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 October 1, 2006 High-Def Video’s Holy Grail Makes Its Mark at CEDIA Expo ‘06 No one announced it, but everyone knew it was coming. The 1080p standard, a non-interlaced video image made up of 1080 vertical pixels by 1920 horizontal, is considered by many to be the Holy Grail of high-definition video, at least for now. But until last month’s CEDIA Expo in Denver, you had to hunt high and low to find it, as few manufacturers offered true 1080p displays, so few stores sold them. Now they're everywhere. At CEDIA, Fujitsu, JVC, Panasonic, Samsung, Sony and many others showed 1080p-capable displays, most 50" diagonally across and larger, but some, like the entry-level LCD-based model in Fujitsu’s Aviamo series, started at a scant 37". Regardless of the size or technology, all of the 1080p displays looked stunning, which is why every major manufacturer is now touting 1080p, and every consumer is going to want to buy a monitor or projector capable of displaying it. The problem is, the software’s not really there, and neither are the players -- at least right now. The fly in the ointment of it all is the format war that’s brewing between HD DVD and Blu-ray -- 1080p-capable high-definition formats being championed by competing companies. It’s still too early to know which one will win -- way too early. Toshiba has already released two HD DVD players, but both of them output only 1080i (1080i has 1080 x 1920 pixels, but the image is interlaced; progressive scan (p) yields a superior image to interlacing (i)). On the other hand, Samsung has released the BD-P1000, the first Blu-ray player on the market, and it does do 1080p. However, Sony, the developer of Blu-ray, doesn’t have a player on the market yet, and they haven’t really ambushed consumers with powerhouse marketing either. Therefore, players haven’t exactly been flying off the shelves and consumers haven’t had all that much exposure to true 1080p high-definition video. But, based on what I saw at CEDIA, that will all change starting this month, providing retailers also start stocking the software in reasonable quantities. Sony’s first Blu-ray player, the $999 BDP-S1, should hit the shelves soon. More important, the new Blu-ray-equipped PlayStation 3 that will be released in November will probably be what propels the format into the mainstream. These units will all output 1080p. Toshiba also showed their second generation of HD DVD players, including the $999 HD-XA2, a unit that will do 1080p. Other manufacturers will certainly be following suit. Still, whatever software format ends up reigning supreme, 1080p is 1080p whether you get it from an HD DVD or a Blu-ray player. If you’ve been thinking about buying a new display, whether it’s a flat-screen monitor or a projector, right now is a great time to start shopping. ...Doug Schneider
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