Exclusive: Apple Plasma Displays to Rock MWSF (PowerPage.org)

[sw1tcher]

I'm not sure what to think - but Plasma? errr..nah I don't think so. Do people even buy Plasma TVs any more?

LCD is the way to go. I could see a 23 - 30" iHome kind of system. mmm.

Just bought a plasma set 2 months ago... and loving it. Because of their lower prices and better picture quality, plasmas are the kings of flat-panel tvs. And their sales numbers prove it.

 

[angelwatt]

And its only been the rather new plasmas that have gotten better life to them, but I'd still never buy one because they won't last in the market, and though you may work on them its harder to find repair shops for them. And yes like I said between a new LCD and new Plasma the plasma tv will look better, but that changes down the road.

Yeah, it's harder to find servicecenters for Plasmas than LCD's. This is too good, where do you get your material?

By the time, you've "replaced" the cfl in your LCD 6 times, a quality plasma panel will be reaching it's half life.

I hope you reply, I'm sure you have some more great info. for everyone here.

well you're not really worth discussing this with so this all you get, sorry.

 

[hifi4sale]

well you're not really worth discussing this with so this all you get, sorry.

CHECK MATE

 

[sw1tcher]

I thought plasma's sucked and burned out rather fast. and I heard that like no one's making them anymore... supposedly...

These are the typical misconceptions and half-truths people have of plasmas. I don't know where people hear these things, but plasma tvs are better than LCDs because

-- better/sharper picture
-- better black levels
-- better/wider viewing angles
-- brighter picture
-- better color saturation
-- size for size, plasmas are cheaper


As for burn-in... this one point has been greatly exaggerated. Yes, older/early plasmas can suffer from burn-in but only if a static image is left there for extended periods of time (we're talking about hundreds of hours here). But this isn't any different than from your old CRT/tube tv which can also suffer from burn-in. With the newer plasmas, they have improved quite dramatically and the burn-in is virtually non-existent. Plus, many plasma sets now have built-in features to reduce the likelihood of burn-ins such as screen savers or the ability to shift pixels.

And yes, manufacturers are still making plasmas.

 

[runninmac]

Hot DAMN!!!! This would be INSAINE! (ok u get the point im excited). This would be awesome with the year of HD I could hook up my PS3 and just rock out. Even though the price is a little high for a Highschooler who has to pay for technology, wow I just love this idea!

 

[iZoom P5]

As long as it sports the iTunes visualizer and album art, count me in

This would be perfect as I want to start building my home theater system (being that the largest screen I have is this 17" iMac I'm typing on)...complete integration and the only set top boxes I would need are my gaming consoles.


DVR would not be a dealbreaker IF more movie content from iTMS is available AND they were of better quality which would be likely if this rumor were true.

 

[xnu]

It is interesting that Steve has said the tv and computer are separate devices.... something to the effect that you turn your mind off when you watch tv not a computer. But it would be an classic smoke and mirror tactic that Steve often uses. I mean by bypassing the whole ditigal hub pc by making an all in one, kinda makes all those new Microsoft media center PC useless. Combine that with a awesome lineup of portables and ipods Apple effectively could dominate the consumer market.

By embedding OSX into consumer devices its great way to get more users to experience it. MacOSrumors did have an article about how Apple was considering dividing OSX into a consumer and a proffessional version that kinda came out of the blue a couple of weeks ago (i know it really not appropriate to quote that site, but it was just weird)

It might be a really great marketing move since the federal government has mandated that all tv's and transmissons be HD by I think 2008 or 9. There is going to be alot of tvs upgraded in the next five years. It might even explain why for some odd reason Apple never added tv or pvr functions to the iMac as not to tip there hat. If anything its a strategy that merits consideration and one that I don't think anyone has really considered, something Apple is known for. I would buy one.

 

[2nyRiggz]

those are some huge display...damn how big can they go before enough is enough.


Bless

 

[sw1tcher]

OK, I'm no TV expert, but I know a bit:

1. Never, Ever base your quality opinions on a TV while viewing in a superstore. Often they are splitting the same signal between hundreds of TV's..and therefore the quality is rubbish. Often, if you ask - they'll switch it to an individual input or put in a DVD for you.

Also, they tend to jack up the brightness level to give a better picture. Plus, they never set up the sets correctly to begin with. The color, tint, brightness, etc are always off.

2. Plasma screens last a lot less longer than LCDs. That's why manufacturers are now getting picky about guarantees - they know that people are going to come back two years later and complain about burn-in or other problems. they're simply not designed for long life.

This may be true with the early plasmas, but this is simply not true with plasmas that came out within the past couple of years or so. The potential for burn-in has been greatly reduced now that manufacturers are incorporating screen savers or pixel shifting technologies into them.

