LED TV models from Sharp and LG

LED TV’s will lead the way, apparently! A recent report published by Reuters suggests that sales of LCD TV’s will rise by 21% during the course of 2009 (expected figures of around 127 million units compared to 105 million sold in 2008), spearheaded by the launch of a number of LED models from the likes of Sharp and LG.

Admittedly, the technology has been around for some time now but many manufacturers seemed reluctant to invest during an economic downturn. This left Samsung in a position to grab the lions share of the market with a new range of backlit flat screen TV’s. But times are changing. LG and Sharp have announced that they’ll be joining the party with a selection of LED and wireless TV models. Like Samsung, the new models feature full backlighting and deliver huge improvements in picture and image handling.

The LED tech also allows manufacturers to build a smaller TV (some models are just over an inch thick), as well as better picture due to greater contrast and colour.

Both LG and Sharp have said that they believe LED TV technology will grab the lions share of the LCD market over the next few years. Currently, prices are still relatively high but as LED backlighting becomes the norm, the prices are predicted to fall, becoming almost equal in cost to the standard CCFL counterparts by about 2011.

I’ve actually spent some time looking at Samungs 32 LED TV offerings and I have to say that they are truly amazing! Roll on the price drops.

Popularity: 30% [?]

…but only in the US. It would appear that some of Sharp’s liquid-crystal display televisions and computer monitors are infringing on a patent owned by Samsung Electronics Co., says a U.S. trade agency.

Samsung, the world’s biggest maker of LCDs, won a ruling from the U.S. International Trade Commission that basically says Sharp products infringe one of its patents. The legal fight between Sharp and Samsung has been going on the in U.S. and Japan for some time now and this ruling represents a pretty big setback for Sharp.

In site today, The ITC has posted a a notice on its Web stating that unlicensed Sharp LCD devices (this includes display panels and modules) and LCD televisions made overseas by, and using, Samsung’s patented invention should be banned from the U.S.

There’s is good news to come out of this: the ban could be reviewed President Obama, and there is an appeal in progress. Sharp will not comment until full details of the decision are announced. The case stems from a patent Samsung won in 2004 and is titled “Liquid Crystal Display having wide viewing angle”.

Luckily, I bought myself a new 32 LCD TV last month - won’t affect me!

Popularity: 23% [?]

Nearly a month ago (May 19th, 2009), LG announced what was set to the the worlds thinnest HDTV Flat panel TV. The original press release detailed two new LCD televisions: 42 inch and 47 inch, weighing in at 6.1kg (13.42lbs) and 7.3kg (16.06lbs), with a pretty stunning array of new technology rolled into them.

LG said that the performance of the colour gamut has been improved from a fairly standard 72% NTSC to 80%. The LG Display has a resolution of 1920×1080 and features 120Hz technology designed to reduce motion blur during high speed action such as football games.

LG have just released more info, so the mouth watering update for all you HDTV fans: The LCD panels on the new range are only 5.9mm thick (0.23-inch). The this ultra-thin panel has been made possible because of the inclusion of the company’s proprietary LGS (Light Guide Sheet) technology. that reduced thickness by half compared to typical LGPs (light guide plates).

Considering other recents additions to the long line of LCD’s, such as the new Philips 9704 range, it definitely looks like all the major LCD TV manufacturers are really pushing hard to get buyer on board. Hopefully, the competition will push prices down even further.

No news on release dates or pricing of the new LG HDTV sets but we’ll keep an eye out and let you know.

Popularity: 32% [?]

No one can argue that Philips produce some absolutely stunning LCD TV’s (sure, there have been a few gripes over functionality in the past, but nobody is perfect). We’ve been digging around and we’ve found al gorgeous new batch of LCD’s heading your way courtesy of this Ducth TV maker. Foremost amongst the new additions, in our eyes, in the new Philips 9000 series. There isn’t a huge amount of detail just yet but looking at the stats we’re going to see some massive improvements. Personally, I’ve had a Philips 37PFL7603D for some time now and I can honestly say that I have no complaints. The new range of TV’s look set to take performance to the max.

The new range has been divided into two groupings: the 9600 (9604) and the Philips 9700 (9704) series. There’s not much info about the 9700 series kicking around just yet but you can expect it to be one of their top of the range model (featuring advanced LED backlighting, according to rumours).

The general expectation is that the 9704 series (9700) will come in three sizes: 40-inch - Philips 40PFL9704, 46-inch - 46PFL9704, and the monster 52-inch - 52PFL9704. As you might have guessed, these aren’t the sort of TV’s that you’ll simply drop into you guest room (unless you live in a palace) - it definitely looks like Philips are intending them to be flagship models (more on that in a minute). One notable point that is filtering down is the price - we knew you’d ask about that - which, allegedly, looks set to be cheaper 9800 models. A sign of economic times, maybe?

