The Future Of TV from CES 2007

From the wide portfolio of LCD TVs at this year's CES show, its increased screen sizes were no doubt a big attraction. Other features included enhancements in the frame frequency, resolution and the overall TV display. 120Hz refresh rates, full high-definition (HD) pictures and LED backlight units (BLUs) were now the norm of high-end LCD TVs.


In terms of other display technologies, the main focus of PDPs (plasma display panels) were on full HD 42- and 50-inch TVs, while wall-mountable rear projection TVs (RPTV) that employed different lighting sources were another major highlight, according to research firm WitsView Technology.

From the new products showcased during CES 2007, it is seen that TV makers are also focusing in the development of different connections with the various content sources.

Large screen sizes remain an eye-catching feature of LCD TVs

Every year during CES, many new large-sized TVs are displayed. This year was no exception. For the first time, LCDs, PDPs and RPTVs sported models exceeding 100 inches.

In the past, Sharp was not particularly interested in showing their technological innovations through the display of large-size TVs. Although their 65-inch models are still the world's largest mass-produced LCD TV, even larger models have been exhibited to the public. This includes Samsung Electronics (70- and 82-inch), LG Electronics (LGE) (100-inch) and Philips (100-inch). Thus, it is a first for Sharp in presenting the mammoth 108-inch LCD TV at the CES 2007.

Sharp's 108- inch TV not only outmatched the other LCD products from its competitors, it also exceeded the largest PDP ever to be produced. This once again brought into view the strong competitiveness of Sharp's eighth-generation (8G) TFT line, and also enhanced its brand image in the North America market, where it has not yet established a firm presence. Other LCD TV behemoths in this year's CES including Sony's 70- and 82-inch models, along with Samsung's 70-inch and LGE's 100-inch TVs. Toshiba, on the other hand, displayed a 57-inch inch LCD TV.

Refresh rates of 120Hz of LCD TVs
Although the current broadcasting signals are only transmitted at a maximum frame rate of 60Hz, many 120Hz LCD TVs were still introduced by major manufacturers during CES 2007 and the TVs are scheduled to be mass produced in 2007.

Sharp's flagship Aquos 92 series not only produces 120Hz images, it is also equipped with five wavelength backlights. Sony's 70-inch KDL-70XBR3 utilizes the Motionflow 120Hz technology with 10-bit panel and Triluminos LED backlight components. Philip's 42-inch Full Surround Ambilight also employs the 120Hz technology. LGE's LY3D and LB4D series, which includes 47-, 52- and 57- inch 1080p LCD TVs, makes use of the TruMotion Drive 120Hz technology. JVC displayed a 120Hz LCD TV during 2005. This year, they presented a 37-inch full HD 120Hz LCD TV with an LED backlight structure.

Other models included Toshiba's Cinema Series Regza 1080p 42-, 46-, 52- and 57-inch models. Samsung's new 70-inch LCD TV and Hitachi's 32- and 37-inch LCD TVs added the 120Hz function as well.

As the American ATSC and European DVB-T digital broadcast standards are not transmitted in the 120Hz format, it is expected that the 120Hz refresh rate will be primarily seen in flagship models.

Full HD LCD TV
In contrast to the 120Hz frame rate that appeared mostly in models from the first-tier players, full HD is expected to become more common in the future.

Whether or not a panel is full HD depends a great deal on the panel size. Except for LCD TVs that are above 47 inches, the majority of the mainstream LCD TV sizes that range between 26- to 46-inches (except for 45-inch) employ the 1,366×768 resolution. However, beginning from 2006, full HD are also beginning to be seen in sizes below the 47-inch category. LCD TV panels of 37-, 40-, 42- and 46 inches are being developed with full HD quality. Thus, most TV manufacturers are gearing up production of 37- to 46-inch full HD products. For example, among the 20 LCD TV models displayed by LGE, nine of them are full HD capable.

In addition to the full HD products from the first-tier manufacturers, which include Sharp, Philips, Samsung and Sony, second-tier makers, such as Akai, Audiovox, Hp, Maxent, Prima, Olevia, Proton, ViewSonic and Westinghouse are also rolling out 37-inch or above full HD products. It is worthy to point out that the smallest full HD capable model is the LC-32GP1U of Sharp's Game Player Series, which is used mainly for video games.

New LCD TV Backlight Technologies
Although the use of LEDs as the LCD TV's backlight unit is still not cost-effective, the significant improvements in the color saturation and contrast levels have spurred many manufacturers, such as Samsung, LGE, Hitachi, JVC and so forth, to roll out LED backlit LCD TVs. In addition to the 100- and 70-inch LCD TVs in CES 2007, the 40-inch class also saw many LED employed LCD TVs. LG's 47-inch LED employed full HD LCD TVs attained a dynamic contrast ratio of 2,000:1 and a color saturation exceeding 108%. Samsung's 81 series, which encompassed the 40-, 47-, 52- and 57-inch sizes were LED backlit, and achieved a 105% NTSC color gamut.