As for the fading to half brightness thing, that has improved too. Many sets now have a life span of up to 60,000 hours before it drops to half brightness. Even if it was half that (say 30,000 or 40,000 hours) and you watch tv for an average of 7 to 8 hours a day, that's still 12 years away. And the fading to half brightness is gradual too so you really won't notice it. It's not like it's going to drop to half brightness all of a sudden while you're watching tv or anything.

Plus, in 10 years time, you'll probably be shopping for a new set anyways. I know I will be. Funny thing... CRT/tube tvs suffer from this brightness and burn-in issue too, yet I don't hear people complaining about it.

Plasmas have gotten a bad rap for too long. I spent a lot of time researching high def tvs and I eventually decided that a plasma was the best choice.

 

[blueflame]

This is why I always love this site

And why I love apple. The speculation, the building of theories. These aer the fun rumors, the ones that people peice together from like 2 years of almost inconsiquential evidence, to create a whole and wonderful story. This kind of stuff just makes my day, makes reading alot of pages of posts all fun, and great recreation.

well, ive been here a while now, heres my speculation:

I dont think this large size home theatre thing is real. I think this rumor may be more like the boombox that is also rumord. After really thinking about it, i cannot think of any way that a speaker style boombox could be real, what i did come up with is that if they created a new ipod, or portable media player, with wifi access, and something like a searcher, imagine bluetooth discovery mode mixed with wifi and playlists. i can see this happening, peoploe can tune in to what you are listening to, or it CAN be set to randomly pick up other ipod signals, bonjour style i can also see it working as the remote for frontrow, which will be put in all apple computers, as well as an IR port, and isight in all portables.

there we go anyone think this is a possibility?
Andreas

 

[blueflame]

Wow!

It is interesting that Steve has said the tv and computer are separate devices.... something to the effect that you turn your mind off when you watch tv not a computer. But it would be an classic smoke and mirror tactic that Steve often uses. I mean by bypassing the whole ditigal hub pc by making an all in one, kinda makes all those new Microsoft media center PC useless. Combine that with a awesome lineup of portables and ipods Apple effectively could dominate the consumer market.

By embedding OSX into consumer devices its great way to get more users to experience it. MacOSrumors did have an article about how Apple was considering dividing OSX into a consumer and a proffessional version that kinda came out of the blue a couple of weeks ago (i know it really not appropriate to quote that site, but it was just weird)

It might be a really great marketing move since the federal government has mandated that all tv's and transmissons be HD by I think 2008 or 9. There is going to be alot of tvs upgraded in the next five years. It might even explain why for some odd reason Apple never added tv or pvr functions to the iMac as not to tip there hat. If anything its a strategy that merits consideration and one that I don't think anyone has really considered, something Apple is known for. I would buy one.

I say bravo, this is my favorite post ive read so far. wonderful speculation, love it.
this almost makes me belive it makes so mcuh sense
andreas

 

[thejadedmonkey]

- Rumors about Apple making a spin-off company...

Where? I didn't see any!



And about the price...isn't that a bit expensive? I don't know going prices, but my physics teacher just bought a plasma TV (42") for $1900.

 

[narco]

Man, projectors are the way to go. Larger and cheaper than any plasma or LCD I've seen, and you don't have to have some ugly big rectangle on your wall.

That being said, I hope whatever this thing is turns out to be a separate box instead of something integrated with a TV. I can easily see an updated Mac mini doing this, and I can have it projected.

Fishes,
narco.

 

[neocell]

As for the LCD vs plasma debate, all I know is biased crap that I've heard from here and there, but I stumbled across an interesting thread the other day that I found very informative. If you have more questions/debates I would suggest that you PM h0e0h as he indicates he loves what he does and would be happy to help.

Yeah, this would be an awesome system, but something tells me it's a little early for the all in one HDTV 50" system, we don't even have optical drives for HiDef yet, but here's hoping

 

[strange days]

Man, projectors are the way to go. Larger and cheaper than any plasma or LCD I've seen, and you don't have to have some ugly big rectangle on your wall.

That being said, I hope whatever this thing is turns out to be a separate box instead of something integrated with a TV. I can easily see an updated Mac mini doing this, and I can have it projected.

Fishes,
narco.

i got a friend swearing the very same thing but...

...could you please suggest a projector that delivers an image i could use as PC monitor as well as cinema or TV entertainment ?

i mean what are the specs i should be looking for ?

rez ? ANSI ? b/w contrast ratio ? DLP ( or other obscure new standards coming out ) ?

