860 from the side:850 from the side:

[Press Release]

The experts Sound and Vision asked tended to think not, with both Toshiba and Sony confirming they had no plans in this direction. Partly it's a question of manufacturing: the tooling is set up for production of TVs in 16:9, which mainly concerns the production of LCD panels (or OLED panels that're in the pipeline), and changing that would be pretty expensive. As a Samsung expert points out this even affects things like the glass used for the panels: manufactures are used to particular dimensions and achieving a particular yield from a "mother" sheet of glass... changing the screen dimensions would involve adjusting all this production too. And of course there's all the tech involved in getting 2.35:1 images onto the screen in the first place: DVDs and BDs aren't that ratio, though you could achieve it by throwing away pixels.

But all of these problems are not insurmountable. And I, for one, would welcome the idea of a "full" widescreen TV sitting in my living room in four or five years time: maybe because I mainly watch movies rather than TV shows. What's your take on the idea, guys?

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The interface and menus are really well done, and the FED display looks razor-sharp. Good luck to Anodos, the manufacturer, in making good on their plans to bring the price below $300 for retail. [Tech ON]

Sony's plans for FED displays are to push them to broadcasting and medical apps first, building slowly, rather than to jump right into the high-stakes plasma/LCD war, where nobody's making money thanks to the very bloody price war. Then it'll inch into the consumer market, first with 60-inch displays (at the level they can be more profitable, obviously). Looks like after plasma vs. LCD, we might have yet another fight on our hands: FED vs. OLED. [Nikkei]

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]

It's only been a few weeks since Pioneer hosted a similar demo, with a Sony CCFL-backlit LCD and a Samsung LED-backlit LCD playing stooge to Pioneer's first- and second-generation Kuro panels. In that demo, it was embarrassing how bad the LCD looked against the plasma.In this demo, Sony's got a better TV, a brand new LED-backlit system with a new flavor of dynamic contrast management called Advanced Contrast Enhancer PRO. Sony pits that new secret sauce against a hallowed plasma competitor—one might say a competitor known for breaking new ground—and the LCD looks, well, sh'loads better.There are two takeaways here:
1. Apparently, these things can be juked. I mean, we're not naive enough to think that they couldn't be, but at this point, our heads are spinning. The first takeaway is that unless it's a case of Pioneer vs. Pioneer, or Sony vs. Sony, there's no way to trust your own eyes.

2. TV tech is getting remarkably better all the time. If we liked the Pioneer in the other demo, and we loved the Sony in this demo, guess what... the Pioneer and the Sony are damn fine TVs. Even if we can't tell who's the best, showing them in high-performance settings against competition proves that they're at least decent. You don't see Tier 2 companies hosting these sorts of demos, cuz only the best can even compete. [New June 2008 Sony Bravia Announcement]

XBR7 rolls out a lower-end 70inch set, plus (weirdly) a 40-incher, both with WCG-CCFL backlighting, 120Hz Motionflow and hey, Bravia Engine Pro 2, along with the Bravia usuals. Finally, the XBR6 line intro'd at CES gets bigger, with new 40, 46, and 52 inch sets.

Pricing on all these sets are still to be announced, but Sony promises they will all be out sometime this fall, so you have time to plan ahead.

SONY REDEFINES LCD PICTURE QUALITY WITH NEW XBR HDTV LINE
New Technologies Deliver Exceptional Color Reproduction and Black Levels

