seamlessly to the PLA-50V1. An RS-232 port allows control via computer. The display has also been optimized for movie use. "Processing circuitry within the display converts all interlaced input signals to progressive scan and performs inverse 3:2 pulldown for optimum smoothness from filmed originals," states the Integra press release.

The Faroudja Laboratories FPV-1, bundled with the PLA-50V1, performs "additional processing to further optimize the displayed image. The FPV-1 scales video signals to a precise, pixel-to-pixel match for the PLA-50V1display. In addition, it uses Faroudja's patented Diagonal Correlation Deinterlacing to prevent jagged-edged motion artifacts and edit-detection circuitry with 3:2 pull-down to provide the smoothest possible images from film-based video sources. Faroudja's patented Cross-Color suppression and 20-bit adaptive digital comb filtering enhance color purity and image detail," according to Integra. Like the display itself, the FPV-1 has inputs for HD/computer, component, S-Video and composite. IT also has a selectable RGB/component video output and front-panel controls for brightness, color, contrast, tint, and aspect ratio, with four presets. More information is available at the Integra website or by calling 800 225-1946.