Per screen inch, this is the most expensive TV we've reviewed in years. The early 50-inch plasmas were certainly more expensive (and obviously smaller), but, in the era of higher yields and vicious competition, it's rare to see any company come out with a model that unabashedly eschews the price wars. An obvious comparison would be one of a Ferrari, and Sharp would indeed love that comparison. For the extra money, does this 57-inch offer greater performance compared with the Camrys of the LCD world? The better question would be, does it offer enough better performance to justify its substantial premium?
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).
Like any type of product, toward the end of its run, you tend to find the most advanced, best examples. Years of development culminate in the last few models in a category. Take, for example, the few high-end CRTs on the market. They're some of the best. DVD players are currently cheaper and, in many cases, better than models we saw just a few years ago. Then there's the high-end 720p DLP projector. With 1080p here in the form of Sony's VPL-VW100, and 1080p DLP on the horizon, the real question is, should you spend the money on a high-end projector that is only 720p? Well, I can't say for sure across the board, but, in this case, I can say most assuredly, yes.
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.
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:
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.
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.
There is a lot of misinformation, lies, and myths out there regarding the new HD on a disc formats. Both HD DVD and Blu-ray have their strengths and weaknesses. I’m getting enough emails on the topic that I figured I’d do a post full of truthiness about these new formats.