We get in front of a new laser powered Mitsubishi LaserVue high-def set to see if the new technology is ready to compete.
At the Digital Experience event in New York this week, Mitsubishi was showing off their newest television technology in the Mitsubishi LaserVue high-def sets. The Mitsubishi LaserVue sets will come in 65-inch and 73-inch sizes, and run a little thick for modern high-def flat panel displays, at about 10-inches deep. That may not sound like a lot, but in our up close look it was obvious this won't be a TV that hangs on your wall.
It was hard to judge picture and sound quality at the event because there weren't any competitor models around, but the video we watched looked pretty good with deep, dark blacks and rich color. The color might have looked oversaturated at points, but this was probably Mitsubishi tuning their TVs to show off the wide color gamut, which the company claims is a selling point for these sets over plasma and LCD technology.
Of course, the real selling point for these televisions could be their low power consumption. Mitsubishi says that the LaserVue set uses half as much power as an LCD, and compares even better against comparable plasma televisions. Pricing has yet to be announced, but the company says it will be in line with current high-def technology.
If the picture is an improvement and if the power savings are real, that may make the LaserVue a competitor in the high-def race, but it's hard not to think that Mitsubishi's timing is just a bit unfortunate. As the economy starts to slump, we're seeing indications that customers are less likely to splurge on large, expensive high-def televisions. Of course, saving power is almost as popular right now as saving money, so that benefit might offset the hesitation of buyers on the fence. But, we also wonder if consumers will be confused by another technology on the market. We're technology agnostic; so long as the picture looks good, we'll like it. In this respect, the Mitsubishi LaserVue seems right on.
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