Audio Video News

The biggest television set ever made with Digital Light Processing technology is on its way from Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America Inc. On August 24, the company announced the retail debut of the WD-65000, said to "mark a new era in multimedia entertainment."

The screen on the WD-65000 measures a whopping 65 inches diagonally, almost five and a half feet. The set goes on sale at Paul's TV in La Habra, California, at the end of August, and will appear at other dealers nationwide shortly thereafter. The unit is the first consumer video product to employ Digital Light Processing in a high-definition rear projector. DLP, developed by Texas Instruments, creates high-definition images by focussing red, blue and green light beams reflected by almost one million micro-mirrors on an integrated circuit.

Capable of displaying 720P images at 1280 x 1640 level of resolution, the WD-65000 is said by its maker to be ideal for "the convergence of television programming, computer video and other image sources onto home television screens." The WD-65000 represents a "revolution in terms of multimedia entertainment and functionality," says MDEA sales and marketing v.p. Max Wasinger. "This product can handle multiple content with ease. Not only will our customers be able to watch high-definition television programming in their homes, they also will be able to display graphics from PCs, video and other Internet content at a level of performance that doesn't exist anywhere else." One advantage to DLP displays, in addition to their clarity, brightness and lack of motion artifacts, is the fact that they can display static images like Web sites without "burning" a permanent image on a phosphor-coated screen.

"Regardless of the image source, this DLP-based television rapidly translates all video content into a digital image for display in the blink of an eye," says MDEA director of marketing Robert Perry. "DLP technology makes images sparkle with the clarity and realism of a freshly washed window." The WD-65000 will retail for $15,000.