Sharp Aquos X-Series Gets Wireless With Amimon

Sharp's new Aquos X-Series ultra-thin LCD TV's will offer a wireless WHDI link from Amimon that'll allow uncompressed streaming of high-def content from an external tuner unit straight to the Aquos without the use of any cables whatsoever. WHDI technology uses a video-modem to stream HD content up to 100 feet, with the ability to stream through walls and according to Amimon, resulting in video quality equal to that of HDMI.

The Sharp Aquos X-Series will be made up of three models--the 37-inch LC-37XJ1-B, 42-inch LC-42XJ1-B, and the 46-inch LC-46XJ1-B. 3.44 cm thick at the thinnest point, the X-Series' models achieve their remarkable thinness thanks to the external tuner unit and wireless connection. All three units use an active-matrix drive system, feature 1080p resolution, 15000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, wide viewing angle, fluorescent tube backlight, 8 speakers and all the usual inputs and outputs. We'll be waiting for this in North America for a while I'm sure, but it should be available in Japan now, priced at ¥350,000 ($3,290) for the LC-37XJ1-B, ¥430,000 ($4,050) for the LC-42XJ1-B, and ¥480,000 ($4,510) for the big LC-46XJ1-B.

TVSnob Monthly Round-Up For April 2008

April has been a killer busy month, and if you haven't been here everyday to catch the latest ins and outs of TV, chances are you're behind. There's probably something you don't know that's costing you money and/or picture quality, and not necessarily in that order. So, as we do at every month-end, we're posting a round-up of every single thing we clued you in on in the last 30 days. Like we said though, it's been a lot, so take a look after the jump...

Continue reading: "TVSnob Monthly Round-Up For April 2008"

LG's Scarlet LCD TV: Did Scarlet The Actress Overshadow Scarlet The TV

The LG "LG 60 Scarlet" LCD TV isn't exactly brand-spanking new. Across the pond in Korea, it's been on shelves since February. And while it's a pretty typical LCD TV in terms of specs, LG's marketing campaign to boost the Scarlet is simply amazing. For the last 4 months, in 27 countries worldwide, LG has been raising all kinds of excitement about a new TV series, Scarlet, directed by David Nutter and featuring beautiful up-and-coming actress Natassia Malthe in the lead role.

Great play on words LG, because at a Hollywood unveiling of the new show a couple of days back, the company revealed the new TV series was nothing more than a promotional push for the Scarlet LCD TV series. Even going as far as starting a blog for the mysterious character Scarlet on MySpace, and a dedicated group on Facebook, LG's Scarlet character was nothing more than a way to brand the Scarlet TV's.

The name 'Scarlet' was inspired by the design of the LG60 and the red hue of the casing. From a side profile, the TV's silhouette flows like a red dress. Scarlet's character also reflects everything that the LG60 is. She is intelligent; she is dazzling; she is extraordinary; she is exciting; and she will change the way you view TV, forever.

And LG has done a great job. The Scarlet TV series comes in sizes ranging from 32-52 inches, colored black with red highlights. Featuring 1080p resolution, 50000:1 dynamic contrast, 4 ms response time, and 3 HDMI slots, not to mention a Green EYEQ power saving feature, the Scarlet is a decent television. We just hope LG's marketing campaign doesn't overshadow Scarlet the TV with Scarlet the actress.

Via PRNewswire

Free-To-Air Mobile TV Hot In China, Key Driver Of Cell Phone Sales

While mobile TV struggles to catch on in the western world, across the pond in China, the mobile landscape is just plain hot. A survey by mobile TV chip provider Telegent Systems, conducted in China where there are more than 3 million regular mobile TV users, revealed that 85% of cell phone buyers bought the phone mainly for the mobile TV feature. Amazingly 74% watch mobile TV for 30 minutes or more at a time, showing an increased interest in longer form programming, and 54% watch at least 5 times per week. Admittedly this survey may be a little on the biased side being conducted by a mobile TV solution provider and all, but even if we cut those numbers in half, they're still impressive compared to the stickiness of mobile TV in North America. A total of 400 cell phone buyers were surveyed at the point of purchase between July and September 2007 and February 2008.

