Philips had a very impressive booth at the NAB
convention. You had to be there to see the wide
array of digital broadcasting and editing platforms
they had on display. Stunning! Compared to all
the professional gear they showed, the Pronto
seems like a toy.

Only one rep had a TS1000. He was using it to
switch the channels on the TV screen. I asked him
about the Pronto Pro. He assured me that even
though they were not displaying it at NAB, it
is well on its way for general release this year.

I went over to the Crestron booth at the Sands Expo.
I got a hands-on demo, took note of their pricing
structure and came away with a wide grin thinking
what a fantastic bargain the Pronto is at a street
price of $250 when it pretty much holds up against
these big boys going at $5000! Way to go Philips.

Granted a full blown Crestron system is far more
capable and elegant, but for the average home user,
the Pronto is the perfect solution.

My head is still spinning with all the toys I saw.
If I were to pick out just one that caught my
imagination, it would have to be the new 61"
plasma display by NEC.

If any one of you are planning to buy a large display,
please hold your purchase till you get to see this
one. In my opinion, it has the brightest, sharpest,
eye popping graphics of any plasma TV that I have ever
seen to date.

The display area is about 50% larger than
the top of the line Pioneer plasma 50" model (PDP-502MX. This NEC model (PlasmaSync 61MP1) will retail
for $25K, which is not that much more than the
Pioneer ($20K).

It uses 1365 vertical dots over 768 horizontal rows.
NEC selected this ratio based on the geometry
of the screen. On a standard 4:3 computer monitor,
an XGA resolution demands 1024x768 pixels. On a
16:9 display, this translates to 1365x768 without
compromising square pixel geometry.

16/9 = 1365/786

Very smart! They are calling this "Wide XGA".
With a contrast ratio of 1000:1 and a blinding
brightness of 600 cd per sqm, this is a picture
to die for. I just stood there speechless for 10
minutes. Ofcourse, it displays HD at 720p uncompressed
and also 1080i.

The pixel pitch is .99mm and it can output 256
RGB levels at 16.7 million colors. What was surprising
is how uniform the brightness was when viewing from
really wide angles. So far I used to regard the
Pioneer Elite HD710 rear projection sets as one
of the finest displays. I think its time to pass
the crown. We have a new King.

If you can please come to the InfoCOMM show
in LasVegas this June 13-15. NEC will have more
of these and full production is on the way this summer.

Tapas.

Wow, $25,000.

...you mean planning on buying a large display
and willing to spend 4 times what a capable and
larger i might add, crt based 16:9 might cost,
a pro710 or xbr16:9 or h80 65"......

I agree with Andy. There are a lot of economical
alternatives to select from if one just wants a
large functional display.

The Dwin HD700 with the Transcanner makes a great
HD front projection combo at a list price of
around $15K.

I saw the Pioneer Elite Pro710HD retailing for $6500.
The Sharp version which uses most of the Elite parts
sells for $1500 less.

Then as Andy mentioned, there is the excellent
Toshiba H80 series of 16x9 rear projection displays.
Our local Fry's was selling the 65 incher for $4500.

A sensible buyer would probably select the Mitsubishi
HD ready wide screen sets. Sears sells these well
under $3000 including home delivery and setup. Add
an RCA HD receiver for another $500 and you have
a complete HD setup.

These plasma displays, though very sexy and thin,
still have a long way to go to become competitive.