LAS VEGAS--HDMI 1.3, two-way CableCards, 120-Hz refresh rates, and LED-backlit LCD displays: These are some of the newest technologies found in televisions announced at the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show. If you're considering a television purchase anytime this year, you'll want to investigate them before you buy.
In brief, here's why they're important:
--HDMI 1.3: Faster data throughput, higher color bit depth, higher-quality audio, among other things.
--Two-way CableCards: CableCards, nearly all of which currently allow only one-way communication, eliminate the need for a cable set-top box. Two-way communication allows you to get program guide information, video on demand, and other things.
-- 120-Hz refresh rate LCDs: By inserting an interpolated frame in between two live frames (doubling the refresh rate from 60Hz to 120Hz), motion scenes don't blur as much.
--LED-backlit LCDs: Better color, faster response (often found on sets with the 120-Hz refresh rate).
TV Makers Speak
Here's what the manufacturers had to say about what's new for '07:
Hewlett-Packard announced six new televisions at CES; they all have three HDMI ports, and two of them are 1080p sets. But none has HDMI 1.3 or any of the other technologies listed above: "We might do it [HDMI 1.3] in the future, but the panels don't support it," says Alex Thatcher, HP product marketing manager.
But Samsung has 1080p LCD televisions and 1080p DLP sets with HDMI 1.3--or at least, it will have them in the second quarter of this year (that's when nearly all of the sets announced at CES will ship). But its 2007 includes no sets with CableCard slots, aside from a single test model made for a Time-Warner trial in Milwaukee. "We need to slow down on a couple things," Samsung's Steve Panosian says. "As the cable industry rolls out OCAP [Open Cable Application Platform, the two-way CableCard technology], the sets will come." Samsung was showing a prototype OCAP-compatible cable set-top box in another part of its booth, though; those boxes use two-way CableCards themselves, thanks to the government mandate to unbundle decryption services from set-top boxes.
Panasonic also showed off an OCAP-compatible cable set-top box--one that had a Comcast logo on it, because it will test market the box in several Comcast-served cities, including Denver, Boston, Philadelphia, and Union, N.J. It also had an OCAP-compatible 1080p plasma television. The set-top box is supposed to ship to Comcast later this year, the TV, next year; one rep said OCAP will eventually be on all Panasonic TVs. The company also demonstrated its EZ Sync EXT technology, which helps you set up HDMI connected devices, including its new HDMI 1.3-enabled high-definition camcorders (the setup technology requires HDMI 1.3, says Panasonic). All of Panasonic's new 1080p plasma televisions have HDMI 1.3 connections.
Meanwhile, Motorola announced an expansion of its agreement with Comcast to ship the cable operator its own set-top boxes; at least some of them will be OCAP compatible. "Specific models will be compliant with government-mandated separable security, including CableCard technology, as required," says Motorola's press release. The company also announced several new set-top box designs, all of which are OCAP-compatible (the government mandate doesn't take effect until July, so Comcast can use non-OCAP boxes until then).
Big Sony LCD
Sony was showing a 70-inch Bravia LCD set with a 120-Hz refresh rate; it will go on sale this spring for $33,000. No news about any sets with HDMI 1.3, despite the PlayStation 3 having the connection.
Philips had new1080p plasma sets to show off, but it didn't have any of the new technologies. The company did have a wireless HDMI product that will stream 1080p content over ultra-wideband (UWB), which is capable of a 2 Gbps transfer rate. For now, it will only allow users to connect one device per transmitter, though the receiver will accept signals from multiple transmitters. It'll ship in August for $399 for one transmitter and one receiver. 
Toshiba announced 13 new televisions at CES, many of which are 1080p sets. Its high-end Cinema series sets will have HDMI 1.3 connections; four Cinema sets will have 120-Hz refresh rates. No Toshiba sets have CableCard slots.
Sharp Does HDMI 1.3
Sharp Electronics had several sets with HDMI 1.3 connections, and several with 120-Hz refresh rates.
Pioneer had a single 1080p plasma set, but none of its sets have any of the new technologies.
LG Electronics showed 42- and 50-inch plasma sets that have two-way CableCard (OCAP) slots; they will ship in the second half of the year. The 50-incher is a 1080p set; it'll compliment LG's existing nine 1080p sets. The company also has some LCD sets with 120-Hz refreshes.
Most of the sets announced at CES will ship in the period between March and June of this year.
For more up-to-the-minute blogs, stories, photos, and video from the nation's largest consumer electronics show, visit PC World's CES 2007 Live Coverage Infocenter.
Ad Choices