Plasma TV Reviews Guide

Plasma TV Reviews, Best Plasma Televisions - ConsumerSearch

Reviews and lab reports on plasma TVs, identifying the top six plasma sets that consistently deliver the best image quality.

Evolution of PCs to TVs

January 23 2004--It seems like every time you open a tech news article these days, there is yet another PC manufacturer jumping into the big screen HDTV industry. First, it was Gateway that announced its new 42-inch Plasma TV in the third quarter of 2003 at $2999, shaking up the holiday buying season. Analysts were skeptical that a PC manufacturer would even consider making the switch to start producing televisions. Although there were many missteps, Gateway’s first plasma proved to be a success - such a success that other companies have decided to get a piece of the “highly profitable” pie.

Dell and HP both announced their plans to jump into the television market recently. In the third quarter of 2003, Dell launched its LCD televisions in an attempt to give Gateway and other white-box manufacturers a run for their money, and currently offers 17-inch, 23-inch and 30-inch LCD televisions. HP announced its digital entertainment strategy at the 2004 Consumer Electronics Show and previewed its new 30-inch LCD TV and 42-inch Plasma Display; both are scheduled to launch in June. Even Epson America, known primarily for its printers and media accessories, announced its big-screen LCD projection TV with a built-in color photo printer. What will manufacturers come up with next?

So what is all the fuss about?

The outlook for Digital TV (DTV) looks promising. In 2003, total DTV shipments grew by 41 percent and collective revenues for LCD and Plasma TVs increased by 180 percent. The category is expected to grow another 33 percent in 2004 to $8 billion; a large part of this growth is expected to come from the LCD and Plasma category. Additionally, the Digital Direct View and Rear Projection (RP) TV market is expected to increase by 17 percent.

As sales and competition increase, the average unit price (AUP) is expected to drop for Plasma and RPTVs. RPTVs are anticipated to drop by six percent to $1,376 and Plasma TVs by 12 percent to $4,047.

However, these projections were all made before Intel stepped into the industry and announced its plans to produce its proprietary chip utilizing LCOS (liquid crystal on silicon), which could cause a tremendous impact.

Intel Initiatives

At CES last week, Intel announced its plans for the new era of consumer electronics basing its product strategy on the vision of, “any time, any where, any device” in the home. For manufacturers, Intel wants to create value, a lower cost structure and faster time-to-market technology. Ultimately, Intel’s entry into the market creates a choice for chipsets for those manufacturers producing RPTVs -- Texas Instrument’s (TI) DLP™ (digital light projection) or LCOS.

Because the TI chip is one of the most expensive components in RPTVs, manufacturers now have more leveraging power that will assist them in driving costs down. In the end, these savings should be passed along to the consumer and Intel predicts that a 50-inch RPTV in fourth quarter of 2004 will be less than $1800. To put this in perspective, Samsung’s 50-inch wide screen HD-Ready DLP-Projection TV w/ DVI Input & 2-Tuner PIP currently sells for $3999 at Best Buy.

So which is better - DLP or LCOS?

There are two distinct chips for big screen RPTVs: DLP™ and LCOS technology. A majority of RPTVs on the market today utilize DLP™ chips, a proprietary technology from TI. DLP™ is a reflective surface made up of microscopic mirrors that tilt either toward the light source or away from it - creating a light or dark pixel on the projection surface. To define color, a color wheel filters the light into red, green, and blue.

And although many manufacturers are utilizing this chip, there are limitations. There are restrictions on the size of the TVs based on the movement of the mirrors and some consumers complain of seeing a “rainbow” effect on the screen from the color wheel.

Intel’s LCOS technology, code named “Cayley,” adds a liquid crystal layer between the cover glass and a reflective surface that sits on top of a silicon chip. The layers form a microdisplay with a higher pixel density than DLP resulting in a superior quality picture, claims Intel. Additionally, the chip will be scalable so it can be modified and reused for next generation TVs resulting in additional savings for manufacturers.

So who is going to make it through the storm?

Those PC companies with strong relationships with Intel stand to win in this increasingly competitive market. The industry has seen what Intel has done for PCs by consolidating chips to drive costs down, and the same is on the verge of happening with televisions. By consolidating the technology onto one chip, manufacturers can now get everything they need from one supplier resulting in a reduction of overall build of materials (BOM).

Faster time-to-market will be critical in this era of consumer electronic devices and as consumers, we demand instant gratification. We do not want to wait another 12 months for the next 80-inch Plasma TV to launch. Additionally, we are looking for reliability, durability, and ease of use with a good price in consumer electronics. All of which Intel claims it can provide with the new chip.

The TV industry will be changing significantly in the upcoming year. With the introduction of new RPTVs at significant cost savings and a plethora of manufacturers jumping into the market, the consumers will be bombarded with options for televisions. The manufacturers with strong relationships with Intel are predicted to come out on top and the others will be just a splash in the pan.