NEW YORK, June 5, 2008 - Sony today introduced seven new BRAVIA XBR flat-panel LCD high-definition televisions including models with TRILUMINOS LED backlight and local dimming for outstanding black-level reproduction and unmatched contrast.
The new models expand the BRAVIA LCD line up to 30 models ranging in screen size from 19- to 70- inches measured diagonally.
The XBR models represent Sony's premium line, delivering the latest features and the pinnacle of picture quality.
"Critics consistently praise BRAVIA as the best HDTVs on the market, and the XBR badge indicates the best of the best," said Jeff Goldstein, vice president of marketing for Sony Electronics' television marketing group. "Consumers can now experience the quality of BRAVIA from small-sized models all the way up through our premium big screen XBR series."
XBR8-Series
Leading the line is the full HD 1080p 55-inch KDL-55XBR8 and 46-inch KDL-46XBR8 models (all measured diagonally). The models incorporate Sony's TRILUMINOS three-color LED backlight technology with local dimming coupled with 10-bit processing and 10-bit panel to deliver exceptionally deep black level and accurate colors.
Sony's TRILUMINOS LED backlight technology dramatically expands the TV's color range by aligning individual clusters of red, green and blue LEDs, significantly elevating color purity compared to traditional single white LED backlights.
Additionally, the sets offer the new Advanced Contrast Enhancer PRO (ACE PRO) technology. ACE PRO, which features Sony's own algorithm for local dimming, improves contrast and dynamic range by controlling the LED backlight level by area so that detail is maintained in the dark areas, while other areas are driven near peak brightness. The technology reduces unnecessary light emission resulting in true, deep blacks and reduced power consumption compared to conventional LED backlit models.
The models also feature BRAVIA Engine 2 PRO, which is Sony's latest high quality picture processing technology and the company's Motionflow 120Hz high frame rate technology.
Sony's Motionflow technology allows you to enjoy movies and prime-time TV (film-based content) with exceptional clarity and resolution in motion. The Motionflow algorithm identifies film content and removes "judder" resulting in a clearer picture with smoother motion during sweeping pans without a visible jerking or stuttering. Additionally, Motionflow 120Hz technology creates 60 unique frames between each of the existing 60 frames, doubling the frames displayed per second, further improving images for fast action sports and other programming.
Rounding out the picture enhancement suite in the XBR8 is x.v.Color compatibility. This technology expands the potential color data range of video by about 1.8 times, resulting in the display of more natural and vivid colors similar to what the human eye can actually see. This complements Sony's HD camcorder models and Blu-ray Disc players, which capture and display color range beyond what broadcasters currently deliver.
The models also feature Sony's Digital Media Extender (DMeX), providing the ability to seamlessly add new features. DMeX allows users to connect optional expansion modules such as the BRAVIA DVD Link, the BRAVIA Wireless link, the BRAVIA Input Link, which will ship later this year, and the currently available BRAVIA Internet Video Link.
The BRAVIA Internet Video Link module attaches to the back of a selection of the Sony's 2007 and 2008 BRAVIA LCD flat-panel television models. The service seamlessly streams on-demand entertainment including movies, TV programs, your favorite YouTube videos and a variety of other content not found on network or cable/satellite TV. The service connects to the Internet via your existing broadband Ethernet connection and streams content at no additional charge. Content is easily navigated with Sony's Technical Emmy award-winning Xross Media Bar (XMB) user interface.
Rounding out the feature set is Digital Media Port (DMP) compatibility, which provides access to video and music from portable media devices like compatible Walkman and iPod players and other DMP accessories, which are sold separately. The models also can display digital photos using creative multi-plane 3D graphics slideshows from USB devices, as well as access photos from your PC in another room using Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) compliant devices via your home network.
Sony's new 3D Favorites Menu complement the XMB graphical user interface, which has been also been enhanced with Sony-unique integration of TV Guide providing easy access and navigation of content and menus through colorful thumbnails and logically placed icons.
Inputs found on the XBR8 models include four 1080/60 24p HDMI connections (HDCP), two 1080/60p HD component inputs, a 1080/60p-capable PC input, Ethernet (RJ-45) port and a RS-232C connection.

XBR7-Series
The full HD 1080p XBR7-series includes the 70-inch KDL-70XBR7 and 40-inch KDL-40XBR7 models. With WCG-CCFL backlight, 10-bit processing and 10-bit panel, and ACE (Advanced Contrast Enhancer circuitry), the models deliver outstanding picture quality and elegant style only BRAVIA can deliver.
The KDL-70XBR7 features BRAVIA ENGINE 2 Pro digital video processing, while the KDL-40XBR7 offers BRAVIA ENGINE 2 EX. The models both feature Sony's Motionflow 120Hz high frame rate technology and x.v.Color. Rounding out the feature set on these models is the new 3D Favorite Multi-plane graphics, XMB graphic interface with TV Guide, BRAVIA Sync, DMeX and DMP compatibility.
The XBR7 models also can display digital photos and play digital music from USB devices and photos from Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) compliant devices via your home network.
Inputs include four 1080/60 24p HDMI connections (HDCP), two 1080/60p component inputs, a 1080/60p PC input, Ethernet (RJ-45) port and a RS-232C connection.

