Philips claims it is to “break new ground” by launching the World’s first cinema-proportioned LCD television whose chief selling point seems to be to obliterate the black bands from the top and bottom of the display.

Unfortunately, although 16:9 ratio displays improve on the old 4:3 traditional television format, it still doesn’t deliver the true experience of a “cinematic” aspect ratio. Philips describes the 21:9 ratio as “immersive” and that with the three-sided Ambilight Spectra effect the displays will “adapt” regular 16:9 content from the other sources in your living room to the wider format screen.

Philips says:

“Cinema 21:9 lets you enjoy movies as you would in the cinema and just as the director intended. Cinema 21:9 boasts a 56-inch screen that is shaped in the 21:9 aspect ratio, so movies in the 2.39:1 format completely fill the screen – exactly as you experience at the cinema”.

The Philips Cinema 21:9 LCD TV is due to be available in the Spring of this year with more detailed product information to be released in February.

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JVC has ‘pre-announced’ a strikingly thin LCD panel that is such a lightweight at 5kg that its ideal for ceiling mountings or less substantial wall fixings. The 32mm thin display will be shown in a private booth at CES 2009 in Las Vegas in three days and released before the end of the year.

The panel incorporates a new optical system into the modular structure of JVC’s existing 7mm-thick 32-inch LCD display and it is this technology that makes the new display the lightest in the world (or so it is claimed). The new system brings with it high colour gamut and high contrast along with low energy consumption and environmental impact thanks to the lower mercury requirement of the new LED backlighting.

The lightness of this device allows it to be mounted in places never before considered for a large panel such mounting directly onto shop windows. Expect even lighter displays to emerge at CES and over the coming year.

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LG’s display unit has announced the development of the World’s first “Trumotion” LCD TV having an impressive 480Hz refresh rate. This allows the display of rapid imaging as required in sports broadcasting and action sequences without sacrificing image quality.

LG’s new technology consists of a “scanning backlight” that can be constantly be turned on and off to reduce motion blur. When this technique is combined with LG’s existing 240Hz systems the display refreshes at 480 frames per second. This also results in a lower MPRT (Motion Picture Response Time) of 4ms. It also makes dark images darker and reduces energy consumption by constantly edjusting backlight brightness.

Mr. Eddie Yeo, Executive Vice President and Head of LG Display TV Business Unit said:

“The world’s first Trumotion 480Hz LCD TV panel is planned to hit the market in the second half of 2009. LG Display will provide its customers with unique, high-end products while delivering crisp picture quality for fast moving images.”

LG will be featuring the Trumotion 480Hz LCD TV at the Bellagio Hotel during CES 2009.

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Unlike most speakers which just stand there not doing anything useful the ZVOX 550 actually supports the weight of a 50-inch flat panel TV.

The system includes a 60-watt amplifier, 5.25-inch sub-woofers and five 2-inch speakers within a shiny black cabinet.

As for the sound quality, Mark Wilson of Engadget says:

“…highs, mids and lows were all crisply represented across a variety of genres.The bass, especially, made me more than happy to forgo an extra standalone subwoofer (which the system supports should you need it). And I easily filled my tiny apartment with sound.”

He goes on to tell us that, perhaps inevitably, the cabinet does vibrate when sufficient bass is being pumped through it. One wonders what this might do to the TV panel sitting on top of it after a few years of this punishment.

While it’s clear that the 550 is intended for an audiophile’s home its somewhat perplexing that the inputs are limited to two sources of stereo RCA plugs. Some surround technology is provided for but no optical input.

The user interface of the remote will be limiting for some. With only a single LED it is impossible to know what the current levels are for the feature being modified.

With limited input options and primitive controls its difficult to justify the price tag of $550 despite the innovative format and reputed sound quality.

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The more gadgets you get the more wires seem to gradually throttle your home in order to power and connect them all. This one finally starts to reverse the tide by using wireless communication to stream data to a HD TV.

In the photograph above you can see a beige box to the bottom left and it is this which is broadcasting the image through the airwaves to the TV. In reality you would probably hide this away in a cupboard somewhere. Result: no visible cables!

The device is a super-slim LCD picture-frame design in black and silver finish. The on-board technology includes Motionflow 120Hz refresh rate allowing clearer action and sports sequences.

The Sony Bravia will be available in the final quarter of this year in 40″, 46″ and 52″ sizes.

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Haven’t you ever wished that you could be watching Sky while you were whiling away the time relaxing in the bath — well Da Vapor says you can. They’ve launched the Cosmo, a bath with a built-in TV for the premium end of the market. Naturally the TV is water-proof!

