Gizmodo Australia » rear projection

When Rear Projection Made It BIG

Nick Broughall — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:00:24 +0000

If you owned a TV with a screen bigger than 40 inches before the year 2000, chances are it was a rear projection model. And chances are it took up most of your loungeroom.

Rear projection TV were increasingly popular back in the 90s and early this decade thanks to their large screen sizes and relatively affordable price tags – especially when compared to the early asking price of LCD and plasma displays. They use three main technologies to project the image from inside the body to the screen: CRT, LCD and DLP.

But unfortunately, the technology was held back by its shortcomings and the dropping price of LCDs and plasmas. Because they projected an image, they were deep, needing the space inside the body to be able to throw the image from the projector to the screen. That meant they couldn’t be wall mounted, and tended to take up a lot of space.

Nowadays, there’s nary a rear projection TV to be found in the shops. Most of the major TV players have stuck their flags in the plasma or LCD camps (or both) and left rear projection behind. The noted exception is Mitsubishi, who have further developed the technology with the introduction of lasers, which both improves picture quality and lessens the necessary depth of the TV – their LaserVue sets are actually wall mountable. Still, that doesn’t mean that the technology hasn’t been superceded – despite having a great few years when most big TVs sold were big and bulky, these days you’re safer to go a flat panel TV.

History of TV is Giz AU’s month-long look back at the development of the world-changing medium and its influence on our daily lives.

The 100-inch Rear Projection Television Upgrade

Mark Wilson — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 22:10:00 +0000

Owning a honking rear projection TV is an ever-increasing WASP social stigma, that is, unless it’s so freaking huge that neighbours admire it with the same jealous-of-waste gleam in their eye as your original Hummer. One modder takes us step by step through how he removed the screen of his “big screen” TV and swapped it with a 100-inch replacement. The end result is successful, even if his craftsmanship is a bit wobbly around the edges. But the catch? It looks like it now runs at lights-off brightness levels. You know, like a cheap projector or something… [BonMul via HackaDay]

Mitsubishi 65-inch LaserVue Rear Projection 1080p TV Priced (Expensively)

Jack Loftus — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 17:00:00 +0000

Last we left Mitsubishi’s LaserVue 1080p rear-projection monster, we had size and shape, but price was a mystery. The mystery was solved today, as BitStream discovered the massive HDTV will set you back US$7,000 when it ships later this month. There’s still no pricing info for the 73-inch LaserVue, which was also revealed in June. The 7k figure is comparable to what manufacturers are asking for similarly sized HDTVs in the space, but this one has frickin’ laser beams. And unlike military lasers, these create a feast for your eyes, instead of your stomach. [BitStream via CrunchGear]

NLighten IT7202 72-inch Touchscreen HDTVs Put Google Earth At Your Fingertips

John Mahoney — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:20:50 +0000

Rear-projection may be deader than dead as far as the biggies are concerned, but the folks at nLighten are intent to squeeze a bit more life out of these 72-inch 1080p DLP sets by sticking an infrared camera inside next to the light source that detects cursor points from an IR-tipped pen, allowing for a simple (no multitouch) touchscreen interface. It can act as a standard Windows mouse allowing for 1080p touchscreen Google Earth, or any other app.

The 72-inch IR-pen screen is priced at US$3,000, and a similar version that uses camera triangulation from cameras mounted on the top of the bezel for actual finger touch control will set you back US$4,000. As you can see in the video, the finger-touch seems to be a bit finicky, but the IR pen control is smooth as silk. [CEDIA 2008]

nLighten Technologies introduces three 60 inch & 72 inch Touch Screen DLP
Rear Projection Displays
Superior Pictures & Easy Intuitive Display through Superior Technologies

Denver/CEDIA EXPO 2008 – (September 3, 2008) – nLighten Technologies Inc. an innovative
products provider, as well as manufacturer of specialty displays and residential displays,
today introduced its 72 inch ﬁnger touch screen, DT7200. This new product adds to its
core line ups of 60 inch and 72 inch pen touch DLP Rear Projection Displays, IT6002 and
IT7202. The product is ideal for conference room, point of information display, or
classroom. nLighten is committed to fulﬁll the fast growth for high-deﬁnition super large
display with touch screen capability.

