CES: TI's digital TV customers showcase new DLP chipset

Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are the first customers to demonstrate digital televisions using Texas Instruments' new 1080p DLP (digital light processing) chipset, TI announced Thursday at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

The new technology allows rear-projection television makers to move to an even higher level of HD (high-definition) TV image quality, called the 1080p standard, said Pete Van Kessel, a product manager with TI. Most of the early HD TVs feature 720p resolution, which provides excellent picture quality but falls a little short of what 1080p televisions can deliver, he said.

A 1080p television has 1,080 scan lines on each image displayed on the screen. This means that the image can be made sharper, clearer and more detailed. Non-HD TV signals from broadcasters typically have between 500 and 600 scan lines.

The "p" stands for "progressive," and indicates the scanning method used by the television. Progressive-scan televisions refresh the entire image during each refresh cycle, while the other category of HD TV scanning, known as "interlacing" or simply "i," refreshes the odd lines of an image in one sequence and the even lines in a separate refresh. Interlacing scanning can produce flickering images on larger screens.

HD TVs are almost ubiquitous at CES this year. Most major TV vendors, such as Samsung, LG, Toshiba, Sony and Sharp are showing off their latest designs. A wide variety of other companies, including service providers such as satellite TV operator EchoStar Communications and PC companies including Microsoft, Intel, Dell and HP, all are getting behind HD TV on the show floor at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The entire HD TV industry is gradually moving to 1080p because of the impressive image quality provided by the standard, Van Kessel said. Televisions built with 1080p technology have been available in limited quantities, but the goal now is to make 1080p televisions more affordable to consumers, he said. TI and its partners hope to ship 1080p televisions that cost about 10% to 30% more than a 720p television, he said. A 1080p TV currently can cost three times as much as a comparable 720p unit.

New 1080p televisions featuring TI's new chipset are expected to arrive in the U.S. in the first and second quarter, Van Kessel said. TI President and CEO Rich Templeton is expected to provide more details about the chipset during a keynote address to CES attendees on Friday.

TI's chipsets can be found in televisions from seven of the 10 rear-projection HD TV manufacturers, Van Kessel said. The Dallas company's chipsets compete against other digital rear-projection technologies, plasma displays, and liquid crystal display screens.

At last year's CES, Intel announced plans to enter the market for rear-projection televisions, but the company canceled that project in October.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.