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Sony's 1080p VPL-VW40 projector set for January release
Feeling a bit bummed that Santa didn't deliver that swank new front projector you'd been asking pleading for? Trust us, it's for the best. Apparently, Sony is looking to release its VPL-VW40 to the masses at the end of January, and judging by the specs, it looks an awful lot like the discontinued VPL-VW50 -- save for the price. The BRAVIA SXRD PJ sports a 1080p native resolution, 15,000:1 contrast ratio, a 12-bit Panel Drive Full Digital Chassis and an ARC-F lens. Additionally, you'll find a couple of HDMI ports, VGA, RS-232 and composite / S-Video / component jacks. Granted, there's no little birdie giving us the inside scoop, but we'd bet that Sony gives this thing its fair share of floor space at CES -- particularly the oh-so-tempting $2,999.99 price tag.[Thanks, Jordan]
Sony dumping all rear-projection TVs to focus on LCDs?
It's unconfirmed at the moment, but we're hearing that Sony is planning to discontinue sales of all rear-projection HDTVs, including its 3LCD and SXRD lines, after current inventories are exhausted to focus on the hot-selling Bravia LCD line. We've been tipped on it twice today and now This Week In Consumer Electronics is reporting that a Sony spokesperson has told them that "We are moving our resources more toward LCD TV, because that's what people really want." It looks like all backorders for the KDSZ70XBR5 are being canceled, as the unit will never be manufactured, and Sony's making a "no promises" effort to fill backorders for the KDF46E3000 and KDS60A3000. The move isn't exactly unprecedented or even all that surprising -- Toshiba, Philips and Hitachi have all stopped producing rear-projection sets, but Sony's SXRDs were still extremely popular and it's strange to see them get dropped just like that. Check the full leaked email we got after the break.
Sony loading up four theatres with 4K SXRD digital cinema systems
Movie-goers in Dallas, Indianapolis, Riverside, California, and San Diego, you can go ahead and color us officially envious. Your lucky cities will soon host a total of 54 CineAlta SXRD 4K digital cinema systems from Sony, with an unspecified mix of 10,000 lumen SRX-R210 and 18,000 lumen SRX-R220 models planned to shock and wow customers at four AMC locales. The units were unsurprisingly crafted specifically for use in (home?) theaters, and will be paired up with Sony's LMT-100 Media Block servers. Barring any unforeseen disasters, installation should begin next month in the aforementioned areas, and holiday crowds should be enjoying a delightful visual experience before the year's end.[Via TGDaily]
Sony's VPL-VW200 and VW60 SXRD projectors come Stateside
Sony's been some busy busy bees in the last 24-hours -- must be the CEDIA juice in the Denver water. Official today come their 1080p/24 Bravia SXRD projector pair: the VPL-VW60 we've seen and new VPL-VW200 pictured above. The latter boasts the same specs -- 22dB, 35,000:1 dynamic contrast, 1,000 lumens -- only with a 120fps SXRD panel with three motion compensation modes and high-output Xenon lamp. Available Stateside, the VW200 hits in October for $15k while the VW60 will cost just $5,000. Full gallery over at Engadget.
Sony's Bravia VPL-VW60: the SXRD black pearl with 35,000:1 contrast
September 20th: know it home cinema buffs. That's the date Sony releases their SXRD followup to the VPL-VW50 "Pearl" projector in Japan. The new Bravia VPL-VW60 projects a 1,920 x 1,080 image with a 35,000:1 contrast ratio and 1,000 lumens courtesy of its (¥42,000 / $367) 200W high pressure mercury lamp and trio of 0.61-inch SXRD chips. It's also quieter than its predecessor at 22dB while packing a pair of HDMI-CEC class HDMI jacks supporting 1080/60p, 50p, and 24p. Best of all though, Sony managed to seriously up the specs while cutting the introductory list price nearly in half to "just" ¥441,000 (about $3,858).%Gallery-6177%[Via Impress]
CNET offers HDTV suggestions for your PS3
The first purchase of an HDTV can be stressful, especially factoring in the plethora of options, specifications, screen sizes, manufacturers and types of HDTV technology. Knowing which HDTV is best suited for gaming and the Blu-ray experience can be daunting so we're absolutely delighted to see assistance and suggestions on HDTV selection. CNET's latest recommendations came out about a week ago but it's a great read. They appear to favor LCD technology, with two recommended sets from Samsung and one from Sharp. Sony's own XBR line provides the LCoS/SXRD alternative, while Panasonic brings up two fine looking plasma sets. While these reviews are quite in-depth, it would be highly recommended to view the set yourself before making any snap judgments. In case you seek additional help, we've linked additional reading for your research.IGN.com HDTV Q&APS3 Forums HDTV SuggestionsAVS Forum PS3, HDMI and HDTV compatibilityAs always, we're curious to learn more about our community and welcome feedback. Which HDTV are you using (or do you plan to use) for all your PS3 pleasures?
