Home Theater Magazine has a review of the InFocus 7210 DLP projector. (Projector Central has already reviewed it.) The 7210 uses the 720p chip from TI with DarkChip3, for reduced space between mirrors. Also, the 720p/DarkChip3 has reduced dimple size over the HD2+ chip, for even better image quality.

This is a very bright projector.

Keep in mind, though, that 0.018 ft-L is still fairly high. The average black level for all the projectors we’ve reviewed since we started our contrast-ratio measurements is a little more than half that amount. Most of the high-end DLP projectors have black levels that are a sixth of that (i.e., 0.003 ft-L). But the increase in contrast ratio, not to mention the incredible light output, allows you to use this projector with a truly enormous screen. I’m talking drive-in-movie enormous. You could easily use a screen more than 10 feet wide (138 or so inches diagonally) and still have a brighter image than many of the projectors that come through here. That size screen would then reduce the black level to a number comparable to that of the darker DLP projectors.

If you can’t use a huge screen to bring down the high black level, then you can add a filter to the threaded lens. Cool, huh?

Conclusions?

It’s hard not to recommend the 7210. At $6,999, it is so much cheaper than its competitors, you really can’t put it in the same category. It falls in a sort of middle ground, not as expensive as the single-chip big dogs but significantly more expensive than even the upper-echelon budget projectors. For the level of performance the 7210 offers, it’s quite a bargain. I wish it had an iris, although that would certainly bump up the price.

Link: Home Theater Mag - InFocus 7210 DLP Projector

Samsung showed off their stuff at the International Meeting on Information Display 2005. Some highlights from the Samsung booth included:

• 40” Active Matrix OLED: Recognized with the Top Industry Technology Award by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, the 40” OLED display is the world’s largest and first to be developed as a single-sheet glass plate with WXGA (1280 x 800 pixels) HD-class resolution using an amorphous silicon backplane. It has a maximum brightness of 600 nits, a shade ratio (black-and-white contrast ratio) of at least 5,000:1, and color saturation of at least 80%. Its ultra-slim design allows for the development of TV sets that are a mere 3cm thick or less.
• 82” LCD TV Panel: The largest LCD ever developed, the 82” LCD was produced at the company’s newest and the world’s largest TFT-LCD production line, the 7th Generation (1,870mm×2,200mm glass substrates) line located in Tangjeong. It features an unparalleled viewing angle of 180˚ and boasts a color saturation of 92% and video quality response speeds of 8ms or less.
• “Xmitter” LED Technology: The Xmitter technology incorporates Samsung’s proprietary optical structural design to enhance light efficiency by more than 40% over the conventional side scan method. Power consumption was reduced by 40% compared to existing LED products and color saturation stands at 107% while brightness is at 500 nits. The product is drawing attention as the next-generation light source as it meets new environmental regulations which will go into effect in Europe in 2006.

Link: Samsung - SAMSUNG LCD Technology Highlighted at IMID

My brother asked me the other day for a list of who is backing which of the next generation blue laser formats. I sent him these two links. I thought you might like them too.

Blu-ray Supporting Companies
HD-DVD Member List

There are many companies in both lists. Note, though, how many you actually recognize in each of them.

Both ultimate AV and Home Theater Magazine are doing surveys, and they’re willing to give out $250 AmEx gift certificates as prizes. They can’t pander to your tastes if they don’t know what they are, so head on over!

Link: ultimate AV - Ultimate AV Reader Survey
Link: Home Theater Magazine - Home Theater Reader Survey

It looks like support is brewing for a 2009 analog cutoff date.

Efforts to craft legislation to complete the digital television transition hit the floor of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, with most committee members and participants — including the broadcasting industry — voicing support for a firm 2009 cutoff date for analog TV broadcasting.

Eddie Fritts, National Association of Broadcasters’ (NAB) president, for the first time said the NAB would accept a 2009 hard cutoff date for analog TV signals.

“Broadcasters accept that Congress will implement a 2009 hard date for the end of the analog broadcasts, and we’re ready,” Fritts told the committee. However, Fritts urged the senators to mandate cable TV must-carry for all digital and analog services they provide, adding that digital technology allows more content within the 6MHz of spectrum each broadcaster is allowed.

Link: Twice - Support Grows For ‘09 Analog TV Cutoff Date

Jacob Luft from SI.com put together a list of top-ten non-sporting HD shows. Take a look and see where your favourites are:

1. CSI
2. Lost
3. Desperate Housewives
4. Deadwood
5. 24
6. Alias
7. Fat Actress
8. Las Vegas
9. Law & Order
10. Battlestar Gallactica (reruns)

I never got into Desperate Housewives, although a coworker of mine thinks it’s great. I started watching Lost but lost interest when it got boring, which was really quick. I still watch Alias, but Vaugn is really starting to annoy me. “Look ma! I’m trying to act!” What does Sydney see in the guy anyway? Battlestar Gallactica? Come on! The stupid camera work alone is enough to drive anyone nuts. Wobble wobble wobble. Oh, is there something over there? Let’s zoom in really quick to find out, and then put the camera on a bouncing rabbit while we watch.

Link: Sports Illustrated - Top 10 HD Non-Sports Shows

Recently ultimate AV reviewed Sony’s Dark Screen, a screen that reflects only red, green, and blue light, and doesn’t reflect ambient light. This screen works better in bad lighting conditions than your typical screen for front projectors. (Where “bad lighting conditions” means “any light at all”.)

