Canon is apparently the latest in a veritable slew of companies jumping off the RPTV ship, according to Japan's Corporate News. While the end of its development of rear projection technology is no surprise at this point, this may bode well for the long, long awaited SED technology. Even with Canon's Hitachi/Panasonic flat panel tie-up, its still working on getting its surface-conduction electron-emitter display to the people, and with the promise of 100,000:1 contrast ratios, we're still hoping they do.

[Via TV Snob]

At the same time as some manufacturers are getting out of the RPTV market, Texas Instruments is continuing to find ways to add legs to their RPTV light engine technology. We don't think anyone would try to argue that front projector setups are going anywhere anytime soon, but RPTVs need some extra features to give them an edge over its thinner competitors. The most intriguing new feature is "3D Ready" and with the correct equipment this feature can enable you to enjoy 3D entertainment at home. DualView also sounds pretty cool, the way it would work is that two gamers could play against each other on the same TV without seeing the same video, but unfortunately they'd have to wear some customized DualView eye-wear. Although these features sound interesting, who knows when they will be a reality, but we have already seen a few new sets featuring at least one of them.

While the rest of the world seems to be bailing on RPTVs, Samsung is using CES to showcase a pair of all new DLP rear-projection sets. Up to bat first is the 61- / 67-inch HL67A750A, and here's a look at what it's packing:

• Next-generation LED light engine: no color wheel, longer set life (30,000 hours)
• Full HD 1080p resolution and 10,000:1 contrast ratio
  
• 3D Ready integration with 3D accessory kit (sold separately)
  
• Four HDMI 1.3 ports with CEC
  
• USB 2.0 socket for PMPs, cameras, etc.
• Single-tuner picture-in-picture (PIP) can display two separate sources without an external tuner

But wait, there's more! Click on through to see it.

Remember how we told you that Sony, like so many others, is quitting the rear-projection TV business? Well, they finally decided to officially announce as much today, stating that come February its three RPTV plants would quit production of the sets and the company would focus its energy henceforth on LCD and OLED (huge surprise there). Don't let the door-of-obsolecense hit your ass on the way out, RPTV.

According to the linked article, the time is right for a consolidation of HD display technologies. Certainly, LCDs look like they're destined to take over direct view displays and move PDPs and RPTVs to the margins. But just because the writing is on the wall doesn't mean it's time to abandon PDP or RPTV technology just yet. We think the market will divide something like: RPTVs for ultimate size-per-dollar; PDPs for high-end quality freaks; and LCDs for everybody else. Multiple technologies in play makes a healthier (if more confusing) market. We remember when our first big-cabinet CRT RPTVs were high-end -- those big cabinets were a market opportunity that in part spurred improvements in plasma displays. And would development of dynamic LED backlighting been so aggressive without PDPs showing superior motion resolution? In the end, judge with your eyes, vote with your dollars and let the market decide when a display technology should be abandoned. Artificially limiting choices is lame; we here in the US-of-A power innovation and progress through competition!

[Image courtesy of The Curious Shopper]

It's unconfirmed at the moment, but we're hearing that Sony is planning to discontinue sales of all rear-projection HDTVs, including its 3LCD and SXRD lines, after current inventories are exhausted to focus on the hot-selling Bravia LCD line. We've been tipped on it twice today and now This Week In Consumer Electronics is reporting that a Sony spokesperson has told them that "We are moving our resources more toward LCD TV, because that's what people really want." It looks like all backorders for the KDSZ70XBR5 are being canceled, as the unit will never be manufactured, and Sony's making a "no promises" effort to fill backorders for the KDF46E3000 and KDS60A3000. The move isn't exactly unprecedented or even all that surprising -- Toshiba, Philips and Hitachi have all stopped producing rear-projection sets, but Sony's SXRDs were still extremely popular and it's strange to see them get dropped just like that. Check the full leaked email we got after the break.

It was around this time last year when we saw RPTV sales hit an unexpected jump, but honestly, we wouldn't read too much into it. Manufacturers are bailing from the aging technology left and right, and even though sales were up 27-percent in October over September (tallying "the highest unit sales since May"), these figures are still "less than half" of what was seen in January. Additionally, 1080p LCDs outsold 1080p plasmas in the 50- to 54-inch arena "by nearly three to one," and research from Pacific Media Associates also discovered that LCDs "made up 80-percent of flat panels sold" in the 26-inches or larger category. Also of note, street prices sunk around 30-percent from the same month a year ago, and while Samsung led the flat-panel market with a nearly 20-percent share, Toshiba's 32-inch 32HL67 was said to be the best seller.

