1080p DLP front projectors announced

[Dean McManis]

Of course this was inevitable after the rear projection DLP 1080p displays were announced. :T But the BIG question will be the FPTV unit pricing.

Highly Anticipated DLP(R) 1080p Chips for Projectors Arrive
Thursday September 8, 9:00 am ET
DLP(R) 1080p Chipsets round out complete DLP(R) front projection product offering


INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN - News; TI) at CEDIA today announced and showcased 1080p resolution (1920 x 1080) chipsets for the front projection market. 1080 is the high-definition resolution standard for many highly anticipated content applications in the near future, including broadcast, gaming, and high-definition video players. DLP 1080p resolution chips will be made available to customers for both single-chip and 3-chip applications, enabling incredible detail for the ultimate HD viewing experience.
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According to market-watcher Pacific Media Associates (PMA), DLP technology holds 69.8% of the consumer front projection market in the U.S. as of 2Q05. The addition of DLP 1080p chipsets will allow customers to offer maximum-HD for front projection, rounding out current strong DLP 720p HD offerings. The breadth of 720p and 1080p projector choices will give consumers high- definition options that meet their price and performance choices. In addition, DLP products with 480 and 576 resolutions continue to thrive in the consumer market, providing great video viewing experiences for current DVD and gaming standards. Manufacturers who will be announcing front projection products based on DLP 1080p technology in the near future include: Barco, Christie Digital, Digital Projection International, InFocus, Marantz, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, projectiondesign, Optoma, Runco Samsung, Sharp, SIM2 and Yamaha.

This news comes shortly after the TI announcement of increased color performance available for DLP front projection single-chip products with BrilliantColor(TM) technology. With up to 6-color processing, which moves significantly beyond other technologies' limitations of 1-color-per-chip processing, BrilliantColor(TM) technology will enable a greater than 50% brightness increase in mid tone images, common in video and natural scenes, translating into truer, more vibrant colors.

"We aim to meet both the needs of our customers and the needs of the market; and adding DLP 1080p technology to our offering will allow our customers to round out their product lines and fill a specific market need," said Lars Yoder, Business Manager, TI DLP Front Projection Products. "Consumers will benefit from products with maximum HD resolution that will provide incredible detail of the images and deliver a truly amazing viewing experience."

"We are very excited about the addition of DLP 1080p 3-chip technology to our product offering," said Nancy Fares, Business Manager, DLP Cinema Products. "This allows our partners to offer flagship products with an exceptional image to the high-end theater enthusiasts."

CEDIA attendees can experience DLP 1080p technology for both front and rear applications, as well as BrilliantColor(TM) technology.

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Of course these new DLP projectors don't actually have 1920 X 1080 mirrors:

But there’s a limit to how small the mirrors can become and still produce a good image. Texas Instruments, which makes the DLP chips, maxed out with its 1,280-by-720 array, short of the highest-quality HD resolution of 1,920 by 1,080 pixels. So HP created Wobulation, a technique that takes advantage of the fact that TI’s new DLP mirrors can oscillate every 1/120 of a second to create a series of overlapping pixels, which the eye melds together. The result is two visible pixels for each physical mirror, or a true 1,920-by-1,080 picture.

But they do seem to be able to produce a genuine 1920 X 1080p resolution, and eliminate any visible pixel gap. 8)

[JonMarsh]

They'll have the pricing edge for the wobulation 1080 chips, but I wonder how they'll compare in actual visual performance and actifacts against the new Sony VPL-VW100, which has true 1920X1080 panels, and a Xenon lamp? And I wonder what the true 1080 DLP chips will go for- I don't imagine a three chipper with those is going to be light on the wallet, though it should look mighty nice.

But they'll be hard pressed to compete pricewise with this...





~Jon

[George Bellefontaine]

It's gonna be expensive. I just feel it in my bones.

[Shane Martin]

It better not be otherwise Sony will crush them.

[Brandon B]

The new 1080 DLP FP units will be true 1920x1080, not wobulated.

BB

[Dean McManis]

We shall see if the DLP FPTVs are wobulated or not.
I'm expecting that the wobulated DLP models will hit a great price point, and potentially look much better than the current 720p DLP FPTVs.

The new Sony VPL-VW100 look VERY impressive (15,000:1 contrast!).
And at around $10K it will seriously undercut the recent top-dog $30K Sony Qualia FPTVs.
I'm sure that Sony will use this new 1080p projector to demo their upcoming Blu-Ray DVD players.

[David Meek]

Oh, be still my beating heart - true 1080P and Blu-ray media! :drool:

[Steve Goff]

The TI showing at CEDIA is a true 1920x1080 chip, and they are showing both single-chip and three-chip projectors. The Sony Ruby is a great development too, and one likely to come to market sooner and for less money.

[JonMarsh]

Yes, it was an interesting CEDIA from every thing I've read, except VERY little news or info on the HD disk format side.. even BD was pretty quiet, and HD-DVD was downright comatose! (cancelled their planned session)

And I've still got to find time to get my NEC 10PG setup... I'm wondering how 1080P through a DVDO VP30 might look through it! Could feed it DVD (Oppo DVP971) over DVI and upscale from there.

~Jon