One great thing about the set is that you can change the way it does sound depending on room size and TV placement using simple menu options. Oh yeah, and the picture on the 120Hz set wasn't bad either. The 149 comes in two flavors, a 46" for $3300 and a 52" for $3700, out soon. [Mitsubishi]

More Kuro Than Kuro
On the plasma front, Pioneer's new Kuros fit midway on the contrast gamut between the previous generation and the "Extreme Contrast" panel shown at CES. The five-times-deeper blacks don't show up on the brightly lit sales floor as well as they do in a dimly lit home, but Pioneer's Russ Johnson says they will blow away videophiles, particularly with respect to color purity and gradations of shadow. The idea is that you will see more without colors being blown out, and without "hotspots" that make whites too bright. There will be two 1080p plasma TVs out next month, the 50" PDP-5020FD for $4,000 and the 60" PDP-6020FD for $5,500. They're both about 20% thinner than the previous Kuro models, now measuring 3.7" thick. Besides the features that it shares with the previous generation, these Kuros have a new remote control and new HD GUI for better ease-of-use. We're also told they have some networking capabilities—Home Media Gallery plus DLNA compatibility with PCs and other network devices. More on that when we check them out.In the Elite line, Pioneer is rolling out souped-up versions of the above TVs at $1,000 premiums—the 50" PRO-111FD and 60" PRO-151FD. The bigger news from a gadget perspective is that there will be two plasma monitors that are even thinner. They will be 50% as thick as the original Kuro, measuring just 2.5". As monitors, there have no ATSC tuners or speakers, but they will be highly customizable thanks to some serious connectivity and remote access tools. It's a rich man's product, for sure, but worth knowing it's hitting the market, since the tech will eventually trickle down.That Projector Rings a Bell
As for the KRF-9000FD projector that snuck out at the European launch, some were smart enough to spot it as a re-branded JVC RS2 or HD100, the two so similar they're referred to as "twins". Johnson tells us that the company chose the LCOS projector because its performance was "consistent with the deep black levels" of the Kuro line. Pioneer added some tuning options to jive with Kuro deep-black benchmarks, but at this time the company did not do too much to make it a product distinct from JVC's. It will be branded simply as the Pioneer Elite Kuro Projector, and it will sell for $9,000, as early as June via the Elite dealer network.

Why No LCDs???
Johnson was good enough to shed some light on the missing LCDs. It turns out, Pioneer Europe has a different LCD supplier than Pioneer USA. Pioneer's European supplier—Philips?—has Pioneer's global LCD partner—Sharp—supplies different product to Europe than it does to the US. Sharp supplies 1080p LCDs in 32", 37" and 46" sizes with 100Hz frame mode to Pioneer Europe, but can't bring them to the US—even for itself. Of course in the US, it would be 120Hz, not 100Hz, a PAL spec. Those are the baseline requirements for Pioneer to work its Kuro magic. These requirements can't be met by the US LCD affiliate, says Johnson, "not even in their own line-up", but he does expect them to come eventually. Since Philips is no longer in the US TV biz, and since Sharp appears to be Pioneer's other LCD partner, I guess we'll have to wait until Sharp catches up.

That Kuro Secret Sauce
All this hullabaloo about Pioneer quitting panel manufacturing and instead buying panels from Panasonic made us ask Johnson exactly how Kuro will stay alive, and he surprised us with some factoids:
• The second-gen Kuros gets the 5X deeper black with the same panel, plus better filtering and video processing.
• Even the "Extreme Contrast" CES panel, the one that freaked us out, was based on "current glass," and not some futuristic laboratory panel. "It's how you fire the pixel," says Johnson. We don't know exactly what that means, but it's strangely reassuring. [Pioneer USA]

However, there are still plenty of pitfalls that the novice consumer needs to avoid before making the commitment to drop a serious amount of cash on a new HDTV. The list summary is as follows:

•Fake HD and Cable Satellite Channels: Did you know that a number of HD channels broadcast a lot of "fake HD?" Anyone who has ever watched some of TNT's HD broadcasts can attest to that.

