Thomas J. Norton

As noted in a number of British journals in early February, including <A HREF="http://www.newscientist.com">New Scientist</A> (February 6, 2003)&mdash;reports brought to our attention by <I>SGHT</I> contributor J. Gordon Holt&mdash;scientists at the UK's National Physical Laboratory (NPL) have developed a new super-black coating that is said to reflect less the 0.35% of the light that strikes it, an absorption efficiency about seven times better than black paint. The coating can be put on materials ranging from metals to ceramics.

When we wrote this feature for last year’s HDTV Buyer’s Guide issue, the flat-panel HDTV market was much simpler. 3D was nowhere in sight, and much of our analysis boiled down to the pros and cons of LCD and plasma technology. This year, 3D is just one of the newer wrinkles in the market. The number of plasmas in the market isn’t what it was just a few years ago, but plasma is not only hanging on, the best plasmas still stake a legitimate claim to being the best flat panels available. With LCDs, manufacturers are aggressively using the backlighting techniques to market the sets. In fact, LCDs are getting more and more sophisticated and offering serious potential value. There’s a lot to learn, so let’s get going.