Sony dumping all rear-projection TVs to focus on LCDs?
By Nilay Patel 
posted Dec 19th 2007 7:49PM
posted Dec 19th 2007 7:49PM
From: [redacted]
Sent: Tuesday, December 18, 2007 10:01 PM
To: [redacted]
Subject: FW: Sony #-LCD and SXRD Announcment
To All-
I've spoken to some of you regarding Sony's announcement yesterday re: the discontinuation of all MDPJ sets including E-series 3-LCD, A and XBR-series SXRD. Here's an unofficial statement from our internal news:
Sony to Stop MDPJ Production
Dec. 17 - Due to the high consumer demand for BRAVIA flat-panel LCD televisions combined with the accelerating industry trend toward flat-panel displays, Sony Electronics will discontinue producing rear-projection televisions based on 3LCD and Silicon X-tal Reflective Display technologies.
- All backorders for KDSZ70XBR5 are now cancelled as this set will not be produced.
- We do expect to fill existing backorders for KDF46E3000 and KDS60A3000 – if you need either of these models, LAST CHANCE, ORDER NOW and we will do our best to fill your orders – no promises!!!
But I am sure the LCD vs. Projection flame wars will continue :)
Sony killed off the rear projection t.v.'s ehh? Well, all I can say is...
"YES THEY DESERVED TO DIE!!! AND I HOPE THEY BURN IN HELL!" :-D
Nice hint of subtlety in the picture. Maybe the woman in the picture fell.
I don't that that's a woman. All those guy rock climbers wear their hair long. It's a good way to keep their heads warm after a long climb.
Actually this dude is not falling. Notice the clothing? The 80's keeps dragging him down.
P.S. I am a climber and I do not wear my hair long.
Not all climbers are long haired hippies...
That looks like a fun route!
Caution - shameless self-promotion below
[redacted]
Sorry Jason, shameless self promotion denied!
see ya, wouldnt want to be ya
I'm hoping this isn't true as Sony's top of the line SXRD units were a lot of bang for the buck. I'm not saying rear projection is the only way to go; there are a lot of good choices depending on your budget and room but I think Sony's rear projection were a good buy. I was really hoping they'd make a good 80" rear projection TV for those of us who can't afford a serious projector - most sub $10,000 projectors don't look that good to me but Sony's 70" rear projection TV looked pretty good, didn't require all the wiring and space of a front projection screen. Sony makes a pretty nice 70" LCD but it costs far more than I could justify -it would have been great if they made that new XBR5 for those of us too dang cheap or without the spare funds for a 25K LCD.
That's a shame. I've a 50" SXRD, and it was a nice alternative to LCD/Plasma at a decent price point. But I'm now a bit worried about the availability of replacement lamp assemblies for current owners. Might be a good idea to get one now.
same here...I have a 60" xbr-1 series hdtv....love it, but am concerned about supply of replacement bulbs for it in the future if this is true...
...or buy that extended warranty that Sony has mailed out. $300 for the extended (3 year warranty) and $150-$200 for the lamp. I know what I did. ;-)
This sucks. I just sent in a tip/question about this over the weekend after I noticed the KDSZ70XBR5 had been pulled from the Sony Style site. I've been waiting for this set to come out ever since it was revealed. I'm really bummed about this news. There is no available set with the same quality/cost/size combo. I really hope this is a rumor that turns out to be wrong.
Sony is doing the right thing by droping rear projection TV's, the LCD market has taken off in the last 3 years. I think we are all getting short term memory loss when it comes to technology, specifically the edge of the cliff that technology prices are falling off of.
Rear projection was really a good deal, one could get a really large high quality screen for the same price as a smaller wall mountable LCD or Plasma panel. It's a shame your doing this Sony, first it was the XBR Trinitron and now this. Sad.
It may just be the currently bulky SXRDs lit with arc lamps that they're abandoning. They demonstrated an SXRD set lit with a laser light engine a while back:
http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.so-net.ne.jp%2Fits_a%2F2007-01-19&langpair=ja%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&prev=%2Flanguage_tools
Since laser light has infinite focus the sets can be made as thin as LCDs or plasma and have a considerably higher colour gamut so it seems strange they would not pursue it especially when they'll still be manufacturing SXRD chips for front projectors.