•Dynamic Contrast Ratio Measurement Specification: The contrast ratio number is basically meaningless.

•Line Conditioners: They do nothing to improve the HDTV image.

•Deep Color: No deep color sources makes this a worthless feature.

•x.v.Color: Until Laser TVs and xv Color HD discs appear on the scene, this feature is not truly useful.

•1080p HDTVs below 42" (diagonal): If you own a HDTV under 42", chances are you won't recognize the quality difference over 720p—unless you are standing really close to the TV.

•Flat LCD HDTVs 26" and Smaller: The image quality of LCD HDTVs in the 26" inch range or lower is generally poor.

•120Hz HDMI Cables: As mentioned before, expensive HDMI cables are a huge ripoff. Case in point, decent HDMI cable for less than $2. I bought a few myself and they work fine.

•Off Brand Model HDTVs: No-name brands may cost you more down the line.

•HDMI: Horrible connector design can prove problematic. Always pretest your connections.

So there you have it. If you do your homework, you can save yourself a lot of problems (and money) down the line. For a full explanation on the items in this list, check out the HD Guru link. [HD Guru]

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

For a little tv history check out our Trinitron Timeline and the history of big tvs from Electronic House [Electronic House]

HP Upgrades the Digital Entertainment Experience with Industry's First Integration of HDTVs and Media Center Extender

PALO ALTO, Calif., April 17, 2008 - HP today announced it is the first company to release Microsoft's Media Center Extender capability to an Internet-connected TV.

With the capability, people using HP MediaSmart TVs not only get access to rich content from the Internet(1) but they also can enjoy their own digital treasures from their home PCs on a big screen high-definition TV (HDTV).

Extender for Windows® Media Center enables MediaSmart TV owners using PCs with Windows Vista(TM) Home Premium or Ultimate to go beyond simply watching TV to enjoy pictures, music, videos as well as a world of online services and on-demand TV.(2)

The capability will be included on all new HP MediaSmart TVs and provided automatically to owners of second-generation MediaSmart TVs. Extender for Windows Media Center also will be included in HP's upcoming digital media receiver - the MediaSmart Connect - which is planned to be released later this year and will make any HDTV "MediaSmart."

HP MediaSmart TVs combine 1,080p clarity and advanced wireless technology to provide a stunning, high-definition(3) LCD TV experience for viewing photos, listening to music or watching video on demand. MediaSmart TVs find digital media whether it is stored on a notebook across the room or a desktop in a home office(4) and brings it together in the MediaSmart TV interface for playback using a TV remote control.

Additionally, using HP's MediaSmart interface, consumers can rent or purchase thousands of movies from CinemaNow, share and purchase photos from Snapfish, discover new Internet radio stations from Live365, or access personal content from multiple Windows XP or Windows Vista-based PCs or devices such as the HP MediaSmart Server or HP Media Vault.

"Consumers everywhere want new ways to discover, enjoy and share digital entertainment and HP is making this opportunity real," said Carlos Montalvo, vice president of marketing and services, Connected Entertainment Business, HP. "With the ability to use a premium HDTV to easily access on-demand web and personal media from any PC in the home, there's never been a more fun time to hang out in the living room with friends and family."

Since Extender for Windows Media Center is built into HP MediaSmart TVs, there is no need to hook a PC up to the TV: The TV brings the content from Windows Media Center over a wired or wireless network directly to the screen. It also brings a bevy of new content from movie services such as Starz, Vongo and MovieLink and up-to-the-minute sports information from FOX Sports.

Windows Media Center also features the Internet TV Beta, which brings more than 100 hours of video from MSN, including new shows from providers such as: A&E, Bio, CNBC, DIY, Fine Living, Food Network, FOX Sports, Happy Tree Friends, HGTV, History Channel, iFilm, JibJab, MSNBC, National Geographic, NBC News and StupidVideos.