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Ongoing Gas Plasma Antenna Technology Research Could Revolutionize Radar Designs

By Anonymous

Ongoing Gas Plasma Antenna Technology Research Could
Revolutionize Radar Designs


RIDGEFIELD, Conn. May 22, 2003 - Markland Technologies, Inc. (OTC: MKLD - News), (www.marklandtech.com) ongoing US government funded research efforts led by its team of top plasma physicists has the potential to revolutionize radar design concepts employed by the military.

To date research has demonstrated that this new antenna design concept offers unique advantages over traditional metal antennas, which hereto fore have not been found elsewhere in radar antenna design. These unique, demonstrated benefits of a gas plasma antenna make it very attractive in military applications such as: Naval Surface Ship and Submarine Radar, Stealth Aircraft Radar and Ballistic Missile Defense Radar Antennas.

These advantages include:

·    Stealth - When de-ionized, a plasma antenna will not backscatter radar waves nor will it absorb high power microwave radiation, which reduces the effects of electronic warfare counter measures.

·    Flexibility for numerous signal types - Dynamically re-configurable characteristics such as bandwidth, frequency, gain and directivity.

·    Portability for remote deployments - Much more compact and lightweight designs than          those offered by conventional antenna designs.

·    Greater Efficiency - Significantly reduces ringing effects, which allow for improvements in short pulse radar performance.

Traditional radar antenna design in its most common form employs a conducting metal surface that is sized to emit radiation at one or more selected frequencies. A plasma antenna design employs ionized gas, which is contained within an enclosure. When the gas is electrically charged or ionized to a plasma state it becomes conductive allowing radio frequency signals to be transmitted or received.

To date research has been funded by all three US Military Services and is ongoing. The company believes that its plasma antenna technology will give the military expanded capabilities.

Along with completing the existing research contracts, the company has submitted additional follow on research contract proposals. Markland is actively pursuing a major Department of Defense contractor as a teaming partner to help accelerate adoption of the technology.





About Markland Technologies

Markland Technologies is committed to helping secure America by providing innovative emerging technologies and expert services to meet the country's needs to protect our people, our borders and our infrastructure assets.

The Company is a member of the Homeland Security Industries Association http://www.hsianet.org.

"Forward-Looking Statements"
Investors are cautioned that certain statements contained in this document as well as some statements in press releases and some oral statements of Markland Technologies officials during presentations about Markland Technologies, are "forward-looking statements” as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements which are predictive in nature, which depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, which include words such as "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "plans", "believes", "estimates", or similar expressions.
In addition, any statements concerning future financial performance (including future revenues, earnings or growth rates), ongoing business strategies or prospects, and possible future actions, which may be provided by management, are also forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based upon current expectations and projections about future events and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions about Markland Technologies, its products, economic and market factors and the industries in which Markland Technologies does business, among other things. Some of the factors that could significantly impact the forward-looking statements in this document and other communications of Markland Technologies include, but are not limited to: insufficient cash flow to continue to fund the development and marketing of the Company's products and technologies; rejection of the Company's products and technologies by the marketplace; and disputes as to the Company's intellectual property rights. More detailed information about those factors is contained in Markland Technologies filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and Markland Technologies has no specific intention to update these statements.

For full details, click here: http://www.investorideas.com/Companies/MarklandTech/NewsReleases.asp

Contact:
Markland Technologies, Inc., Ridgefield
by
ECON Investor Relations, Inc.
Dawn Van Zant, 866/730 -1151
dvanzant@investorideas.com

Source: Markland Technologies, Inc.





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Plasma TV Website to Only Sell Tested Products

By Anonymous

August 18, 2004 -- In a space where profit margins are everything, www.Axandriatvs.com really sets themselves a part. They are only selling tv's that they have tested, shipped, hooked up, and watched a movie on. It is very refreshing to know that these guys care about the product that is going out. www.axandriatvs.com offers named brand plasma televisions at a fraction of what you would pay at an electronics store.

Misleading buyers is another problem with buying tv's online. First let us say that there are a lot of very legitimate websites out there that can save you a lot of money on buying a Plasma TV. We just thought you should know that there are a lot of companies out there that have amazingly low prices on some TV's, and we just want to equip you with the right question's to ask before you buy:

1. Is the TV brand new or factory refurbished. AxandriaTVs.com sells only brand new Plasma Televisions.
2. Are you getting a warranty. Settle for no less than a 1-2 year warranty.
3. If you are not satisfied with your purchase, do they give you a grace period to return it? They should! We offer you a 30 day money back guarantee.
4. Do they let you pay with credit card? If they only offer check / money order, I would watch out. This is a big red flag for scam! Using a credit card is your only real protection!

We do not offer hundreds of different TV's. We simply offer the ones with the highest quality, at the best price. Remember, all our TV's come with a 1-2 year warranty and a 30 day unconditional money back guarantee! So know that whatever you choose to buy with us, your purchase is guaranteed.




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