Jumbo HDTVs with budget price tags

If you're hankering for a 60-inch or larger HDTV but want to spend less than $2,000, forget about buying a plasma or LCD set. But don't give up hope—a value-priced rear-projection TV (RPTV) might be just the ticket, as we noted in an earlier post, "Bigger screens for less bucks." The new microdisplay sets are much thinner than the bulky projection TVs of old, so you don't have to sacrifice floor space in the interests of frugality.

Mitsubishi, one of only two TV makers still offering RPTVs, recently introduced its new 735 Series of DLP TVs (click on the image for a closer look). The 60-inch WD-60735 ($1,500) and the 65-inch WD-65735 ($1,700) offer true 1920x1080 resolution as well as the ability to produce "3D video." Both sets use a proprietary "six-color light processor" designed to boost on-screen color fidelity.

In preliminary tests, our engineers found that both sets offered fine picture and sound. Here are some of their findings. For more on the pros and cons of rear-projection TVs, check out our free online HDTV Buying Guide.

Rear-projection TVs: Bigger-screens for less bucks?

In the December issue of Consumer Reports, you’ll find our latest LCD and plasma TV report with complete HDTV Ratings for over 100 new models. (Ratings are available to subscribers.)

But you won't find any test results for new rear-projection HDTVs. Why? In a nutshell, there are very few new sets of this type. Of the countless TV models introduced to the U.S. market this year, only 14 were RPTVs, and only two companies—Samsung and Mitsubishi—continue to make and sell rear-projection sets.

Consumer demand has also tanked. U.S. sales of rear-projection sets this year are expected to total about half a million units, compared to 30 million LCD TVs and 4 million plasma TVs.

That sales comparison tells the tale: One big reason for the overall decline in rear-projection TVs is that sleek flat-panel LCD and plasma TVs have gotten bigger and cheaper, pushing the bulkier sets out of the picture.

Still, you might want to consider a rear-projection TV if you want the most screen for the money. We've seen 60- to 65-inch RPTVs selling for about $1,500, and 72-inchers in the $2,000 range. A plasma or LCD TV of that size would easily run $5,000 or more. And the best of these sets are capable of excellent picture quality that gives flat panels a run for the money.

Epson, Panasonic add new 1080p front projectors

Epson has joined Sanyo in offering a 1080p front projector for less than $2,000, clearly the new entry-level price point for these models. 

Epson's PowerLite Home Cinema 6100, a 3LCD model with a price tag of $1,999, has a manual lens shift, six color modes, and a 2.1x optical zoom. Sanyo's new projector is the PLV-Z700, mentioned in an earlier blog.

Epson also introduced two other 1080p LCD-based projectors the step-up PowerLite Pro Cinema 7100, a sub-$3,000 projector with ISF certification, and the PowerLite Pro Cinema 7500 UB, a $4,500 LCD model with improved contrast and additional features, plus a spare bulb and ceiling mount. The 6100 has a 2-year parts and labor warranty; the 7100 and 7500 UB come with 3-year warranties.

Meanwhile Panasonic announced the LCD-based PT-AE3000, a 1080p model with a unique feature—called Lens Memory—that lets you lets you project a 2.35:1 aspect ratio (increasingly common in movies) without the use of an anamorphic lens. It will be available in October at a price of $3,500. This projector also has 120Hz "frame creation" technology, which analyzes adjacent frames to interpolate new ones, essentially doubling the frame rate to help reduce motion blur. For 24p signals, the frame rate is quadrupled to to 96 frames per second.

—James K. Willcox

Report from CEDIA: Next-gen TVs come into focus

What's the next big thing in the fast-changing HDTV market? I'm in Denver this week at a trade show called CEDIA (Custom Electronic Design & Installers Association) to find out. Much of the focus is on pricey gear that needs to be custom-installed by a dealer, but manufacturers usually give us a glimpse of key trends and new products likely to make their way into the mainstream next year.

Here are a few things I expect to see:

LCD's 120Hz technology jumps to 240Hz

In the LCD TV arena, 120Hz technology—which essentially doubles the TV's frame rate to help reduce motion blur—has become a popular new feature. I expect to see several leading manufacturers, including Sony and Samsung, showcase new TVs with 240Hz technology, presumably with the belief that if doubling the frame rate is great, quadrupling it will be spectacular.

Sony has said it will offer two 240Hz models—the 46-inch KDL-46W1 and 40-inch KDL-40W1 in Japan by the end of the year. Based on my conversion of the price in yens, those sets will sell for about $3,700 and $2,700, respectively, but there's no word yet on arrival here in the U.S. At a recent European trade show called IFA, Samsung showed a prototype set that won't arrive for a few more years.

