While the current crop of wide-screen LCD and Plasma televisions promise to make home media viewing something more akin to having the cinema right there in your living room, they somehow don’t quite deliver.
Do TVs get ANY sexier that this? Image: Philips.
Granted, an extreme sound system might help drown out any niggling doubts, while devouring copious amounts of popcorn before a flat-screen beast over the 50-inch mark might flatter to deceive, but even that heady mixture can’t truly re-create a genuine cinema experience.
Beyond actually rising from the sofa and physically making a contribution to the Hollywood box office, perhaps consumer electronics giant Philips has just the ‘ticket’ to sate those as-yet unfulfilled cinematic desires.
More pointedly, Philips has recently unveiled its latest 56-inch LCD television, which is aptly titled the Cinema 21:9. Clearly aimed at those looking to engage in more authentic movie-watching practices, Philips is offering up its latest formidable slice of technology as the very first screen created specifically with a 21:9 aspect panel ratio.
Putting all other consumer LCDs to shame when it comes to claiming ‘wide-screen’ capabilities, the TV’s mammoth form factor and 20cm depth still manage to convey a sleek aesthetic when considering the set is bolstered by a gargantuan 56-inch screen and an eye-popping resolution of 2560x1080.
According to an advance preview enjoyed by the lucky folk at Trusted Reviews, the Cinema 21:9 will display typical wide-screen 16:9 ratio content without any intrusive pillar-boxing, although 4:3 content will be restricted by horizontal black bars.
Other contributing elements adding to the enthusiast appeal of the Cinema 21:9 include the Perfect Pixel Engine HD, a new version of Ambilight Spectra, a whopping five HDMI ports for advanced external versatility, CCFL backlighting (what, no LED?), plus connectivity options covering DNLA, Ethernet and Wi-Fi.
While the prospect of glorying in the wonder of movies displayed at 21:9 likely has technophiles drooling onto their keyboards, it’s perhaps worth noting that Philips has said only around 60 percent of current sell-through DVD and Blu-ray discs are equipped with 21:9 support.
According to Philips, the Cinema 21:9 is expected to land in Europe before the close of 2009’s second quarter and the company has reportedly secured a panel production exclusivity deal that will keep its monster screen as a consumer frontrunner until at least the fourth quarter.
A concrete price has not yet been ventured by Philips, although current estimates place the Cinema 21:9 at anywhere between 4,000 and 5,000 GBP.
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