Samsung Ships LED DLP Rear Projectors
By Shane C. Buettner July 23, 2006 — TWICE has reported that Samsung is now shipping 1080p rear projection televisions that use that use an LED array instead of a UHP lamp as a light source. The first model on the streets is the HL-S5697W, a 56" RPTV with an MSRP if $4,199.

This is a much-anticipated development for a variety of reasons. First, LED life spans are rated "conservatively" at 20,000 hours. This is in stark contrast to UHP lamps, which are often rated at 2,000 hours, and lose significant amounts of brightness long before that in many cases. Prices for UHP replacement lamps range from $200-$500.

Perhaps even more significant are the potential ways in which LED technology may improve the performance of DLP sets. First in that regard is the elimination of the color wheel in single-chip designs. Rainbow artifacts from the color wheel can be minimized but never eliminated without going to a three-chip DLP design, or using arrays of red, green and blue LED light sources as with this Samsung set.

In addition, LED's proponents claim increased color gamut, and who knows, perhaps even more accurate colors. While all of that remains to be seen, you can be sure UAV will review one of these sets just as soon as we can get our collective mitts on a review sample!