June 25, 2007
Mitsubishi says it will exhibit the new ‘Laser HDTV’ at this January’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, a New York Times article from yesterday states…
The highly-anticipated Laser TV technology has the capacity to offer brighter, crisper images because the laser enables a more precise blend of colors. Plus, using a laser, as opposed to a bulb or tube, improves energy efficiency.
“If you look at any screen today, the color content is roughly about 30-35 per cent of what the eye can see,” says Jean-Michel Pelaprat, CEO of Novalux, a U.S. firm involved in the development of Laser TV. “But for the very first time with a laser TV we’ll be able to see 90 per cent of what the eye can see. All of a sudden what you see is a lifelike image on display.”
Companies, however, have struggled to perfect the technology so that Laser TV can be mass produced in sets worldwide, but Mitsubishi’s CES exhibit indicates that the Laser TV is getting closer to market.
“It will spawn a new category for the premium end of the market,” said Frank DeMartin, Mitsubishi VP for marketing and product development.
Paul Semenza, a researcher at iSuppli, told the newspaper that the Laser TV technology could boost rear projection sales which have declined lately due to increased popularity of flat-screen TVs. Rear projection makers can use the laser technology instead of a lamp, which is costly to replace. “Consumers like thin,” Semenza said. “But innovation in color could stave off the competition…(And) after a year or two, the (rear projection) lamp goes out. You spend $3,000 on the TV and then have to buy a light bulb for $300.”
March 23, 2007
Tens of thousands of Australian LG customers will require a software upgrade for a “mystery” glitch that is causing them to freeze.
Australian owners of the televisions have reported the pictures on certain programs seizing up while watching digital broadcasts on the Nine Network. The company said the problems related to the reception of digital transmission in Sydney and Melbourne (and now nationwide) on a number of LCD and plasma sets last weekend.
LG says it will need to send hundreds of technicians to every affected home to perform a “simple software upgrade,” but the company will not be in a position to begin the repairs for at least another week.
“The problem is with the processing of the data within our decoder,” said LG’s marketing manager, Darren Goble. He explained that certain LG digital TV processors and decoders had difficulty dealing with “the way that the data signal is packaged.” LG initially said the problem appeared to affect only Channel Nine broadcasts, but it has now admitted it could occur with the other free-to-air channels.
Affected LG LCD models include the 32LC2D, 37LC2D, 42LC2D and 42LC2DR while affected plasma models include the 42PC1DV, 42PC1DG, 42PX4DV, 50PC1D, 50PC3D, 50PB2DR, 60PY2D and 60PC1D. Affected rear projection models include the 56DC1D, 62DC1D, 62DC1DA, and 71SA1D. The 32FS4D is the only CRT model listed.
LG advised customers experiencing problems to turn their televisions off, unplug them at the wall power socket, and leave their televisions off for at least two to three minutes, allowing the units to completely power down before turning the sets on again. “Once the TV is powered back on and re-boots, normal viewing should be possible,” LG said. Customers with defective units are also encouraged to register their details on the LG website, where a list of affected models and serial numbers is also available.
Several readers of one Australian site have speculated that the malfunction was caused by Channel Nine switching on encryption - to prevent copying - when screening shows in the high definition or wide-screen formats, which may explain why many readers who reported experiencing the glitch said it happened when they were watching prime-time programs broadcast in the HD format.
