What in the HD World?

With all the shining new products dotting the exhibit floor at the CEDIA 2008 Convention, you could easily ignore the undercurrent of uneasiness about the economy.

CEDIA, which stands for Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association, is an international trade association that consists of companies that specialize in designing and installing electronic systems for the home.

For these custom installers perhaps not their bread but certainly their butter comes from packaging whole home systems for McMansions that can often top $100,000 for racks of equipment and monumental speakers.

But peppered in amidst the home theater showcases such as MacIntosh's elegant $180,000 setup, HDTV manufacturers like Sony, Hitachi, Mitsubishi, Sharp, Toshiba, LG and JVC were displaying their new models that will shape the future of the TV market.

Toshiba's Booth at CEDIA 2008

Let me say up front that if you are one of those crystal ball gazers who are waiting for the latest news on OLED products, the official whisper from manufacturers is there may be announcements at CES this January. Sony was displaying their 11" OLED XEL-1, but their representatives were mum about future OLED products.

While we are waiting for OLED TVs to grow up and mature, probably the display technology that will have the greatest impact on LCDs in the upcoming two to three years is LED backlighting with local dimming.

In select LCD HDTVs, numerous companies are now replacing the CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent lamp) backlight with clusters of more energy efficient light-emitting diodes laid out in an array. (Most of the companies would not reveal how many clusters were in their TV's array.)

Saving energy is one advantage, increasing contrast is another major plus for videophiles. By locally dimming LEDs in the darker areas of the picture, engineers have been able to improve the contrast ratio of these LCDs. Are they approaching the deep blacks of plasma TVs? They are definitely closing the gap.

Sharp's Limited Edition XS1U-S

All the major players seem to be showing LED dimming HDTVs. Some like Sharp were delivering the technology in a super thin package. Sharp's ultra-slim, (one inch at its thinnest part), Limited Edition LCD TV XS1U-S Series, available in 52 and 65-inch models, features a "new RGB-LED backlight system for an unprecedented 150 percent NTSC color gamut and extremely high Dynamic Contrast Ratio of more than 1,000,000:1."

(I must mention that when Contrast Ratios start climbing above about 30,000 to 1, the numbers are moving beyond what is capable to be perceived by the human eye.)

For audio, Sharp partnered with Pioneer to develop a thin-design speaker system.

All this dieting comes at a price. The TV only has one HDMI connection. A separate AVC system set-top box contains additional input terminals, which can be connected to the screen via HDMI or with an optional wireless connection.

Not to be out-slimmed, Sony is introducing the BRAVIA KLV-40ZX1M LCD monitor, which measures a butter-knife-like 9.9mm deep or about three credit cards thick. The model features an edge-lit wide color gamut LED backlight (without local dimming) and Sony's Motionflow 120 Hz technology. The 40-inch, 26 pound 1080p TV will ship this December.

Sony's KLV-40ZX1M

Announced in June, their slightly beefier XBR8 series incorporates Sony's TRILUMINOS three-color LED backlight (clusters of red, green and blue LEDs) with ACE PRO technology, which features Sony's own algorithm for local dimming. The 55-inch KDL-55XBR8 and 46-inch KDL-46XBR8 models will be available this Fall.

And just as we are beginning to see more and more HDTVs with 120 Hz playback, Sony is rolling out the 52-inch BRAVIA KDL-52XBR7 with a 240Hz high frame rate. Basically, the TV quadruples the standard 60 Hz frame rate through motion interpolation, which improves detail in fast moving scenes. It also will be on the shelves before 2009.

Samsung jumped into the fray with their already released Series 9 HDTVs with LED SmartLighting technology and LED Motion Plus backlight scanning. The 46-inch LN46A950 retails for $3,199, the 55-inch LN55A950 for $4,199.

LG's entry into the LED dimming arena is their new LG90, a 47-inch class LCD. Though what caught my eye at the LG booth was their PG90 plasmas, which have attained THX Display Certification.

I talked to the THX folks about their certification process for HDTVs. In simple terms, the process begins with the TV manufacturer sending the THX lab a TV. THX runs the unit through a series of video display tests and sends the results back to the manufacturer.

The TV is tweaked and retested. This iterative procedure continues until the TV passes all the tests. Then and only then does THX certify the TV design. More importantly to consumers, the TVs include a THX picture mode, which makes an excellent starting point when calibrating your image.

THX also has teamed with TiVo to launch the TiVo HD XL Digital Video Recorder. This DVR can record 150 hours of HD content and is THX Certified to ensure it delivers accurate and exceptional sound and video playback.

Panasonic's THX Certified PZ800 Series

The PZ-800 series of VIERA plasmas from Panasonic also has earned THX certification. I'm still a big plasma fan and visiting the Panasonic booth was refreshing because they are major proponents of plasmas with five different series covering a range of features and price points.

Nearby, Pioneer was appealing to videophiles and custom installers with its new Elite KURO Signature Series Monitors. Each unit is hand picked at the factory and comes with a certificate of authenticity. As a perk for installers, a robust calibration tool set can be accessed over the Internet.

