Mitsubishi to Push Laser Rear Projector

Mitsubishi said it has developed yet another HD technological choice, of sorts, for consumers to contend with--a rear projection unit that uses a laser as its light source instead of a mercury lamp. The manufacturer maintains that the laser-based technology provides a higher picture quality than either LCD or plasma.

Technically, light emitted from a semi-conductor laser is divided into the typical red, blue and green, with enough robustness to represent video images with a color variety nearly two times greater than LCD units. In published reports, Mitsubishi gave no hint as to possible price points for the laser units (although further details on the laser project are anticipated for NAB2006 in April).

By the way, the laser development is not to be confused with SED (surface-conduction electron-emitter display). Canon and Toshiba had announced a joint agreement a while ago, calling for the development and production of SED flat-panel sets.