The initial specifications are very impressive: 1080p (1920 x 1080) resolution (that's 1080 'p' for Progressive, not 1080 interlaced), 1 msec response time (handles fast motion), and an extremely high 100,000:1 contrast ratio. Like conventional CRT picture tubes, the SED vs CRT, DLP, LCD, Plasma SED utilizes the phenomena of electron collision with a phosphor coated screen to emit light. The main difference is that instead of a scanning electron gun in a CRT television, every single pixel in the display has its own electron emitter. In addition to high brightness and high definition, the SED delivers exceptional overall image quality, fast video-response performance, high contrast, high gradation levels,low power consumption and can be viewed from any angle.
Talk about the best of all worlds - here's the recipe for SED ... take the high brightness and contrast capability of a really large CRT, make it a flat panel and drastically cut the power consumption by removing the scanning electron gun, give it a speedy response time by making every phosphor pixel addressable, and you've got SED. If the pricing is going to be as competitive as claimed, I'd say we've got us a real horse race!
Don't expect cheap SED displays any time soon, though, as it will take Canon and Toshiba years to reach mass production. Shipping is scheduled to begin this year (Toshiba has now stopped producing Plasma screens, so there will be some great Plasma deals, see below), but they estimate production won't get beyond 75,000 SEDs a month before 2008 and are predicting 250,000 per month by 2010. In the meantime, competing manufacturers such as Sony (with its FED display) will have plenty of time to hone their chosen technologies.