Other interesting revelations from the survey include:

• 90% found the free-to-air TV feature interesting or useful, even 4-6 months after purchase
• 60% recommended mobile TV to their friends and family
• about 50% of users watch mobile TV when traveling, 43% watch at home, and 17% at the office
• the most popular time to watch mobile TV is between 7-8PM, followed by morning commute time of 8-9AM
• 88% of those surveyed find mobile TV picture quality "acceptable"

Via Telegent Systems

HDTV Deals For The Week Of April 27/08

Amazon has a pretty nice deal running now until May 5 that'll net you a free Samsung DVD-1080P8 1080p upconverting DVD player when you purchase select Samsung LCD TV's. All's you do is place the DVD player in your cart along with your HDTV of choice and the DVD player's cost will be automatically deducted when you pay! So what are the qualifying television models you ask? Here they are:

• 40-inch Samsung LNT4071F--1080p, 25000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, 120 Hz Auto Motion Plus. Price: $1699.99 with free shipping.
• 46-inch Samsung LNT4665F--1080p, 15000:1 contrast ratio. Price: $1599.98 with free shipping.
• 52-inch Samsung LNT5271F--1080p, 25000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, 120 Hz Auto Motion Plus. Price: $2299.98 with free shipping.
• 46-inch Samsung LNT4669--1080p, 20000:1 contrast ratio, 120 Hz Auto Motion Plus, Wide Color Enhancer. Price: $1899.97 with free shipping.
• 40-inch Samsung LNT4069FX--1080p, 20000:1 contrast ratio, 120 Hz Auto Motion Plus, Wide Color Enhancer. Price: $1519.96 with free shipping.
• 52-inch Samsung LNT5265F--1080p, 15000:1 contrast ratio, Super Clear Panel. Price: $2019.97 with free shipping.

Now you just have to add the Samsung DVD-1080P8 upconverting DVD player to your cart with the HDTV you chose, give it a couple of days, and then rock out to an awesome home theater experience.

Pioneer Kuro KRF-9000HD Projector Features LCoS Technology, Hefty Price

Pioneer's KRF-9000HD projector, the latest in its Kuro line, features full 1080p resolution, wide lens shift, a couple of HDMI 1.3 ports, and both composite and component inputs. The best part though is the 30000:1 native contrast ratio enabled by "liquid crystal on silicon" (LCoS) projection technology. Liquid Crystal on Silicon is similar to DLP technology, but rather than mirrors, uses liquid crystals like LCD's. However, LCD projectors use liquid crystal that allows light to pass through, while LCoS chips have liquid crystals directly applied to a silicon surface with an aluminum coating that is highly reflective.

Given the Kuro KRF-9000HD's high-end technology, expect to pay a high-end price, and you will. The price? About $12500!

Via TrustedReviews

Samsung BD-P1500 Blu-ray Player Set For Release Along With HT-BD2F Home Theater In A Box?

It looks like the Samsung BD-P1500 Blu-ray player has finally been released, along with another home theater offering. This announcement has us a little confused though given just last week Samsung announced a delay in the release, pushing it back to June. The BD-P1500 offers 1080p resolution, Blu-ray disc, DVD, and CD play back, Bonus View allowing picture-in-picture viewing, bookmarking, USB-enabled firmware updates, and BD Live interactive features.

The new home theater, Samsung's HT-BD2F features 5.1-channel sound and support for a variety of audio codecs including Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS-HD and lossless DTS-HD Master Audio. Samsung's initial home-theater-in-a-box release, the HT-BD2 carried almost identical features but had a 7.1-channel surround sound system. As a result, the new release will feature a lower price.

Along with the announcement of the new product releases, Samsung also gave us a glimpse into their overall Blu-ray strategy. A leader in Blu-ray product development, Samsung predicts the Blu-ray market will achieve an average annual growth of 80% through 2012. By then the company expects 51 million Blu-ray units will sell per year, well above the expected 5 million this year, which is already a three-fold increase from last year. The company expects its own sales to increase to W400 billion (Korean Won) this year and surpass W1 trillion by 2010, and intends to be the market leader.

