The extra 3D hardware inside the TVs isn't likely to have a big price premium, but the glasses required to see 3D content could be sold separately for up to $200. The idea is to keep TV prices down, and let users grab the glasses if or when they want.

The march to 3D isn't just coming from Sony. Panasonic, JVC, Samsung, and Mitsubishi have also shown 3D TV models, and Panasonic's first wave of 3D Plasmas are on track to arrive next year. Fingers crossed we get a hands-on preview at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. [PC World]

Both 1080p HDTVs include wired and wireless internet connections and a crazy-sounding 16-speaker "sound projector" to really blast those rented flicks. Plus, the Vudu support includes support for YouTube, Flickr, Picasa and Pandora. Like Mitsubishi's previous deal, the purchase of one of these sets comes with a $50 Vudu credit for the first two months. Full press release below. [Mitsubishi]

Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America Ships VUDU Integrated 1080p Flat Panel LCD Televisions

Unisen™ Diamond Line of Immersive Sound TVs Deliver VUDU's Extensive HD Library In Full 1080p and 5.1 Dolby® Digital Surround Sound

IRVINE, Calif - September 3, 2009 —- Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America, Inc. (MDEA) today announced it has begun shipping VUDU integrated 1080p flat panel TVs in its Diamond models of Unisen™ Immersive Sound LCD Televisions. MDEA will provide the consumer the opportunity to experience the seamless delivery of thousands of high definition movies and TV shows.

Consumers will now be able to enjoy VUDU HD movie content through the unparalleled sensory experience that is delivered by Unisen's superior 1080p picture performance and built-in Dolby Digital® 5.1 surround sound. The Diamond Unisen models, LT-46249 and LT-52249, come equipped with an Ethernet port, which allows for direct connection to the Internet. With the addition of the optional VUDU wireless accessory bridge, consumers can simply link their Diamond Unisen model to their wireless home network to watch the latest in entertainment programming.

"We are always looking to elevate the large screen experience for consumers, and the Mitsubishi VUDU-integrated TVs will combine unprecedented HD program choice with unparalleled picture performance," said Frank DeMartin, vice president of marketing, Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America. "Owners of Diamond Unisen Immersive Sound TV's will now have convenient access to high quality entertainment content."

With over 2,200 HD titles and 16,000 titles overall, VUDU offers the most extensive HD movie library available today. In addition, starting later this month, the VUDU service on Diamond Unisen Immersive Sound TVs will offer popular internet services such as YouTube, Flickr, Picasa and Pandora®, as well as an "On Demand TV" area with more than 80 channels to choose from.

"VUDU's extensive HD library of recently released Hollywood titles provides the perfect entertainment solution for Mitsubishi's Diamond Unisen TVs," said Alain Rossmann, CEO of VUDU. "Through this collaboration with Mitsubishi, we are expanding the reach of the VUDU Service to a broad new segment of consumers, providing an outstanding movie watching experience with true 1080p and Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 surround sound."

For a limited time, owners of Mitsubishi's VUDU integrated Diamond Unisen TVs will receive two months worth of free movie rentals or purchases (up to $50.00)*, including SD, HD, and HDX movies, allowing them to experience the extraordinary 1080p image quality and immersive Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound of the VUDU Service running on Mitsubishi Diamond Unisen TVs.

Diamond Unisen Features
In addition to the VUDU streaming capabilities, the Diamond Unisen line of premium flat panel TVs combine ultra compact design, immersive sound technology and advanced video performance to deliver a complete sensory experience without the hassle of complex setup. Each model features an UltraThin Frame™ design delivering a frame measuring less than one inch, fully integrated 18-speaker Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound system featuring Dual Driver Extended Range Sound, and Variable Smooth 240 Film Motion for viewing of fast and slow moving programs. Diamond Unisen TVs feature wide color gamut backlight technology to reproduce approximately 25 percent more color than most LCD-TVs and both 249 Series models are EnergyStar™ 3.0 qualified.