Sony's CineAlta 4K digital cinema solution coming May 1st
May 1st is the date that Sony hopes will usher in the era of digital cinemas. That's the date their CineAlta 4K digital cinema solution goes on sale in Japan. With the SRX-R220 at its core, the 5-foot / 660-pound CineAlta 4K system projects a 4,096 x 2,160 pixel image at 18,000 lumens off its 4.2kW bulb. The 300GB films are stored in an encrypted JPEG2000 format within Sony's 19-inch, LMT-100 "media block" RAID array. Sony is counting on about 1/3 of Japan's 3,000 cinemas taking on their ¥1.5 million ($12,651) per screen solution by 2010 with even higher hopes for the US market. They'll need lots of help since projection systems are just a tiny fraction of the total conversion costs required to move cinemas into the digital age. [Via Impress]
Sony leads U.S. TV sales for 2006
Sony has announced that based on the NPD Group's retail sales numbers -- the same ones that appear to disagree with Sony's 1 million PS3s shipped in 2006 claim -- it is the number one seller of TVs in the U.S. for 2006. Lead by its microdisplays and Bravia LCDs, Sony continues its streak since 2003 of being number in TV dollar sales. After an up and down week, showing an impressive LED backlit Bravia, (not) receiving an Emmy for the SIXAXIS then today finding out the Wii outsold the PlayStation 3, hopefully this has raised Sony's spirits and we won't have to hear any more whining about dropping prices.
RPTV sets dominate latest American HDTV sales figures
While the battlefield known as "the retail floor" is a tough place for an HDTV to be, it looks like rear-projection televisions -- of all types -- took the gold medal for sales according to the latest research from Pacific Media Associates. Although plasma sets certainly had their own walk in the park, RPTVs recovered from a weak performance this summer and surged "30 percent" in terms of units moved and revenue produced this past August. It was noted that buyers chose newer, more expensive 1080p-capable sets (particularly new units from Samsung and Sony) over the cheaper, more antiquated flavors, even though the average street price rose 0.5 percent. Samsung shareholders look mighty smart here as well, as the firm retained the top position in shares for both units and revenues, while Sony's mighty new 60-inch SXRD (the KDS-60A2000) became the best selling individual set (as confidently predicted). It should be stated, however, that all this could change when hoards of crazed buyers bombard retailers in search of rock-bottom LCD prices in just a few weeks, but we'll let the big-backed units have their 15 minutes for now.
Sony's 18,000 lumen SRX-R220 projector on sale early 2007
What's this, can it be, why yes... some good news from Sony! Seems their 18,000 lumen SXRD projector is outta prototyping and going manufacture gold sometime "in early 2007." The new SRX-R220 model uses the same lens with same 4096 x 2160 resolution as Sony's existing SRX-R110 and SRX-R105 projectors but manages 18 freakin' thousand lumens off a single 4KW lamp. Look for 'em to join Sony's 24p cams and XDCAM HD optical disc system under the CineAlta branding in the new year. Oh wait, there is a bit of bad news: these are destined for your neighborhood theater, not the home. Assuming of course, that someone (film distributors, you listening?) can convince theater owners to drop the couple hundie grand required to alta-their-cinema for digital, eh? [Via Impress] Read -- SRX-R220 Read -- CineAlta
New Bravia ad debuts tomorrow
Sony has more footage and imagery of their upcoming Bravia paint ad, with a short teaser video and some information about the launch of the advertisement on both their minisite and on television. Sony took over an apartment building in Scotland for their latest Bravia ad, which touts the "color like no other" on Sony's Bravia line of LCDs. The ad will launch online at 8:35pm GMT on Tuesday (1:35pm PDT, 3:35pm CDT, 4:35pm EDT) and on television at 8:45pm. No word on what channel(s) the ad will premiere on, although we can only hope it's in high definition. Amateur video of the event can also be seen in a previous article.[Link contains Qucktime video]
Sony's KDS-R70XBR2 and KDS-R60XBR2 1080p SXRDs now shipping
Now you can put Sony's latest DRC-MFv2.5 under the microscope in the comfort of your own home, as the newest XBR additions to its LCoS-based SXRD line begin shipping today. The aformentioned Digital Reality Creation technology separates the KDS-R70XBR2 and KDS-R60XBR2 from the A2000 line with this newer version designed specifically for upscaling all sources to 1080p. Three 1080p HDMI inputs, 10,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, CableCARD support and a host of other features are included at a price of $6,999 for the 70-inch and $4,299 for the 60-inch model.