"As the first manufacturer to integrate Extender for Windows Media Center into a TV, HP is leading the way in whole-home digital entertainment powered by Windows Media Center," said Ron Pessner, general manager, Connected TV division, Microsoft. "Consumers can easily enjoy movies, music, pictures, online services or even live and recorded TV by using a remote control with the Windows Media Center user interface."

HP MediaSmart TVs offer three HDMI ports, wired and wireless (802.11 A, B, G(5) and dual-band draft N)(6) network connectivity and support for other UPnP- and DLNA-compliant devices.

Making it easy for the whole family to enjoy photos and videos together in front of a big-screen TV, HP MediaSmart TVs support a wide range of video and audio formats, including: JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF and PNG; MPEG, XVID, DVR-MS, WMV and AVI; MP3, WMA, WMA Pro and AAC (unprotected).

The firmware upgrade is now available directly on Internet-connected HP MediaSmart TV model numbers SL4278N and SL4778N. Windows Media Center is available on Windows Vista Home Premium and Ultimate-based PCs.

So when all these talk-format entertainment shows come back (Leno, Jon Stewart, etc), Letterman will have a competitive advantage that we can't help but to sympathize with at least a little: he will have his full staff of writers behind him.

Of course, CBS isn't too happy about the agreement...

Because while CBS doesn't own The Late Show, they do license rights for electronic distribution. So it's hard to imagine how the undisclosed agreement between Worldwide Pants and the WGA accounts for this arrangement. CBS clarified that they will not comply with third party agreements.

But for now, it's a small, needed victory for the WGA and, of course, your hungry, hungry television sets (which are in no way affiliated with the domestic breed of hippos).

Mr. Letterman, we'll be tuning in. [nyt]

We all know that firefighters are heroes. But based upon the brilliant sacrifices of safety throughout this video, I'd argue that these firemakers are heroes, too. [break via digg]

In this video, Philips Marketing Director Marc Harmsen walks us through their new product while we show plenty of action.

To minimize visible speaker components, the Aurea uses 26 tiny drivers as opposed to larger speakers. Offering 1080p resolution with 8000:1 dynamic contrast and increased refresh rates, the 42" 42PFL9900D will cost a pants-dropping $6895 when it's released in September. And while our source for the story calls the image good, it's not the best they've seen.

So yes, you will be paying a premium for glowy LEDs, but that's not news to anyone, right? The Aurea will be on display at IFA later this month, so we'll give you full impressions then.

[tuexperto via technabob]

According to Samsung, this is the world's first 1080p Wi-Fi plasma. That's a lot of qualifiers, but it is pretty tasty, and according to the company, the issue of getting Hollywood's permission to stream 1080p video from Blu-ray or HD DVD is being resolved, and the TVs will ship in early October. They will be at 50" and 58" sizes, and will cost $600 more than the equivalent plasmas without Wi-Fi. Note the USB jack next to the HDMI input.

LED backlighting is the wave of the future for LCDs, and not just because they are "greener" than the current CCFLs. Because they can alternately dim and brighten 60 or 70 separate clusters of LEDs underneath the LCD panel, you get deeper contrast, but without losing detail in dark scenes. The TV in the shot below is the previously announced but never-before-shown LN-T4681F, a 46" set that will list for around $3,500. (Though the screen shows that idiotic Robots movie, the best demo of the TV's shadow and explosion capability was Batman Begins.)

Finally, we turn to 120Hz. As many commenters have acknowledged, there are plenty of different types of 120Hz systems, and many different claims. I think the best ones are the ones that use image processing to interpolate new frames. (And yes, there are different types of interpolation, too, but let's skip that for now.) If you look at the photo I snapped of the TV here, Samsung's $3,000 46" LN-T4671F, you can actually see that for every two frames on the right, there's only one on the left. The camera don't lie, and believe me, it looked good in person too.

Stay tuned, because tomorrow we'll show you how to compare Pioneer's high-contrast plasmas with other current flat panel TVs. – Wilson Rothman

Additional Coverage of Pioneer's 8th Gen Plasma [Gizmodo]

"People ask me all the time — 'Don't you feel guilty for it?' And I say that's ridiculous," he said. "It seems reasonable and rational to control the TV from where you normally sit and watch television."

