Laser TV

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

Make the most of your Laser TV with Direct Sat TV.

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

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.

Several sites are reporting the average retail price of Mitsubishi’s 65-inch LaserVue laser-powered Laser TV have been slashed by $500. (Update: Amazon.com has for a few weeks offered varying discounts, so perhaps the ultimate in high-tech big screen pleasure is on the verge of becoming a little more affordable.)

Debuting in 2008, the LaserVue was billed as a hip 3-D-ready TV boasting a color range twice as broad as a typical HDTV, while using less energy than a plasma or LCD HDTV. Sales have obviously been disappointing, and production numbers for the Laservue’s first two full quarters of sale have not been publicly released. Given the economic climate, the production plans of a previously announced 73-inch model ‘Vue have been stalled as Mitsubishi re-evaluates the market.

Since its debut in late 2008, Mitsubishi’s Laservue laser television has been met with three universal comments: stunning, expensive and reclusive; the respective third keeping this a still relatively unknown technology.  Will laser display technology ever meet the demanding expectations of the TV mainstream?

Stunning is for the picture quality.  Gushing reviews followed the Laservue immediately after debuting at the 2008 CES.  Engadget called the colors sensational and the contrast extremely intense.  Powered by three lasers projecting a seamless array of pure color, the Laservue is capable of projecting hues and life-like colors normally viewed from your living room window.  When the laser engine is switched off, true black levels are achieved, creating an insane contrast ratio previously unseen in video displays.

Expensive is for the price.  Early proponents predicted a laser television would be far less expensive to produce than plasma and LCD, because of less “internal parts” and cheaper substrate materials.  As with most new emerging technologies, the Laservue primarily caters to the luxury end of the market.  Currently selling for $6,999 at commercial sites, some fans were left feeling jilted and betrayed as the entry prices were actually two the three times early predictions.  The whole economy thing didn’t help either.

Reclusive is for the availability.  Mitsubishi is the only tv manufacturer actively manufacturing laser displays and curious onlookers have to travel to a limited number of high-end retailers to view or review one in person.  The Laservue is also packaged in what is quickly becoming a display antiquity – a rear projection box.  Mitsubishi has been overly protective and stingy with information concerning the availability and details on the Laservue (including a recent manufacturing glitch), with apparently only one demo model making the review rounds.  (Ed. note: We have been trying for over a year to obtain one for a detailed review).

In a apparent viral-inspired video appearing on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, Frank DeMartin, Mitsubishi’s Vice-President of Marketing, explains why the LaserVue laser tv is the perfect technology to tout carbon neutrality. For the first 5,000 Twitter and Facebook followers to join its Carbon Neutral Campaign (CNC), Mitsubishi will purchase $5000 worth of Carbon Offsets from Bonneville Environmental Foundation.  In the video seen below, DeMartin explains laser technology can power a huge 65-inch high definition television screen using less than 100 watts of power.  Plasma and LCD models require four or even five times that amount of power, according to DeMartin.

Mitsubishi revealed through back channels today that its laser powered Laservue TV has resumed production.  After a lackluster debut in Q4 of 2008, several media outlets have reported on a halt in Mitsubishi’s production of the Laservue, from a still undisclosed manufacturing defect.

Mitsubishi’s 65-inch LaserVue is a rear-projection TV boasting a color range twice as broad as a typical HDTV, but consumes significantly less energy than a plasma or LCD. The Laservue is 3-D-ready and is available to purchase for around US $7,000 .  No plans for a European or Australian debut have been announced. A 73-inch set was scheduled for release last year, however, these plans have been delayed.  Undoubtedly, the downturn in the world economy has played a role in stifling the market for premium big screen TVs, but proponents of laser technology still tout the Laservue for its picture quality.

View Laser TV – The Next Step in Flat Screens, a video on integrating lasers in existing video technology.

Due to what Mitsubishi is calling “a problem with manufacturing equipment,” the production of Laservue laser televisions have been temporarily halted.  The whiz kids at Engadget HD are reporting production will resume in early 2009.  This news is a continuation of what has become a tradition of Mitsubishi vagaries surrounding its first generation laser tv.  Details regarding the original Laservue release date, price and technical specifications were closely held by Mitsubishi and only released with the debut of its 65-inch laser display in late 2008.