[Image courtesy of NFM]

Not even a full month after Hitachi pulled the plug on its own RPTVs and started looking to sell off its CRT operations, Seiko Epson has come forward and announced that it too will discontinue the production and sales of its rear-projection televisions. Reportedly, the outfit will be refocusing efforts on front projectors, and judging by its installation at CEDIA, we can't say we're shocked to hear it. It should be noted that the firm will "continue its research and development activities for rear-projection models," and moreover, a company spokesman proclaimed that it wasn't totally withdrawing from the rear-projection TV "business" -- whatever that means. Another one bites the dust, we suppose.

[Image courtesy of Astera]

Not even a month after Hitachi announced that it would be axing production and sales of RPTVs in North America, the firm has followed up by stating its intentions to sell its entire stake in a Chinese joint venture that produces CRTs. More specifically, the firm will offload its 25-percent stake in Shenzhen SEG Hitachi Color Display Devices to a local investor for 175 million yuan, or around $24 million. Reportedly, the company will be focusing the newly-freed resources on "growth areas such as plasmas," but that doesn't exactly jive with Hitachi's previous viewpoints on the generally shaky PDP market. Nevertheless, we can't say that we're shocked to hear of this exit, but so long as we're headed onwards and upwards, you won't find us tearing up over the loss.

Hitachi has announced it's stopping production and sales of its LCD- and CRT-based RPTVs in North America. The production facility in Mexico which serves the North American market was actually shut down this summer. While this might not come as much of a surprise to us, this is a sure sign that the average consumer's idea of what a "big screen, HD" TV is has shifted from a monstrous box to a slim flat panel. The torch has been passed, and recent announcements indicate that Hitachi is smitten with the "thin is in" concept as well. We expect to see similar decisions from other manufacturers in the future as LCDs and PDPs continue their roll. There's some nostalgia for the huge behemoths that were our introduction to HDTV, but you really couldn't pay us to go back.

Have you eye on a Syntax-Brillian LCoS? Well, you might want to jump on it a bit quicker now that they are pulling out of the business to concentrate in the crowded LCD market. Syntax-Brillian not only sells these rear-projection sets, but also manufacturers the LCoS microdisplays and light engines.so we aren't clear on how this will affect the rest of the LCoS market, but the RPTV market is shrinking as fast as the flat-panel market is growing. People want thin before size and we're sure that this won't be the last manufacturer calling it quits on the rear projection market.

Just hours after getting wind of Sony's plans to unveil a three-millimeter OLED, Luminoz is claiming that it has "developed a screen that can reduce the depth of a rear projection TV to about 12-centimeters." Apparently, the newfangled screen "eliminates the need of a large mirror that is necessary in the existing rear projection TVs," and as if the space savings weren't spectacular enough, we can also expect increased contrast ratios. Reportedly, the firm is hoping to inject its screen into 65-inch or larger rear projection televisions, and if all goes as planned, commercialization should occur sometime next year.

Large HD displays are a lot less of an eyesore than in the days when CRT RPTV's ruled the roost. But unless you install in-wall speakers, you're still left with speaker cabinets spoiling your floor plan. Q Acoustics is hoping to make the speakers disappear with their QAV lineup, though. These speakers achieve svelteness by using NXT's latest design, the "Balanced Mode Radiator," which rounds out the typically thin sound of NXT's panels by adding a traditional cone driver. Q Acoustics is especially proud of the pictured "soundbar," which puts all three front channels in a single unit that adjusts to span the width of your TV. We're skeptical that 40" of separation between left and right can produce a soundstage, but it does cut down on visual clutter. No word on US availability, but you can pick up a 5.1 set in the UK for £600 ($1200).

[Thanks, dv9r]

A study from technology analysis firm IDC is predicting that annual RPTV sales will sink below 30,000 units over the next 48 months. The market for large, direct view sets was ruled by these displays not long ago -- sales peaked at 3.5 million units in 2004. But increasing competition (in both display size and price) from plasma and especially LCD isn't showing any signs of slowing. Even though we've seen RPTV's making moves in the bigger (and even bigger) and slimmer directions, it will probably only delay the inevitable. But if you're shopping for a bargain, keep an eye on these displays. In terms of dollar-per-square inch, you should be able to score a sweet deal over the coming months. As the article recommends, though, "Just be sure to get that extended warranty!"

They've been showing it off for more than a year, now the latest HDTV to wear the "world's largest" crown is up for retail. On sale starting July with delivery in October, JVC's 110-inch HD-110MH80 will throw a 1080p, rear-projected image right in the comfort of your very own digs. Measuring 3-feet deep and 728-pounds, the new RPTC features JVC's D-ILA technology to achieve that 1920 x 1080 resolution and 5000:1 contrast. Priced at ¥6,400,000 or about $53k when she lands Stateside. Oh, anyone else lovin' the remote in that press picture above?

[Via Impress]