Samsung is also working hard to allow for mobile product compatibility with its Blu-ray offerings (such as camcorder and digital camera plug-ins) as well media streaming options bringing the best of the web to your HDTV.

Via Akihabara News

JVC Closing Ancient CRT And LCD TV Plant In The UK

JVC lost a considerable amount of money this year despite strong LCD TV sales, mainly because of the company's stubborn refusal to let go of CRT and rear-projection sets. I guess losing millions will make the most stubborn corporations move a little quicker as the company announced that they will be closing a JVC UK plant in East Kilbride, United Kingdom. The plant has been around since 1987 and produces both CRT and LCD TV's. With flat-panel prices dropping fast, only 25% of the UK-produced TV's sold inside the UK, and an expanding Eastern European production market, JVC decided it was best to shut down production by July and sell everything. Look for a move into Eastern Europe in the near future, and once there, JVC says they'll no longer produce panels internally, instead outsourcing production, and buy all the need LCD TV parts locally.

Sony's Expanding Its European BRAVIA Biz: Slovakian Production To Double In 2008

European's love their BRAVIA's and that's why the company is expanding production of the popular LCD TV in Slovakia. Back in April 2006, Sony starting pounding out BRAVIA's in Trnava, Slovakia, but quickly reached full production and with no room to expand, built the the Nitra Technology Centre. It started production in August 2008 along with another plant in Barcelona, Spain.

The Nitra plant managed to ship 2 million BRAVIA's by the 2007 fiscal year end, but due to growing European demand, will double production this year to 4 million panels making the plant Sony's highest-producing LCD TV plant worldwide. All the main BRAVIA line-ups will be produced at Nitra, including the new BRAVIA E4000 and a new logistics center will be build next door, establishing the Nitra location as Europe's BRAVIA business hub.

Oh, and if you happen to be looking for a job in Slovakia--a workforce of 2300 employees currently will increase to 3500 by the end of December 2008.

Via JCN Network

Rumor: Matsushita May Be Merging With Sanyo, Trading Suspended In Japan

Rumors has it that trading of both Matsushita and Sanyo shares have been suspended on both the Tokyo and Osaka Stock Exchanges after newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun reported that the two companies are considering a "possible capital and business tie-up". The possible merger is apparently an option Sanyo is considering to turnaround its struggling business, quite apparent after the company was investigated for cooking the books near the end of 2007.

How would this affect the two companies' respective TV businesses? Sanyo could definitely augment the Panasonic HDTV line, bringing its respectable global market share over to Matsushita, who in return would give Sanyo the backing it'll need to turnaround its overall business.

So far the problem right now is to figure out exactly whether this rumor is true or not. Both companies have denied they've ever discussed such a move and trading is set to resume on both Stock Exchanges tomorrow morning.

Business Projectors: What You Need To Know Before You Buy

While you can find business projectors for a few hundred dollars these days, looking for the cheapest price around may be selling yourself, and your audience, short. Many lower cost business projectors only work well in completely darkened rooms, and when's the last time you gave a business presentation in the dark? The optimal price range for finding good value and great features? In between $1500-$2000, says Peter Knaak of the German consumer testing organization Stiftung Warentest in Berlin. Knaak adds that he has yet to see a projector priced at less than $1500 that is worth recommending for business presentations.

Okay, so we've nailed down price, but what about features?

Continue reading: "Business Projectors: What You Need To Know Before You Buy"

LG And HP Coming With "Over 80" DivX-Certified Digital TV's

Look for more and more digital TV's shipped with a DivX-certified sticker on them this year, as DivX has signed agreements with the likes of LG and HP to release over 80 digital television models that simply allow you to plug in a USB device into your TV enabling DivX video playback. We know of at least a couple of LG Time Machine LCD TV's already DivX-certified down in South America. DivX is also working with chip makers AMD, Chips and Media, Broadcom, and Trident to further extend DivX capabilities into the digital TV market. Earlier this year, we found out that AMD will use DivX in digital TV's using certain Xilleon processors such as select models from Samsung, Mitsubishi and Westinghouse.

