Category: HDTV
Pioneer to stop making sub-42-inch plasma panels, as its TV business suffers
Japanese newspaper Asahi has reported that Pioneer will stop the production of 42-inch and smaller plasma panels as early as March next year, and instead buy those panels from Matsushita or Hitachi.
Pioneer’s plasma TV sales targets for this year, ending 31st March, are a mere 10 per cent of Matsushita’s (who use the Panasonic brand), at just 480,000 units compared to five million.
Pioneer will continue to manufacture its own plasma panels sized over 50 inches, while the company looks to sell the Kagoshima plant back to NEC. Pioneer already buys the panels for its LCD TVs from Sharp.
The Toshiba ZF series – with 23mm wide bezel
I do realise this is the third glossy black TV I’ve put up in the last hour, which is why I’ve included every camera angle possible for them so far – had Toshiba launched a fourth series of TVs, I probably would’ve included a bird’s eye shot or even reverse upside-down. Got to keep it fresh, yanno?
With the largest price-tag of the three new series, the ZF is their new flagship series under the REGZA umbrella. They’re sporting those ultra-thin bezels we saw at CES, at just 0.9″ wide, and with three sizes…
Upgrade your CRT telly to Toshiba's new CV series – WXGA 32, 37 and 42"
In addition to the numerous DVD players, camcorders and laptops Toshiba has launched, they also updated their C series of LCD TVs, and renamed it CV.
Comprising of 32″, 37″ and 42″ models, they don’t quite have the 1080p resolution the industry bandies around as being the be all and end all, with these TVs being aimed at upgraders who’ve discarded their CRTs.
They’ll offer 1366 x 768 resolution…
Sony Europe introduces "Product, Process and Planet" environmental commitment
Sony Europe has just recommitted itself to lessening its environmental impact, with the introduction of the “Product, Process and Planet” initiative.
The “Product” part of the initiative relates to Sony’s efforts to make its consumer electronics goods more environmentally friendly.
TV products currently account for around 76% of Sony’s overall CO2 emissions, but the company has reduced the power consumption of its LCD TVs, and in recognition of this was awarded the Sustainable Energy Europe Award by the European Commission and the EISA Green TV Award last year.
Mirai intros two HD-capable LCD TVs
Mirai has announced the availability of two new high definition-friendly LCD TVs, available in 32 and 42 inch sizes.
The 42-inch DTL-742E6000 is able to deliver a full 1080p high definition experience, and features an integrated digital tuner, dual HDMI, plus 3D comb filters, ChroMAX circuitry and Faroudja technology which claim to give a smoother picture.
Macworld 2008: Apple relaunches Apple TV with HD movie rentals, cheaper price
Apple TV hasn’t been a roaring success for Apple, but that hasn’t stopped the company announcing a second-generation version at Macworld 2008. Apple TV ‘Take 2’ will let you rent HD movies for $4.99 a pop, with 100 available immediately.
CES 2008: Texas Instruments DualView technology spells death for split screen gaming (in a good way)
Co-op gaming has been on the rise over the past couple of years as there’s nothing better than buddying up with a friend to take on the armies of evil. The problem is that if you actually want to be sat beside your friend while you play, you’re going to have to sacrifice half of your screen just so they can see what they’re doing. Selfish bastards. Well not anymore. Texas Instruments is showcasing a new screen technology that displays two separate image sources at the same time on a DLP HDTV screen, meaning that each player can enjoy full screen gaming whilst sat beside and watching the same TV as their partner.
CES 2008: Sharp press conference: surprise, surprise – more massive tellies are on their way
The Sharp CES press conference kicked off with the usual amount of backslapping and general optimism about the state of the HDTV market. And why not – according to Sharps figures and some really rather bland graphs the LCD market is skyrocketing. Sharp expects to have shipped over 74m units by the end of 2007 and 96m by the end of next year, which is probably a lot more than I can count on all my fingers and toes.
CES 2008: Panasonic’s new Viera TVs – 46-inch plasma and 37-inch LCD
At its press conference today, Panasonic took the wrappers off its Viera HDTV range for 2008, including the 46-inch TH-46PZ80 plasma and the 37-inch TC-37LZ800. Across the whole range, Panny is offering better contrast ratios, SD card slots, HDMI connections and a Game Mode feature that cuts time lag when playing console games.
CES 2008: Samsung unveils 3D-ready Series 4 plasma HDTV
It’s all about the tellies at CES so far this year, at least as far as the big consumer electronics manufacturers go. However, rather than willy-waving about biggest and slimmest screens, they’re focusing more on features.