XBR6-Series
Complementing the full HD 1080p 32-inch class (31.5 inch diagonal) KDL-32XBR6 and 37-inch KDL-37XBR6 models previously announced, the full HD 1080p 52-inch KDL-52XBR6, 46-inch KDL-46XBR6 and the 40-inch KDL-40XBR6 models were also introduced today (all screen sizes measured diagonally). The models offer a space-saving bottom speaker, floating-glass industrial design and all of the features found in the KDL-40XBR7 except the RS-232C connection and BRAVIA ENGINE 2 EX.
All of the new XBR series models also offer the option of additional speaker grille color accents including silver, red, brown and gold. The optional color grilles can be purchased separately. XBR8 and XBR7 models ship with a black grille cover and the XBR6 ships with a silver grille cover. Additional grille covers are sold separately.
All of the new BRAVIA models ship this fall and further details are available at www.sony.com/2008xbr. They will be offered at sonystyle.com and at Sony Style retail stores nationwide, as well as at authorized Sony dealers across the country.

I was really excited to check out the 2008 line from Westinghouse today, but I left the showroom very disappointed. After last year's sweet n' cheap 52”, I expected bigger and better tech with the same nice let's-make-a-deal pricing, but lo, I got nothing. No 120Hz, no LED backlighting, and no new TV larger than 52”. While cheapo LCD brands Olevia and Vizio have at least announced their intentions to play ball with the big brands by adopting performance-LCD technologies, Westinghouse seems content to stay at the bottom rung. That said, if you don't mind shopping on the bottom rung, there are some deals to be had.

My guess is that the cost of 120Hz—not to mention thinner panels and LED backlighting—is still too high to incorporate into a cheap LCD. Late last year, a Westinghouse rep said that the company was exploring 120Hz, and that we'd see it at CES. They didn't come through.

Vizio claims their first 120Hz offerings announced back in January, will be out in July, a full six months later. The 42” and 47” LCDs are said to list for $1500 and $1900 respectively, but so far they only exist in pictures and press releases. We'll believe in them when we see them.

Similarly, the Olevia 120Hz is nothing more than a concept shown on the CES floor, with no schedule for release. While we have no reason to doubt they are working on the tech, we don't expect to see it any time soon, at which point something better may have already passed it by.

All that said, if price is your main concern when it comes to TV shopping, Westinghouse still has some good options. The 40” VK-40F580D has solid picture quality and an embedded DVD player, and it goes for $1100. 42-, 47-, and 52-inchers from the TX series all claim 1080p resolution out of all HD connectors, component and VGA included. Those sets retail for a reasonable $1200 to $2000. Bargains aside, if Westinghouse wants to be more than the Apex Digital of LCD TVs, it had better step up its motion-blur reduction, contrast and back lighting tech . [Westinghouse]

As is the case with most companies launching similar products, the system is easily expandable, and Pana promises more content partners in the future, though not imminently. I would like to have some kind of a la carte movies-on-demand option, to compete with the new Netflix box, along with Vudu and other options, but Pana isn't talking about that yet. They do say they are exploring options along these lines, and while they won't name names, I see MovieLink or CinemaNow as worthwhile addition, and maybe Rhapsody, too.

As you can see in the video below, it's got enough entertainment at the start to get customers comfortable with the format, and the architecture leaves room for all those other services.

PANASONIC ANNOUNCES AVAILABILITY OF ITS FIRST VIERA® CAST WEB-ENABLED PLASMA HDTV

YouTube™, Google's Picasa™ Web Albums and Bloomberg Sites Accessible Directly On-Screen

Secaucus, NJ, (May 20, 2008) - Panasonic, the industry leader in High Definition Plasma TV, announced today that its much-anticipated web-enabled PZ850 series of VIERA Plasma HDTV's will be available at retail beginning in mid-June. The flagship line's wide range of cutting-edge features is highlighted by VIERA CAST which provides access to some of the most popular content sites on the Internet today - YouTube, Google's Picasa Web Album and Bloomberg. The VIERA line was initially previewed at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show in January 2008.

Panasonic's VIERA 1080p PZ850 series offers features designed for the most demanding videophile - enhanced contrast ratio, deeper blacks, faster response time and outstanding picture quality in four screen sizes - the 46-inch class TH-46PZ850 (46.0" measured diagonally), the 50-inch class TH-50PZ850 (49.9" measured diagonally), the 58-inch class TH-58PZ850 (58.0" measured diagonally) and the 65-inch class TH-65PZ850 (64.8" measured diagonally). Coupled with Panasonic's new VIERA CAST technology, the PZ850 series will give consumers on-screen access to a far broader range of unique content than ever before.

