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 In October 2004, Canon and Toshiba established a new company called SED that began operation in January 2005 with the intent on exploiting a next generation HDTV technology called SED.
SED (Super conduction Electron emitter Display) is a new HDTV technology, expected to arrive in late 2006 or early 2007, that proponents say combines the superior picture quality of CRT televisions along with the slim form factor of flat screen televisions.
CRT and Flat PanelThe conventional cathode-ray tube(CRT) used in televisions is popular around the world because it has the advantage of using the properties of a self-luminous display to ensure a high luminance, clear colors and wide viewing angle. When this technology is applied to a large screen display, however, the television becomes excessively heavy and requires a much deeper unit. This means that despite CRT’s superior picture quality, it is not practical to produce 50” CRT televisions because they would be about four feet deep and weight five or six hundred pounds!
Despite the tremendous advancements in flat panel technology in the last few years, discerning HDTV buyers still complain that many large flat panels and even Microdisplay rear projection televisions (DLP and LCD Projection) still cannot match the sharp image, wide viewing angle and fast response times that is characteristic of even relatively inexpensive CRT televisions.
If SED can deliver CRT image quality and a flat panel form factor at a competitive price then it has the potential of making all other HDTV technologies obsolete.
SED - Super conduction Electron emitter DisplayThe specifications for SED are impressive: 1080p (1920 x 1080) resolution for sharper more realistic images; 1 millisecond refresh rates which should eliminate trails or shadow effects as something moves quickly across the screen; improved viewing angles so you won’t have to fight to be in the middle of the couch; and extremely high contrast ratios which will provide consumers with more accurate and vivid colour reproduction.
 SED Display
In addition to a sharper more colourful image free of shadows and trails, SED also promises greater energy efficiency. SEDs convert electrical energy into light with higher emission efficiency than other display types, resulting in power consumption that is two-thirds that of plasma display panels (PDP), and also surpasses CRTs and Liquid Crystal displays (LCD).
SED technology can produce CRT like picture quality because it is based on the same technology used in cathode ray tube (CRT) TVs.
CRT and SED technology are based on the targeted emission of electrons against a phosphor-based fluorescent layer in a glass surface. The difference is, that instead of emitting electrons from the back of a large tube, SED uses 6,220,800 electron emitters (one for each pixel for each colour) that are placed just a few inches behind the phosphor coating.
The following diagram highlights the difference.
 SED Vs. CRT Display
Availability and PricingFrom a technological standpoint, the pundits all agree that SED has the potential to gobble up a huge portion of the HDTV market. Whether SED comes close to realizing that potential will depend on pricing and availability.
During the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show, Toshiba and Canon showed working prototypes of SED displays to attendees Toshiba indicated expected availability in late 2006, however, Canon officials pointed to early 2007.
Despite the different time frames posited by both companies, they did agree that, at this point, no pricing details are known. When asked to speculate, representatives from both companies declined any comment. Like many new technologies, SED holds tremendous promise, however, as of February 2006, availability and pricing are unknown. Digital Home expects that SED HDTV’s won’t make it to retailer’s shelves until 2007 and when they do consumers can expect to pay a premium price. Update on Pricing and AvailabilityIn early March, just after this article was originally written, a Toshiba Canada spokesperson was quoted as saying that a mid 50" SED display would retail for more than $10,000 Canadian.
The next week, on March 8th, 2006, Toshiba Corp and Canon Inc said that SED sets would not go onsale until the fourth quarter of 2007. The companies Toshiba and Canon played down the apparent delay in the launch of the products, saying they would be in time for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
A company official in Japan told Reuters that the high cost of production was the reason for the delay and said the company was investigating more inexpensive production methods.
Discuss and Learn More Discuss this story in our High Definition Television (HDTV) forum in the Digital Forums . Membership is free and with over 75 forums and 16,000 members, there is always something new and interesting to discuss.
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