While Laptop Mag, Popular Science, Shiny Shiny, Infosync, Reg Hardware, Maxim, and Pocket Lint have taken lemons and made lemonade, we are taking lemonade and making...super lemonade. Hit the jump to see the absolute cream of the crop products, the one list to catch you up on all the lists: The Best Of, The Best Of CES 2007.

Media Player
LG Super Multi Blue
"We love the quality of Blu-ray, we love the quality of HD DVD, but we don't want to get involved in a format war and back the wrong one. Seems LG doesn't either with the launch of a dual player." (pocketlint)

Portable Media
Sansa Connect
"This WiFi portable audio player provides streaming Internet radio, as well as WiFi content acquisition in one nicely priced package. In other words, any time you find yourself in a WiFi hotspot, you can download new songs." (maxim)
It's just like a Zune, but useful.

Television
Sharp 108" LCD

Computer
OQO Model 02
"Roughly the size of two iPods, the OQO 02 could easily be mistaken for a handheld videogame system or even a slightly oversize Blackberry. But don't let it fool you: It's a fully functional, standalone computer capable of running Windows Vista." (popsci)
And it's a lot nicer than this UMPC.

Phone
LG VX9400
"Though we've seen swivel screen phones abroad...Verizon's V Cast Mobile TV announcement brought forth the first swivel screen for the US...very light, and surprisingly slim, we expected more bulk from the first generation of true mobile TV phones. The screen swivels to landscape mode and clicks nicely into place, and though it isn't very large, we were happy to see video commandeering the entirety of the screen's real estate." (infosyncworld)
No, we weren't tacky enough to say the iPhone.

Robot
iRobot Create
"From the company that brought you the Roomba vacuum cleaner comes a robot designed for students, geeks and other 'bot lovers to create their own programmes. See it in action here fetching beer from the fridge or even being controlled by a hamster. Genius." (reghardware)

iPod Dock
Viewsonic PJ258D
"... sleekly designed and weighs less than four pounds. The docking station connects an iPod video player directly to the projector...also supports other digital media, including S-Video and VGA...has a 1024 x 768 XGA resolution, 2000 lumens of brightness, and a 2000:1 contrast ratio." (LaptopMag)
If you don't think iPod docks deserve their own group, you weren't at the show. And it's among the world's most expensive, ludicrous iPod docks at $999.

What were your favorites? –Mark Wilson

Microprojector
They had a microprojector about the size of a biggish pocket, with smooth detailing and one button. I couldn't see any inputs and this was not running.

Mini-DV to MPEG2 Converters
Directly beside the projector were two similarly rounded boxes, the first of which was about the size of the projector. I read the sign to see what this was. Mini-DV converter. The technical rep anticipated my surprise, explaining that Mini-DV is a technology that will soon be phased out, but many consumers would still have a large library of home movies they didn't want to lose. This box converts them to MPEG2, which can be burned to a DVD. A model about triple its size was close by, which had a built in DVD burner.

HD-ILA 3D Television
You need to wear shutter glasses to see the otherwise blurry image in 3D. I put them on and watched a jeep driving through some sort of wooded area. While certain parts of the image felt very pop-up book, with multiple 2D layers, the road and its patches of grass were quite immersive. The image fluttered to black at a constant, and once again anticipating my question, the rep explained that this demo could only run at (30HZ?) per eye, but he was confident that they could reach the necessary 60 for a seamless image. Then he added that this TV was really just a modified version of what they had on the market now, streaming a 3D-encoded DVD.

Cinemawide Television...err...HD-ILA Technology?
I should have taken better notes. I couldn't figure out what drew me so much to this large, 60" or so TV. Then I was told, it was not built in the 16x9 (1:78:1) format, but the 1:85:1 film standard. It just felt more like a movie.

LED HD-ILA
This was by far the showstopper. It was displaying The Corpse Bride with blacks that looked like Black. I asked the tech rep about the contrast ratio. He smiled, "It's 1,000,000:1."