The company has been spreading through the digital entertainment industry like wildfire, available on a variety of DVD and Blu-ray players, the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Via Engadget HD

Bravia's DMX-BV1 Internet Video Link Is Now Available

This slipped by us the other day, but we're glad we know now that the Bravia Internet Video Link is now available. Kind of inconvenient that the DMX-BV1 (yes, that's the model number) is only compatible with Bravia's, but if you do have one, it'll let you stream web video right to your Sony TV through your broadband connection. If you're more into the news and weather, you can get that too through internet providers such as Yahoo, Grouper, and AOL.

Winner of an 2008 International CES Innovations award, the DMX-BV1 Bravia Internet Video Link sits behind your TV, integrates with the Xross Media Bar (XMB) which'll pick up new video partners as they become available, and supports all HD resolutions via HDMI pass-through. Looking to pick one up? They're now available at Amazon.

Via Zatz Not Funny!

Matsushita Looking To Jack Up Panasonic HDTV Sales 40%

Matsushita, the maker of Panasonic HDTV's, aims to ramp up flat-panel TV sales big time this year, aiming for a 40% increase in sales for the year ended March 2009. That equates to 11 million plasma's or LCD's sold, an increase in sales of 40% in the plasma sector and over half in LCD TV's. If the company hits its targets this year, it'll be a huge move, taking them from the 6th largest global HDTV market share globally, jacking them up all the way to number 3, just behind high-def kingpins Samsung and Sony.

How do they plan to achieve such an accomplishment? According to the company, by expanding production lines in Russia and China, and focusing on the US for big sales increases. And with their hot new Viera line-up, big sales this year wouldn't surprise us at all. Something we're wondering though (any accountants can feel free to jump in and explain this one to us)--is it possible for Matsushita to cook the books a little bit, and include Matsushita panels used in Pioneer plasma's to jack up their sales numbers?

Via Reuters

Reality TV Fans Make For Promiscuous Facebook Friends

Can't get enough of reality TV? Are half of your Facebook friends unknown to you? Have some unsavory pics of your drunken exploits in your Facebook photo album? If you answered yes to all three questions, you'll be happy to know you're a promiscuous social networker spurred on by your reality TV addiction.

That's right. Joint research from the University of Hawaii and the University of Buffalo has concluded that reality TV fans are more likely to accept unknown people as friends on Facebook and post pictures of themselves than their Survivor-hating cohorts are. According to researchers, we'e always on the lookout for new ways to behave and when we see folks on shows like American Idol rewarded for being the center of attention, we strive to emulate that behavior.

Being your real friends here at TVSnob, we just want to remind you that having hundreds of unknown "friends" on Facebook will not make you the next American Idol, and the 5000 friend Facebook limit has already been reached, so even that won't make you famous. "Promiscuous" is a label you don't want attached to your name.

Via ReadWriteWeb

Sharp Posts Strong LCD Sales In 2007 Fiscal Year, Still Loses Money

Sharp's first quarter numbers are in for the 2007 fiscal year and not surprisingly the company posted a 1.5% operating loss despite a 9.3% increase in sales. Much of the sales growth was driven by LCD TV's growing popularity, with the company posting a sales increase of 15.7% in its audio/video sector. Sales of LCD panels were also strong for Sharp, especially in larger screen sizes, increasing 8.7%. In the past year Sharp has established new LCD manufacturing plants in Poland and Mexico, a third production line at one Japanese plant, and construction has begun on another Japanese plant. Sharp is expecting 2008 to be a tough year due to global economic stress, but plans to increase its focus on its LCD TV business. Interestingly, no mention was made of the company's recent investment in Pioneer, which played a role in Pioneer's decision to restructure its Kuro manufacturing process.

Via Twice

Dolby, THX Want To Improve Your HDTV Picture

While blacks and brightness levels are improving exponentially every year with new LCD and plasma TV releases, cathode ray tube TV's are still the industry standard for both. But a couple of companies are working on technologies at the moment to solve the problem-Dolby and THX. Dolby, better known for its sound expertise, has bought a company called BrightSide Technologies with the intent on improving just one aspect of the HDTV experience-black levels. Through the acquisition, Dolby has developed Dolby Contrast, an LED backlighting system that allows LED lights located in dark parts of the picture to be switched off, enhancing contrast ratio. The company hopes that manufacturers will license the product and, if they do, we could start seeing Dolby Contrast used in new TV releases in the next year.

