Tom Norton

Panasonic has a wide range of new plasmas—and new LCDs, as well. The PZ85 series claims a peak contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1, though I’m not sure you can measure this!

A new projector or two every year is a CEDIA tradition from Sony, and they did not disappoint us this year. The new VPL-VW85 video projector offers significantly enhanced brightness compared to the VPL-VW70 (known as the VPL-VW80 in some markets), and deep blacks courtesy of a combination of SXRD chips with superior contrast and Sony's well-established Advanced (dynamic) Iris. It also has a variety of user-selectable gamma settings, custom gamma adjustment via an external computer program, a Motion Enhancer feature operating at a 96Hz frame rate with the option of either full brightness or darkened interpolated frames, and an aspect ratio for use with an add-on anamorphic zoom lens. $8000, in October. A review of the VPL-VW85 is currently scheduled for the November 2009 issue of Home Theater. There's also a new, lower priced Sony SXRD projector, the VPL-HW15, with a claimed peak contrast ratio of 60,000:1 and 1000 ANSI lumens output at a suggested price of $3000. Also in October.

This new spectroradiometer was brought to my attention by William Phelps, video expert and currently working with Meridian on its digital projectors. A spectroradiometer is a sophisticated test tool used to measure and calibrate video displays (we use the Photo Research PR0650 in much of our testing). This SP-100 from Orb is not a product for the average consumer, but something for the calibration specialist, or well-healed video perfectionist, to know about. Not cheap at about $8000, it's nevertheless less expensive than much of its direct competition. According to Phelps, it compared favorably to a $30,000 Minolta device.

This lucky manufacturer, who shall remain nameless, wins the prize for the most thirst-quenching product at CES. You can use it right away. No boiling or other purification required.