...and above all, it must be SILENT if we're ever to use it in our living room / study so, are there machines that deliver SO much without being noisy ?

As far as this rumor is concerned, i wouldn't be surprised by such a move from Apple; they are known to amaze and be one step beyond ( taking huge risks )...

...but how / when will they ship to Europe considering video content on iMTS is a selling point as well ?

EDIT : OMG looks like the post just before mine ( i was writing this at the same time he posted so i couldn't read it ) point to a link where members are discussing very closely related topics so, sorry for straying far from the path, and welcome to your suggestions here instead :

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/169583/

THANKS NEOCELL !=)

 

[Aldaris]

sorry if this already's been said but...

Have you read the Archives regarding the original iPod rumors... they were met with much speculations and a lot of nay-sayers... and what happened, nothing short of a revolution;

However I don't quite think the whole story is there... any way we'll see Tuesday...

*Note; when is someone gonna submit some bogus pictures of upcoming products... it's just not the same without them.

 

[Timepass]

well there is a reason for plasma bad rap. Laptops for the longest time there monitors where plasma only. It was the only thing they could really use that was then enough and plasma tech has been out for quite a while. Now in those laptops being used there screen would degrade pretty quickly (1/2 being maybe 5 years if not less) but noticible. My laptop screen that is 4 years old has drop quite a bit from when it was new and have very vibrent colors. my dads laptop which is even older is even more noticble. Both are plasma screens. This is where the miss infomation comes from

 

[bretm]

I'm not sure what to think - but Plasma? errr..nah I don't think so. Do people even buy Plasma TVs any more?

LCD is the way to go. I could see a 23 - 30" iHome kind of system. mmm.

They sure as heck do. For one the picture is infinitely better than LCD, with a much better contrast ration. Along the lines of film vs. video.

So, they have a better picture, larger size. What's not to like? Oh, yeah, the bad rap on the life of 'em. I think they've gotten much better.

 

[JRM PowerPod]

This gonna be a mad MACWORLD

HERE IS STEVE'S LINEUP for Monday

Chapter One:
-The iPod
-The Success (sales figures, maket share)
-Then releases new iPod Shuffle

Chapter Two:
-OS X
-World's most advanced operating system
-Releases 10.4.4

Chapter Three: INTEL
- Talks about new alliance
- Talks about Core Solo and Duo and Viiv
- The prospect of a great future
- New iBooks
- 12" and 13.3"Widescreen
- Core Solo
- 2.2cm thick
- 1.66GHZ on both models
- 512mb DDR2
- 40GB and 60GB
- Onboard Graphics(dammit)
- Superdrives on both
- $899 and $1099
7hrs battery life

THEN STEVE BREAKS FOR A MOMENT..... Reaches for his glass of water..... has a few sips...... He then says "what about the PowerBooks"

Core Duo
-3 models
-Decided to keep the 12"
-But all are now Widescreen
12" Widescreen L2400
-Low Power 1.66GHZ Core Duo
-512mb DDR2
-80GIG
-128mb X1400
-SuperDrive
-$1499
-8hrs battery life

-Crowd is startled, Steve moves on

15" Widescreen
-Core Duo T2500 2GHZ
-1GB DDR2
-100GB (upto 160GB)
-128mb X1600 (Option of 256mb)
-Superdrive
-$1999
6 hours battery life

-Then Steve move on to his 'favourite' the new 17"
-Core Duo T2600 2.16GHZ
-1GB DDR2
-120GB
-256mb X1600
-Superdrive
-$2499
7hrs battery life

But they won't ship till mid feb..........
....
...
Crowd charges up onto the stage to steal his PowerBooks
..
...
....

Chapter 4 will be continued at a later date.... lol

 

[RichP]

Hm..im still a bit all over on this rumor. As said, this could user in "Halo Effect Part 2". Apple releases these televisions at the price points discussed, and they are a relative bargain. They are more expensive than some sets (in the 2K range) but cheaper than the only TVs with some nice industrial design, aka Sony. So for just a little more than most of the TVs out there, Joe Consumer gets this added OSX lite/FrontRow stuff built in. The user experience blows Windows Media Edition out of the water.

A few months go by, and Joe Consumer is enlightened. He understands the mac experience. He understands why he is going to pay 1200 for an Imac rather than 600 for a Dell that carries IDENTICAL hardware.

Steve really has to convince people now to switch to apple, especially when the comparison in hardware is going to be Apples to..er..apples.