THX, also known for their sound technology, has a couple of projects on the go. THX Media Director simplifies HDTV calibration, automating it so that the TV's owner doesn't have to fiddle around with a boatload of different settings in order to tweak the picture. The company is also working on a licensing program that would lend their name to sets they've reviewed and deemed to be satisfactory under their standards. The program, the company believes, would not only help ensure consumers they're buying the right HDTV, but also lend a little extra credibility to the THX brand.

While some second-tier companies such as LG Display are considering the technologies, top-tier manufacturers will be tough to crack for the two companies as most are working on their own proprietary technologies addressing the same problems. "It may be more useful for companies that don't have the kind of expertise we have", said Matt Chang, product manager from Sony.

Via BusinessWeek

Toshiba's Bank Account Takes Massive Hit: Thanks HD DVD

Toshiba's Q1 numbers for 2008 are in, and not only did they face big losses from eliminating the HD disc format, they've taken big losses again. A 95% year-over-year profit loss is sure to send shareholders running for the hills and that's exactly what happened when Toshiba announced profits of only 1.25 billion yen ($12 million) at the end of Q1, as compared to 26.17 billion yen last year. Shares in Toshiba were down 2% at market close yesterday, and much thanks to HD DVD, quarterly revenue dropped 3%, net profit dropped 7% and the company suffered a 60.2 billion yen ($580 million US) operating loss. The only consolation to Toshiba is a forecasted 2% increase in net profits by this time next year. I gotta say, Toshiba really looks to be playing it safe with such a conservative number.

Via CEPro

JVC Loses $455 Million In The Past Year, Finally Realizes Rear-Projection And Tube TV's Are Dead

Japanese electronics maker JVC has finally realized that its traditional rear-projection and tube TV business is dead, but it took a $455 million loss in the past year for the realization to set in. The company says the majority of its losses resulted from nixing unprofitable businesses, but restructuring of its HDTV business is necessary. In fact, JVC is moving a factory in Scotland to Poland, and actually moving its Japanese manufacturing into Thailand, both moves an effort to reduce manufacturing costs. The company will also focus on larger LCD TV's, 42-inches and above in Japan for sure, but no decision on its US focus yet. Big screen LCD TV's tend be fairly lucrative for manufacturers thanks to generous profit margins, and definitely an improvement from the margins of RPTV's and the now seemingly ancient tube TV.

Via Electronista

Samsung Posts Big Q1 Profits Thanks To Huge LCD TV Sales Numbers

Companies have been busy announcing their Q1 earnings, and in some cases losses, this week, and Samsung was definitely on the earnings side of things. Samsung's profits were up 37% in the first quarter of 2008 with profits of $2.2 billion on sales of $17.2 billion. Much of Samsung's growth was generated from LCD TV sales, especially those 46-inches and above. The company's LCD business generated 53% year-over-year growth itself, with the majority of other profit growth thanks to mobile phone sales.

Via Twice

LG Display Grinding Out 32-57 Inch LCD TV Panels On New 8G Production Line

Samsung and Sony are using their collective strength to quickly launch another 8G LCD panel production line in addition to the one already at volume production, but LG Display isn't too far behind with plans to begin moving equipment into their Korean plant mid-2008. According to the company they'll be at volume production by March 2009, when Taiwanese rivals AU Optronics and Chi Mei Optoelectronics are just beginning to start production in their new 8G plants.

8G lines are traditionally used to manufacture larger LCD displays, those 50-inches and above, but greater flexibility means that LG Display will focus on 32-, 47-, 52-, and 57-inch LCD TV panels. Maybe a little behind top-tier names like Samsung and Sony, LG Display will most likely have their first panels shipped well ahead of its Taiwan-based rivals, a full 2-3 quarters. Hopefully they'll use the time cushion usefully, and by that we mean ramping up production for those 32-inch OLED TV's we can't wait to see!