Sony @ CEDIA - Take a close look at the SXRD
Sony is confident about their SXRD technology. So confident that they want CEDIA attendants to take close look at it - very close via the provided magnifying glass. SXRD is an LCoS variant and therefore is a very good picture even at that close of a range. Sure, there was some lines and grains when scrutinized but there wasn't another manufacturer at the show with enough, er, backbone to provide a similar demo.
Sony @ CEDIA - Booth Tour
What do you know? Guess who is smack dab at the front entrance? Sony and boy what a nice setup they have. 4-5 viewing rooms with different product lines in each, gobs of Sony 'helpers," Blu-ray everywhere and the Sony Pearl. Click on for a photo tour of Sony's CEDIA EXPO 2006 booth.
JVC now shipping new HD-ILA 1080p HDTVs
JVC's 2006 line of LCoS-based HDTVs is finally available on store shelves, they announced these 56-, 61- and 70-inch RPTV models back in January but announced at CEDIA they are now shipping. They use the same technology as Sony's SXRD sets -- no LED backlighting this year -- with 2-million plus pixels on its 0.7-inch microdisplay chip. The big advance over previous models is their ability to accept and display a true 1080p input. Also features is the dynamic iris technology for improving black level quality that was so well reviewed in last year's models. They include JVC's Genessa 32-bit CPU and Digital Image Scaling Technology (D.I.S.T.) for upscaling all sources to 1080p via their ATSC/NTSC/QAM tuners, dual HDMI and component jacks, IEEE 1394, and PC input. Each TV is available in two editions, the FN series has a silver cabinet and black bezel, while the FH line adds an RS-232C jack, gold connections and all black cabinet and bezel. The HD-70FH97 is pictured above, check below for the 56- and 61-inch models. Prices below are MSRP, a quick Froogle search shows they can be found for considerably less, although none of the stores we checked indicated they were in stock yet.Pricing: HD-56FN97 $3,499.95 HD-61FN97 $3,799.95 HD-70FN97 $5,499.95 HD-56FH97 $3,799.95 HD-61FH97 $4,099.95 HD-70FH97 $5,799.95
Sony's Pearl VW100 and VPL-VW50 officially launch
It's not too often we get this amped up about a projector (ok, maybe it is), but it's not too often the former Qualia 004 gets revamped and relaunched as a more consumer centric product. Granted, ¥1,365,000 and ¥735,000 (about $11,660 and $6300 US) for their new Pearl VW100 and VPL-VW50 projectors isn't exactly mass market, but you don't have to put on your Sunday best and go to one of the now-defunct Qualia boutiques to get one, either. Expect a 15,000:1 contrast ratio, 1080p high def picture, 200 or 400W bulb, and some combination of HDMI, DVD, VGA, component, composite, and S-Video inputs. Click on for some more pictures of the SXRD projector of your well-heeled dreams.[Via HD Beat and Impress]
Sony Pearl VPL-VW50 1080p SXRD projector shown, dated and priced in Japan
LCDs and LCoS RPTVs weren't all Sony had to show off today, they also displayed the eagerly-awaited smaller, cheaper and more efficient followup to their Ruby VPL-VW100 front projector, the Pearl VPL-VW50. Featuring the same third-generation .61-inch microdisplay that powers the RPTVs, this 1080p projector comes with a 200-watt lamp producing 900 lumens of brightness, two HDMI inputs as well and one component input for all the 1920x1080 high definition content you can feed it. Speaking of 1080p inputs, via HDMI it is ready for 1080/60p, 1080/50p and 1080/24p so no matter what framerate your Blu-ray or HD DVD player of the future outputs 1080p this can handle it without a problem. You can project an image of up to 300-inches just like the Ruby with a maximum 15,000:1 contrast ratio. Unlike the Ruby the Pearl features none of Sony's Digital Reality Creation (DRC) technology to enhance the quality of non-1080p content, so the quality of the deinterlacing on these lower-quality sources remains to be seen. Ship date is October 20 with a price of 735,000 yen ($6,290.65 US) compared to the 1,365,000 yen ($11,682 US) of the Ruby.[Via Impress]
