When Mitsubishi admitted that it was holding hands with NVIDIA and Aspen Media for no other reason than to prove that they all three hearted 3D, we must say, we were miffed. Now, however, it seems that plans are finally coming to light, and everything is starting to make a whole lot more sense. Reportedly, the three firms are gearing up to showcase how well they can work together to produce eye-pleasing 3D PC gaming results in select retail outlets this July. At first, none of the components will be sold together per se, but bundle deals are definitely in the works. Whether or not budding PC gamers are ready to switch to a DLP-based HDTV as their primary monitor, however, remains to be seen.

If you're a lazy ass consumer (the very best kind), bent on pulling a device out of the box, plugging it into a wall, and never messing with another bit of "setup" again, you're certainly not alone. In fact, most folks never lift a finger to calibrate their displays, plug better speakers in, or place those speakers in actually advantageous spots. To that end, Mitsubishi is debuting its new LT-46149 and LT-52149 LCDs with integrated 16-speaker sound projectors. Similar to the sound bars offered up by many home audio manufacturers, the "Integrated Sound Projector" (iSP) is designed to bounce sound off walls and around the room to give the illusion of surround sound. The perk of TV integration is an easy to use room configuration on-screen tool to specify your room's dimensions, couch placement and preferred sweet spot size. At the end of the day, your sound is all coming from one spot, so directionality isn't going to quite match a for-realsie surround sound setup, and the system we listened to was a little sharp in the high end, but it's certainly a unique and appealing offering from Mitsu to the everyman TV watcher. The TV itself is CableCard ready, can support sound over HDMI and PCM inputs, and offers Mitsu's 120Hz film dejuddering -- that rather awkwardly makes your favorite films look like they were shot by a TV news crew. The 46-inch and 52-inch LCDs will sell for $3,299 and $3,699, respectively.

We got a first glimpse of Mitsubishi's brand new rear-projection-ish laser-based TV tech, LaserVue, back at CES, but now the sets are just about primed for action, and should be hitting store shelves, as previously noted, Q3 2008. LaserVue will debut in 65-inch and 73-inch, with the 65-inch version hitting the scene first. Mitsubishi is still pretty coy about what exactly makes the technology tick -- other than the "zomg, lasers" aspect -- but is quick to point out the 200 percent color gamut that LaserVue provides, more than twice that of most traditional HDTVs. The sets also run at 120Hz, and boast 500 nits of brightness. Head to head against LCD and plasma sets we had trouble finding the differences, other than the color depth (particularly in the reds, almost too much so, though we're sure you can tweak that). Have no fear: the blacks are black, the brights are bright, and the viewing angle puts DLP to shame. That said, we're hearing price points are going to be more comparable to plasma and LCD than DLP, so Mitsubishi might have its work cut out for it in convincing consumers that these new "chubby," 10-inch thick TVs are the way to go. We're not entirely convinced ourselves, though one aspect can't be disputed: LaserVue draws under 200 watts, about half that of LCD and a third of plasma.

Neither Mitsubishi, NVIDIA nor Aspen Media are members of the recently formed 3D@Home Consortium, but that's not stopping the trio from teaming up in order to bring the third-dimension into the home. In a rather vague release issued today, the three companies are seemingly coming together in order deliver "high-value 3D content to the consumer at home in one convenient package." What exactly is in that package remains to be seen. From what we can glean, Aspen will be providing the Aspen Media Server, which will in turn possess one of NVIDIA's 3D-capable GeForce FX Go GPUs. From there, we'd bet Mitsubishi throws in an HDTV to seal the deal. C'mon you guys, throw us a bone here, will ya?

We've got good news and bad news. We'll go ahead and get the latter out of the way. Mitsubishi, like everyone else today, is introducing a few new projectors, two of which you'll likely care nothing about. Those are the education-focused XD500U-ST -- which packs a paltry XGA (1,024 x 768) resolution -- and the slightly less mind-numbing XD530U, which touts 3,000 lumens, an XGA resolution and wireless capabilities. Now, for the good stuff. The HC4900 (pictured) is being replaced by the 1080p HC5500, which is designed to operate at just 19dB in order to keep home theater enthusiasts smiling. Unfortunately, Mitsu hasn't seen fit to disclose pricing / availability details just yet (outside of the tempting $2,495 sticker on the HC5500), but hopefully all of that will come in due time. Full release after the jump.

Mitsu's 1080p HC6000 floated over to this side of the world a good while back, but for those who lost track of this ultra-quiet HD beamer, we figured it prudent to pass along a respectable review over at Sound & Vision. After popping in an HD DVD (we know, right?), reviewers found that the unit delivered "almost window-like clarity," and the color was deemed "consistently vibrant." Those looking for deep blacks will also be impressed here, and it even managed to handle upconverted DVDs like a champ. Just as advertised, the HC6000 was found to be "dead quiet," and seemed to be a real winner overall -- particularly for the price. Check out the full review in the read link below.

Talk about product overlap: just over a month ago, Mitsubishi introduced its XD500U, boasting a pixel count of 1,024 x 768 and brightness of 2,200-lumens. Now say "hello" to the XD211U, with the same pixel count, brightness, and BrilliantColor specs. The XD211U weighs in at 0.5-pounds lighter and does boast a new DDP 2230 TI microarray, however. The theft-deterrent security hook will protect the $1595 beamer from any grabby hands around the office or classroom. The projector might be secure, but you know some deadbeat is going to make off with the detachable keypad and render this thing unusable -- better order a spare keypad right up front.