The picture was beautiful. I wish I could have seen a clip with more color and wider tonal range to really test what it really could do. – Mark Wilson

The companies subject to investigation include Sharp, Samsung, and LG Philips/Philips. Of course, this would be a recent strike two against Samsung - right after we forgave them for the whole memory fiasco. Very not cool (if it's true). – Mark Wilson

US Investigates LCD Makers [japantoday]

We took PCMag's and CNET's top four rated LCDs in the price range (by Westinghouse, Vizio, Viewsonic and Sharp) and let them duke it out battle royal style in the Frankenreview.

Design
Winner: Sharp
"Sharp dropped the silver coloring..."
"I took a moment to admire the display's all-black styling, which features a gloss-finished bezel inset within a matte-finished frame..."
"...the oversized power button would be easy to locate and operate with your eyes closed."

Inputs
Winner: Sharp
"...including two HDMI ports, two component-video connections, and a single RF input that feeds the TV's analog (NTSC), digital (ATSC), and Clear QAM (unencrypted digital cable) tuners."
"...the biggest omission is a dedicated PC input...no mention of using one of the HDMI inputs with PC sources, although dedicated users can probably find a way."

Features
Winner: Vizio
"... boasts a versatile picture-in-picture control. One option lets you view standard-def—but not high-def—inputs in a smaller window while using the PC input for the main screen.
"There are four aspect-ratio modes available for both HD and standard-def sources."

Display

Winner: Sharp
"...summed up with one word, wow."
"...Sharp was able to coax a relatively deep color of black compared to other LCDs we've reviewed recently."
"...has superior representation of color and dark detail."
"Color tracking was admirably linear too compared with the Westinghouse and ViewSonic 32-inch models."
"its less-saturated color was visible...reds are too garish in comparison with other colors."
"...picture was almost perfectly calibrated right out of the box."

Overall Winner: SharpWe were surprised that the Sharp's black levels and contrast ratios held up to TVs far more expensive than those compared here. So while the Sharp may be the most expensive in the competition, it not only looks to be a good TV for under $1,000, but a decent TV in general.

Runner Up: Vizio
For $250 less than the Sharp, you get a PC-input and a decent display save for some color temperature problems...just utilize HDMI and avoid component inputs. If you are sub $700 cheap, we can forgive you for choosing the Vizio. – Mark Wilson

Sharp LC-32D40U Specs:
LCD TV
TFT active matrix
Image aspect ratio - 16:9
Series: Aquos
Width: 32.3 in
Depth: 10.7 in
Height: 25.6 in
Weight: 43 lbs

Video System
Resolution: 1366 x 768
Image contrast ratio - 1200:1
Viewing angle: 176 degrees
Brightness: 450

Television Features
Backlight life: 60,000 hour(s)

Connections / Cables / Slots
Input/Output connections: 2 x HD component input (RCA phono x 3), 2 x HDMI (19 pin HDMI Type A), 1 x S-Video input (4 pin mini-DIN), Audio line-in, 3 x Composite video input (RCA phono)

CNET Westinghouse
CNET Vizio
CNET ViewSonic
CNET Sharp
CNET Sharp 2
PCMag Westinghouse
PCMag Vizio
PCMag ViewSonic
PCMag Sharp

JVC is joining Panasonic and LG in the elephantiasis-of-the-television market, announcing their development of the largest rear projection (yes, rear projection) display in the world: this 110-inch beast. Using their D-ILA technology, the television supports 1080p resolutions while sucking down 220w of power (which is actually not that bad for rear projection).

I know dolphins are friendly creatures, but at these sizes, that lady should be careful. – Mark Wilson

Tech-On [via bornrich]

Eventually a man's remote will control everything, until then, he'll need to settle for a TV stand. The Chrome Robots TV Stand can raise your TV 30cm with the touch of a button, or change its viewing angle up to 45 degrees. Other hi-tech features include a digital lighted watch with time, date, chronometer and alarm.

