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Newlaunches: When we think of buying a home theatre system what exactly do we picture? a few towers speakers or maybe stylish stands and a subwoofer and some more pieces of technology strewn here and there in our living room.

But then, not all of us who can afford those jumbo entertainment systems or live in houses large enough to accommodate all the equipment.

The Philips One Piece DVD Home Theater System showcased at CES 2007 is the solution to the problems of such. Providing all the assets that home theatres provide, in a single unit (save the independent subwoofer), it includes a DVD player with a HDMI output and a 1080p upconversion. It provides mind blowing surround sound with Sonowave speakers (that are conveniently in-built).

The Philips One Piece DVD Home Theatre system is brilliantly sleek to look at and is blessed with a very futuristic styling and finish.
A very covetable piece indeed but then there hasn’t been much say about pricing and the date of release. So let the desire to own this one burn on and on (or at least till the system makes its grand entry into our markets).

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T3: This stylish unit boasts more bells and whistles than a Notre Dame May day parade. Look at the spec: HDMI output with video upscaling, a 6.1-channel surround sound set-up and wireless – yes, wireless! – rear speakers.

The Philips HTS9800W system boasts flat-panel speakers, a compact, wall-mountable main unit with blue-tinted, touch-sensitive controls and a slot DVD drive. It’s reminiscent of the sort of thing you’d get from Bang & Olufsen a few years ago, basically – reassuringly expensive-looking.

Pros: Rock-solid video and 6.1 audio performance, Modish looks, Rear speakers are wireless
Cons: No digital audio input, Multiple cables to the main unit “hub” look messy
Verdict: Cool performance, even cooler design… and not too expensive either (600.00 GBP, about 900 euro).

Performance is impressive. The 6.1 speaker configuration gives you an extra rear-centre channel (which either works independently, with DTS ES or Dolby Digital EX discs, or belts out a mix of the rear left and rights). As a result, the sea battle in Pirates of the Caribbean turns into a cacophony of shivering timbers, screaming shipmates and cannons booming at you from all sides.

The system also plays Super Audio CDs and can “upconvert” normal CDs as well. It’s not going to have audiophiles trembling in their polo necks, but September by Earth, Wind and Fire sounds undeniably firey (and windy and earthy).

Using the HDMI output, DVDs can be upscaled to 720p or 1080i resolutions. It’s a detailed but noise-free image – even misty scenes look smooth in Pirates – and a big improvement over RGB Scart.

Our only gripes are the lack of a digital audio input and the slightly complicated cabling for the main unit and subwoofer. Other than that, it’s a fantastically versatile and smart-looking system, well worth its asking price (600.00 GBP, about 900 euro).

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Engadget: Not that it should come as any surprise, but most manufacturers don’t give a shiznit ’bout those laser TVs. Yeah, despite all the blow-harding by Novalux’s C-levels about laser TVs supplanting plasmas, most big panel manufacturers have no plans to bring laser TV technology to market anytime soon. See, much of the laser TV hype is coming from Australia’s own Arasor — the company behind the optoelectronic chip central to the laser projection device — so the Sydney Morning Herald went ahead and contacted Fujitsu, Pioneer, Samsung and Philips to get the poop. Just like we expected, none of them have any immediate plans to incorporate laser TV into their product lines, having already made significant investments in plasma and LCD.

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Heise: the Dutch electronics group Philips was able to more than triple its net earnings in the third quarter. Whereas group net income in Q3 2005 was 1.4 billion euros, the equivalent figure for Q3 2006 is 4.2 billion euros.
However, Philips’ net earnings were boosted significantly by the sale of its Semiconductors division to KKR, an investment company. Without this one-off injection of cash Philips’ net income from its continuing operations amounted to a mere one million euros. (…)
Philips’ Consumer Electronics division, on the other hand, took a beating: its sales shrank by 5 percent and its operating income plunged q-on-q from 164 to 54 million euros. In addition the poor showing of the LCD joint venture LG.Philips LCD put a dent in the group’s Q3 balance sheet.

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JCN Network: Following yesterday’s news that joint venture LG.Philips LCD faced one of industry’s biggest losses this quarter, Toshiba has announced that that it would make an equity investment in LG.Philips LCD Poland (LPLWR).  Toshiba will invest approximately 5.5 billion yen, giving it a stake approaching 20% of its equity.

Toshiba is reinforcing its European TV operations with Toshiba Television Central Europe (TTCE), a new LCD TV production and sales company in Kobierzyce, near Wroclaw in southwest Poland.

TTCE was established in September 2006 and will begin operation in August 2007 on a site adjacent to LPLWR.

Toshiba’s investment in LPLWR will allow the company to secure long-term, stable procurement of LCD panels at competitive prices and with efficient supply logistics.

Demand for LCD TV is growing fast in Europe, and Toshiba targets total European production of some three million units by fiscal year 2009 at two manufacturing sites, TTCE and Toshiba Information Systems in the UK.

