New Technology TV

By any measure, HDTV (High Definition Television) is in its infancy. The primary technologies of Plasma, LCD and DLP, are still evolving, and exciting new developments are already on the horizon. At the last two CES (Consumer Electronic Shows) Toshiba and Canon, in a joint effort, touted a new way to approach the old CRT (Cathode Ray Tube). It is called SED, (Surface conduction Electron emitter Display) and it could revolutionize the High-Def world. In the same manner as the old CRT’s we all knew, electrons are shot at phosphors on the screen, and then emit the proper reds, greens, or blues. The difference with SED is that each pixel has its own dedicated electron emitter and that makes all the difference! This not only saves electrical energy, and increases the performance; it enables a very thin display as well as a large screen. Experts in the flat panel world formed long lines at the last CES in Las Vegas, to compare the Toshiba SED picture quality to other HD models.
SED provides an astounding 10,000 to 1 contrast ratio; most plasma sets can only manage 3000:1! Visitors at the show were treated to a 36-inch model and later this year Toshiba will release a 55-inch model to the public. Each SED TV has over 6 million electron emitters! This venture represents a joint effort between Toshiba and Canon, with Canon the brains behind ability to fabricate the micro-electron emission technology. There is evidence that this type of display could be much less expensive to produce than the current Plasma HDTV’s, yet offer at least the same picture quality. Toshiba is already phasing out their line up of Plasma models, thinking that this may be their main focus in the area of television displays. Toshiba's Vice-President of marketing, Scott Ramirez, said, “SED is going to be the new standard in flat panel; it’s going to change the way you look at flat panel”. SED will apparently make its debut later this year. SED can deliver the current Holy Grail in HDTV, the 1080p standard. 1080p is an abbreviation for the number of colored dots or pixels on High-Def screens: (1920 x 1080). That’s 1920 dots across the screen and 1080 lines of those dots in the vertical dimension. SED is apparently able to handle fast motion on the screen since each tiny electron emitter can respond one thousand times a second. Moreover, the screen delivers the same bright picture quality from virtually any viewing angle. What’s not to like about this new twist on a proven technology? Lower energy bills, a really big screen, fairly thin module, and great brightness and superior contrast. SED is definitely something to anticipate. Initial prices will be high, but they could quickly compete with the Plasma and LCD market. And better yet, this new technology could help drive down the cost of existing Plasma and LCD models.