HD shootout

Things will be ramping up here again shortly, what with HD-DVD on the market, the HVX200 shipping in volume, and NAB approaching. But 1080p Whip is thrilled to see 1080p awareness increasing across the board.

Until next time, chew on Mike Curtis's HD video camera shootout.

Apple to unveil 1080p TVs?

Word has it that the iPod maker will release some sweet, sweet HDTVs next week. We're so there.

More to come.

New "1080p" RPTVs from JVC

HDBlog wonders if JVC's new FireWire-enabled D-ILA rear-projection models with MaxxBass™ (in 56, 61, and 70 inch flavors) accept 1080p over their HDMI inputs.

Why would we want them otherwise, JVC? Maybe that's why they offer 720p versions of the same models.

Sony shows 1080p hand with BDP-S1

Well, excuse us for getting all hot and bothered about the Pioneer BDP-HD1. We got another 1080p BDP a-comin'.

Sony, master of the Blu-ray, announced plans for its first BD player, the BDP-S1 -- and like the BDP-HD1 it outputs 1080p full HD video. But not to be outdone, the S1 also will upscale current DVDs to 1080p to boot, making this the frontrunner in the replace-your-current-player market. (None of those crappy HD-DVD players from Toshiba output 1080p.)

Sony brags that the BDP-S1 also features "sophisticated design and exceptional build quality with rigid beam construction as well as finely tuned audio and video parts and circuits." Take that, cheap Chinese competitors!

Here's the crucial paragraph in the press release in our eyes:

Sony expects the Blu-ray Disc format to emerge as the standard in HD video performance and flexibility packaged in a convenient five-inch optical disc. The format features a robust 25GB single layer and 50GB dual layer capacity, making it ideal for feature length motion pictures with tons of extra feature material -- all in full 1080p high definition -- along with the multimedia possibilities of Java-enabled interactivity.

For those wondering if Sony was going to remain agnostic as to the output resolution for Blu-ray, the words "all in full 1080p" should settle the question.

Pioneer announces first 1080p Blu-ray player!

Okay, mad props to Pioneer Electronics Corporation. Not only do they introduce one of the first-ever Blu-ray disc players, they've gone and made it capable of full 1080p output.

If the player catches on, it bodes well for H.264 as a codec for Blu-ray discs, since MPEG-2 isn't capable of 1080p resolution.

The BDP-HD1, as it's called, offers HDMI output, DLNA-compliant IP networking (that's with Playsforsure™ technology from Microsoft, unfortunately), and Dolby Digital and DTS-HD sound. The unit will begin shipping in June under the "Pioneer Elite" brand, carrying an elite price of $1800.

If they un-tether themselves from the Microsoft teat (how's that for a mixed metaphor?), they might have a chance at setting a standard here. Otherwise, it's Apple's market to take from them.

Final Cut Pro 6 to support 1080p

Think Secret is reporting on Apple's upcoming release of its professional video editing application, Final Cut Pro 6, due at the National Association of Broadcasters convention in April, and the new version is rumored to support 1080p more robustly than version 5, both 1080/24p for film editing and 1080/30p DVCPROHD for HDTV.

As usual, Apple is on the correct side of history.

The software will reportedly also feature native editing of 5.1 surround sound, while its companion app DVD Studio Pro 5 should support burning to both Blu-ray and HD-DVD discs. (Even though Apple is officially a Blu-ray booster.) The question is, will that native 1080p video be burnable to said media?

Also mentioned by the TS rumormongers is Apple's real professional video software, the upcoming Final Cut Extreme, which will cost an order of magnitude more than the mere "Pro" version and handle 4K video (i.e. future-proof digital cinema) with ease.

Proton's 55-inch LCD TV - and more!

What with CES 'round the corner, we got all sorts of obscure electronics companies coming out of the woodwork. Case in point: "Proton Electronic Industrial."

The Taiwanese company is adding to its "Puriti" line of LCD TVs with some large-screen 1080p models (hitting the 42, 47, and 55-inch size points) featuring ATSC and NTSC tuners as well as viewing angles of 176 degrees, so sayeth Emily Chuang of DigiTimes.

The 42-incher (pictured) will be available in North America in the first quarter of '06, with the rest coming in Q2. Go Proton Electronic Industrial, go!

2K6: The year 1080p "hit the scene"

HD Beat prognosticates about the coming year. Rock on.

The real question: will Apple's upcoming Intel Core-powered mystery machines, due early in 2006, feature 1080p output?

