In an interesting display of combining technologies, San Jose-based Prysm, has officially unveiled its laser phosphor display (LPD) TV.  Called the TD1, Prysm’s TV is composed of a glass matrix of which the inside is painted with vertical lines of excitable phosphor which glow red, green, or blue when painted with a soft UV laser.  The TD1’s lasers are housed behind the screen, pointing up toward a bank of small, rapidly moving micro mirrors.  The mirrors scan the lasers across the screen to produce the image.

The company says the technology will be competitive with plasma and LCD, the dominant players in today’s HDTV market, within three to five years.  LPD displays are similar to CRT TVs, but much more energy efficient.  Cathode ray tube TVs use an electromagnet to to control an electron beam that runs across an similar phosphorous field.  LPD employ a laser that turns on and off as the beam runs across the vertical phosphor field.

Read more about LPD TV

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Sharp and Mitsubishi recently announced plans to release 3D televisions this summer in Asia, competing with debut models from Panasonic and Sony. Sharp’s 3D LCD TVs will arrive in late July and will reportedly come in four sizes ranging from 40-60 inches. The sets will feature Quattron technology, which adds the color yellow to the primary colors of red, blue and green.

Sharp and Warner Bros. Inc. have entered into a promotional partnership that will include a sales campaign using the major Hollywood studio’s Clash of the Titans 3D movie. The Japanese firm hopes to have 3D TVs account for 5-10% of its domestic TV sales target of 7.8 million units this fiscal year, with an aim of boosting the figure to 50% next fiscal year.

Mitsubishi Electric plans an Asian release of its U.S. 75-inch 3D laser TV this summer at a price to be decided. Employing lasers as its light source, this rear-projection TV is said to have fast response times and vivid color representation. Mitsubishi Electric plans to launch 3D LCD TVs later this fall.

Panasonic was the first to 3D TV market, introducing plasma models this April. It added large-screen 65- and 58-inch models to its lineup last week with an eye toward grabbing a majority share of the domestic market. The TVs alternately display images for each eye, and the company promotes plasma sets’ high refresh rates.

Sony will sell 3D LCD TVs starting June 10. It will offer content produced by the group, including titles for the PlayStation 3 game console and movies.

Information from Nikkei.com

The small California start-up we wrote about last year is in the news again as more details about HDI’s laser-powered 3D TV are released.  HDI-US Inc. already has orders for its prototype 103-inch 3D HDTV and is now actively marketing itself as a television manufacturer and not just a 3D solutions licensor.  HDI’s platform is a laser-based projection system blended with proprietary optics and LCoS.  Glasses are needed for viewing in 3D, but reportedly the glasses are passively designed to provide less eye strain than the active-shutter models already in the market.

HDI is marketing heavily on the unique immersive qualities of large HDTV displays and 3D technology.  Steve Wozniak has praised the company and HDI’s future home models may incorporate such unique features as a 2D-to-3D processor, integrated soundbar and a personal 3D camcorder, all for less than $15,000.  Models can be purchased now for around $100,000 if you simply cannot wait until production begins in 2011 (tell them laser-tv.org sent you).

“We’ve witnessed 3D from a variety of sources, be it in a RealD theater, NVIDIA’s active-shutter 3D Vision gaming or Sony’s own active solution. Without a doubt, HDI’s 3D HDTV was the best in-home 3D product that we’ve had the pleasure of viewing.” Engadget

Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America, Inc. will showcase the flexibility and versatility of its 3D-ready TV products by displaying 3D content delivered by various video sources, including Blu-Ray players at CES 2010 in the “Experience 3D Tech Zone”. Mitsubishi has also announced a new 3D adapter which will provide Mitsubishi 3D-ready Home Theater TV owners with an easy and affordable solution to display 3D from a 3D Blu-Ray player. The Mitsubishi 3DC-1000 3D adapter will be available in late spring of 2010. MDEA will be located in CES booth #14548, Central Hall.

