Mitsubishi to ship LaserVue laser TVs in summer

Mitsubishi today committed to the final launch of its LaserVue sets. The world's first production laser-based HDTVs should be available in the summer and will be split into 65-inch and 73-inch screen sizes; by using laser light in place of normal lamps, either screen is much more accurate and can generate 200 percent of the normal NTSC color gamut while also consuming much less power. The 200 watts used by a LaserVue is said to be half that of a same-size LCD and a third that of an equivalent plasma set.

Both screens produce about 500 nits of brightness and take advantage of their greater color depth with support for x.v.Color (greater than 24-bit color) through HDMI 1.3 ports and a 120Hz panel that can compensate for motion artifacts. Either LaserVue is 10 inches deep and just shallow enough to allow for wall mounting.

Exact ship dates and pricing for the sets are unavailable, though Mitsubishi says the 65-inch system will be available first with the larger version coming later.