HDTV: Adjust the picture for best quality

When you turn on your new high-definition TV, it probably won't look as stunning as it did in the showroom. The default, out-of-the-box settings on most HDTVs are designed to create a super-bright, vividly colored image, but they're almost always a bad choice for use at home. Here in our labs, our engineers fine-tune each set before evaluating the picture. It's likely the TVs in our Ratings would have much lower scores if we didn't.

You don't need an engineering degree to get the most from your HDTV. The easiest way to adjust picture quality is to use one of the preset picture modes. (Press menu on the remote and find picture or video controls.) Most TVs are set to Vivid or Dynamic (names vary by brand), but we've found that modes like Natural, Cinema, or Pro generally provide the most pleasing, natural-looking picture. Play around with the choices and see which looks best. Finding the right mode might be all you need to do.

You can also adjust picture settings individually rather than using a preset mode. One simple method is to set the brightness, contrast, color, and tint controls to a middle or neutral position, then move them up and down until the image pleases you. Also, turn off sharpness, noise reduction, and image-enhancement. This approach generally results in a decent picture.

If you're more adventurous, try these seven steps to better picture quality. You'll find more detail in our article on tuning your TV.

Rear-Projection HDTVs: More innovation, fewer choices?

There's a deepening paradox about rear-projection TVs (RPTVs), those video giants with screens that run upwards of 70 inches in size. On the one hand, based on our Ratings of RPTVs (available to ConsumerReports.org subscribers), sets have continued to get better. And as we learned at the Consumer Electronics Show this month, there's still quite a bit of innovation in the category. Mitsubishi and Samsung have been experimenting with alternative backlighting sources for these sets—Samsung already with a growing number of LED-based sets (such as the HL-T6187S rear-projection TV set seen at right), and Mitsubishi poised to launch the first laser-lit rear-projection sets later this year. In addition, both companies have been offering fairly impressive 3D demos when their sets are used with optional 3D glasses and stereoscopic content.

But those pluses aren't enough for most consumers, who can now get a thinner plasma or LCD set of comparable size to an RPTV set at a comparable price. As a result, RPTV sales continue to dwindle; Toshiba, for one, now estimates the total rear-projection market at a paltry 650,000 units, out of an overall digital TV market of more than 23 million sets.

Little wonder, then, that the number of manufacturers making rear-projection sets continues to decline. Sony and Toshiba recently defected from the rear-projection TV market, and, based on what we saw at CES this month, there's a strong likelihood that by this summer, there will only be two major rear-projection players left: Samsung and Mitsubishi. Neither JVC nor Panasonic, traditionally strong RPTV players, showed new rear-projection models at the show and a JVC executive this week confirmed that no new sets are on the horizon this year. That leads us to believe these companies will announce their exits from the RPTV market sometime in the coming months.

The slimming of the market means that both LCoS (the technology used by JVC, which markets it as D-ILA) and rear-projection LCD (the format used by Panasonic) would essentially disappear from the market. That would leave DLP as the only remaining rear-projection technology. (LCD and LCoS continue to remain important technologies in the front-projector TV market, however.)

For consumers, the decline of RPTV will mean fewer model to choose from if a projection set does make sense for your needs. (See our buying advice on rear-projection TVs to determine if an RTPV is right for you.) It might also provide good deals on really big sets, as Samsung and Mitsubishi duke it out for the remaining RPTV buyers. We'll continue to monitor the rear-projection business, including testing the likes of those laser-lit Mitsubishis later in the year. But it appears that the handwriting is already on the wall: it's only a matter of time before RPTVs follow in the path of CRT sets and become a historical footnote in the evolution of TV displays.

—James K. Willcox

CES 2008: Mitsubishi Unveils LaserTV

During a CES press event that was long on theatrics but short on details, Mitsubishi unveiled its much-awaited—and oft-delayed—rear-projection microdisplay TV that uses a laser light engine, instead of a conventional UHP lamp. Dubbed LaserTV, the DLP-based set can display a much broader range of colors than current high-definition televisions, the company claimed.

Lasers can produce far more accurate light than conventional lamps. While an average TV can display only 40 percent or less of the visible color spectrum, laser TVs can produce twice that, Mitsubishi said. Like LEDs, the use of colored lasers obviates the need for a spinning color wheel, which can cause the rainbow effect. Lasers will also likely last the life of the set and are more energy efficient than high-powered lamps.

