Widgx » Displays

“World’s Largest HDTV” at Tokyo racetrack

T Evans — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 23:08:38 +0000

Apparently bigger is always better when it comes to TV’s, especially when we are talking giant HDTVs, and the leapfrog game to have the largest — even for just a few months — continues as Mitsubishi has constructed a baffling 8,066 square-foot display at Tokyo Racecourse in Japan. By far the biggest Diamond Vision unit ever built, it trumps their own creation at Turner Field in Atlanta by spanning 218 feet wide by 37 feet high and allowing for 3 races to be shown at once. The two previous title-holders were Miami’s Dolphin Stadium at 137 x 50 feet and Texas’ Longhorn Stadium at 134 x 55 feet. Controversy over the true king will surely arise due to Tokyo’s set only rising 37 feet in height and rocking an unorthodox 5.89 aspect ratio, but it does indeed sport Hi-Vision (1080), making it a legitmate HDTV. Personally, we’d be able to get more use from a couple plasmas, but if you’ve got the space acreage, there probably isn’t a better way to spend $28 million. (Well you know appart from saving the starving etc, etc, …)

Panasonic’s 103-incher gets model, price

T Evans — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 13:54:02 +0000

You might have known it before by its nicknames: Goliath, Brobdingnag, the Colossus, etc. But now you’ve got a model number and price tag for Panasonic’s 103-inch behemoth; call it the TH-103PZ600, and expect it out September first for a princely ¥6,000,000. Yes, that’s over £27,000 (which is what all plasmas used to cost but a few years ago, if you recall).

Oh, and not that you’d care but Panny’s also launching their 65-inch TH-65PZ600, 58-inch TH-58PZ600, and 50-inch TH-50PZ600 sets on the same date for significantly less (they top out at about $8,500 US). But really once you’ve seen the gaze of a 103-inch television, there’s no way you can go back. Which is precisely why if you don’t have the means, like us, you should never lay eyes on one; and if you do have the means, well, don’t be bummed out when during CES 2007 Panny, LG, and Samsung all announce their own 104-inch set.

LaCie updates their 300 pro series of LCDs, adds 20-incher

T Evans — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 13:44:36 +0000

If your future as a professional depends upon having those colors show up just right on your LCD, then LaCie is probably on your short list for display manufacturers. They’ve just updated their pro-line 300 series with some sexy 12-bit gamma correction, allowing for smoother color gradients and photophile bragging rights. They’ve also added a 20-inch model to their range of displays, the Lacie 319, 320 and 321. Despite the minor size differences, prices range from $879 to $1599, plus another $200 if you want LaCie’s blue eye pro colorimeter for calibration. All that display dollar will get you, at least in the 320, a 1600 x 1200 resolution, CRT-grade color gamut, 700:1 contrast ratio, 280 cd/m2 luminance and of course that 12-bit gamma — 4 times as accurate as the usually pro 10-bit spec. Not shabby at all, if you can swallow the pricetag. All three displays are available for order now from LaCie.

JVC Introduces 120Hz LCDs

T Evans — Sat, 01 Jul 2006 00:30:34 +0000

Two new LCD TVs from JVC announced this week may not be 1080p, but they use JVC’s new Clear Motion Drive to make images smoother with less ghosting than regular LCDs. The Clear Motion Drive sets the refresh rate at 120Hz, which means it’s twice the refresh rate of the signal, at 60Hz. To make up the difference in frame rate, the technology inserts an interpolated image between two images so there’s a smoother transition between frames. The result is less motion blur and ghosting.

The displays have an “ATSC/QAM/NTSC tuner, two HDMI inputs, two component inputs, two S-video inputs, 15-pin S-sub PC input, and both analog and optical and analog audio output. ”

The larger, 37″ LCD (LT-37X987) will cost $2,700 in August (roughly £1,500), and the smaller 32″ LCD (LT-32X987) will cost $2,000 in October (roughly £1,100).

Explay Nano Projector: It Works!

T Evans — Sat, 01 Jul 2006 00:27:06 +0000

Explay, not to be confused with a certain TV show that has seen quite a drop in quality in recent months, has successfully tested their nano-projector engine, a method of safely projecting “always focused” images from mobile devices, such as cellphones and portable media players. It is the first such projector that offers full color in a small, match book-sized body.

The nano-projector engine is powered by a “laser-based diffractive diffractive optical technology” and can project an image size from 7 to 35 inches. Even though the current system is small as it is, Explay expects to release an even smaller version in 2007, raising the question, how small is too small?

Still no word regarding price or release date.

Acer announces two new 22″ displays.

T Evans — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 00:13:20 +0000

Acer today announced two new displays; obviously living by the motto that ‘big is better’ these follow the trend for ever larger displays and measure in at 22″. These monitors have a 1680×1050 WSXGA+ resolution, 700:1 contrast ratio, 5ms refresh time, 300cd brightness and include two DVI ports. The monitors will be available in black or iPod white and will only set you back 500 euros. Good work Acer – we salute you! Expect a mid-ish July release for the AL2216 22-incher from Acer.

LCD with built-in PC from Quixun

T Evans — Mon, 12 Jun 2006 21:01:08 +0000

So not much to report here – but a clever idea none the less. So you like the look of all-in-one PC’s but have realised that if anything breaks not only do you loose your computer but your monitor/display too – well not any more. The GrandOpera sports a competely removeable PC. These LCDs will ship in 32, 37, and 42-inch models and feature an on-board analog TV tuner and removable PC running a Celeron M, up to 1GB of RAM, and 100GB of disk. Prices will start at about ¥150,000 or roughly $1,300 for the 32-inch kit when these drop in Japan sometime late July.

42″Plasma TV in Your Hot Tub

Admin — Tue, 14 Mar 2006 00:31:45 +0000

Spa makers are offering all sorts of upgrade options with their hot tubs these days.Cal Spas offers units that seat from two to eight people, and some of their options include CD-playing stereos,LED lights, exercise equipment, waterfalls,and yes,a 42″plasma TV with DVD player.The screen is stored in the spa shell,then rises out of edge at your command.

Plasma Screen Waterfall

Admin — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 12:13:44 +0000

How about this for something uniquely different,your very own waterfull plasma screen,the company that makes these builds them to your specification,so you can choose your own style and size of screens ect.

Transparent OLED

Admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2006 02:27:15 +0000

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German scientists have figured out how to make organic LEDs that are transparent. The most obvious application is to incorporate them into conventional LCDs and �transform laminated glass into a display panel.� OLEDs could also be combined with TFT screens for similar uses.�gizmodo