Availability and Pricing
MDEA has commenced shipping Diamond Unisen models to authorized retailers in the United States. MSRP for the Diamond Unisen products will be $2,599 for the 46" model, LT-46249 and $3,099 for the 52" model, LT-52249.

(Sadly, Mitsubishi's 3D tech traditionally requires glasses, and all 3D displays need 3D source video to work.)

That 82-incher is part of the 737 "home theater" TV line. Mitsubishi also has updated their soundbar-integrated LCD TVs with their latest 16-speaker-wielding Unisens. Those televisions start at $1800 for a base 40-inch model and work their way to $3,300 for the 52-inch.

Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America Announces Its Large Screen 2009 Home Theater TVs with 3D-Ready Technology

New Line-up Offers Incredible Picture Quality and Exceptional Value and Includes World's Largest 3D-Ready TV at Giant 82" Screen Size

IRVINE, Calif. - April 8, 2009 - Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America, Inc. (MDEA) today announced its new Home Theater TV series for 2009, offering a larger than life, vivid viewing experience and includes 3D-Ready1 viewing technology – a feature becoming more in demand among consumers as 3D content production continues to increase. In addition to 3D-Ready, the new Home Theater TV product line features a solid offering of large screen sizes including an impressive 82" model. All eco-friendly MDEA Home Theater TVs are highly energy efficient, consuming approximately one-half the operating power of similarly sized flat panel TVs.

"Based on current economic conditions, consumers are looking for products that marry high quality with significant value, and TVs are no exception. Our new Home Theater TVs provide unparalleled picture performance and value, and are the best performing displays for large screen entertainment," said Frank DeMartin, vice president of marketing, Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America. "We view Home Theater Television as a growth category, and our new 2009 line-up provides larger screen sizes, new technology enhancements, and notable efficiency in operating power consumption, which is becoming a prominent factor that consumers now consider when making a TV purchase."

Best in Large Screen Entertainment

MDEA continues to lead the competition with the largest Home Theater TVs available. The new 737 Series will include the all-new 82" 1080p model along with 60", 65" and 75" screen sizes - all featuring 3D-Ready viewing technology. The models will also include Smooth 120Hz™, New Advanced Video Calibration Mode, JADE Activity Based User Interface, Improved DeepField™ Imager, SharpEdge™, Video Noise Reduction, UltraThin™ Frame and Mitsubishi's Exclusive 6-Color Processor™ which provides significantly more color reproduction than typical flat panel TVs. All models are EnergyStar™ 3.0 qualified.

The MDEA 837 series boasts three premium Home Theater TV models ranging from 65"to 82", offering consumers outstanding picture performance with the ability to take advantage of the 3D-Ready capability. All of the Home Theater TVs are highly energy efficient and are EnergyStar 3.0 qualified offering another layer of value with each model consuming approximately one-half the operating power of similarly sized flat panel TVs, at around half the price. Other features include PerfectTint™, 4 HDMI 1.3a, Dark Detailer™, NetCommand®, USB Media Input, ISFccc Certified, and RS-232C Interface.

"As the home theater market continues to flourish and the cinema space continues to embrace 3D, we clearly see MDEA's 3D-Ready Home Theater TVs playing a key role in meeting consumers craving for the best and most advanced home theater experience," said David Naranjo, director of product development, Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America. "MDEA's is clearly keeping pace with this increased demand and our new line-up of Home Theater TVs offer consumers the opportunity to bring 3D into their own home to enjoy 3D movies and games."

3D-Ready Redefines Home Theater Experience

MDEA's entire Home Theater product line re-defines the large screen entertainment category by offering 3D-Ready viewing technology. Mitsubishi is committed to making 3D a reality in consumer's homes worldwide and over the past several years, MDEA has worked closely with leading technology and content providers to develop the most compelling 3D experience for consumers, particularly for 3D gaming and movies.