"Our VIERA PZ850 series really takes connectivity and home entertainment to a whole new level for consumers," said Bob Perry, Senior Vice President, Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company. "In addition to delivering stunning, true-to-life High Definition movies and television programming that all of our VIERA HDTV's are famous for, our PZ850 series also allows you to seamlessly access an unending supply of content via the web via You Tube and Google's Picasa Web Album websites. Another terrific enhancement for the consumer is that when new web sites become available they will be automatically available on the TV.

"Imagine being able to press a button and see a family member's photos from their vacation right on your own large-screen Plasma or enjoy one of the many intriguing videos found on You Tube from the comfort of your easy chair," added Perry. "The VIERA PZ850 with VIERA CAST makes it all possible quickly and easily."

The PZ850 also makes it easy to enjoy your own High Definition digital still and video images in breathtaking 16x9 widescreen format by inserting an SD Memory Card into the HDTV. While all of Panasonic's VIERA HDTV's can display digital still images via SD card, the PZ850 features H.264 codec making it possible to enjoy HD video content from your HD camcorder by simply inserting an SD Memory Card into the TV.

In addition to the line's Internet and SD Memory Card capabilities, the PZ850 series delivers a number of other high-tech step-up features that will further benefit the consumer and strengthen Panasonic's Plasma leadership position.

The PZ850 series features a Pro Setting Menu, a must-have for videophiles who can benefit from access to professional calibration software. Images come to life like never before in crisp, true-to-life color, clarity and smoothness thanks to an enhanced native resolution contrast ratio of 30,000:1, a dynamic ratio of 1,000,000:1, 24p native reproduction, Digital Cinema Color Re-Mastering (a technology that allows for accurate color reproduction essential for movies), and Studio Reference Mode (provides faithful reproduction of the subtle colors intended by film makers).

For the avid gamer, the PZ850 series also offers a Game Mode which minimizes the time lag when displaying game images on the Plasma screen. The addition of four HDMI connections and a PC input also gives users greater flexibility to connect peripheral components to the display.

Like all Panasonic VIERA Plasma HDTV's, the PZ850 series panels contain no lead or mercury and deliver increased luminous efficiency and 100,000 hours of viewing time to half brightness (40+ years at 6+ hours viewing per day).

Additionally, the PZ850 series, as well as Panasonic's entire 2008 line of VIERA flat panels, features VIERA Link™, a means to control multiple AV devices with one remote.

Discussing the availability of YouTube content on the VIERA PZ850 series Plasmas at CES 2008 in January, Steve Chen, co-founder and CTO of YouTube, said, "We're dedicated to providing users around the world with a great YouTube experience, no matter where they are. Working with an industry leader like Panasonic will deliver the same terrific YouTube experience that users have come to expect from their computers; browsing, finding and watching millions of videos from the comfort of their living room."

Alright, so LCD stands for liquid crystal display. (Again, we're keeping this kind of simple, for simplicity's sake.) Basically, the liquid crystal part is a gel that sits in front of a backlight or—in the case of older panels such as those found in Game Boys up till like 2003—a reflective panel. (Remember those crappy lighting accessories?) The gel is divided up into a bunch of separate pixels, which can be fired individually. Color LCDs are a bit more complicated, made up of red, blue and green subpixels which combine to create pixels with the full range of color. To throw one more bit of tech at ya, most LCDs at this point are thin-film transistor LCDs, so that the control layer is embedded within the panel itself instead of off to the side. This provides better image stability and other benefits.

One of the problems with LCDs, and why plasma has an advantage in showing blacks, is that the liquid crystal layer is not opaque, even when all of the pixels are closed. On most LCDs, the bright backlight is on when the TV is on, so that will always bleed through at least a bit. LED-backlit LCDs can light up just a part of the panel instead of the whole thing, to an extent minimizing the problem.

Besides the "dynamic" backlighting described above, LCD technology is constantly improving its contrast through various crazier schemes involving pixel twisting and other light-blocking techniques.

The other notorious LCD problem is moton blur. If you've been buying LCD monitors for the past few years, you'll notice that advertised response times have dropped precipitously, down to as little as 2ms on some gamer-friendly computer monitors, and 6ms on big ol' TVs, so there's less true blurring of the picture. LCDs can also reduce motion blur further by processing the image: High-end LCDs use 120Hz technology to essentially double the framerate of source video, tricking the eye into seeing less blur.

Some 120Hz LCDs achieve this by tossing in a black frame of "downtime," but other sets morph two frames into a third, middle image that sits somewhere between the original frame and the next. As you might suspect, this can result in a weird, uncanny super silkiness that some reviewers object to.