 

[blueflame]

I dont think this is true

dont you think Apple will develop their own motherboards and things like that. I know intel may actually be producing them, but like the PPC G5 with the dual 1.25ghz, no one else had they, i can image them doing it again
andreas

Hm..im still a bit all over on this rumor. As said, this could user in "Halo Effect Part 2". Apple releases these televisions at the price points discussed, and they are a relative bargain. They are more expensive than some sets (in the 2K range) but cheaper than the only TVs with some nice industrial design, aka Sony. So for just a little more than most of the TVs out there, Joe Consumer gets this added OSX lite/FrontRow stuff built in. The user experience blows Windows Media Edition out of the water.

A few months go by, and Joe Consumer is enlightened. He understands the mac experience. He understands why he is going to pay 1200 for an Imac rather than 600 for a Dell that carries IDENTICAL hardware.

Steve really has to convince people now to switch to apple, especially when the comparison in hardware is going to be Apples to..er..apples.

 

[EricNau]

I heard Sony is no longer make Plasma tv becoz it is not reliable and it doesn't last that long. They are only making LCD now...Why would Apple makes jump in to Plasma?

Sony left the plasma market because they could not remain competitive from a price standpoint. They are refocusing energy on LCD with a multi-billion dollar joint venture with Samsung.

Sony never made Plasma TV's, they were manufactured by another company. (at one point Pioneer, then later I heard Samsung)

As for LCD's, I'm not sure if Sony actually makes them either...

 

[xnu]

Think of the size of the tv market. Really think of it. Imagine just a small percentage of that market and the fact that everyone will either have to buy a new TV or a converter box when everything is in HD in 3 years.

Xbox, playstation, settop boxes, tivo, cable boxes would all become a duplication of what is already in the TV (dvd, blue-ray, dvr, teleconfercing in internet phone). Sure gaming devices may still be popular, but what really is the size of the market of game units compare to actual TV's. Everyone has multiple TV's, only a small portion of population have game systems. When your gaming system looks best in HD on a 42" or 50" plasma, the gaming system becomes a minor accessory, the market is the TV. (granted not everyone is going to buy 3 plasma TV's, but it would be easy to sell dumb monitors that conect to your digital hub in teh living room) It may be the only way to get around the control of the cable companies, literally an internet TV. Sony and Microsoft can fight it out over the gaming systems let the Mac rule the Smart TV market.

How better to expand Mac market share then by creating a whole new market of millions of units sold each year. While Microsoft fights with Sony, Google and IBM, Apple takes over the living room and becomes the defacto standard by selling tons of hardware, MacOS is spread all over, and in the process creating hardware lock on DRM in video consumption.

This is one rumor that is really profound. If it is fake, it just makes you think of what the TV could become.

 

[p0intblank]

I don't really see this happening... it sounds far-fetched.

 

[macidiot]

i got a friend swearing the very same thing but...

...could you please suggest a projector that delivers an image i could use as PC monitor as well as cinema or TV entertainment ?

i mean what are the specs i should be looking for ?

rez ? ANSI ? b/w contrast ratio ? DLP ( or other obscure new standards coming out ) ?

...and above all, it must be SILENT if we're ever to use it in our living room / study so, are there machines that deliver SO much without being noisy ?

As far as this rumor is concerned, i wouldn't be surprised by such a move from Apple; they are known to amaze and be one step beyond ( taking huge risks )...

...but how / when will they ship to Europe considering video content on iMTS is a selling point as well ?

EDIT : OMG looks like the post just before mine ( i was writing this at the same time he posted so i couldn't read it ) point to a link where members are discussing very closely related topics so, sorry for straying far from the path, and welcome to your suggestions here instead :

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/169583/

THANKS NEOCELL !=)

Virtually all front projectors are either lcd or dlp, with a few lcos around. Same goes with rear projectors, but with a lot more lcos available. Lcos, or liquid crystal on silicon, to me, seems to be the best technology. Seems that the only reason it isn't dominant yet is due to production problems (low yields).

I have a friend that has been using an lcos (I believe) front projector for his computer for a few years. Its a weird resolution, that required some tweaking to get working properly. However, it does work. Then again, the projector was more than 5k at the time, and has probably spent another 2-3k on various other things to get it working.

I'm not sure if your referring to front projectors or rear. But if your talking about rear, they are pretty silent. Definitely fine for a living room.

Personally, unless you have a lot of money and a lot of space and a lot of time for installation(if you can do it yourself, otherwise prepare to spend a lot of money on a professional installer), rear projection is the way to go. You can buy a 60+ inch 1920x1080 lcos or dlp set for well under 10k (around 5-7k I think). Good luck finding a front projector with that resolution for under 10k. Oh and throw in several hundred(at least) for a decent screen with high gain.

Also, don't plan on having the lights on or daylight coming through a window while you use a front projector. While they have improved a lot in lumens, they still work best in a darkened room.