"Bubble" trailer in 1080p

I saw Steven Soderbergh's latest film -- the cryptically titled "Bubble" -- at the New York Film Festival a few months ago. (It's wonderful.) The movie, a small-town murder mystery of a sort -- starring nonactors pretty much playing themselves -- is the first HD feature by the prodigious director of "The Limey" and "Out of Sight", and the first in what Soderbergh calls a "cycle" of site-specific digital films set in the underrepresented side of America.

Anyway, see it when it comes out next month -- and download the stunning 1080p trailer at Apple's site. (Like all 1080p videos encoded in H.264, you'll need a powerful computer.)



What's especially incredible about "Bubble" is how gorgeous and filmlike Soderbergh made the HD video look. (He's also the cinematographer, as he was on Ocean's 11 and 12, Traffic, and the underrated Full Frontal. I love this guy.)

Philips anti-1080p agenda debunked

The players over at HD Beat let the Dutch cheapskates over at Royal Philips Electronics know what time it is.

Of course 1080p is more expensive. The CE cartel are ensuring that it remains that way by not popularizing the format. If us consumers clamor for it, the price will come down as competition increases and manufacturing ramps up.

Keep on them, people!

Brillian 6580iFB shipping

In contrast to the sucky so-called "1080p" RPTV offered by JVC (see below), there are some real 1080p large-screen RPTV sets a-'coming. At least those that license 6580iFB technology from the Syntax-Brillian Corporation, which has just started shipping. (1080p Whip previewed the 6580iFB in September.)

The "platform" features a 6-Mpixel LCoS display (that's three Gen II 1080p microdisplays) with a 4000:1 contrast ratio on its 65-inch screen -- the highest out there. And the clincher: "support for full-HDTV resolution 1080p input sources."

With a 4ms average response time, 12-bit grayscale rendering, 14 analog and digital inputs, S/PDIF digital audio, and a 170-degree viewing angle, on paper this looks like a winner, y'all. If you have $8000 worth of paper yourself, that is.

(A PDF datasheet is available here.)

70-inch "1080p" set from JVC

Gizmodo updates us on the HD-70FH96, the "monster" JVC RPTV with HD-ILA technology we hipped you to over a month ago.

Last time, we we wonderin' if the HDMI inputs on this bête noir accepted 1080p signals. Now we have the answer.

Reading the Sound & Vision review that Gizmodo linked to, we discovered not only that the S&V reviewer is a unrepentent Star Wars nerd, but also this:

Like most other 1080p HDTVs I've reviewed in the past year, the JVC couldn't accept 1080p sources via any input.

BAM! Move along, folks.

New 1080p chip manufacturer

Everybody's jumping on the 1080p bandwagon!

Portable scanner maker Syscan Imaging (not to be confused with animal tracking and meatpacking concern Syscan International) is leaving the business-card-reader market for good and jumping into the 1080p LCoS projection chip racket.

Joining with South Korean HDTV chipmaker Uneed Systems, the company plans to "deliver ground breaking 1080p LCoS HDTV solutions", including a new 3-panel LCoS "Imager Chip" (acquired recently from Nanodisplay, Inc.) and produced on the cheap in '06. It's enough 3rd-tier corporate wheeling and dealing to make one nauseous.

User review of Sony Grand Wega SXRD 1080p RPTV

The Trotz family, with a blogger pere at the helm, trotzed over to Best Buy to get the latest in Sony SXRD goodness, the FireWire-enabled KDS-R50XBR1, which we've mentioned before. Here's what they discovered:

I considered the 1080p series from both Samsung and HP, but several reviews sold me on the Sony based on the better controls and details offered by their SXRD format. There's also the missing 'color wheel' used in traditional DLP - there, instead of having three panels there's a single one with an RGB color wheel spinning in front. I've heard various reports of costly repairs to replace those. And while I never saw them in the store, some users do report a 'rainbow' effect on some high-key source material (think white-on-white scenes with pans and zooms).

I think I'm seeing a 'rainbow' effect myself at this very moment.

New York Times talks 1080p viewing

Props to the Gray Lady for prominently mentioning 1080p in today's "Your Money" article. They even including a handy graphic comparing 1080p HDTV sets to lower-resolution models:

Denon 1080p upscaling receiver with iPod support

Hmmm.... the taste of things to come.

eHomeUpgrade says the new 1080p-over-HDMI $2000 Denon AVR-4306 is "THE receiver the connected home has been waiting for."

Let's see: 7.1 sound with all manner of DSPs; dedicated iPod connectors on the front and back (with picture capability); USB ports; ethernet; web interface; 3-zone multi-room amplifier; Audyssey MultEQ XT room correction and calibration technology; 3 HDMI inputs; 7 composite/S-Video inputs; 5 digital optical inputs; 10 analog audio inputs; 3 Component Video inputs; and, of course, 1080p video upscaling over its HDMI output.