Other reasons home theater buffs pick plasma over LCD in serious showdowns are that LCD naturally produces a less uniform picture and can't be seen as well (in color or brightness or both) from wide angles. LCDs can produce great pictures, and will keep getting better (LED backlights FTW), but in sets 42 inches and above, it just can't quite touch plasma, despite the fact that its cheaper pricer point has given it an overwhelming marketshare on the HDTV front.

Sony, which pushes Bravia LCD and hasn't sold plasma sets in years, is sending signals that it will soon focus on OLED instead. OLED pretty much makes both LCD and plasma look sad. They still cost a billion dollars and are a few years away, but the day of the OLED will come. [Giz Explains]

Samsung Develops World's First "Blue Phase" Technology to Achieve 240 Hz Driving Speed for High-Speed Video Seoul, Korea - May 14, 2008- Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world's largest provider of thin-film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panels announced today that it has developed the world's first "Blue Phase" LCD panel - which will offer more natural moving images with an unprecedented image-driving speed of 240 Hertz. Samsung is planning to unveil a 15" model of its Blue Phase LCD panel at the SID (Society for Information Display) 2008 international Symposium, Seminar and Exhibition, which will be held in Los Angeles from May 18 to 23. Executive Vice President Souk Jun-hyung, the head of LCD Business' Display R&D Center, said that "Our Blue Phase mode is a major evolutionary development beyond conventional liquid crystal modes. Samsung's development of the technology provides a tremendous opportunity to move image quality of LCD screens much closer to that of a real moving image." Developed with an extremely cost-efficient design, Samsung's Blue Phase mode does not require liquid crystal alignment layers, unlike today's most widely used LCD modes such as Twisted Nematic, In-Plane Switching or Vertical Alignment,. This new Blue Phase mode can make its own alignment layers, eliminating the need any mechanical alignment and rubbing processes. This reduces the number of required fabrication processes, resulting in considerably savings on production costs. Additionally, Blue Phase panels will reduce the possibility of bruising the LCD panel interface whereby pressure on the screen can impair uniform brightness. Overdrive circuits are currently applied to each LCD panel to improve the video image quality in premium LCD TVs, which are driven at 120Hz. The Blue Phase mode features a superior response rate, allowing images to be reproduced at 240Hz or higher without the need for any overdrive circuit. The term "Blue Phase" was coined when the technology's developers observed bluish hues while watching their new liquid crystal mode in operation. Since many academic and corporate institutions researched this new liquid crystal mode, Samsung has become the first to unveil a commercially viable product prototype using the "Blue Phase" technology. Samsung expects to begin mass producing its Blue Phase LCD in 2011. The LCD panels will be mainly used in TVs that require high-speed video reproduction.

According to Toshiba, HD processing that once took an hour now only takes 10 minutes. And though the SpursEngine chip can handle graphics processing for games, no PC games are currently optimized for the chip, rendering it useless. But game development built around the processor is in the works. Tentatively, the Qosmio will also feature gesture based controls via webcam, but will lack the usual Blu-ray drive, 1080p resolution and TV tuner. But it will only run for $1700, shaving about $1300 off the price.

As for the TV, it will make use of Sony's Cell microprocessor for realtime HD upscaling, recording of multiple channels, and "displaying video as if it is being viewed through opera glasses" (whatever that means). The Qosmio notebook is planned for a 2008 release while the TV will hit stores in Fall 2009. [Electronista and Gadgetress]

The projector demo was cool, because it's the first product Pioneer branded Kuro but didn't build itself. It was pretty impressive, though to be honest, there was no immediate comparison. Still, see for yourself: [Pioneer 2008 Kuro Launch on Giz]