Availability and Pricing

MDEA's Home Theater TV models are available now. Retail pricing is as follows:

737 Series

WD-60737 - $1,499.00 WD-73737 - $2,499.00

WD-65737 - $1,799.00 WD-82737 - $4,199.00

837 Series

WD-65837 - $2,199.00 WD-737837 - $2,999.00 WD-82837 - $4,999.00

About Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America, Inc.

Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America, Inc., the Official HDTV Sponsor of The PGA TOUR, manufactures and markets a comprehensive line of premium quality 1080p Home Theater TVs and Unisen™ Flat Panel TVs along with the world's first laser TV: LaserVue™. Recognized as the world leader and innovator of large display high-definition televisions, Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America builds products that lead the industry in quality, performance and ease-of-use. For additional information about MDEA, visit www.mitsubishi-tv.com.

¹In order to display 3D images, Mitsubishi LaserVue™ & Home Theater DLP TVs require source devices to support checkerboard display formats for display of 3D gaming or 3D cinema content. A 3D standard format does not currently exist for Blu-Ray or DVD prepackaged media. A 3D standard may emerge that is not compatible with Mitsubishi LaserVue™ or Home Theater DLPs.

6-Color Processor, Ultra Thin Frame, Smooth 120Hz Film Motion, and DeepField Imager are trademarks of Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America, Inc. DLP is a trademark of Texas Instruments. x.v. Color is a trademark of Sony Corporation.

Traditional touchscreens, like that iPhone everyone's been talking about, can sometimes be tough to see and operate at the same time. After all, your fat hands are blocking the screen while you tap. If you've ever tried to film yourself using a touchscreen, you'll know how annoying it can sometimes be. This tech provides a translucent screen, and the touch sensors are actually on the back of the screen itself. You can see the outline or an impression of your fingers on the display, but the entire screen is now uncovered while you control it. This apparently allows for much smaller virtual buttons, since you can see exactly what you're touching.

LucidTouch, NanoTouch's predecessor, was a cool proof of concept but was far too bulky and ungainly to be of much use. The new NanoTouch has much the same tech, but in a slim 2.4 inch package that'd be perfect for phones, mp3 players, and other pocketable kit. The makers are excited about its use in wearable tech and fashion, but I'd be plenty excited to see any example of wearable touchscreens that aren't powerfully female-repellent. [New Scientist]

We've covered several prototypes of the LaserVue set, and Gary says it blows all of them away, and "rates in the stratosphere of top displays" of the very best sets like Pioneer's Kuro Gen 2, Pansonic's 65VX100U plasma and LED-backlit LCDs. The major issue conquered in the final version over the prototypes is speckling, the sparkles you see when you reflect a laser off of a flat surface (try it with a laser pointer). There are none.

To dive into the nittier gritter, it has the widest color gamut of any set Gary's ever tested, far beyond the HDTV Rec. 709 broadcast standard: "Reds are so intense and crimson they’re indescribable. Ditto for yellows, purples and other colors and hues."

And brightness against the brightest LCDs is like the sun against the moon: 110.88-foot lamberts, compared to 70 for the most eyeball-pounding LCDs, when they aren't calibrated to show deep blacks—then they usually drop to about 30. Yet the LaserVue produces "jet black" blacks. Yet the power consumption is positively green: A mere 94 watts on average drive its intense 65-inch screen. LCDs and plasmas use 3x-4x that, and often more.

There's a lot more intensely detailed numbers and specs over at HD Guru if you really want to dive deep into this thing, but the bottom line is that it's worth seven grand, if you've got it, since I don't think there will be any holiday sales on this puppy. [HD Guru]

The Kuro still held strong with its deep, bottomless blacks, but the LaserVue is noticeably better on colors, especially reds. The LaserVue is also better able to handle scenes with tons of motion than the Kuro, especially during action scenes in Iron Man. You can see above that the Kuro, on the right, makes the red of Iron Man's suit look too simple, while the LaserVue on the left has all the dirt and scars of a real battle. Below, the LaserVue's reds really pop, able to show the difference between the hues in the woman's top and skirt much more clearly than the Kuro—which is even from Pioneer's demo disc.