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Bloomberg:  LG.Philips LCD Co., the world’s second biggest liquid-crystal display maker, may report the industry’s heaviest loss for a second straight quarter, underscoring the company’s failed strategy of focusing on LCD TV sales.

The third-quarter net loss was 301 billion won (€252 million), according to the median estimate of 10 analysts in a Bloomberg survey.

Chief Executive Officer Koo Bon Joon, is paying for focusing on the production of TV panels, whose prices have fallen more than those of computer screens after demand failed to live up to expectations.

LG.Philips, the first major LCD maker to disclose earnings when it reports tomorrow, must broaden its customer base to revive earnings, investor Song In Ho said.

LG.Philips LCD’s stock has fallen 29 percent in the past six months, the worst performer of the industry’s five largest producers.

The company formed in 1999 as a joint venture between between LG and Philips.

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Philips unveiled new and innovative concepts based on its ‘sense and simplicity’ brand positioning at the 2006 Simplicity Event (2-5 October). One remarkable concept in particular struck our eye…

Philips press release: The amBX™ immersive gaming experience – makes it easy for gamers to bring their gaming environment into the real world. Through a simple USB connection the game’s special effects really come to life with light, color, and the rumblings of thunder and even wind, all natural elements from the game being played. It’s a truly immersive experience that will transform gamers forever. amBX is a new licensing technology in a series of hardware devices for PC games that work alone or in combination with each other. They are also designed for game creators to embed the effects into the games themselves. Gaming is just a starting point. amBX takes entertainment beyond audio and visual to turn your entire room into an entertainment system. Some amBX products may appear in selected United States stores as a sneak preview before Christmas 2006.

(photo:Capital Photos/Gerald van Daalen)

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DigiTimes: LCD-TV makers are offering more aggressive prices for their products in North America amid a traditionally strong season, with prices for 40- and 42-inch models competing more fiercely than before.

Prices for Philips 42-inch LCD TVs have dropped to $1,699 (around €1,300) at Costco’s website, while LG  is promoting its 42-inch LCD TVs at $1,999 (around €1,500) at BestBuy.

Samsung is promoting its 40-inch models at US$1,799 (around €1,400) at BestBuy, while Sony’s Bravia 40-inch models are priced at US$1,899 (around €1,490) on Costco’s website.

The average selling prices of 40- and 42-inch LCD TVs were US$1,899 (€1,490) and US$2,137 (€1,600) respectively, in the second half of September, according to market-research firm WitsView Technology.

Slightly more than 10,000 42-inch LCD TVs were sold in North America in the second quarter, compared to more than 100,000 units from the 40-inch segment in the same period, the makers indicated.

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DigiTimes: Philips may sell its 32.9% shares of joint venture LG.Philips LCD (LPL) to Sharp, with Sharp having sent executives to visit LG.Philips LCD and related key component makers last week, according to the Chinese-language Commercial Times.

During the 3-4-day visit to South Korea, the Sharp executives visited LG.Philips LCD’s facilities and other related companies, including LG Chem, LG Electronics and Heesung Electronics, the paper said.

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Smarthouse: Philips has introduced a 100-inch (245 cm) LCD TV, which includes its exclusive Ambilight display technology, at last week’s IFA technology conference in Berlin.

Philips said that its latest prototype LCD TV measures a massive 100 inches and features four-sided Ambilight technology, called Full Surround, which is expected to create an immersive viewing experience by matching the color and brightness in the images on the screen. (…)
There is also another version of Ambilight that has been unveiled, called Ambilight Surround, which features lighting units on three sides. Both variants of Ambilight will be demonstrated at IFA, including Philips Cineos 42PF9831D FlatTV with Ambilight Full Surround, and the Philips Cineos 37PF9731D FlatTV.

Meanwhile, the company said that it expects to sell one million Ambilight sets by this year’s end. However, it did not reveal a price or launch date.

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AV Zombie: Philips has announced at IFA (Berlin) that it will not introduce a Blu-ray player into Europe until some unspecified time in 2007. It is concentrating on its American launch of the BDP9000 (pictured) first.

As for a BD recorder, Philips says the jury is out on the HD recorder market. “We will have to see how that develops,” said a spokesman.

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HDTV UK: Philips seems all set to launch a “3D” high-definition TV in a few years’ time, according to Broadcasting and Cable magazine. Apparently a casino in Breda (60 miles away from this week’s IBC conference in Amsterdam) has a 42-inch 3D HDTV on display.

What’s new about this TV is that you don’t have to wear 3D glasses to appreciate it. “The set, which was developed by Philips, is entertaining guests (presumably a few conference attendees) with 3D images of gaming action.” reports TVPredictions.com.

Reports of feeling slightly nauseous after extended viewing could potentially mean it’s quite realistic – or ultra-realistic – and a Philips spokesman is reported to have said that it could be adjusted to make it more palatable for a living-room environment.

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