So what are we going to get for our money? We did some digging and found a nice little pdf (linked at the end of this article) which details, amongst other things, the following specs:

• LED Lux backlight engine
• Dynamic backlight value of 5,000,000:1 (according to Philips)
• 1080p Full HD
• 200Hz Clear LCD technology
• 1ms response time
• Ambilight Spectra 3
• Perfect Natural Motion technology
• Perfect Pixel HD engine (providing superior image enhancement)
• Five HDMI 1.3 inputs

When I read those specs, I just drool!

A final point to note: the Philips 9704 series comes with built-in Wi-Fi. No more cables running all over the place when you want to stream media from your PC.

Here’s the pdf from the Philips press event.

Popularity: 52% [?]

All for only $199!

German company Nero AG and Tivo have announced a collaborative software package that will allow users to record TV on their Windows box; LiquidTV. The bundle, which consists of a remote control unit and a television tuner that plugs into your PC, will be launched on October 15th with a price tag of $199.

Ok, it’s not cheap and it’s not the only TV recorder software out ther but what it does do is to bring the familiar Tivo interface to Windows. This is big news for Tivo. Currently, the only European county with Tivo subscribers is the UK. By parterning with Nero, the company looks like they’re seeking to make big inroads in the lucractive European market.

Users who already have a TV tuner in their PC are in for a bonues - Nero will be selling the Tivo software for $99 as a standalone package. For this price you’ll get a bundled one year subscription (if you want Tivo’s guide updates after 1 year you’ll have to stump up another $99).

As you’d expect,  LiquidTV allows users to transfer shows recorded on other TiVo devices in the home to the PC’s hard drive to pretty much any compatible device. You’ll also be able to burn programmes shows onto DVDs courtesy of the Nero burning software.

I’ve been a fan of Tivo since I managed to get hold of a box about 4 years ago. I have to admit that it’s actually pretty good and I know that $99 isn’t much but there are cheaper options (Vista includes a free programme guide).

I’ve also got a MythTV box that gives me all the functionality I need and is free (well, apart from the time and hardware needed to build it!). Admittedly, this option is far to complex and time consuming for the average viewer who just wants to point, click and watch and this is what Tivo are counting on. A familiar, simple to use interface for less than $100 per year - it’s probably going to be a winner.

Popularity: 36% [?]

Throw away your Sky subscription!

Only kidding. Well, I’ll let you make your mind up. A joint venture between ITV and the Beeb will provide viewers with subscription free HD digital TV. Yes - I did say “free”. The service will cover about 98% of UK homes and launches with an initial package of 80 channels. So far, so good (unless you’re one of the unlucky 2%).

Major sporting events such as the Olympics, Euro 2008 (any reason why you’d want to watch that now we’re out?) and Wimbledon will be shown in HD.

The service is planned to have about 200 channels in place by the end of the year.

Ok, it’s not totally free. There is a one-off payment to buy the box or Freesat capable HDTV: £49 for the box, £120 for the HD box plus installation which adds about £80 on top (this covers dish installation).

Popularity: 38% [?]

But still eating Apples dust.

It looks like Microsoft is trying to catch with Apple. The Redmond based company has announced that is sell TV shows that can be viewed on the Zune. Downloadable media has been available since last October but the content was limited to music videos. The new offerings, which became available yesterday, will include hits from the NBC channel including Battlestar Galactica and South Park. The downloads will cost $1.99 (double it and £5 for the UK!!!).

Coming up the inside track.

Microsoft is working hard to catch up with Apple. Since 2006 the Zune has sold just over 2 million units. That’s not bad. But are they gaining ground on Apple? No, not really. 10.6 million iPods were sold in the first three months of 2007. Does that tell you something? One point to note is the release of the Zune Pass subcription service. For $14.99 per month you can access every single song in the catalogue. Not a bad idea, eh Apple?

An update made available on Monday also allows you to synchronise your Zune wirelessly with other Zunes and PCs (sound like an alien mating ritual!).

Microsoft have a long way to go to catchy up with Apple but the features being added into the Zune may just swing some buyers in their direction.

Popularity: 39% [?]

Going at it, belt-fed.

Blu-ray has only recently been annointed the king of DVD formats but that isn’t stopping Pioneer. They have just announced the release of the BDP-LX71. The player is due to arrive in Europe this summer. Pioneer has done some tinkering under the bonnet. Expect to see HDMI 12-Bit Deep Colour and 1080p HD digital film direct / 24 frames per second video output. Huge leaps in the optical field alone. The BDP-LX71 also includes PureCinema Deinterlacer: you can enjoy your DVD collection scaled up to a 1080p resolution. Now that is seriously impressive. Hey, can you see that needle?

