Thomson Consumer Electronics will introduce a new tv product in Canada late this year or early in 1993 that can reproduce the wide-screen perspective similar to that in movie theatres.
Aimed at the film enthusiast, the 16 x 9 format tv will probably retail in the $6,000 range.
The major innovation in the television, which will be marketed in Canada under the RCA brand name, is its capability of showing films as they were originally shot.
Most movies now available for home viewing on videocassette, or that are broadcast over television, have been cropped to fit the 4 x 3 format.
At the moment, there are about 400 movies available on videocassette and laserdiscs that show the full 16 x 9 format.
Thomson will also be marketing a video camcorder that has the 16 x 9 ratio, which will bring the same wide-screen look to home videos played back on the screen.
The 34-inch wide screen includes a number of innovative features such as simultaneous viewing of two programs.
The first Thomson wide-screen televisions were introduced in Europe earlier this year. MS