More Kuro Than Kuro
On the plasma front, Pioneer's new Kuros fit midway on the contrast gamut between the previous generation and the "Extreme Contrast" panel shown at CES. The five-times-deeper blacks don't show up on the brightly lit sales floor as well as they do in a dimly lit home, but Pioneer's Russ Johnson says they will blow away videophiles, particularly with respect to color purity and gradations of shadow. The idea is that you will see more without colors being blown out, and without "hotspots" that make whites too bright. There will be two 1080p plasma TVs out next month, the 50" PDP-5020FD for $4,000 and the 60" PDP-6020FD for $5,500. They're both about 20% thinner than the previous Kuro models, now measuring 3.7" thick. Besides the features that it shares with the previous generation, these Kuros have a new remote control and new HD GUI for better ease-of-use. We're also told they have some networking capabilities—Home Media Gallery plus DLNA compatibility with PCs and other network devices. More on that when we check them out.In the Elite line, Pioneer is rolling out souped-up versions of the above TVs at $1,000 premiums—the 50" PRO-111FD and 60" PRO-151FD. The bigger news from a gadget perspective is that there will be two plasma monitors that are even thinner. They will be 50% as thick as the original Kuro, measuring just 2.5". As monitors, there have no ATSC tuners or speakers, but they will be highly customizable thanks to some serious connectivity and remote access tools. It's a rich man's product, for sure, but worth knowing it's hitting the market, since the tech will eventually trickle down.That Projector Rings a Bell
As for the KRF-9000FD projector that snuck out at the European launch, some were smart enough to spot it as a re-branded JVC RS2 or HD100, the two so similar they're referred to as "twins". Johnson tells us that the company chose the LCOS projector because its performance was "consistent with the deep black levels" of the Kuro line. Pioneer added some tuning options to jive with Kuro deep-black benchmarks, but at this time the company did not do too much to make it a product distinct from JVC's. It will be branded simply as the Pioneer Elite Kuro Projector, and it will sell for $9,000, as early as June via the Elite dealer network.

Why No LCDs???
Johnson was good enough to shed some light on the missing LCDs. It turns out, Pioneer Europe has a different LCD supplier than Pioneer USA. Pioneer's European supplier—Philips?—has Pioneer's global LCD partner—Sharp—supplies different product to Europe than it does to the US. Sharp supplies 1080p LCDs in 32", 37" and 46" sizes with 100Hz frame mode to Pioneer Europe, but can't bring them to the US—even for itself. Of course in the US, it would be 120Hz, not 100Hz, a PAL spec. Those are the baseline requirements for Pioneer to work its Kuro magic. These requirements can't be met by the US LCD affiliate, says Johnson, "not even in their own line-up", but he does expect them to come eventually. Since Philips is no longer in the US TV biz, and since Sharp appears to be Pioneer's other LCD partner, I guess we'll have to wait until Sharp catches up.

That Kuro Secret Sauce
All this hullabaloo about Pioneer quitting panel manufacturing and instead buying panels from Panasonic made us ask Johnson exactly how Kuro will stay alive, and he surprised us with some factoids:
• The second-gen Kuros gets the 5X deeper black with the same panel, plus better filtering and video processing.
• Even the "Extreme Contrast" CES panel, the one that freaked us out, was based on "current glass," and not some futuristic laboratory panel. "It's how you fire the pixel," says Johnson. We don't know exactly what that means, but it's strangely reassuring. [Pioneer USA]

Hitachi to Showcase the World's First UltraThin Line of Displays at Annual Dealer Show This Week

The Much Anticipated and Only "1.5" Displays Are Now Available to Consumers
CHULA VISTA, Calif. —(Business Wire)— May. 1, 2008 At its Annual Dealer Show this week, Hitachi Home Electronics (America), Inc. will showcase its "1.5" family of UltraThin Displays, which, for the first time, are now available for purchase by U.S. consumers.

Unveiled to rave reviews at the Intl. CES in Las Vegas in January of this year, the 1.5 displays — so named due to their sleek 1.5-inch depth — continue to generate excitement and momentum, particularly now as consumers are able to purchase these slim, stylish displays through retail and specialty AV dealers nationwide for the first time.

Available in four screen sizes (32-inch, 37-inch, 42-inch and 47-inch), the 1.5 displays embody an array of Hitachi's engineering breakthroughs which have resulted in an award winning design, unrivaled thinness and outstanding picture quality. From the patented ventilation technology to the backlight, power supply and unique crystal frame, the innovations found in the 1.5 line represent Hitachi's achievements in areas as diverse as automotive design, server systems and optical R&D.

The new 1.5 line is further differentiated by its appealing design that, importantly, extends a complete 360 degrees around. So whether the displays are seen from the front, a side angle or from the back, the elegant lines and distinctive aesthetics demonstrate an attention to detail that make the displays the ideal complement to a luxury lifestyle.

Another important first: Hitachi has now outlined the pricing structure for the new 1.5 line, which will be offered in Director's Series (X) and Ultra Vision (V) models. Pricing and availability for each model is as follows:

These homes have features that include: swiveling TVs that can be viewed either from the game room or the kitchen; TVs that descend from the ceiling at the foot of the bed; spa baths with built-in speakers; automatic Lutron sunshades to dim the light for perfect TV viewing while still letting you see the sea view; 7000W surround-sound systems; and motorized theatre-screen curtains. Each piece by itself might not be all that amazing, but when you put them all together in one house it has pretty impressive results.

