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Incredible Secrets of the World's Largest Plasma TVfrom Gizmodo: Top by John Mahoney
MeetDorothy. At 150 inches diagonal, she’s the world’s largest plasmascreen and the biggest direct-view TV ever made, built (and named) byPanasonic. We got to play with her recentlyand as you've seen, it was mind-meltingly awesome. Even thoughfirsthand experiences with Dorothy are akin to filling a leaf blowerwith nitrous oxide to jet-huff directly into your brain, Dorothy'sbackstory is almost as incredible, especially when it comes tomanufacturing, shipping and yes, managing all the electricity needed tofire her up. So even though you will absolutely never own one—exceptfor you Giz-reading NBA stars and platinum-selling rappers—the story ofthe world's most advanced television is a thrill, and serves as acrystal ball to the future of all TV. Come, talk to her. She'sintimidating, but it'll be good for you.
Why "Dorothy"?
There are currently five 150-inch Panasonic plasmas in existence—and asixth for CES 2009 is currently being assembled. They’ve been named,appropriately enough, like hurricanes—starting with A and working down.Dorothy’s number 4, hence the D.
Why 150 inches?
It’s all about the upper limits of the manufacturing process. Panelfactories crank out the largest single piece of “mother glass” theypossibly can, so that they can cut more large TVs per pane ofmanufactured glass. The ultimate size of a piece of mother glass islimited by the glass’s strength and uniformity—how large the thing canget without cracking. Panel makers will always be pushing thisboundary, because the more 50-inch TVs you can get out of each singleassembly-line run, the more money you can make on them even if they'reselling at lower prices in stores.
Panasonic’s previous biggest piece of mother glass was 103 inches (remember?),from which four 50-inch plasmas could be cut. Their new manufacturingplant, Amagasaki 5 in Japan, has pushed the max to 150 inches—enoughglass to birth nine 50-inch plasmas. Dorothy’s as big as sheis because she literally swallowed nine TVs. When manufacturing evolvesfurther, creating even larger panes of mother glass, you could seelarger trade-show sets, provided they fit through the convention-centerdoors. 103 inches, how quaint. And look at that lil' 42-incher, looking fit for bathroom viewing only by comparison.
What’s the resolution?
Typically called 4K, it's resolution is 3996x2160. Even though youcould technically call this 2160p, it's important to recognize thatit's four times as tight as 1080p. Think four 1920x1080 panelsVoltroning together to make something that's 8 megapixels, as opposedto the best current TVs' 2 megapixels. The annoying thing is that theindustry went from measuring vertical resolution—720p and 1080p—tohorizontal resolution—2K and 4K. (More on that here.)
Asa result, watching a 1080p Blu-ray disc upscaled on Dorothy is akin towatching a standard-def DVD upscaled on your HDTV. As you can see inthe shot below, the upscaler uses two pixels to render a one-pixel wideline from a test disc. But at Dorothy’s scale, it’s less about spottingcompression artifacts, which are most visible when you’re close enoughto induce nausea anyway. It’s about getting your face blown off.
How’s it stack up to Pioneer’s Kuro, one of the top plasmas in the game?
As far as motion-resolution goes—the all-important ability to maintaincrisp images while they’re in motion on the screen—it's actuallybetter. According to HD Guru Gary Merson (who was more interested inrunning his calibration discs on the 150 than sticking with us for someCounter Strike, God bless ’im), the 150-incher, even as a prototype, scored a resolution of 920 lines on a 1080i signal. Pioneer’s ’08 Kuros,the next best, scored 900. Our bet is that Dorothy can't best the Kuroin the contrast department, but as you can see from all of our shots,it's no slouch. Check out more performance specs in Gary’s 125-TV mega-guide. Below: Gary testing motion resolution.
How much power does she suck down, and at what cost?
Dorothy is addictedto raw electricity—we’re talking two dedicated 15-amp, single-phase,208-volt lines which produce around 3,000 watts on average. Dorothypeaks at around 7,000 watts of direct consumption. Not exactlyEnergyStar.
If I plugged Dorothy in at my apartment (that is,after removing my second-floor balcony door and window and much of theexterior wall while at it, and hiring a crane to bring the TV in),Dorothy’s juice habit would run me around $1.50 per hour of use, atConEd’s current price of 22 cents per kilowatt-hour. So, after rentingthe Godfather Blu-ray set, factor in about $15 more in electricity charges for watching the whole thing.
How much heat does the thing put off?
We were expecting getting close to Dorothy was going to feel likeputting our faces in a toaster oven. Even standard-size Kuros can feela little warm. But surprisingly, up front, the heat was far fromextreme. It very well could be channeled out the back, but we didn’tsee any industrial-grade heat sinks behind her, either, or hear anyfans blowing away. (Note: We're not allowed to show photographs ofDorothy's rear, though we did have a peek.)
How much does she weigh?
Around 1,700 pounds not including the stand. For comparison, an actualMini Cooper with Adam in the driver’s seat weighs about 2,800 pounds.
How does Dorothy get around?
With great care and difficulty. After her inception at Amagasaki 5,Dorothy and her sisters were tested then sent on the trade-showcircuit. Unlike the 103,they’re too big even for wooden crates. All that protects Dorothy andher sisters from the elements are the thin membranes of bubble wrap andStyrofoam wrapped around them, and the tarp draped over the openshipping cage. That’s all. Here's a fun fact: Only two 150-inchers canfit in a single 747 cargo hold at a time.
Although we saw a 150-incher at CES last January, Dorothy’s first trip was to IFA in Berlinthis September. Afterward, she headed for Panasonic’s North American HQin Secaucus, NJ where we got the chance to meet. She’s due to appear onWall Street today (unfortunate timing for the poor girl) for theofficial US debut, then on to trade shows in Dubai, Singapore and HongKong before returning home again to Japan.
Thanks forthe facts, but what was that about a "mind-meltingly awesome"experience again? Any way to demonstrate that, say with a video of Gran Turismo 5's in-car view?
Why yes we can, and we'll throw in the 42-inch steering wheel for free:
There's more where that came from: check out more hands-on 150-inch action here and here. |
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发表于 30-9-2008 21:45:23
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