Chronometer with date and time? Seriously? Is this needed for anyone who watches TV? Most cable boxes auto configure with the proper date and time...and also manage to display the information pretty well...just like my VCR (gasp). We understand that Izyasam TV Stands Factory (Turkey) wants to stand out (no pun intended), but adding a clock randomly to something doesn't inflate its value. In fact, because the ploy is so cheap and 80's in nature, the whole idea stinks Wal-mart exclusive. And as for the adjustable viewing angle, most people who can afford to drop big bucks on an entertainment center can afford a TV that you can already actually see. But don't let me stop you from buying it. – Mark Wilson

Product Page [via bornrich]

Some of you may remember me whining about a complete lack of SED televisions at CEDIA this year. We still can't say why it appears there were no models on display (unlike at CES), but what we can say is that Toshiba and Canon have announced their intentions for an SED release around the 2008 Beijing Olympics. As far as I'm concerned, the Olympics weren't really good for anything before, but if they can get me my freakin' 1ms response, 100,000:1 contrast, supposedly affordable flat-panel, maybe then I'll tune in out of gratitude. There is speculation a release could come a little sooner, but unless we are talking more in terms of years and less in terms of months, it's a moot point in my book. But that's only the old news.

Now we're hearing that the planned $1.5 billion SED plant will probably not be equipped to produce the technology as inexpensively as Canon and Toshiba had projected. And with the price drops we've seen in competitive technologies during the past year (LCD and plasma), I wouldn't be at all surprised if SED turned out to be the most expensive television technology on the market - at least at launch That's it. We've been lied to and I'm officially depressed. – Mark Wilson

[IGN]

This is by no means official, but according to my hours of Internet browsing, SED technology is not at CEDIA 2006. You may remember SED from our posts during CES this year. It's built upon the foundations of phosphorus televisions, but Canon and Toshiba basically packed all that technology into each pixel of a flat-panel. The result is supposed to be the best thing ever and we were supposed to have it by now. Dinner is getting cold and I've finished the wine. No, the flowers aren't helping and don't even think about kissing me. – Mark Wilson

Aside from their innovation in mixing LED and DLP in their model numbers, NuVision has added a 52" LED-powered DLP set to their Deep Black line of televisions. While we've talked about this product before, we didn't mention the NuVision CEO had officially announced the release date to be by this end of this month - that's September for those not keeping up. We'll see if they can beat Samsung's version to the market that has been delayed from their initial May 2006 release date. Let's get LEDs in these DLPs ASAP before we all run out of caps. And anyone actually at CEDIA, let us know what you think about the picture quality. – Mark Wilson

[sound&video]

Hitachi announced their new 42-inch 1080p plasma television. It's world's first 1080p plasma of that size (LCDs of those specs have been around for some time), and is using ALiS (Alternate Lighting of Surfaces) technology to enhance the brightness, sharpness and longevity. Can you tell 720p from 1080p in this size? It's probably tough, but then again, we'll take native high def on a 3-day-with-no-bath hooker if you give us the chance. This model also has a 60" big brother, but other than what we assume is beautiful picture quality, he has no real claim to fame. We just find it refreshing to see not everyone has given up on plasma - yet. – Mark Wilson

[via avguide]

The original Doney portable Brionvega TV made its debut back in the 1960s and really made a pretty big splash in the design world. Brionvega has re-released this TV with some more modern technologies but still housed in the same, familiar vintage shell. It is still available in the three classic colors: sun orange, snow white and night black.

Inside the Doney, the original outdated guts have been scrapped to make way for more mordern goodness. This television uses a black matrix tube, digital frequency synthesized tuning, broadband loundspeaker, SCART, SVHS, A/V inputs and the unit includes a remote control. At nearly $900 this 14-inch TV will most likely never be purchased, but whatever, vintage is super! – Travis Hudson

Product Page [Via Retrothing]

But it s not just the cost. I also don t believe the quality of flat panel HDTVs is up to snuff. Admittedly, I don t have the facilities to test every single one on the market—my wife would kill me. So I rely on three things: my eyes, word of mouth and Consumer Reports. I don t know if you ve seen the latest issue dedicated to HDTV, but the results aren t very impressive.