In terms of tech, these houses are blessed with such gizmos as Crestron home control touchscreens, rack-mounted ADA Sirius satellite radio tuners, Niveus hard drive media servers and CinemaScope screens with Runco 3-chip 1080p DLP projectors with an anamorphic lens. Basically, heaps of stuff that makes our own home entertainment systems look unbearably wimpy in comparison.

How much does this kind of installation cost? We're not sure. But when you're talking about digging a 14-foot hole beneath your garage and calling in expert designers to help with the interior and AV features, you know it's going to be just as expensive as it looks. [Electronic House]

The basic explanation of how plasma sets work is that they've got a cocktail of noble gases (think back to high school chemistry) in tiny cells crammed between two glass panels. The cells are zapped with electricity, which makes them light up. Phosphors coating the cells make the color magic happen. (The gas is turned into a plasma during the process, hence the name.) Since individual pixels can just be turned off (more or less), plasma can inherently produce much better blacks than LCDs,

For instance, the way Pioneer's ultimate Kuro tech manages to pull out some disgustingly deep blacks is that its cells require less and less charge to fire, so they keep cutting down on the pre-charge that results in glowing grays that you see in lesser plasma sets.

Plasmas have actually come a long way in the past 10 years or so, since they started going mainstream. The old problem of "burn in," where a picture is seemingly permanently etched on the screen if a static image is left up too long, is mostly mythical now. They're not totally impervious—leaving the Wachowskis' upcoming hyper-lush Speed Racer on pause for a few weeks might lead to some ugly results. But because the time it takes to reduce the panel's brightness by half (the half-life) can be 60,000 hours or longer, at least the same life as an LCD's backlight, it's now a non-issue when debating LCD vs. plasma.

The so-called "Denver" altitude problem is less of one now than before as well. See, plasmas aren't too fond of high altitudes, because it affects the gas inside (think baseball players visiting Coors Field, or the need to modify Betty Crocker recipes). Plasmas in higher altitudes can make annoying buzzing sounds. But new sets are able to withstand higher and higher altitudes, and Denver falls within the newest comfort zone of 7,500 feet. Sherpas still might want NEC's special "high altitude" models that'll work all the way up to 9,180 feet. Still, as Plasma TV Buying Guide suggests, you might just wanna stop by a Best Buy that sits at your same altitude, and see how their TVs are faring.

The one thing plasmas are losing though is bulk, both size and heft. (Unless you count the pictured 103-inch or 150-inch monsters from Panasonic.) Current models run as fat as five inches thick and 100 pounds, making self-installation a real pain in the dick. But sets shipping later this year and next will slim down to around an inch and around 45 pounds—but you will have to pay mightily for the new lightness, and may never be able to afford Pioneer's anorexic-model-on-coke skinny concept plasma.

Something we missed, or you still wanna know? Send any questions about plasmas (or anything else) to tips@gizmodo.com, with "Giz Explains" in the subject line.

SHARP To Offer Ultra-thin LCD TV with Wireless HDTV Link by AMIMON

AMIMON's WHDI Technology Enables High Quality and Robust Wireless Uncompressed HDTV Link to Sharp's New X-Series LCD TVs

Santa Clara, Calif. and Osaka, Japan - April 30, 2008 - AMIMON Inc., an emerging leader in semiconductor technology for wireless high-definition (HD) video, has partnered with leading LCD TV manufacturer Sharp Corporation to offer a wireless HDTV link for the new X-Series ultra-thin LCD TVs. AMIMON's WHDI™ technology, capable of delivering uncompressed HD video streams wirelessly, will simplify the installation of Sharp's ultra-thin LCD TVs by eliminating the need for an audio/video cable between the TV panel and the separate tuner unit.

AMIMON's WHDI technology uses a unique video-modem approach to deliver wirelessly uncompressed HDTV. With a range of over 100 feet (30 m), through multiple walls and with latency of less than one millisecond, WHDI technology offers universal wireless whole-home HD connectivity with quality equivalent to that achieved with HDMI.

"WHDI is becoming the technology of choice for wireless HDTV," said Dr. Yoav Nissan-Cohen Chairman and CEO of AMIMON Inc. "With AMIMON's WHDI technology, consumers can enjoy wireless ultra-thin TV displays that are easy to install and easy on the eyes."

