Recent Comments:
Mitsubishi's LaserVue 65-inch and 75-inchers due this fall {Engadget}
Jun 25th 2008 6:03AM Unless you are intending to hang a TV on your wall, people forget that the table stand that LCD and Plasmas are attached to are 10 to 12+ inches deep. So the footprint of these rear-projection TVs may be the same as or possibly even less than that of similar sized flat panels.
Mitsubishi intros slew of HDTVs, says LaserVue is coming in Q3 {Engadget}
Apr 8th 2008 9:19AM The "rainbow" problem isn't inherent to DLP technology, it's due to the fact that except for some really high-end (read: expensive) DLP front projectors, most DLP devices are single chip units. Having 3 chips would eliminate the "rainbow effect". All modern LCD and LCoS rear projection TVs and front projectors use 3 chips/panels.
Since the laser is actually designed to replace the UHP lamp or LED light source of a RPTV, unless these new sets have 3 panels, you may still see a "rainbow effect" similar to that of LED-lit sets.
The primary advantages of this technology are to improve color and light output and to increase the usable life span of the light source over the typical UHP lamp.
Video: Hands-on Sony's NWZ-A829 Walkman with Bluetooth {Engadget}
Apr 1st 2008 8:56AM The noise canceling feature is found on the NWZ-S710F series models.
Sony's HDR-SR12 1080/60 camcorder gets reviewed {Engadget}
Apr 1st 2008 4:52AM Any decent progressive display worth its salt should be able to properly de-interlace 1080i (and 480i) footage. Walk into your neighborhood Best Buy or Circuit City and look at the TVs they have on display with a HD signal. With the exception of a few sets that have a Blu-ray Disc player hooked up with HDMI, the majority of them are being fed a 1080/60i HD feed from some sort of HD generator via component video. With the exception of some horizontal panning shots, most people would be hard pressed to pick out a 1080p source from a 1080i source.
I'd also like to point out some errors in your description of the SR12's chip. Although similar to the Alpha's Exmor sensor (which was misspelled as Exmos)in that they are both CMOS chips and use similar underlying technologies, Sony's video camcorders use what they call a ClearVid CMOS sensor as described here: http://www.imaging-resource.com/NEWS/1138169251.html that use a pixel array that is rotated 45 degrees from traditional sensors. The Exmor sensors still use the traditional Bayer-pattern color filter array.
Sony XEL-1 hands-on {Engadget}
Mar 19th 2008 6:31AM The Ethernet port got the boot in non-Japanese models in favor of a second HDMI. So stop looking for one.
There are a few other differences, mainly dealing with TV tuners. It's been a while since I had my hands on the Japanese model, so I've forgotten the details.
Toshiba swallows a billion dollars on HD DVD {Engadget}
Mar 13th 2008 8:32AM @ John
Well, they have had some successes:
3.5" Floppy Disk
Compact Disc
and now Blu-ray (although, until it sees widespread adoption by consumers, I'd hold off on counting it as a true success. Remember, MiniDisc went up against DCC and won , ending up with mild success in Japan.)
Sony's Stringer: OLED TV in US "next year" {Engadget}
Dec 11th 2007 8:43AM You want to wall-hang an 11" TV?
Seriously, the only reason why this set is so thin and designed that way is to make it a statement piece. Sony has been making LCDs nearly as thin as this in their TX/TZ/SZ series VAIO computers for quite some time now. Personally, I think that thin-panel TVs don't need to get any thinner than they are now. Any thinner and you won't have space for a decent amount of input jacks or a built-in power supply.
The thing people are forgetting is that the whole point of OLED isn't how thin the TVs can be, it's how much better the picture quality of the technology is over LCD and how much less power it uses versus plasma. Sure, it's also lighter and, if made with flexible materials, bendable, but the major improvement to current TV technologies that I hope OLED brings is better images.
Black Friday Giveaways (part 12): Sony PSP {Engadget}
Nov 24th 2007 6:39AM Insert comment here.
Sony's XEL-1 OLED TV limited to 2000 units {Engadget}
Nov 21st 2007 7:39AM It's pretty obvious that this is a status symbol object for the wealthy. 11 inch screen size and it's form factor make it only useful for watching TV on a desk or table from a few feet away. You might see one on a TV show or movie soon, I'll bet.
That being said, after seeing the prototype in person I was impressed. Not because of the thin-ness, but the contrast was amazing and the color reproduction was stunning. At this size, SD resolutions are more than enough to give you a smooth, realistic picture. Just like having 8 megapixels is a colossal waste of resolution for a 4" x 6" print, having 1920 x 1080p for a 11" screen is just being ostentatious.
Samsung's LED-backlit LN-T4681F LCD HDTV gets reviewed {Engadget}
Nov 20th 2007 4:33AM I was kinda dumbstruck that Samsung would make the screen glossy when most LCD manufacturers were touting the non-reflective nature of LCD screens as a benefit and the glossy screens of plasma as a minus. Admittedly, the contrast usually goes up as a result of using glossy coatings; rear-projection TVs began to use them years back for the same reasons.
Kinda negates the plus of the local dimming feature they added to the 81 series. It seems that this set was made to compete head to head with plasma in their stronghold: ambient light controlled locations, with viewing typically at night (home theaters).
