Ten O'Clock Tech: JVC's Big HDTV
biz.yahoo.com
By Arik Hesseldahl
One of the largest hurdles standing in the way of widespread adoption of high-definition television
(HDTV) is the price of the sets themselves.
If you're the type of home theater buff who's after the improved picture resolution that HDTV offers, then you're also probably a person who's comfortable paying upwards of $1,500 for a compatible set. And there are plenty of people out there willing to pay more--at least that's what JVC of America thinks.
Last week it announced the shipping of its D'Ahlia AV61S902, a hologram
rear-projection TV set that measure 61 inches diagonally. The name comes from
the acronym D-ILA, which stands for Direct-Drive Image Light Amplifier--a
proprietary technology of JVC's. The technology basically allows a 1.22-inch
panel made up of 3.96 million picture elements to produce an image that is 1,280
pixels by 1,028 pixels.
Among its other features is the ability to automatically detect what kind of signal
it's receiving--whether from a digital TV cable set-top box, a DVD player or a
JVC Digital VHS player--and adjust itself to the proper frequency. It also boasts
four S-Video and four standard RCA inputs, so you can connect lots of different
input devices.
The set also comes built for sound. It has two built-in 10-centimeter full-range
stereo speakers and two 16-centimeter superwoofers to add bass, plus a 50-watt
amplifier and Dolby 3-D Phonic circuitry to produce a surround-sound effect
without needing external speakers.
Habitual channel changers, though, will like this feature the best: It can rocket through five channels every second, the fastest rate of channel changing available, JVC says. But you'll pay for that--the set carries a manufacturers suggested retail price of $13,000. And for a cost that high, you'd better really like what you're watching.
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Instead of coming out with these super-high end sets, I'd like to see some manufacturer come out with a sub $1000 HDTV set. Otherwise HDTV will never take off. DPR |