Via Digitimes

32-Inch OLED TV's From LG Display In 2011? We're Not So Sure

When we heard that LG Display had plans to start producing 32-inch OLED TV's come 2011, we were excited, yet a little bit skeptical. With Sony still trying to work out the kinks to reach volume production for the 11-inch XEL-1, it's tough to believe LG Display will be churning out OLED TV's 3 times the size in just two and a half years. Maybe Sony or Samsung, maybe even Panasonic, but LG Display? They're still miles behind in LCD panel manufacturing! But than again, focusing on OLED panels would be a smart strategic move for a company like LG. They'll never be number one in LCD or plasma, so why not skip ahead to the next generation of television and do some damage there.

Via Digitimes

Sony And Samsung Spilling $2 Billion Into Extra 8G LCD Line For JV S-LCD

Sony and Samsung have agreed that the popularity of LCD TV's worldwide is justification for investing nearly $2 billion into another 8G LCD line at the South Korean Tangjeong Complex, part of their joint venture established back in 2004, dubbed S-LCD Corporation. The new line, called "8-2" will be added to current 8G and 7G lines, and production should be ramped up about this time next year, with a goal of 60, 000 220cm x 250cm panels per month. 51% of the panels will head to Samsung and the remainder to Sony. With this announcement it seems Sony is getting its LCD panels everywhere but from its own factories, as they also have a 34% interest in another joint LCD manufacturing plant with Sharp. If manufacturers keep teaming up like this, pretty soon we'll be dealing with whacked-out hybrids put together from pieces from every manufacturer other than the one on the TV's label. Ugggh!

Via Engadget HD

Bigscreen LCD TV Panel Shipments Down 9.9% Since Christmas

103.7 million large LCD panels were shipped in the first quarter of 2008, according to research firm WitsView. That's a decrease of 1.5% from 2007 fourth quarter shipments, not bad given the typical weak sales of the post-holiday season. Year-over-year though, the first quarter of the year saw a 41.5% increase in large panel shipments, moving 30 million more than this time last year.

If it weren't for poor LCD TV sales in the first quarter, down 9.9% to 23.5 million units from the holiday season, we may have seen overall growth in the first quarter of the year. Amazingly, laptops and monitors sporting LCD displays actually grew from the 2007 holiday season sales numbers.

Low demand means high supply, and high supply means prices begin to drop. Manufacturers saw a decrease in the price per LCD panel of $188 since Christmas, probably a tough pill to swallow for top manufacturers desperately trying to cut LCD TV prices in preparation for the Beijing Olympics.

Via Digitimes

LG Display To Manufacture Energy-Saving LCD TV's Later In 2008

LG Display is taking action towards doing its part to reduce energy consumption in light of our current global environmental concerns. In the second half of 2008, all LCD TV's with in-plane switching (IPS) will use optimized power control, reducing energy consumption 20-30% from that used by vertical alignment panels. The good news is that it doesn't cost much more for LG Display to produce OPC-IPS panels meaning you won't pay any more for an LG Display LCD TV on your end.

IPS technology was developed by LG Display and Hitachi in a joint effort. The new OPC addition will allow part of the display's backlighting to be switched off during darker screen images, eliminating the unnecessary energy used to power the unused backlights.

Other interesting news from LG Display is its revelation that its 7.5G plant in Korea has reached it volume production goals, leading to economies of scale in 42- and 47-inch LCD panels. Hopefully that'll translate to lower LCD TV prices in the respective panel sizes from LG Display in the near future.

Via Digitimes

DTV2009: Low Power Stations Get $65 Million To Make Switch To Digital

A National Telecommunications and Information Administration request for the Senate Commerce Committee to free up funds to help low-power TV stations make the switch to digital sooner. With the digital TV transition less than a year away, concerns have been raised about low power and translator stations being completely nixed from television, as analog converter boxes are not allowed to have analog tuners and aren't required to pass through analog signals, though some do.