Really, what about Laser RPTV. I read in a CNet article a couple months ago that Sony was one of the few manufacturers that would be developing a laser rptv.
All this means is cheaper LCD TV's.
I don't think there's any controversy about flat screens replacing rear-projection, but here are the two statements that don't go together: 1. article states that people don't want rear-projection and 2. the rear-projection tv's are on a backorder.
Backorder usually implies that demand exceeds the supply, but what do I know after taking only one semester of economics..
Thats fucked , i have the 60" SXRD XBR2 ... by far the best tv i've ever owned and any anyone i know has seen , im the envy of the city , even with everyone and there mother with hanging LCD's and Plasma you cant beat the picture of the SXRD .. this is a sad sad day
That email is very unprofessional.
Wow, that's pretty amazing. I thought the LCoS stuff was the wave of the future soon to rival DLP in popularity. I know many people love the form factor of LCD, but it's not even close in terms of quality in my opinion to a quality DLP.
:(
The picture on the KDSZ70XBR5 was amazing! (Got to see a demo at a Dealer Show) It's a shame that it will not be made.
I have the 60" SXRD XBR2 and absolutely love it. There is no way I could afford the size and quality this has in an LCD or Plasma TV. I even got my mom to buy the same model. I was patiently awaiting the XBR5 70" so I could either sell the 60" or move it into the bedroom. I can't afford a 70" LCD or plasma!
Wow, this is a blow to all the customers who love the rptv's. Best way to get the largest TV for the least price and retain quality. I sell a lot of the Sony units. Wonder how long Samsung and Mitsubishi will hold on to the category.
If it is true, then that is the dumbest move they could possibly have done. Though LCD's and Plasmas have come a long way, most, like myself, still prefer the colors from an SXRD XBR RPTV. Giving up a major piece of the market share when you barely have a blip in the category your entering is poor business strategy IMO.
Phil @ Dec 20th 2007 12:12AM
"If it is true, then that is the dumbest move they could possibly have done... Giving up a major piece of the market share when you barely have a blip in the category your entering is poor business strategy IMO."
I agree that the SXRD delivers quite possibly the best picture on the market even among LCD, DLP, and competing LCoS microdisplays...
however if you really look hard at the industry figures, RPJ/MDPJ is a seriously dwindling market. Sony retains top market share in the rear projection market by a fair ammount and while giving up that big pice of the pie seems odd, you really need to consider the bigger picture. The reality is it is a 'nice pie' but a very small one at that. Sony is the market leader in a market that is quickly disappearing.
Additionally, unless you have some new market figures on LCD perhaps you should review your comments regarding Sony's forray into a product category in which they are 'barely a blip'. In terms of revenue & market penetration Sony is ranked a few spots below the top, however in terms of overall $$$ and consumer acceptance, Bravia is the number one LCD globally. Review the analysts reports, the data is there.
BTW the new SXRD sets were phenomenal when they were in our offices. NOt a laser light engine mind you, but so damn sexy. And down to a thickness of about 8". Its a shame but it is a response to the market conditions.
wow...talk about leaving money on the table. what a stupid movie, best selling tvs in north america mor than 3 years running, their projos def were a good push behind those titles
Slowly but surely, everything becomes the same oO
Seriously, isn't it about time for LCD to go? it's not THAT great, I always considered it stopgap technology.
Instead they dump alternatives? tisk tisk.
took them long enough...
im not a fan of rear projection tvs. so this is good news for me because it means sony will work harder at developing cheaper and better lcd's.
what a shame
Good riddance, I never did like projection TV's. Poor viewing angles has always been a turn off to me.
Their margins on rear projection sets have declined to the point that it does not make economic sense. No profit leads to discontinuing the product. The same thing happened with their CRT line. It had the best picture and there still was a market for the 150lb beasts, but it had razor thin margins. I am going to go out and get one soon. Even if this rumor is not true, it makes sense and they may then follow the advice. If you are looking for a Sony 50" 1080P for $996, Howard's in LA advertised them as a closeout in Saturday's paper. It did not specify which model, but it did say that it had two HDMI ports. Fry's has the Bravia 50" version for $1200.
If Sony was shifting focus to R&D for ANYTHING, it would be their future OLED-based models. They've already got plenty invested in LCD.