“As a pioneer in the 3D television market, Mitsubishi is bridging the gap for consumers to experience this break-through technology,” said Frank DeMartin, vice president of marketing, Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America. “3D is definitely a large screen experience, and Mitsubishi offers the most models and largest screen sizes of 3D-ready TVs available today, including one of the world’s largest, mass-produced 3D-ready TV’s at 82 inches.”

At CES, Mitsubishi will be rolling in its massive and impressive 53-foot Mobile Marketing Showroom (MMS) into the “Experience 3D Tech Zone”. The MMS will provide a 1000-square-foot showroom showcasing a wide variety of new 3D content displayed on both LaserVue(TM) and Home Theater TVs. 3D entertainment will be demonstrated on a laser-powered television, using a 65″ LaserVue TV and MDEA’s Home Theater TV product line will be displaying cross-platform content on its 60″, 73″ and 82″ televisions.

2010 may be a watershed year for Laser TV as the entertainment market looks for new and exciting products to entice consumers and help the market forget lackluster sales in 2009.  Sony actually lost money for the first time in over 50 years.  2009 saw Mitsubishi on top as the sole manufacturer of Laser TV with its Laservue, which halted production earlier in the year, and now retails for less than $5,000 in some areas.  HDI Ltd. of Los Gatos, California introduced a giant Laser TV prototype which may someday give Mitsubishi its first real competition.

The 3D film, Avatar, represents decades of planning and waiting by the filmmaker’s for technological advances sufficient enough to allow expressive 3D rendering.  3D cinema and 3D TV are poised to change the way we view entertainment, and high-efficiency and low-power consumption laser-powered electronics could help drive the technology for 3D goods and content.

The market for three dimensional television has been slowly heating up the past few years.  3D movies have proven to be extremely popular and even in a weak economy, the research and interest in personal 3D TVs has remained quite strong.  Laser TV could prove to be an important piece of the puzzle as televisions grow larger, along with the refresh rates and power demand.  As seen below, the use of low-powered lasers could help spawn a new 3D industry in the home.

One thousand frames per second.  100 inch screen.  3D TV.  Laser-powered light source.  In the following video, HDI of Los Gatos, CA introduces a giant prototype which may someday give Mitsubishi its first real competition in the laser powered television market.

Watch the video here.

Read more about HDI’s accomplishment here.

If $7,000 for a television was a barrier, but $6000 $5000 $6500 (check below) is not, Amazon.com has a deal for you. Mitsubishi’s stunning L65A90 65-Inch LaserVue Rear Projection HDTV is now at the lowest retail price ever. The LaserVue is 3D-ready, wall mountable, and is amazingly energy efficient – consuming about as much energy as a 100-watt light bulb. The future looks bright and 3D!

It’s all about efficiency. Consuming about 100 watts of power, Mitsubishi’s LaserVue laser tv is a visual marvel and a class-leader in big screen energy efficiency. Mitsubishi is wise to tout the LaserVue’s low power consumption, as the FTC is currently investigating the expansion of the EnergyGuide label to cover televisions, which are one of the largest energy users within a home. All major home appliances must meet the Appliance Standards Program set by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Manufacturers must use standard test procedures developed by the DOE to prove the energy use and efficiency of their products. Test results are printed on yellow EnergyGuide labels, which manufacturers are required to display on many appliances. This label estimates how much energy the appliance uses, etc.

On a separate front, Sumitomo Electric has apparently cracked the impossibility of developing a laser diode emitting in the pure-green region at 531nm. They have developed the first “true” green laser diode. Until now, creating a green beam of laser light involved doubling the frequency of an infared laser, which resulted in very poor efficiency. Many predict energy efficient blue, red and green laser diodes will revolutionize the display world, and laser tv may be the first step in this direction.

What consumes about as much energy as a 100-watt light bulb and provides almost a limitless amount of viewing pleasure?  The answer can be seen below.

Mitsubishi’s world’s first 65-inch Lasevue laser tv is 3D ready and feaures wide viewing angles, 120-Hz refresh rate, conversion of lower resolution signals to 1080p and x.v. Color.