The audio specifications are equally impressive:

• Dolby TrueHD
• Dolby Digital Plus
• DTS HD* and
• DTS HD Master* high resolution audio formats.

And to top it off the player utilises Wolfson DACs.

I want one for Christmas. Come to think of it, this’ll be old hat by then.

Full details here.

Click here to go to the home page.

Popularity: 39% [?]

MobiBLU on the rampage.

Need a gym partner? Or maybe you’re just looking for a compact MP3 player. If so, then mobiBLU may just be the answer to your micro-prayers. At under an inch cubed and weighing just an ounce this has to be one of the smallest players in the game. And, to top it off, the device contains a fully featured display.

What’s the appeal?

Does you current MP3 player have more than one cable? How many? One USB connection, a headphone jack and perhaps a power socket? The mobiBLU has one. Did I hear an audible gasp from the audience? Yes, I did say one socket (ok, enough pantomime games, let’s get back on track!). This little bundle of audio joy has a single connector that allows you to:

• connect USB2.

• plug in a set of headphones.

• charge the battery.

• connect an external output cable i.e. speakers.

I’m starting to drool, tell me more.

The mobiBLU is PC and Mac compatible (it also worked with my Linux laptop out of the box but I can’t find any official acknowledgement on this point). The player supports MP3, WMA and DRM formats. In addition, there are 5 preset EQ modes: Classic, Jazz, Normal, Pop and Rock. Hmm, I wonder what the ‘The Final Countdown’ sounds like in Jazz mode? Going on a long run? Think you might get bored listening to the 2 Gb of tracks? Not a problem. Just switch over to the FM receiver and you can chuckle away at the comedy talents of Sandy Toksvig, etc, etc, etc…The built-in microphone allows you to record comments on the go i.e ‘This hill is huge’, ‘I’m knackered’ or even ‘I’m going to use some lame excuse for giving up running after this monster session’!

Let’s get physical.

The mobiBLU is available in red, silver, black, blue, orange and pink with a bright and easy to read OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode). A ‘nice’ additional touch are the necklace headphones, apparently. Plug them in, then dangle £70s worth of MP3 player around your neck! Yeah, right. Why not just say “Please mug me.” instead?

Popularity: 39% [?]

World domination at the hands of OS X.

Did your mother always tell you that watching too much TV would hurt your eyes? Mine did. But on seeing Apple TV Take 2 we decided that we don’t mind. Besides, there are many other things that can make you go blind, apparently!

To stream, or not to stream?

Apple is cool. Apple makes IT look pretty. And this offering is no exception. The system is designed to stream iTunes media from networked PCs and Macs and does so in Apples own ‘grab the market by the balls’ fashion. Admittedly, there are many other offerings on the market but, in our opinion, none of them have the appealing looks of Apple TV. Of course, you could settle for one of these other products but just think of the wow factor when visiting friends see this funky little baby.

Under the table or on the shelf?

Do you like to show off your gadgets? So do we. There is no way I would hide this, ‘Come on in, sit back, enjoy watching movies on my BRAND NEW APPLE TV’ - you get the idea, right? The 20 cm x 3cm case is styled in the same fashion as the Mac mini and features an internal power brick so no chance of ruining the positive Feng Shui of your living room. It even comes with a remote control (Um, did that sound like I was surprised? What entertainment system would come without one?).

Out of the box.

Ready to rip open the box? Ok, inside you’ll find the Apple TV, a power cable and a user manual (but nobody will ever read it because we know everything there is to know, yes?). No TV cables? Correct. Top tip: if you know that you’re going to buy one of these machines pick up an HDMI or component RGB cable whilst you’re at it. Once hooked up, WEP enabled access to your WiFi network is simple. Even entering you WEP key using the remote is childs play.

Take off the rose tinted glasses.

Everything in life has a minus point or two although we can always turn as negative into a positive, can’t we? (Say ‘yes’, we don’t do negatives). Apple TV comes with a puny 40 Gb hard disk for caching iTunes media and several gigs of this is taken up with adverts that can’t be removed. If you exceed the disk capacity you’ll need to ensure that the machines hosting your iTunes content are running. This can’t be upgraded, unless you want to rip up your warranty and do some serious hardware hacking. Finally, iTunes UK does not currently allow you to download movies. You can, of course, manually drop movies into iTunes and we suggest you do some research on this as Apple don’t provide much help here.

Is it worth it? Do bears…

…have sharp teeth? Yes. I agree that the lack of streaming movies may well be an issue for some but don’t expect this to last for much longer. Seriously, Apple wants all the profit it can get in order to build the next generation of cool, shiney things.

Popularity: 30% [?]