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    May 15, 2005
    Qualia 006 Review
    Dear Gary:

    I have several questions. In your Issue 96, May 2005, edition, you reviewed the Sony Qualia 006. You mentioned the inputs capable of 720p or 1080i, but no mention of 1080p. Also In a Monster Cable ad on page 9 for their M Series® HDMI cable, it states that the maximum definition is 720p/1080i. Does this mean that the new high-definition DVDs are not the full 1080p as promised and that this scales up to the native 1080p of the Qualia 006? Am I missing something or just reading into something that isn’t there?

    I know that this next question is more for Sony, but maybe you have some insight. Is the Sony Qualia 006 the same as the KDF-70XBR950 that was supposed to sell for $10,000 instead of the $13,000 for the Qualia 006? I am at least glad to see a lamp replacement of around $300 instead of the original $1,000.

    Dave Wagner

    day_tripper@tuhsd.k12.az.us

    Video Technical Editor Greg Rogers Comments:

    According to Sony, the Qualia 006 does not accept 1080p input signals, but it does upconvert signals to 1080p for display.

    It appears to me that the Monster Cable ad is saying that its cable will deliver the full resolution of 720p and 1080i, not that it is limited to the resolution of 720p or 1080i. It will also work for 1080p at 60 Hz (1080p60). The maximum pixel rate of a single link DVI or HDMI connection is 165 Mpixels/sec (Mega-pixels per second). The 1080p60 pixel rate is 148.5 Mpixels/sec, so single link cables are compatible with 1080p60. However, the maximum useable cable length is shorter at 1080p than 1080i or 720p. The maximum length depends on the physical design of the cable and the design of the products at both ends of the cable.

    We don’t have definitive specifications for high-definition DVDs yet, but I expect (and hope) that movies will be provided in the 1080p at 24 Hz format. In that case, the DVD player will convert them to the 1080i at 60 (59.94) Hz format, and probably also to 720p60 for projectors with a 720p native format. I would expect some premium-priced high-definition DVD players will also convert to 1080p60, but very few displays currently accept 1080p signals.

    The Sony KDF-70XBR950 is listed as $6,999.99 on the Sony Web site and isn’t the same product as the Qualia 006.

    You can E-mail Widescreen Review @ mailto:editorgary@widescreenreview.com

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