Let s look at Plasma first. Plasma is the top choice of flat-panel buyers. It offers the largest screen size—42 inches on up—and is generally cheaper per inch than larger LCDs. Well, according to CR s rating system, the highest scoring plasma, a 50-inch model from Panasonic, scored only a 70 out of 100. Virtually every other model was well below that number. And the off brands, well, there s no need to even discuss them. Aside from the quality issue—and the potential for burn-in, no matter what manufacturers say—these things also weigh a ton. I damn near threw my back out trying to help move one at a trade show last year.

Not surprisingly, LCDs scored even worse in the CR testing. The highest score among the larger models—in this case, 37 inches—was a pathetic 52, scored by an LG TV. There is absolutely no way I m going to spend $3,500 on a TV that s only half as good as it should be.

Now I can already hear some of you early adopters out there justifying your purchase. Yeah, but my set looks great. Or How can you be influenced so much by a magazine? Well, I m also influenced by my eyes, and what I ve seen has not been great. Colors vary, blacks are blackish, response times can be slow and viewing angles—let s just say you d better have a lot of room directly in front of the set.

But what about the new 1080p sets, you ask? Surely they will close the quality gap. Frankly, if I m not willing to pay $3500 for a 1080i LCD, I m sure as hell not going to pay $1,000 to $2,000 more for 1080p.

You see my dilemma.

Meanwhile, America s insatiable desire to have its HDTV seems unlikely to let up any time soon—and manufacturers are gearing up to meet demand. Matsushita, Panasonic s parent company and the world s top plasma seller, recently announced it would build a $1.6 billion plant dedicated solely to plasmas. LG, Samsung and a joint venture known as Fujitsu Hitachi Display have also announced they intend to step up plasma production to meet demand, which is expected to exceed 25 million panels by 2010.

Japanese giant Sony, on the other hand, announced last year it was phasing out plasmas in 2007 to focus on LCDs. The company has already teamed with Samsung to open a joint LCD manufacturing plant in Korea. One of the fist bi-products of that venture was Sony s Bravia line, a big seller in Costco that helped the company regain the number one position in LCD TV sales, according to DisplaySearch. To give some idea where the company thinks the market s headed—Stan Glasgow, Sony s guru of glass, has said the company was actively exploring OLED (organic light emitting diodes) as its preferred technology for larger flat panels. OLEDs are brighter and offer better contrast than LCDs, and do not require a backlight. Alas, Glasgow did not specify when those products would make it to market.

On the less-than-bright side, while the aforementioned companies continue their drive to dominate the flat panel market, there s a good chance there will be a glut of product, says analyst Koichi Hariya of Mizuho Securities in Japan. And that s when prices could reach a point where even a curmudgeon considers buying in. The price where I can justify a purchase: $1,000 for a 42-inch TV. Until then, I ll remain content to sit in my not-quite-ivory tower, watching letter-boxed movies on my 20-year-old, 27-inch Trinitron or my $250, 27-inch Toshiba, and checking out this week s electronics circulars.

Brian L. Clark is a reporter and consultant on all things digital, runs the The Tech Enthusiast s Network, and writes for Money,Men s Health, and Laptop.

Back to the present day, the flagship of Sony s direct-view line of CRTs is the 34-inch 16x9 KD-34XBR970 (pictured above), a full-blown HDTV with lots of enhancement circuitry built in, such as Sony s CineMotion inverse 3:2 pulldown to make those films you like to watch look better, and Sony's proprietary image enhancers such as Dynamic Picture Processor and Clear Edge. Keeping the colors true is Trinitone color temperature technology. And there's one more important detail: When you're talking tubes, the price is always right, especially compared to LCD and Plasma—this one s available for preorder at Sony Style for $1200.

Note that even though LCD and plasma displays continue to improve, lots of golden-eyed video engineers will tell you that the good old cathode ray tube still gives you the best video quality.
Product Page

Specs and pricing on Sony CRT TVs [Amazon]

Analogue TV starting to drop-off [Gadgetspy]