[Via AboutProjectors]

Mitsubishi and the onset of Spring can only mean one thing: an onslaught of HDTVs. Just as it did last year, the aforementioned outfit is busting out a plethora of high-definition sets to whet your appetite. As for the new line of April-bound DLPs ($1,799 to $4,699), you can expect the entire lot -- which ranges from 60- to 73-inches in size -- to sport 1080p panels, thinner frames than those on prior models, increased brightness, Mitsu's own 6-Color Processor and 3D-readiness.

Moving on, we've got the new family of Ultra Thin Frame 1080p LCD HDTVs ($2,499 to $4,499; shipping in May), which span between 40- and 52-inches and feature low-profile speakers, Smooth 120Hz Film Motion / GalleryPlayer technology, 10-bit panels, 6-Color Processor, x.v.Color and Deep Color. For these and the DLPs, those who opt for the Diamond series will be treated to Variable Smooth 120Hz Film Motion technology, a DeepField Imager and an oh-so-desirable blue light accent.

Lastly, the Laser TV which made its debut at CES 2008 is on track for a Q3 release, and just as predicted, it'll be going by the name LaserVue and sporting a currently undisclosed price tag. Hit the read link for the full breakdown.

Pretty amazing what passes as a "business and education projector" these days, huh? The fairly well-spec'd WL6700U is somehow lumped into the aforementioned category, despite it packing a respectable WXGA (1,366 x 800) resolution, 5,000 ANSI lumens, 1,000:1 contrast ratio and a trio of 1.2-inch 3LCD inorganic panels. To be fair, Mitsu does concede that this beamer wouldn't be too out of place in a home theater environment, and the included DVI port, RJ-45 connector (for online management and control) and built-in motion-sensitive anti-theft alarm certainly help prove that point. Unfortunately, such a versatile PJ will likely fit better on the company card than the personal -- unless your Platinum piece isn't fazed by the $9,995 sticker, that is.

When the New York Yankees kick off their 2009 MLB season next April in the new Yankee Stadium (hopefully without being rained out Opening Day), they'll do it under a Mitsubishi Diamond Vision high definition video scoreboard. In what it's calling the first HD display in MLB to use its high-density AVL-ODQ8 LED display technology, Mitsubishi is upgrading the Diamond Vision board at the current Yankee Stadium, to a 5,925 square-foot 1080x1920 display measuring 100.79 feet wide and 58.79 feet tall. Sure the Royals might have a few more feet of HD, and the Mets have plenty of HD too, but we think Yankees fans won't have a problem with the team's latest high priced signing.

Those on the hunt for a PJ for your kids' room (you know, one you can "borrow" and relocate to the garage) can toss a glance at three new ones from Mitsubishi. The first of the 500 series is the XD500U, which touts an XGA resolution, 2,200 lumens, six-segment color wheel, 2,000:1 contrast ratio and a top-loading lamp. As for the XD510U, it retains the same 1,024 x 768 resolution but climbs to 2,600 lumens, while the SD510U offers up 2,200 lumens, a SVGA (800 x 600) resolution and a slightly lower price tag. The trio of DLP beamers are set to ship this month starting at $995.

[Via AboutProjectors]

While BD-Live got the majority of the attention in the PlayStation 3's 2.20 firmware update, it appears Sony has made another important addition by implementing support for cheaper organic dye-based LTH (Low to High) Blu-ray recordable discs. These version 1.2 BD-R's, announced back in September, are manufactured with a different process that allows plants to upgrade CD and DVD equipment more easily. Existing Blu-ray players can't read the discs, which debuted in Japan last month, without a firmware update. Sony Japan's upgrade web site notes the new support, confirmed by AV Watch; although it went unmentioned in U.S. press materials, we'd assume the upgrade made it over here for any of those looking to burn (slightly) cheaper Blu discs.


[Via Engadget Japanese]

Given the last time we heard that GalleryPlayer was sinking its teeth into a major television brand was nearly two years ago, we're a tad surprised to see it actually attempting to sashay back into the limelight. Nevertheless, the company that aims to deliver "rights-protected" imagery to your HDTV when not tuning into HD programming, HD gaming or HD movies (um, and this is when, exactly?) has inked a new deal with Mitsubishi. Reportedly, the partnership will enable GalleryPlayer to embed its proprietary technology in 2008 Mitsu HDTV models launching this Spring, giving owners the ability to purchase and display 1080p art galleries from its expansive library. Still, we'd rather snap up a DSLR of our own and toss up a slideshow to be really proud of, but to each his / her own.

News about Mitsubishi's laser TV may be short on specs and specifics, but it's already got plenty of naming options. Following up on earlier nomenclature rumors pointing towards LAZRTV, an anonymous tipster gave the heads up of yet another filing, dated January 24, attributed to Mitsubishi and attorney Ronald L. Taylor: LASERVUE. As far as we know, Motorola hasn't beaten them to the punch on this one, so maybe it will stick. According to the tip, an official announcement could be due the first week of April, so at least we'll have something to look forward to when our NCAA tournament brackets have long been torn up and discarded.

Toshiba was first to score a high def recorder capable of stuffing HD content onto your choice of hard disk, blue-laser disc, or standard DVD. However, its HD Rec solution suffers from one little problem: the recently deceased HD DVD format. Now Mitsubishi steps into the void with a pair of 500GB DVR-BZ200 and 250GB DVR-BZ200 Blu-ray recorders. Both feature support for Blu-ray's AVCREC specification allowing them to record about 2 hours of Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) content in MPEG4 AVC/H.264 format direct to standard 4.7GB DVDs. That's about 8 hours to a single-sided Blu-ray disc. Now the catch, the standard is limited to ISDB broadcasts making this a Japan-only solution for the time being. Nevertheless, we expect to see more AVCREC capable devices including camcorders and PC optical drives as the standard prepares for take off. Damn you ATSC!

[Via Akihabara News and Impress]