The Senate Commerce Committee has given low-power TV stations a $65 million boost to help them make the transition to digital, much earlier than the October 2010 date they were originally to get the money. The bill was a sigh of relief to states such as Alaska and those along the Mexican border who often rely completely on low-power stations for their broadcast needs.

Via Broadcasting & Cable

Projection Design Launches Three Avielo DLP Projectors In Munich

Projectiondesign debuted 3 new DLP projectors at the High End home cinema event in Munich. Dubbed the Avielo series, the 1080p Avielo Spectra, 1080p Avielo Optix and 720p Avielo Prisma, are the first of 5 Avielo DLP projectors to launch in 2008. The two higher-end projectors use Signature-series lenses and the Optix, which comes with 6 different lens options, uses projectiondesign's proprietary dual lamp system. The Spectra is suitable for screen sizes up to 120 inches, while the Optix is suitable for screen sizes up to 180 inches.

Via AV Interactive

Samsung's Series 6 And Series 7 LCD TV's With Touch Of Color Slowly Trickling Onto Shelves

Samsung slipped word out that it's Series 6 and Series 7 LCD TV's with a Touch of Color are now available for purchase. Well, the Series 6 models anyway, the Series 7's are slated to hit shelves next month. I'm pretty sure they've been available over at Amazon for almost a couple of weeks now though and at least one Series 7 model is available a month ahead of its supposed official release date.

First showcased back at CES in January, both the Samsung Series 6 and Series 7 LCD's are downright impressive, boasting all the best features and technologies available including 1080p resolution, Auto Motion Plus 120Hz and Ultra Clear Panel technologies, up to 50000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, and compliance with the EPA's EnergyStar rating system. Of course all of the sets have Samsung's Touch of Color, which we've learned actually uses dual-injection technology to embed color into the bezel, not paint or dye like we previously thought.

Other amazing features include on-demand InfoLink RSS which allows you to access weather, news, stock prices and other useful information from USA Today at the touch of a button, WiseLink for managing multimedia files such as pictures and MP3's via the LCD TV's USB 2.0 interface. Models and MSRP's are below:

Samsung Series 6 LCD TV's

19-inch LN19A650-$479.99
22-inch LN22A650-$649.99
32-inch LN32A650-$1,299.99
40-inch LN40A650-$2,299.99
46-inch LN46A650-$2,899.99
52-inch LN52A650-$3,199.99

Samsung Series 7 LCD TV's

40-inch LN40A750-$2,599.99
46-inch LN46A750-$3,199.99
52-inch LN52A750-$3,499.99

Via SlipperyBrick

Dish Network And Alcatel-Lucent Teaming Up To Test New Mobile TV Standard In The US

Back in March, the European Commission formally defined and added the Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld (DVB-H) mobile TV standard to their official list of telecommunication standards. Now Dish Network and Alcatel-Lucent are teaming up to test the next-generation DVB-SH satellite standard in the US, taking place at Dish Network's lab in Atlanta between May and August, to test the cost-efficiency and performance of the new mobile standard.

The most powerful mobile broadcast standard in the world today, DVB-SH is built on the DVB-H mobile TV standard, but has evolved globally seemingly leaving North America behind. Dish Network feels that the testing is the first step in the company staying on the cutting edge of consumer TV technology, and Alcatel-Lucent have pledged a commitment to the success of the DVB-SH standard in the US.

Via PRNewswire

5.5 Million HDTV's Purchased During Christmas 2007 And Super Bowl 2008, Gamers Driving Growth

New numbers from Frank N. Magid Associates showed growth in HDTV adoption, as 25% of households now have an at least one HDTV up from 20% in September 2007. That's an impressive growth rate for such a short period and pushed by 5.5 million first-time HDTV purchases during the 2007 holiday season and 2008 Super Bowl run-up.

Of the 28 million US households that now have an HDTV, 3 million purchased a second HDTV during the same period bringing multiple HDTV households to 10 million. Don't think for a second that HDTV adoption is driven by solely HD television programming and video though. 18% of new HDTV buyers in the last year bought their high-def set specifically to take advantage of the HD graphics used in Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 games. And expect further growth in the next year to be driven by current owners of HDTV's of whom 40% will buy another.

Via GameDaily