More on 1080p TVs

In Sony's Groundbreaking New SXRD RPTVs I said some good things about two new HDTVs from Sony, both offering full 1080p screen resolution (but neither, unfortunately, allowing actual 1080p input). Both use Sony's version of Liquid Crystal on Silicon technology, which Sony calls SXRD.

I saw the 60" version today at Best Buy, and also a larger Toshiba DLP that likewise is 1080p-native (for more on what that means, see Eyes on the 1080p Prize). Both produced a picture that was noticeably better than the HDTVs with lesser resolution nearby. There were also some excellent Samsung 1080p DLPs (such as this one) on display.

Then I looked at the cream of the current crop: a Mitsubishi 1080p DLP-based rear projector, the WD-73927 pictured here. It was a huge 73-inch slice of video heaven, for a price in the six-grand range.

Unlike some of the others, it was in a dimly lit room where the most desirable TVs are on display at Best Buy. Unlike with most of the other models, in fron to this one there was a place to sit and ogle. And thanks to the good folks at Mitsubishi, this TV was connected to a hard-drive-based HDTV recorder feeding it an actual 1080p input signal!

The visual result was as much better than the other 1080p models, limited as they were to (presumably, vertically filtered) 1080i inputs, as the others outstripped the lesser, non-1080i/p HDTVs.

All 0f which confirms my suspicion that TVs that do 1080p input and display will one day be the way to go.

(BTW, I was told by a sales person at Best Buy that Samsung and several other manufacturers now offer 1080p flat panels that use LCD technology. Not LCoS, but LCD. It would seem that every non-CRT HDTV technology but plasma has jumped on the 1080p bandwagon. Can plasma be far behind?)