LG @ CES - Killer plasma
LG is letting loose a barrage of plasma displays this spring, many of them are just bumps, but a few are setting some new benchmarks. In the ongoing war of "mine's bigger" between LG and Samsung, LG will launch (like honestly sell) a 71" plasma, the 71PY10 — seventy-bleepin-one inches! LG puts that mammoth size to good use with true 1080p (full Hi-Def) resolution of 1920 x 1080. But size and resolution like that demand a certain level of exclusivity. It will only be sold at selected locations, and for a whopping $75,000 — and they already have a couple hundred pre-orders at that price.
LG's other big plasma introduction at two new models with a built in 160 GB DVR, the 60" (pictured above) and 50" PY2DR. The DVR can record both HD (max 14 hours) and standard (max 62 hours) programming, and uses GemStar's guide for both channel selection and programming. Not only do these models clear your component shelf of a DVR, they also eliminate a cable box. Both models have a CableCARD slot for digital cable decoding without a set top box. The 60" model will launch first and the 50-incher will follow soon after.
LG will also launch 60, 50, and 42 inch HD plasmas with analog and terrestrial HD tuners as well CableCARD slots.
All of LG's plasmas, from the 71" on down have an XD processor that adjusts color, contrast and scaling to make sure the picture looks good. And it has antiburn-in software as well as a bunch of new manufacturing processes to make sure the display lasts longer than any others — LG claims their new plasmas will look good for 60,000 hours.