Now Screen Innovations has introduced their Mirage Screen, another screen that does well under bad lighting conditions.

The screen features a high-contrast filter covering 60% of the screen surface which allows images to be reflected by the screen and also absorbs incidental light from other angles. By absorbing light coming in through windows or other sources, the screen is mostly unaffected by ambient light.

The screen comes in a wide variety of sizes in both 4:3 and 16:9 shapes.

Link: audio|video Revolution - Projection Screens for Bright Rooms

If you’re living in Japan you’re going to have access to Pioneer’s new plasma technology a lot sooner than any of the rest of us. It’s called “P.U.R.E. Black Panel”, and it can produce much better blacks than dark details before thanks to its new “Crystal Emissive Layer.” P.U.R.E. is another one of those acronyms where the letters must have been thought up before the words were. It stands for “Plasma Ultimate Reference Exclusive”. One 50″ and two 43″ models will ship in Japan this fall, with contrast ratios of 4000:1.

Link: Press Release Network - Pioneer Releases New PureVision High-Definition Plasma TVs in Japan
Link: Tech-On! - Pioneer to Launch PDP TVs with Greatly Enhanced Panel Performance

New Medium Enterprises, the purveyors of Versatile Multilayer Disc, has a new board and management. VMD is like DVD in that it uses red laser technology and multiple layers. But unlike VMD, it uses many many layers to get storage up to 50GB or 100GB (depending on what source you’re quoting).

CEO Mahesh Jayanarayan says:

“The Company has spent the last two years in developing and perfecting the technology. We have run several commercial trials in the last 9 months. These trials have proved conclusively that we have a brilliant product. With a dynamic and experienced team at the helm, together with the support of our partners, we are confident that the planned launch of our 40GB multilayer storage disc - the VMD, in the fourth Quarter of this year, will signal the start of a bright future for NME.”

So far NME hasn’t been able to sign any large Hollywood players, so Mr. Jayanarayan’s optimism, while admirable, is a little bit misplaced.

Link: hardware Geeks - 40 GB DVD?

While not the biggest plasma in existence, 63″ is still big. And that’s what Samsung has in store for us next year, according to engadget. Since the product is still so far away, there are no other details, which makes this article really short!

Link: engadget - Samsung planning 63-inch HD-ready plasmas for early 2007

I am a Rogers Cable customer.

As such, if I want a PVR that’ll record digital and HD stations, I have one option: Scientific Atlanta. Rogers sells Scientific Atlanta PVRs as their PVR solution. So I have one.

I like it. A lot. My wife Allison likes it. A lot.
My ex-neighbour just bought one. He likes it. A lot. And his wife. (You figure out which way I meant that.)

These things are just so cool. Of course, there’s room for improvement. But it’s so much better than a VCR that I’m not complaining (much).

It seems like Scientific Atlanta brought in $34.5 million in profit this last quarter, versus $70.2 million last year.

Oh pooh. I hope this doesn’t mean that they’ll stop updating my software.

Link: MarketWatch - Scientific-Atlanta profit halved

Ah, so this is what he meant. I mentioned yesterday that Mr. Greenway over at Home Theater Blog mentioned that HDCP has been “compromised” by a device by German manufacturer Spatz. I never did follow that Spatz link (”spatz” means “sparrow” in German). But now engadget is taking a look at this device too.

It’s supposed to be a DVI amplifier (I guess it also accepts HDMI, DVI’s kissing cousin). But it also turns out to be an HDCP stripper. HDCP = the digital copy protection often used over HDMI/DVI.

But there’s a small wrinkle called a “key-revocation list”. engadget explains it much better than I could, so check them out.

Link: engadget - The Clicker: HDCP’s Shiny Red Button

Apple’s Final Cut Pro just good an HD boost by way of native Panasonic DVCPRO HD support. Via Firewire! And its name changed to Final Cut Pro HD in the process.

But while it is not perfect, Final Cut Pro HD is a huge improvement over all previous versions of the program. Consistent with the approach taken in most of Apple’s Pro applications, it is suitable for a wide range of users, from feature film editors to event videographers. The feature set is both wide and deep. There are features that support workflow that are appropriate to almost any project. It can handle virtually any video or audio format that is in common use and can output to most video formats, as well as file formats for Internet and DVD applications. At $999 ($399 for version upgrades), it is an excellent value and a must-have program for Mac-based editors.

Link: Broadcast Newsroom - Apple Final Cut Pro HD

Gateway is selling TVs!
Gateway is not selling TVs!
Gateway is selling TVs!
Gateway is not selling TVs!

For now anyway.

Link: engadget - Gateway axes TV line again

Sling Media is out to do for physical location what TiVo did for time. That is, make it irrelevant. With a TiVo, you can record TV material and watch it whenever you want. With a Sling, you can watch your material anywhere you want. You buy a little Sling box and put it in your home, connect it to video sources and a computer, and now you can watch your TV anywhere in the world you can find a broadband connection. And you can watch from any device in your home, even without a broadband connection. (You need a home network.) Pretty cool, huh?

And the neat part is that those clever Sling people are thinking about adding HD support.

The one catch is that it only works with analog sources. All that pesky copy protection stuff hits again. Sheesh, when can we do what we want with content we’ve legally purchased?

Link: engadget - The Engadget Interview: Blake Krikorian, CEO of Sling Media