Integrated into one end of the hydro-massage bath tub is a 17″ touch-sensitive colour flat screen LCD so you can watch your favourite programmes and movies at the press of a button on the remote control. The TV is waterproof graded IPX6 and comes with a video cable that can be run to another room to connect to a DVD player or cable/satellite set-top box.

Here are the specs:

• 17″ Touch-sensitive LCD with remote control
• Touch Sensitive Control Panel
• Timed Auto Shut-off function for Jets
• 7 Hydro massage jets/9 bubble jets/6 back massage jets
• Adjustable Air Massage
• Adjustable Water Jets
• Underwater Light
• Fully Programmable FM radio with Memory Function
• Video Input (DVD, TV, console etc)… (not suggesting a console though as it would be easy to get the controller wet.)
• Hand shower
• Water Level Sensor
• Single Padded Head Rest
• RCD (Residual Current Device) Safe

Here are a few more views to whet your appetite:

The Cosmo retails for around $5000 (£2495).

You can read more about it on the Cosmo Bath TV web page.

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I-O data has this week presented a new 19-inch monitor with the not-so-memorable moniker of AD191XB3 expected to be on sale at the end of June for $260.

One of the AD191XB’s more interesting features is its ability to display either 4:3 or 5:4 aspect ratios and also boasts integrated 1.5W speakers and an output socket for earpieces. Other connections include DVI-D and VGA.

Here are the specs:

• Diagonal dimension: 19 inches
• Resolution: 1440 x 900
• Contrast ratio: 1000:1
• Brightness: 380 cd/m2
• Response time: 5ms

The price is excessive for this specification point so expect prices to fall before long.

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The SunBrite 4610HD isn’t the first outdoor TV but it is SunBrite’s first 1080p full HD model. Like all outdoor TVs at contains all the necessary technology to keep the device safe and reliable in outdoor conditions including extremely hight and low temperatures.

The 4610HD’s range of features include:

• Corrosion resistant, powder-coated aluminum exterior
• Baffled and filtered dual-fan airflow system
• Internal thermostatically-controlled heater
• Operating temperatures: -24° to 122°
• Watertight cable entry system
• Connections: 2 x HDMI sockets, VGA, S-video, composite, RF, RS232, serial, descrete IRcontrol
• Resolution: 1920 x 1080
• Contrast ratio: 2000:1

The viewing screen is also protected by an anti-reflective, impact- and scratch-resistant window that is built into the exterior.

The 4610HD includes a removable table stand and a water-resistant remote control with long-life lithium batteries. SunBriteTV offers optional articulating and non-articulating wall mounts and ceiling mounts and a deck/planter pole mount is also available. The pole can be set in concrete, a planter, or bolted directly to a flat surface like a patio or pool deck.

The 4610HD is available in the US now with a suggested retail price of $5495.

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The 2009WFP is the latest in what has been a successful series of monitor products for Dell. It uses Tn Film Technology which is characterized by low response times but unfortunately doesn’t help it achieve colour fidelity or good viewing angles.

Specification

• Brightness: 300 cd/m2
• Dynamic Resistance 2.000:1
• Response time: 5 milliseconds
• Ports:
  • DVI-D with HDCP to reproduce videos in protected high resolution
  • VGA
  • 4 ports USB Hub
• Resolution: 1680 x 1050 píxeles
• Picture size: 20″
• Dynamic TrueColor

Expected to be on sale for $289.

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The CES show is underway so we can’t be surprised to see many big-name companies using it as a vehicle for announcing new products. That goes for Toshiba which chose today to preview its Spring 2008 LCD TV offerings including 20 new LCD TV models.

[eminimalls products="toshiba lcd tv"]

Toshiba have made the claim that there’s “something for every lifestyle” among its 2008 announcements and will cover the following product categories:

• AV500 series
• Premiuim Regza CV510
• RV530
• XV540 series
• Cinema Series Regza XF550

Also expect Toshiba to showcase some new TV technologies at CES which “might” be incorporated into the companies Autumn TV announcement program. This indicates a twice-yearly launch schedule which Toshiba intends to maintain in the medium term.

You can see these new technologies at Toshiba’s stand at the CES show.

This story on other sites

• CES 2008 – LG and Tosh unveil its wireless plasma and LCD screens
• Toshiba Dramatically Enhances Regza LCD Flat Panel TV Line …
• Toshiba’s Press Conference at CES 2008

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