Sony's 1080p SXRD-powered 60- and 70-inch XBRs now available for pre-order
Sony's long waited revisions of their current SXRD rear-projection XBRs are now available for pre-order. People waiting on the sidelines just sitting on their credit cards can now whip 'em out and pre-order these amazing HDTVs. Sony doesn't take the XBR moniker lightly, except for their XBR970 tube, and hopefully these sets are not going to disappoint. Unlike the A2000 SXRD line, these sets utilize Sony's newest version of their Digital Reality Creation: DRC-MFv2.5. This chip is designed 1080p in mind and will give viewers a better picture than the little brothers in the A2000 line. Plus, they add a few goodies into the XBR line for instance: Cable Card, one more RF input, Control-S input/output, and the 70-inch adds another HDMI input for a total of three, along with the crowd-pleasing detachable side speakers. Surprisingly though, the A2000 line has side component inputs, for a total of three, where the XBR line has side composite, but no component and only two of the inputs on the back. No matter, we are sure people are still going to pick up these XBR's even though they are lack one component input. The sets are going to be available in September, but like we said, they are available for pre-order now with the 70-inch at $6,999 and 60-inch for $4,499.[Thanks, Ivan]
Sony "Pearl" VPL-VW50 SXRD projector details leaked
All the cool kids have 1080p projectors for their home theater setup, but the coolest kids have 1080p SXRD projectors from Sony. At least if looks are anything to go by. Sony's new VPL-VW50 "Pearl" unit, a followup to last year's VPL-VW100 "Ruby" of equal sexiness, matches its big brother nicely in the spec arena. The projector of course has the same 1080p action, imaging courtesy of three third-generation SXRD 0.61-inch panels, and the 200-watt bulb is half the wattage of the VW100, but Sony claims the bulb manages comparable results. Sony's VW50 also keeps up with the VW100's 15,000:1 contrast ratio, has a pair of HDMI inputs and a mere 22 decibels of fan noise. All this info is courtesy of a leaked press release dated August 7, 2005, so we're hoping that "2005" is a misprint and Sony hasn't just forgotten to release this thing for a whole year. If it does prove true, the projector should be out in October, and while there's no word on price, we're hoping they manage to squeeze this one under the VW100's $12,500 pricetag. More pics after the break.[Via HD Beat]
CNET Review: Sony's newest 1080p 60-inch SXRD -- KDS-60A2000
This is Sony's latest take on their SXRD big-screen line-up and we know many of you have been waiting for this HDTV, so here ya go -- the first extensive review of the KDS-60A2000 courteous of CNET. First off, lets just say they loved the HDTV and gave it an hard-to-reach 8 out of 10. The set is built off of Sony's amazing SXRD panels and provides the viewer with 1080p goodness. (Yes, the HDTV even accepts the signal on both of it's HDMI ports.) The set might cost a few bones more then a comparable DLP set, but CNET thinks that it will be worth it for most people. The colors delivered but yet the blacks maintained deep levels. It wasn't all fields of poppies though, the set did have "some issues" with standard-def and the color reproduction wasn't up to CNET's high standards. The set did get a glaring red mark on it's report card when it failed the 1080i resolution test pattern that a 1080p HDTV should have not issue with at all; last years KDS-S60XBR1 passed. Sony indicated that it was a pre-production model and give 'em instructions on how to fix it via a service menu; it eventually passed over the HDMI and component-video sources but still failed via ATSC. Overall though, they must have liked the model a lot to give it such a high-marking. Best part of the review though, was that they didn't use a Blu-ray player for testing -- they used Toshiba's HD DVD player. Zing!
