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    July 15, 2005
    Sony QUALIA 006 And 1080p
    Dear Gary:

    Robert Margouleff, the CEO of Mi Casa Multimedia, asked me if I’d respond to a question about Sony building a 1080p display that won’t accept a 1080p input. As stated in the WSR review, the QUALIA converts any video up to 1080i fed into it and displays it at 1080p. This process to scale from 1080i to 1080p happens inside the TV. The 006 will not accept a 1080p signal.

    Let me start in 1995 when the ATSC made 1080p/24 and 1080p/30 part of the list of rates that broadcasters could use for transmission. Consumer electronics manufacturers agreed to support the full content of ATSC’s Format Chart (Table 3) in their DTV related products, which among the 18 digital television formats includes HD with 1080 vertical pixels and 1920 horizontal pixels at a 16:9 aspect ratio and progressive scan mode in both a 24 and 30 frame rate.

    As for material currently available in 1080p, you need look no further than the Internet. Trailers on studios’ Web sites are often in 1080p. You could go to the http://www.wmvhd.com/ Web site to find more. Of course, you could look at currently available high-definition DVDs, among them product from my company, Joe Kane Productions, and find 1080p content. Historically,1080p has been on the books since 1995. It’s been a production format for at least five years. It’s here now as a consumer format. It’s about to be big in high-definition DVD.

    It seems ironic that Sony would force us to convert our 1080p content to 1080i before it can go into their 1080p display.

    Joe Kane, Joe Kane Productions and WSR Contributing Editor



    Editor-In-Chief and Publisher Gary Reber Comments:

    It is indeed ironic that Sony and many other manufacturers do not yet provide a native 1080p input on their high-definition display devices. Sony has modified its QUALIA 004 front projector to accept 1080p60, but not its QUALIA 006 rear projection TV. I believe the 1080p upgrade to existing QUALIA 004 projectors is about $3,000!

    Toshiba’s new line of high-definition displays, for example, will not include 1080p either. Toshiba representatives say that the cost is too great at the moment, but they will introduce a new line of displays with native 1080p input in 2006, facilitated by a new integrated circuit chip.

    Our review of the Sharp LC-45GX6U 45-inch LCD HDTV in Issue 98, July 2005, pointed out that there is no 1080p input as well.

    This appears to be the state of affairs with high-end displays capable of 1080p output at the moment. I expect that this will change in 2006. At the E3 Expo, Sony announced that its next generation Playstation 3 will be 1080p.

    This is inevitable. Both Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD will support 1080p output (at least in second generation players). Display manufacturers will eventually introduce HDTV displays with 1080p input sooner or later. And I expect that broadcasters will eventually transmit in 1080p. We as enthusiasts just wish it was today.

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

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