Intel To Produce Cheap LCoS Chips

SeattleGameboy writes "NY Times has an article about Intel's plan to produce low-cost liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) chips. This could result in high-resolution 7"-thick rear-projection TV costing around $1000 by next Christmas (not to mention cheap projectors). I guess I can put off buying a new TV for another year ..."

Comments

Hmm...

[JoeLinux]

As long as they can do everything the HP MP3130 can do, I'll be happy.

brightness: 1800 peak ANSI lumens
display resolution: 1024 x 768 True XGA
colors: 16.7 million
light source: 180-watt compact P-VIP projector bulb

optics

lens: Non-telecentric
zoom capability: Digital and optical
projection distance: Approximately 3.3 to 29.4 ft

mobility

weight: 3.8 lb
dimensions: (w x d x h) 9 x 7.8 x 2.9 in

connectivity

video: Built-in full-screen NTSC/PAL/SECAM/HDTV video capability with S-video inputs (from DVD, Camcorder or VCR), HDTV (480p, 480i, 720p, 1080i, composite and component video
computer connectivity: XGA, SVGA, VGA, SXGA, SXGA+, Mac Lc13", Mac II 13", Mac 16", Mac 19", Mac, Mac G4, iMac DV

Re:Google Link

[akaina]

Story is "By JOHN MARKOFF" ???
The same dude that demonized Mitnick to keep his paycheck?

This guy is still working? What a jerkoff. He was probably paid by Intel to write that story.

more detail here:
http://www.simson.net/clips/96.IU.MitnickMa rkoff.h tml

Re:"TrustedTV(tm)

[grub]

Many devices (such as existing LCD displays) can take a digital signal already. In the "Intel/MS" scenario, assume the data stream comes from an unsigned source: the screen could refuse to display.

Cheap panels

[presearch]

Will there be $1000 panels or $3000 panels with a much higher profit margin?

Then again, there might be a new, huge mass market for large panels...

"Behind Winston's back the voice from the telescreen was still babbling away about pig-iron and the overfulfilment of the Ninth Three-Year Plan. The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously.

Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it, moreover,
so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard."

waiting, yay.

[User 956]

This could result in high-resolution 7"-thick rear-projection TV costing around $1000 by next Christmas (not to mention cheap projectors). I guess I can put off buying a new TV for another year ..."

Yeah, it could result in that. But how long have we been waiting for stuff that could happen in a year. Broadband over power lines rings a bell. If you'd been waiting for that, you'd still be on dialup.

Breakdown of the different HDTV technologies

[mh_tang]

From what I understand, the main drawback of plasma besides price is that there is permanent burn-in of images. So if you watch the news, the tickers and other graphics at the bottom of your screen might leave permanent traces. Even worse, since most programming these days is still in 4:3 format, you will have black bars on the sides of your screen; I'm not exactly sure if the black is either burned in, or if it is turned off does the center get unproportional wear and tear over time?

DLP is nice, but a main issue with DLP is that you have to replace the bulbs every 3-4 years. Currently, bulbs for DLP units range anywhere from $300-600, which is no small investment. Of course, DLP is also a projection format, so the viewing angle is not as wide, and from what ones I've seen at the store, the blacks aren't quite as dark as the plasmas or traditional CRTs.

Does the LCoS technology address these issues of screen burn in, viewing angle, accurate colors & brightness, and bulb replacement?

Re:"TrustedTV(tm)

[Ben Hutchings]

I expect that in the future video cameras will detect watermarked images and refuse to record them.

Re:What about the Light Bulb?

[Hollins]

Of course, in five years you'll likely be able to buy a better TV for $500, meaning few of the bulbs will be replaced.

If this works out to $200 a year for a pretty decent thin high-def TV ($1000 for the set with an expected lifetime of 5 years), many will find it a good deal.

chip availibility/inventors place in 21st centry?

[Anonymous Coward]

I hope Intel does the right thing and make this chip availible to experimenters as TI refuses to make their reflective mirror chip availible to experimenters. That way you could make your own displays/multiple screen displays. It's too bad companies like TI refuse to sell their (refflective chips) to the exprimenter/small product developers, we have reached an age where nobody works on their own cars anymore or people don't build as much things anymore (we just buy stuff)...I know that it's more expensive to build stuff, but the whole computer revolution was started by people working in their basement/garages developing cool stuff. The high-tech culture we live in is determined to a great extent by the ability of the people around you to be able to develop new products, not just big companies (look at linux). I hope that someday cheap fpga's come around and eventually real cheap nanotech allows everybody the ability to make something new.

put off buying a new TV

[NonaMyous]

"I guess I can put off buying a new TV for another year ..."

I am putting of purchasing a new HDTV because I don't understand what the impact of the broadcast flag will be TVs and related products. I will be very upset if my expensive digital TV stops working 2005.

Problem with waiting until next year to buy a TV

[Jafafa Hots]

The problem with waiting to buy a TV is, all HDTVs made starting in 2005 will have that pesky chip in them that prevents you from recording shows that the broadcaster (or producer) doesn't want you to...

Unless you wait ANOTHER year so you can then find out which models the hackers have figured out a way to circumvent that chip in...

Re:"TrustedTV(tm)

[gaderson]

Well, any display with a DVI/: HDCP (as developed by Intel), or HDMI connection, or IEEE 1394 (Firewire/iLink) with 5C.

Mitsubishi have Firewire, most new displays have DVI w/HDCP, and the DVD players that upconvert to HD resolutions are only output over their HDCP enabled DVI ports! Granted, at present HDCP is rather kludgy, have read articles on problems connecting with the latest boxes and displays. Not to mention the test channel on DirecTV that doesn't always work.

Also, 5C works, since you can't record a D-Theater movie (warning flash), to a computer with a firewire port, or use the VGA connector from the Samsung SIR-T165 firewire STB when playing a tape. Oh, you say that's not fair use, but, it's just a glorified VHS tape, so how robust is that? Are you not allowed to make a backup of your flimsy tape?

And, in the last year or so one of the cable companies in New York "accidentily" enabled 5C copy-never on their cable boxes.

DRM for HD is just getting started. Can't wait for the Broadcast Flag.

But, back to the article, hopefully Intel can get better yeilds since Hitachi and Mitsubishi have pulled their sets (ahh, can't find any links.) erik g

Re:You can always put it off ...

[Reziac]

Especially when in the meantime, someone gives me their perfectly good "outdated" TV :)