Proton wins INQ best in show award

EVERYONE AND THEIR brother had LCD TVs at Computex. They ranged from absolute garbage to good, solid parts. There were various shades of good, but only one great, and that was Proton.

The TVs fell into two major categories, low-cost and high-quality. The low-cost ones I didn't write much about, they were fairly awful at a glance, with banding, blocking, and other artifacts all over the place.

You buy the lowest-cost panels you can, slap on the lowest-cost chipset you can, and hope there isn't a live demo at the places that are going to be selling your boxes. This was about half the LCD TVs at the show.

The next step up the food chain is the good ones, major ODMs that buy good panels, put in solid chipsets, and put the extra effort in. Tatung and Arima are good examples of this, they had a wide selection of really solid TVs, but nothing that made your jaw drop.

To slice this category apart a bit, there was one differentiator, ATI Xilleon chipsets. I became aware of the difference they made at the Proton stand during Computex 2005, and from that point on, I have been asking about them at every show. The difference in quality they can make is obvious to those who get close enough to an LCD to leave nose prints.

If you have a good panel and a good chipset, you have a really good product. One or the other will not be as bad as the el-cheapo ones, but it isn't anything a buyer should shell out four or five digits for. Basically, what it came down to was ATI plus good panel was the combo of choice for me.

This story is about Proton though, which for the second year running had by far the best TVs at the show. The demo panels from last year were due to be coming out in a few months, and the demos look really good. No. They were the only great ones at the show.

Proton has two lines, the A7 and A8. The A8 is the lower-end line, but not my much, the main differences are in the inputs and tuners. Both look good, but the A8s will be cheaper when panels become available in the same size across both series. I found nothing objectionable in either one, from large to small.

What really made my jaw drop was the TV above, although it may not look much in pictures. It is a prototype LED backlit LCD TV and it was by far the best picture in all of Computex, bar none. It really stood out, the picture contrast was huge, blacks were black, colors vivid, and everything was perfect. It was in a class by itself.

It is not a product yet, but it will be soon. I was promised Q3 sometime. No-one could give me a price for it. A s aguide, the A7 line ranged from $750 (FOB) for the 32-inch to $1500 or so for the 42" (again FOB), with the A8 line being a bit cheaper.

Expect the LED backlit ones to be sold at a premium over this, but to me, it is worth every penny.

Overall, the Proton TVs at Computex were in a class by themselves. It would have been nice to compare them to the big Japanese names, but those brands were not at Computex. Either way, the best in show. And the LED backlit one should definitely be on your short-list when it comes out next quarter. Look out for it. µ