LATEST ADDITIONS

Many video reviewers use the original <I>HQV Benchmark</I> DVD and Blu-ray test discs in their evaluations of displays, players, and processors, but those discs are getting a bit long in the tooth, and there are a couple of errors on them that limit their usefulness in certain tests. Now, IDT has released version 2.0 of both discs, and they look fantastic. (During the development process, IDT solicited feedback from several reviewers, including Tom Norton and me, and I'm gratified that they actually took our advice.)

Like other manufacturers at the show, LG was showing off the claimed better blacks of its new sets. TruBlack is the company's designation for the upgraded black levels in its new plasma sets, like the 2010 PK950 shown here. While it wasn't easy to see the improvement on the brightly lit show floor, the new set did look subtly better.

JVC had three demos in its theater presentation. The first was a trailer in 2D, played back on the new DLA-HD990 consumer projector ($10,000, available now). It looked superb. The next was a 2D clip using the company's 4K, DLA-RS4000, a projector that will put a $150,000+ hole in your bank balance. It was the same 4K demo that JVC presented at the 2008 CEDIA, and here, like there, was head-and-shoulders the best-looking video at the show, either 2D or 3D. The third demo, a 3D presentation using two of the latter projectors, was dimensional enough, but for me was soft and lacking in the crisp detail I expect of HD, whether 3D or 2D. The source may have been to blame here-a dim underwater coral reef, and its residents, isn't the easiest subject to photograph well. In any case the three minute 3D clip was said to use between 1TB and 2DB data space!

Here are further details on the upcoming LG 3D SXRD projector.