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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Tuesday, January 18, 2005

High-tech TVs buzz of trade show

By Jefferson Graham and Michelle KesslerUSA Today

The television, a device found in nearly every American home, took center stage at the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, with the introduction of dozens of new, large-screen models.

Televisions are hotter than they've been in decades. Screens are getting bigger and brighter as they undergo their first major technological overhaul since the birth of color television in 1953. The highest-tech sets are so thin, they can be hung on the wall like a painting — and are vibrant enough to resemble one, too.

Although early models have been in stores for more than two years, they're just now becoming cheap and bug-free enough to go mainstream.

"I think we've moved beyond early adopters," says Carly Fiorina, CEO of Hewlett-Packard, which announced 20 televisions and related devices at the show. "Innovation and simplicity and ease of use (is beginning) to drive mass-market adoption."

Americans spent $10.7 billion last year on digital televisions, compared with $3.5 billion on analog models, says the Consumer Electronics Association, the trade group that sponsors the electronics conference. That's expected to reach $19.2 billion this year, the CEA says. Flat-panel TVs don't use bulky cathode-ray tubes so they're skinny and light enough to hang on the wall.

The two main types of flat-panel TVs — plasma and liquid-crystal display — look similar but use different underlying technologies. Plasmas are generally larger and costlier than LCDs. Other formats consumers hear about often at TV stores: DLP (digital light processing), a rear projection set, and HD and ED — high definition and enhanced definition — basically, HD light.

Camera manufacturer Canon demonstrated another new TV format called SED, which stands for surface-conduction electron-emitter display. A joint venture with Japan's Toshiba, SED is said to have the brightness and contrast of traditional tube TVs while using one-third less power than plasmas. Canon and Toshiba have not announced pricing, but the technology will be comparable in price to plasma and LCD sets before production ramped up.