Various second tier makers including Olevia and Proton, also showed LED backlight technology. Olevia adopted the LED for its 32-inch product, while Proton incorporated them into their 32- and 42- inch LCD TVs

On the other hand, Sharp did not focus on LED backlit technology. Its high-end models employed 5-wavelength backlights, which it stated achieved a contrast ratio of 15,000:1.

New PDP and RPTV Technologies
At this year's CES, the three different types of display technologies all showcased screen sizes that exceeded 100 inches. In addition to the LCD TV products, several of the PDP TVs also surpassed the 100-inch category. This included Panasonic's 103-inch model and LGE's 102-inch model. However, the champion for the largest TV at CES 2007 belonged to the 110-inch microdisplay-based RPTV from JVC.

In addition to the large screen size, full HD was also a big emphasis for PDPs. Panasonic's 50- and 55- inch models were all full HD capable. A 42 inch full HD prototype was also on display, a demonstration that 42-inch PDP TVs can achieve 1080 resolutions.

LGE, on the other hand, displayed 50-, 60- and 71-inch full HD PDP TVs, which were able to deliver the picture in 24, 30 or 60 frame rates. Hitachi unveiled 42-, 50-, and 55-inch PDP TVs with 1,280×1080i resolution.

For RPTVs, JVC not only exhibited its 110-inch HD-ILA, it also has stated that its RPTVs will be made slimmer in the future. It is preparing to mass produce 58- and 65- inch full HD HD-ILA, where their respective depth stands at only 10.7 and 11.6 inches. JVC also displayed a wall-mountable kit, an indication that RPTVs can be wall mountable as well.

Besides exhibiting LED-based LCD products, Samsung's DLP (digital light processing) RPTVs were also seen to be equipped with a LED lighting source. In addition to picture quality improvements, Samsung emphasized that the lifetime of its LED backlight was four times that of conventional lighting sources, decreasing the trouble of frequent light changing. Their RPTVs are also slimmer and wall mountable. As for Sony's 55-inch SXRD TV, it employed lasers as the lighting source.

Additional TV functions that expand content sources

DVD/LCD Combo
Some manufacturers have begun to add DVD playing functions into their 26- and 32-inch LCD TVs, which may help boost their popularity for bedroom use. Such functions are seen in the TV products of Akai, Maxent, and RCA. First-tier TV maker Toshiba has also rolled out 26- and 32-inch Regza LCD DVD models.

New Content from the Internet
TV broadcasting and DVD programs are not the only TV content sources. The Internet is also set to emerge as an important provider in the coming future. Directly installed in the back of its Bravia TV sets, Sony is planning to introduce its Bravia Internet Video Link. Its linkup with the Internet allows consumer to watch Internet video programs without the use of a PC. Sony has already cooperated with AOL, Yahoo and Grouper for the content sources. In addition, Bravia Internet Video Link can also access weather or traffic information via its RSS reader function.

i-Pod docks are another alternative in accessing Internet videos. Beginning from the second half of 2005, i-Pod users could download CBS, ABC and other video content from its iTunes service. In addition to the i-Pod, viewers can also utilize the TV's i-Pod dock function in watching the content from their TV. ViewSonic has already introduced built-in i-Pod dock monitors to the market. For this year, it plans to integrate the function into their TVs. Such features can already be seen in their 37-inch LCD TV and DLP projectors.

Wireless Function
Wireless data transfers are becoming a necessary function for the living room or bedroom TV. The living room TV can make use of this feature in accessing Internet video files from the bedroom PC, as content from the Internet is becoming more and more diverse. It is also suggested that for wall-mounted TVs, its connection with other peripherals should be done wirelessly in order to remove the "annoying wiring". As for the bedroom TV, the wireless function enables the downloading of pay content from the living room's STB or PVR.

During the CES 2007 show, Samsung showed a built-in 802.11n wireless networking feature for its 50- and 58-inch PDP TVs, which are able to retrieve high-resolution content from the PC, Blue-ray player or Xbox 360/PS3. In addition, HP's MediaSmart LCD TV included a Vista Media Center Extender that integrated with the household's Vista PC via 802.11 a/b/g/n wireless networking.

Service in the US
In the US market, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has mandated that all cable TV operators must employ the CableCARD in mid 2007. Some cable TV operators have already begun to cooperate with the TV industry. In the future, a separate set-top box (STB) is no longer needed, as users can directly enjoy the interactive services from their flat-panel TVs.

Currently, both Samsung and Panasonic have started to aggressively cooperate with the cable operators. Samsung has linked up with Cox, while Panasonic has joined forces with America's biggest cable TV operator Comcast. In addition, LGE has obtained a license with CableLabs, where it displayed a "two-way applicable" 42-inch PDP TV OCAP (OpenCable Application Platform).

Story source: digitimes.com.