TORONTO (djc) – Samsung Electronics Canada unveiled three new high-definition TV sets that employ the cutting-edge Digital Light Processing (DLP) technology. Designed to perfect image clarity and enhance audio performance, the DLP sets are available in 43-inch, 50-inch, and 60-inch sizes.
“We’re offering excellent picture quality at a price below the premium,” says Paul Button, executive director of sales and marketing at Samsung. The 43-inch costs $5000, the 50-inch $6000 and the 61-inch $7500. As a point of comparison, a 40-inch plasma television from LG Electronics costs around $8500.
Samsung’s rear-projection TVs borrow technology pioneered by Texas Instruments, as many electronics companies have done. DLP reproduces the exact mirror image of its source, resulting in a crystal clear onscreen image. Inside a DLP set is a digital micromirror device that has close to one million tiny mirrors less than a micron apart. A 100-watt Ultra-High Pressure Lamp maintains uniform brightness over its 8,000-hour life. As one Samsung employee noted, DLP sets can last users more than 50 years.
Other features include an anti-glare coating, which minimizes the reflection of exterior light and enables 160-degree viewing angles; 3:2 pull down removes unclear frames in video that often pop up during fast-action sequences; and the alien-sounding “Intelligent Analyzer” examines all types of incoming signals to bring a lifelike picture to the screen.
And Samsung’s push to recreate realistic sound is bolstered by four built-in speakers and a 30-watt Virtual Dolby sound system.
At the media conference in Toronto, Samsung displayed the three sets, and as expected, the picture quality was the sharpest I have ever seen — every colour was vibrant and glowing. A red did indeed look like a true red (as opposed to a dullish orange some CRT sets display). The audio quality was satisfactory, but nothing worth praising profusely. What home-theatre enthusiasts will really salivate over is the image sharpness — a bold step ahead of HDTV predecessors. Even more exciting are the PC-connectivity possibilities, and the enhancement of DVD experiences.
“When nine out of 10 Canadians feel that image quality is important to their television experience, we know that there’s a serious market for high quality televisions,” says Button, referring to a recently-released survey by Ipsos-Reid.
Other findings include that almost two-thirds of Canadians consider television the source they most rely on for accurate news and information. Ninety-nine per cent of Canadians own a television, while one-third of Canadians have three or more TV sets in their home.
A nugget in the survey findings must be music to Samsung’s ears: 72 per cent of Canadians said they would buy an HDTV over a standard television. Preference for the higher-cost image-enhancing sets reflects how important the tube is for the public, whether the screen displays sports or films or nature programs. Liquid crystal display (LCD) and plasma sets may be welcoming a new competitor that holds great potential to attract eyeballs and spending dollars; DLP’s introduction into the electronics market is being both praised and hyped, if not only for its engineering than also for its crystal-clear result.
