Texas Instruments pushes 1080p DLP
Texas Instruments pushes 1080p DLP
Update: I went by the DLP booth and stayed for the demo, and as expected, it looked fabulous. They showed 1080p front-projection in both one- and three-chip configurations, and the Sin City sequence in particular looked as sharp as I've ever seen. Afterward. I found out that TI isn't using the same "wobulated" 960x1,080 1080p chip found in its 1080p rear-projection sets; the front-projection chips will have all 1,920x1,080 discrete micromirrors. The company's reps were mum on whether these "full" 1080p chips will be available in rear-projection models anytime soon, but I have no doubt they will.
A couple of announcements at CEDIA were designed to alert the media to the company's 1080p DLP offerings. Texas Instruments manufactures the DLP chips found inside so many front- and rear-projection televisions, and the first announcement trumpeted the widespread availability of 1080p rear-projection sets from manufacturers such as Samsung, Mitsubishi, HP, and Toshiba. More interestingly, it noted that the entire microdisplay rear-projection category, since the first quarter of this year, has surpassed traditional CRT-based RPTVs in sales. The company also announced the availability of 1080p chips for front-projectors--currently these models top out at 720p resolution. The 1080p front-projection chipset will be available in single-chip (with a color wheel) and more expensive three-chip configurations. Current three-chip DLP projectors cost $20,000 and up, so we can only imagine what they'll charge for 1080p.