Laser TV CES Debut Projected

Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America in Irvine, Calif., said it will show a large-screen laser TV at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), to be held in January in Las Vegas January. “It will spawn a new category for the premium end of the market,” Frank DeMartin, vice president for marketing and product development, was quoted in Sunday's New York Times, in which the announcement appeared. So-called laser TV, a display technology based on laser optoelectronics, promises to surpass even phosphor-based SED (surface-conduction electron-emitter display) technology in image quality, being lightweight and (reportedly) costing less than plasma or LED screens; but some say the promise is generated mostly by Arasor, the Australian company that makes an optoelectronic chip that drives laser-based display applications. Coherent Inc., based in Santa Clara, Calif., originally demonstrated laser TV based on its compact, high-power, OPS (optically pumped semiconductor) laser technology more than three years ago. The company said it has provided prototype RGB laser engines to numerous companies that are developing laser displays.