Sharp's new X-series models, which come in 37-, 42- and 46-inch screen sizes and are only 3.44 cm thick (at their thinnest part), go on sale in Japan in March. This series adopts a discrete component configuration that separates the display section from the tuner section, and these two sections can be connected with a cable or by using an optional wireless video transmitter unit that employs AMIMON's WHDI technology.

About Sharp Corporation

Sharp Corporation is a worldwide developer of innovative products and core technologies that play a key role in shaping the future of electronics. As a leader in liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and digital technologies, Sharp offers one of the broadest and most advanced lines of consumer electronics, information products and electronic components, while also creating new network businesses.

Sharp Corporation employs about 58,900 people in the world (as of December 31, 2007) and recorded consolidated annual sales of 3,127,771 million yen for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2007. For more information, please visit Sharp's Web site at http://sharp-world.com/index.html.

About AMIMON

AMIMON is a fabless semiconductor company pioneering wireless uncompressed high-definition video for universal connectivity among CE video devices. AMIMON's uncompressed Wireless High-definition Interface (WHDI™) enables HDTV manufactures to offer consumers wireless flat panel displays that can interface wirelessly to all HD video sources throughout the home at a quality equivalent to that achieved with wired interfaces such as HDMI™.

The company is headquartered in Herzlia, Israel, with offices in Santa Clara, Calif., USA, Tokyo Japan and Seoul Korea. More information is available at www.AMIMON.com.

WHDI is a trademark of AMIMON, Ltd. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are those of their respective holders.

However, there are still plenty of pitfalls that the novice consumer needs to avoid before making the commitment to drop a serious amount of cash on a new HDTV. The list summary is as follows:

•Fake HD and Cable Satellite Channels: Did you know that a number of HD channels broadcast a lot of "fake HD?" Anyone who has ever watched some of TNT's HD broadcasts can attest to that.

•Dynamic Contrast Ratio Measurement Specification: The contrast ratio number is basically meaningless.

•Line Conditioners: They do nothing to improve the HDTV image.

•Deep Color: No deep color sources makes this a worthless feature.

•x.v.Color: Until Laser TVs and xv Color HD discs appear on the scene, this feature is not truly useful.

•1080p HDTVs below 42" (diagonal): If you own a HDTV under 42", chances are you won't recognize the quality difference over 720p—unless you are standing really close to the TV.

•Flat LCD HDTVs 26" and Smaller: The image quality of LCD HDTVs in the 26" inch range or lower is generally poor.

•120Hz HDMI Cables: As mentioned before, expensive HDMI cables are a huge ripoff. Case in point, decent HDMI cable for less than $2. I bought a few myself and they work fine.

•Off Brand Model HDTVs: No-name brands may cost you more down the line.

•HDMI: Horrible connector design can prove problematic. Always pretest your connections.

So there you have it. If you do your homework, you can save yourself a lot of problems (and money) down the line. For a full explanation on the items in this list, check out the HD Guru link. [HD Guru]

Series 4 LCD — Low-End 720p
• 18.9": $429
• 21.9": $549
• 26.0": $749
• 31.5": $899
• 37.0": $1199
• 39.9": $1299

Series 5 LCD — Low-End 1080p
• 31.5": $1,099.99
• 37.1": $1,399.99
• 40.0": $1,699.99
• 46.0": $1,999.99
• 52.2": $2,799.99

Series 6 LCD — High-End 1080p
• 19.0": $479.99
• 22.0": $649.99
• 31.5": $1,299.99
• 39.9": $2,299.99
• 45.9": $2,899.99
• 52.2": $3,199.99

Series 7 LCD — Top of the line
• 39.9": $2,599.99
• 45.9": $3,199.99
• 52.0": $3,499.99

Series 4 Plasma — Low-End 720p, 3D Ready
• 42": $1,199
• 50": $1,699

Series 5 Plasma — Low-End 1080p, 3D Ready
• 50": $2299
• 58": $3599

Series 6 Plasma — High End 1080p
• 50": $2,599.99
• 58": $3,999.99
• 63": $4,999.99

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For a little tv history check out our Trinitron Timeline and the history of big tvs from Electronic House [Electronic House]

The creator says that this is a feature in the TV to black out certain areas in extreme conditions so the crystals don't overheat, but it is quite inconvenient when this happens to you (turning the TV away from the sun cures it). Both these sets seem to hold up well under standard outside conditions, it seems, and should be worth your money if you absolutely need to be entertained at all times, even if you're outdoors. [Sound and Vision]