Mitsubishi unveils laser HDTV at CES

Mitsubishi launched new HDTV technology at the CES event in Las Vegas. It will be the first company to commercialise laser HDTV, which will challenge LCD, plasma, DLP (Digital Light Processing) and LCoS (Liquid crystal on silicon) display technologies.

Mitsubishi revealed three 65-inch prototype rear-projection displays. They are about 9 inches deep, which could be a disadvantage give the current popularity of wall-mounted flat panels.

The selling point is likely to be the quality of picture, as the displays provide outstanding brightness, exceedingly dark blacks, and vibrant colour.

At the launch party, Mitsubishi highlighted the fact that lasers are the most pure form of light, but didn’t reveal any hard facts on contrast ratio.

A retail release is expected in 2008, with the displays priced at around the same price as flat panel displays of the same size. This would mean a price tag of around $5k to $7k.