Unfortunately, the company didn't offer many details about LaserTV, other than promising availability by year's end—which is what they said last year, too. The set on display was a 65-inch DLP model, but there was no information about what screen sizes will be offered or how much the sets will cost.

Perhaps the biggest issue, however, is that the demand for any rear-projection technology has been in a rapid free-fall, with some TV manufacturers pegging 2008 demand at only 650,000 units. That's a far cry from the more than 23 million flat-panel LCD and plasma TVs that sold this year—and one reason why more manufacturers, most recently Sony, have exited the category.

During the event, Mitsubishi also showed off the set's ability to present 3D images, teaming up with 3D technology company RealD, which provided 3D shutter glasses and custom 3D content.

—James K. Willcox

CES 2008: Life in the third dimension

Though it's a challenge to identify significant trends in the hardware at this year's CES, there's one that has been creeping up on us for a few years and could break through as the "next big thing"—if the industry gets it right. It's 3-D TV.

Digital TVs have gotten big, bright and sharp enough, by anyone's measure. But, though sales have been anything but flat, the picture on the screen still is. Movie and game producers would like to change that, and bring the enveloping visual experience you might have seen in a 3-D IMAX film into your living room.

Presented well, as in a few of the CES demonstrations we've watched, 3-D can be strikingly effective in drawing you closer to the action, adding realism and depth to scenes, especially ones portraying movement towards or away from the viewer. The degree of 3-D's enhancement to video is much like the move from monophonic sound to stereo was in the 1950's, at least in this viewer's experience.

The "magic" needed for 3-D is simply to have a slightly different view of the content presented to your left and right eyes, just as you see in real life. The technology is actually waiting, in some new TVs from big makers like Samsung and Mitsubishi, labeled "3D-Ready." These DLP or plasma TVs can show successive images fast enough to allow alternating right-eye and left-eye views while keeping the motion smooth. (LCD TVs are currently unable to switch images quickly enough for this kind of 3-D.)

Two more devices need to be added on to a 3D-Ready TV to complete the picture. First, you need special glasses that can rapidly switch each lens from clear to opaque in sync with the TV images. Second, you need a special DVD player—or game console, or PC adapter—that can feed the 3-D content to the TV. We expect to see the home-theater and gaming industries trickle out add-on systems—perhaps later this year—that will enable 3-D viewing.

Of course, you'll need to have the content itself. Some movies already "in the can," both animated ones like Polar Express and live-action ones like Beowulf, were produced in 3-D versions. These movies will probably be released on 3-D-enabled Blu-Ray discs.

And, most games produced today, for either computers or game consoles, are easily adapted for 3-D presentation. In fact, there are already several technologies being applied to computer displays that can present game graphics in 3-D. (Our upcoming tests of displays will include one of these.) Each of these technologies has its limitations, and it remains to be "seen" which ones prove to be practical and effective enough to catch on.

—Dean Gallea, Senior Program Leader

Flat-panel TVs take center stage

Like a fashion model married to a rich mobster, TVs this year promise to be thin, stylish, and connected. At least that's the conclusion after the first day's press conferences at the Consumer Electronics Show here in Las Vegas.

Flat panels are getting thinner, with several companies here at the show vying for the bragging rights to the thinnest TV (making a micrometer an unexpectedly in-demand item among some journalists). The width of the bezels surrounding the screen is shrinking as well, enabling larger screens to fit into smaller spaces. Meanwhile, manufacturers are striving to differentiate their TVs with superior sound, a challenge given the ever-decreasing amount of cabinet real estate to house speakers.

There's also a heightened focus on design, with several companies using highly stylized cabinet designs, unique trim accents, and splashes of colors, perhaps in acknowledgment that TVs are morphing into lifestyle products. It will be interesting to see if the now-standard high-gloss piano black gives way to something more daring in the coming year.

But perhaps the most notable TV trend so far at the show is the growing number of TVs with some form of connectivity, either to the Internet or to other devices in the home. Some manufacturers are looking to deliver this content wirelessly, via several competing standards, while others are turning to wired technologies such as home AC power lines to send and receive audio and video throughout the home. We expect to see even more of these types of TVs this fall, when manufacturers refresh their lineups.

Higher-performance features such as 1080p resolution and 120 Hz technology in LCDs are migrating from pricey step-up models to more mainstream sets. In LCD, 1080p resolution is making its way into sets as small as 32 inches, although it's arguable what the real benefit will be to the average consumer (game players notwithstanding).

Here's a quick overview of some of the highlights from the first day's press conferences. We'll providing regular updates about the various announcements made throughout the show this week.