We've seen the LaserVue reviewed before, but only while using Mitsubishi's hand-picked content, which doesn't necessarily make for the most accurate test. Kurtis and Cameron at The Tech Lounge got themselves a Panasonic DMP-BD30K Blu-Ray player and a copy of both Ice Age: Meltdown and Iron Man to test out color, clarity, and motion on the "normal" settings of both HDTVs. They came away impressed with the color, but not with the hefty $7000 price tag. Still, if you can afford it, and you don't mind its fatty rear-projection girth, the LaserVue is definitely the cream of the crop. [Tech Lounge]

Colors are "sensational and bright" and the reviewer goes so far as to describe the TV ""the best home-entertainment display in America." Strangely there's no mention of the TV's built-in 3D capabilities and still no pricing information for the fabled 73-inch model, but it's only a matter of time. Check to full review at Time, though it's of a distinctly non-technical flavor (prepare lots of overly descriptive asides about his neighbor's "man cave"). The important thing is that this TV apparently is as good as it sounds. [Time - Thanks, Josh!]

Yes, the MMR25 will have nine motors in each wheel, one to spin the main structure and eight more to control smaller embedded wheels for traction while deftly maneuvering along the highway, maybe even driving sideways. Special "oblique aerodynamics" mean that the sideways driving won't be penalized by wind resistance, either.

There's no glass: It's too damn heavy, and you won't need it, what with visual information coming in via a crazy camera array that feeds a 360-degree panoramic screen that surrounds your "pod."

It's plenty power efficient, too, getting 1,000 miles per charge out of lightweight composite-nano-fiber-jiggied lithium-based batteries. (No word on explodeyness, but presumably that's solved too.)

We're gonna go one step further and guess that the electric charge itself will come from just an hour or two under the hot sun, thanks to efficient solar cells. But ha ha, that would just be ludicrous, right? [Jalopnik]

Trading a few millimeters shaved off the panel for a big honking box may not seem like a hugely advantageous situation, but WHDI has a range of over 100 feet (into the closet it can go) and allows for seamless pairing of compatible HDTV gear throughout your home, meaning the tuner (or the external Mitsubishi Blu-ray recorder shown next to it) could potentially be linked to other panels in the house. I kind of like the idea of stashing all of my modular source gear in a home theater server room of sorts, leaving only ultra-thin panels to receive the signals visible. That seems to be where WHDI is taking us, although Panasonic (who is not a WHDI member) could have something else up their sleeves. [Tech ON]

With too much inventory and not enough demand, the HDTV makers are cutting prices yet again to clear out stock. After these guys finish slashing, you can expect other bigwigs like Pioneer, LG and Sony to follow suit. So before you shell out for that sweet new LCD or plasma set, make sure you're not overpaying and check out the chart of everything we know so far. [HD Guru]

*Note: The following are "minimum advertised prices". Street pricing, or what they actually charge in store after sales, etc., is usually much less.

One great thing about the set is that you can change the way it does sound depending on room size and TV placement using simple menu options. Oh yeah, and the picture on the 120Hz set wasn't bad either. The 149 comes in two flavors, a 46" for $3300 and a 52" for $3700, out soon. [Mitsubishi]

The foggy "sometime this year" release date has narrowed to Q3, so sometime late summer, though that's about all Mitsubishi is spilling aside from the fact the line's official name is LaserVue. Price and exact D-Day are coming in June, giving you a couple of months to scrounge some pennies together in anticipation. We're already drooling to do our own best TV ever side-by-side with this thing, 'cause whoever loses, we win. [HD Guru]

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