At CES in January 2008, Hitachi was displaying their new UltraThin "1.5" family of LCDs. Well three trimesters later they are adding a plasma sibling to the brood. Sporting a slinky white frame, the 50-inch plasma presents a stylish profile and a great picture.

Beyond extending the Touch of Color design to their Series 7 plasmas, Samsung also has added a feature that is becoming more prevalent in late 2008 models - an Internet link. This capability is coming in all sorts of shapes and flavors. Samsung "includes the one-button, on-demand InfoLink RSS service. Powered by content from USA Today, InfoLink instantly displays news, weather, and stock information onscreen via adjustable overlays."

Samsung's Series 7 Plasma

One of the advantages that I have at CEDIA is that I am able to see actual working models of many of the TVs that were announced nine months before at the CES convention in Las Vegas.

For example, at CES in January, Mitsubishi trumpeted their LaserVue TV. And even though they were exhibiting a prototype of this microdisplay that employs a laser for its light engine, the real product was still in the future.

Well, the future is almost here and at CEDIA, Mits was showcasing an improved version of their LaserVue TV which should be available in 65" and 73" sizes around the end of this month.

Mitsubishi's LaserVue HDTV

Mitsubishi touts that the units will "deliver twice the color at half the power of today's HDTVs." Measuring about 10" deep, this microdisplay will also include 120hz playback and a 3D viewing capability. Pricing is yet to be announced.

Martin Logan CLX Speaker

While I was in the Mitsubishi booth, I had the pleasure to experience their new 16-Speaker Integrated Sound Projector that will be available on the 46" and 52" versions of their 149 series of LCD TVs. I've never been a big fan of the anemic integrated sound systems on HDTVs. This Sound Projector kicks sand in their faces. Let's hope this 16-speaker bar will spur other HDTV manufacturers to pump up their audio.

These speaker bars that can sit below the TV were popping up around the CEDIA floor. For example, soundmatters was demonstrating their version called SLIMstage in a sound room. While playing a clip from the DVD, My Super Ex-Girlfriend, you would swear that a plane was flying out of that speaker and roaring over your head.

Speaking of speakers, on Saturday evening we attended the sublime Music Appreciation Night sponsored by MartinLogan. To highlight their flagship CLX speakers, the MartinLogan crew played a potpourri of music from ZZ Top to the Berlin Philharmonic. The ethereal electrostatic speakers radiated an almost transparent sound as if they the musicians were in the room. Depending on the finish, a pair of these six-foot high, two-foot wide monoliths start at $20,000.

Cirrus Logic Dolby Volume IC

Now, if you want to do some late night listening of the new Iron Man Blu-ray without disturbing your significant other in the next room, Cirrus Logic was demonstrating a new integrated chip that features Dolby Volume, which maintains a constant volume based on your preferred level.

With the chip built into an AV receiver or TV, you won't need to be scrambling for the remote's volume control every time a rocket explodes or an annoying furniture ad booms on the TV. And the chip's algorithms retain full sound quality. You should begin seeing products with the Dolby Volume label by the end of this year.

On the DVD player front, oh, what a difference a year makes. Blu-ray players were blossoming in almost every booth and Toshiba (the main proponent of HD DVDs) was retrenching with the introduction of their new upconverting DVD player, the XD-E500, with XDE, eXtended Detail Enhancement. MSRP of $149.

If you are in the market for a Blu-ray player, a lot of representatives at the booths seem to expect lower prices come Black Friday, that mythological shopping day after Thanksgiving. You should beware that not even some of the newest models are fully compliant with the latest Blu-ray 2.0 profile called BD-Live.

Then again, if you just wish to watch the high def movie without the distractions of Internet enabled extras, Profile 1.1 or even 1.0 players will suffice.

Perhaps the most interesting Blu-ray player announcement was from LG about their BD300 Network Blu-ray Disc Player, which is the world's first Blu-ray player to instantly stream movies and TV episodes from Netflix. Available in October for $399.

LG BD300 Blu-ray Player's Home Menu

For those fans of the DVD players produced by OPPO, I talked to OPPO's Jason Liao and Nathaniel Plain at CEDIA and they discussed their first Blu-ray player. A prototype was being displayed in the Anchor Bay booth. (The player incorporates some Anchor Bay technology.) Specifications and price are not finalized. But OPPO hopes to be shipping before the end of the holiday season.

Lucent Dossier, Vaudeville Cirque Performing at the SpeakerCraft Booth

Finally, we need to give a shout out to that tattooed titan Jeremy Burkhardt and his crew at SpeakerCraft.

Pat Simmons & Jeremy Burkhardt

With thatched huts and speakers growing out of organic stalks, their booth was a creative respite from the humdrum of the exhibit hall.

In addition, everyday at 12, 2 and 4, the Vaudeville Cirque troop from L.A. named Lucent Dossier transformed SpeakerCraft's plain 20' x 15' wooden stage into a phantasmagoric terrain inhabited with wild natives, swinging damsels, tap dancing dolls, a hip swaying princess, and monkey men popping up from trap doors.

SpeakerCraft and Monster Cable also sponsored the concert of the Doobie Brothers, still harmonizing and rocking after 38 years. "Oh, oh, listen to the music."

Oh, oh, stay tuned.

Pat Simmons, Skylark & Ed Toth