Samsung shipping LED based DLP - HL-S5679W
We are so ready to see these things. We have been hearing about Samsung's LED based DLPs for...well...it seems like forever. There were reports that they were shipping a few months ago but that didn't pan out and then they got delayed! But it now seems like they are shipping for real, although you probally won't be able to get one till Augest as the offical product page states. The HL-S5679W is going to MSRP for $4,199 with a street price around $4,000.
In case this is all news to you, let us give you a little background. DLPs are based off of three major things: a set of tiny, tiny mirrors (called the DMD), a color wheel, and a lamp. These new LED based sets replace the last two items and simplify the process. Instead of sending light through the color wheel and then off the tiny mirrors to achieve all the colors, the whole process is based off of red, green, and blue LEDs. Therefore you get more consistent colors, no rainbow effect and also, a lot longer life then light bulb based models.