Keeping pace with market trends, the nLighten DT7200 oﬀers high deﬁnition resolution
(1920 x 1080: 1080P) which enables users to take advantage of the latest high deﬁnition
video or PC content and enjoy true HD video playback without compensating clarity of
pictures. In addition, the superior technology of Texas Instrument’s DLP-engine provides
greater contrast and deep black levels for richer detail in dark scenes on 72 inch large screen
DT7200 incorporates high sensitivity camera sensors for faster response, a much superior
product as it compare to other technologies that use ﬁlms or coatings over the screen,
eliminating ghosting, and trailing images.

nLighten’s IT6002 and IT7202 have pen touch feature which turn your conference room,
classroom or media room in your residence into an interactive room. IT6002 and IT7202’s
large touch-sensitive displays invite your audiences to focus on the presentation materials
and retain information easier.
h&72inch TouchScreenDLP
riorTechnologies
Collaborating large screen high deﬁnition displays and touch function, nLighten’s new
DT7200, 72 inch Finger Touch screen DLP Display, and IT6002 and IT7202, 60 inch and 72
inch Pen Touch screen DLP Displays, oﬀer fast and precise response to the movement and
can be enhanced by featuring nLighten’s software solution for interactive eboard
application.
“Touch screens are an eﬃcient and intuitive way to access and interact with on-display
information, and appeal to a wide variety of users and applications”, said nLighten President
Jack Kuo. “The technology of ﬁnger touch compliments nLighten’s standard display line
ups.” “We recognise the increase demand for touch screen capability with large screen size
displays from our channel partners. “
nLighten is showing all three True High Deﬁnition Touch Screen DLP Rear Projection Displays
at CEDIA EXPO 2008 booth #826, September 4 ~7, 2008, Denver, CO.

About nLighten
nLighten Technologies Inc. is a research and development of large screen size HD DLP
Display. With oﬃce located in Fremont, CA, and its manufacturing facility in Suzhou, China,
nLighten is becoming a global leader of specialty display technology providing large screen
high deﬁnition monitors and ATSC TVs for most demanding environments such as
conference room, classroom, and home theatre. Home theatre Enthusiasts depend on
nLighten to provide superior performance when image quality is the highest expectation.
For more information, visit www.nlighten.com.
Phihong USA Corporation, a subsidiary of Phihong Technology Co., Ltd. , Taiwan, is the
exclusive distributor to market the full line of nLighten products and does the technical
supports for North American market.

Rear Projection TVs Only Selling When Super Sized

Mark Wilson — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:40:00 +0000

With the ever-falling prices of flat panel LCD and plasma displays, it was only a matter of time before the rear projection television died a tragic death. Since 2007, their sales in the market under 60 inches have dropped by 32%, meaning that 84% of the rear projections sold today are now 60 inches or over. From what we understand, that includes newer DLP technology as well. Another interesting metric: Just 2 of the 40 HDTVs reviewed by CNet this year have been rear projections. But if you’ve got the space and don’t mind the style, their quality per dollar quotient is still undeniably good. [Crave][image]

Mitsubishi LaserVue Laser TV Will Be 65 and 73-Inches and Ship in Q3

Benny Goldman — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:57:00 +0000

Details on Mistubishi’s LaserVue, the rear-projection 1080p televison that uses frickin’ laser beams to display exceptionally rich colour, are pouring out. The TV set will come in 65″ and 73″ varities when it ships in Q3 this year. It’s 10″ deep, thin by historical standards, but still somewhat thick for today’s tastes, but the 120Hz set consumes a fraction of the power of LCDs and plasmas and is 3D-capable out of the box. No word on price. [Mitsubishi]