Measuring 23-inches, the LCD monitor is ideal for PC gamers though will also be compatible with 3D broadcasts, which we'll see a lot more of in 2010. You won't need to keep the shutter glasses to hand 24/7 thankfully, as the ability to switch between 2D and 3D is of course included. This may be the first 3D product LG's put to market worldwide, but back in July their 47LH50 went on sale in Korea, despite Korea only recently announcing a terrestrial 3D broadcast trial. [Akihabara News]

Standing at 57 inches in diagonal length, the AVF 57-4LCD doubles up as a big-ass mirror when not in use. It is capable of Full HD (1920 x 1080), has two HDMI inputs for your waterproof HDMI equipped home theater equipment, both analog and digital tuners are in-built and, of course, a waterproof remote control. Unfortunately, it doesn't vibrate, which puts a bit of a downer on anyone hoping to have a waterfest. As for the price, if you have to ask, you probably don't know. We don't either, as pricing information has not yet been released. [Born Rich via DVICE]

10 x zoom lens
Real-V engine reduces picture noise.
Records in 1920 1080i and 1440 1080i resolution at 60fps in MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 format.
Recording modes of XQ, HQ, or SP
A100 has 12 hours' capacity of full HD video, 23 hours of standard
35 mm Fujinon lens with 45 mm diameter
3-inch LCD screen (320 x 240 res)
SDHC-compatible SD card slot
Audio recording at16bit/48kHz at 384 kbps bit rate
Measures 78.1 135.4 79.0 mm
A100F weighs 495 grams
A40F weights 485 grams
Battery life approx 75 mins
Lithium ion battery
Comes with AC adapter, remote control, USB cable, AV cable and D terminal cable.
[Impress]

The Pitch A generic golfer tees off—so far, so boring. But who's that by the tee box? Why, a trio of overaged escapees from an Urban Outfitters catalog, perched on a boxy red sofa. No one seems to mind the interlopers, who somehow teleport wherever the golfer goes—a sand trap, a green. After a particularly well-played shot, the three men exchange awkwardly animated high-fives. The golfer finally snaps to reality and appears to ask his caddy, "Who dey?" The caddy scrawls the letters "LG" on a sheet of paper. "Don't just watch it, live it," the sweet-voiced narrator intones, as if any viewer could've failed to grasp such an obvious pro-FullHD allegory.

Rip-Off Of Though the action here is much slower—it's golf, after all—the ad is clearly a descendant of those classic Mentos spots of yore. The actors have no lines, but rather emote everything in the most exaggerated way possible. And the choice of golf as the commercial's centerpiece is telling—it's a sport that translates well among globe-trotting business types, who will doubtless catch this spot on CNN International or BBC World. In other words, like the Mentos ads, the intention here seems to be cross-cultural appeal—not to mention the convenience of being able to dub the ad for myriad markets.

The Spin This is a natural extension of LG's successful "Life's Good" campaign, which aims to lessen consumer anxieties about high-end electronics. The message here is thus similar to the message in, say, LG's print ads touting its sleek washing machines: "Our products are for enhancing life, not impressing your friends." Granted, the spot briefly flashes 1080p at its conclusion, but that's one of the safer geek terms—remember when Jessica Simpson mentioned 1080i in that great DirecTV ad? ("I totally don't know what that means, but I want it.") Yes, this LG FullHD ad is vanilla, but that's the point—if three of the whitest, dopiest guys in history are lovin' it, then a relative sophisticate such as yourself will be even more enthralled.

Counterspin LG is definitely taking the road less traveled here. Its Korean rival Samsung is going in the opposite direction with its latest HDTVs (the one with those "super clear panels" for "blacker blacks"); it's advertising them as veritable works of art, fit for the walls of tycoons and other high rollers. Samsung's approach is definitely the more conventional one, trying to make potential customers feel as if they're buying their way into an elite club. Is LG underestimating the ego-driven aspects of the current HDTV market? Let's face it, people like to brag about their snazzy new $8,000 sets, and they're willing to learn the technical jargon in order to up their impressiveness. And they probably don't want to think of themselves as dorky, aging preppies whose idea of a fun Saturday afternoon is soberly enjoying a televised golf tournament. Perhaps a spy movie or, better yet, a Hype Williams video would've been more appealing you-are-there fare?

Takeaway I was all set to slam this ad, given my general antagonism toward golf. But I have to admit, the jarring Mentos style grew on me after repeated viewings. I can see the wisdom in creating a cross-cultural ad, especially in this day and age of the weak dollar—a lot of those LG FullHD sets are going to be sold in Europe and South Asia. But you've also got to hand it to LG for sticking to their core message, which has brought them so far in such a short period of time—am I the only one who remembers when LG was considered a decidedly low-end brand? But the chaebol has reinvented itself, in no small part because of its partnership with Philips, whose expertise in marketing appliances seems to have rubbed off on LG.

Hype-O-Meter 7 (out of 10). Yes, it's laughably bland. But LG has reinvented its brand by demystifying technology, and this commercial totally jibes with that theme. Granted, however, it's likelier to appeal to technophobes than Gizmodo readers; rarely has an HDTV ad so underplayed the innovation angle. And unlike the Mentos spots, there's a noticeable lack of zaniness—tough to imagine the Foo Fighters parodying this one.

Brendan I. Koerner is a contributing editor at Wired and a columnist for both The New York Times and Slate. His Hype Sheet column appears every Thursday on Gizmodo.

Read more Hype Sheet

Combined with a new color wheel, SIM2 says that Unishape also makes the HT3000E 40% brighter, with 60% less dithering and 15% more colors than their previous generation. For the stunning $20,000 price tag, it better come with an unlimited life supply of fresh popcorn and a foot massage with each movie. – Jesus Diaz

Product page [SIM2 via AV Forums via T3]

WTF? If we are confused by this, and we're dealing with this stuff every day, what's going to happen to the innocent consumer just looking for a nice new HDTV? While claiming to simplify the issue, Hitachi has made for some murky waters ahead.

Update: Here are the numbers for those so inclined:

Full HD = 1920 x 1080
HD1080 = 1280 x 1080

– Charlie White