What's the Deal with Laser TV?

Reader Jeff writes: Have you seen or heard anything about laser TVs by Novalus/Arasor? They are supposed to be better than lcd and plasma and are supposed to debut late this year or early '08. I'm thinking of buying Sceptre's 42-inch LCD but don't know if I should wait for the newer tech.

People have been talking about laser television for a full year now, and I've still never seen one in person. Some bloggers have, however, and the reports indicate the technology is at least real and not complete vaporware, as some have suspected. You can read early coverage here at Cnet and a hands-on report from a few weeks ago at Gizmodo. Both cover Mitsubishi's laser DLP technology, the company I'd say is probably most likely to commercialize laser TV first.

So what is it? Laser DLP is not really as sexy as it sounds. The use of "laser" in the technology's name probably gets geeks a little sweaty, and I don't blame them, but we're not talking about a robo-TV wandering around your living room with beams shooting out of its soulless eyes.

Rather, laser DLP simply takes existing projection TV technology and uses a laser for the light source instead of traditional lamp, traditionally an incandescent-type bulb but more recently LED-based. The benefits include brighter picture, better color, and slimmer, lighter sets. And unlike traditional bulbs, these light sources don't burn out. Overall, we're talking about a modest improvement to some long-standing tech.

Of course, you're still using projection technology, which is never going to be as thin and light as an LCD, a technology which is going to see a lot more advancement over the next few years than DLP is. Projector TVs don't look bad, but flat panels really are where the industry is heading. In other words: While DLP may see incremental improvements and get 5 to 10 percent brighter/bigger/more colorful each year, LCDs will probably improve at twice that pace.

Coupled with the fact that there's really no telling when laser DLP will hit the market or how much it will cost, I wouldn't recommend holding out for some hypothetical technology, no matter how great it's "supposed" to be. As with most tech buying decisions, I suggest getting the best equipment you can right now (or the immediate future), at the budget you're willing to spend. There will always be something better around the corner at a better price, and if you keep waiting and waiting for it to arrive, you'll simply never buy anything.