CEDIA SHOW 2008 Highlights

LG LCD and Plasma TVs

LG showed its impresssive display of 1.8"ultra thin LCD models – the LG60 Series which contains invisible speakers with Clear Voice technology. There was emphasis on the new BD300 Blu Ray/Netflix DVD player (the first of its kind) which recently earned an Electronic House Best New Technology Award. The BD300 will be released in October. Another promising new display technology is the 47LG90 which will ship in late fall and contains an LED backlight. There was also a display evidencing LG's varying picture setting controls related to power consumption when on Day/Night settings with ISF calibration. When displaying with the out of the box Vivid setting, the LG LCD TV used 270w of power, on Day setting but with ISF calibrated the power meter read 231w of usage, and when ISF calibrated on Night setting the LCD registered 150w. Also on display were recent model releases such as the 47LGX super slim LCD, the 42LG70 and LG75 and in plasma the 60PG60 60" PDP.

Sony OLED TVs

Sony at CEDIA Expo 2008 Sony displayed the XEL1 11" OLED TV again but had no comments about when the company may release a new size. Company representatives stated that despite the high price and low distribution of these OLED TVs which have been out for all of 2008, Sony is committed to producing the newest and best display technologies as a technology front runner. My thought was that this was a type of excuse for having been too late on the plasma bandwagon to build a PDP factory – thus later forcing Sony out of the business.

Sony LCD TVs

Sony ZX1M at CEDIA Sony displayed the 9 millimeter deep ZX1M Series LCD which will be sold in the 40" size to start. This display has a December release date and will contain 1 HDMI terminal, 10 bit processing, an LED backlight and 120Hz refresh rate. It will not have speakers included in the frame and will be wireless compatible. Other advancements iin the Sony display included the KDL-55XBR8 which has 1M:1 dynamic contrast and optional speaker grill. Most importantly is the new triluminous LED backlight which will purportedly allow a wider color range than other LED backlight technologies.

Runco Plasma TV

Runco Plasma at CEDIA Runco had several plasma TVs on display. The WP-42HD was displayed with a light water fall dripping on the back of the plasma – highlighting the waterproofing of this plasma for outdoor use. The weatherproof plasma has an automatic cut off when temperatures are too hot (around 105 degrees inside the housing). The XP-103HD 103" plasma was also on display.

Panasonic Plasma and LCD TV

Panasonic LCD Plasma at CEDIA A new middle range LX85 series LCD TV was displayed. The LCD contains IPS technology with an impressive 178 degree viewing angle and a gaming mode and is produced in 26" and 32". The LZ800 LCD series was also on display with a new contrast filter and PC input. New plasma TVs included the TH-58PZ850 and TH-65PZ850 which are simply size extensions of models introduced earlier in the year.

Toshiba LCD TVs

Toshiba LCD TV at CEDIA Toshiba unveiled a host of new models intended for every price point. The XV545 series has the highest end feature set with 120Hz refresh rate and Auto View feature which automatically chooses a picture setting to optimize performance depending on ambient room light conditions. The feature that Toshiba was touting most was its SRT (super resolution technologies) which upconverts and enhances 480i, 480p, and 720p signals. Other series that were introduced were the RV535 series (42, 46, 52) and the RV525 series. There were a host of new smaller LCDs such as the AV500 series (22, 19).

Hitachi LCD and Plasma TV

Hitachi LCD TV at CEDIA Hitachi displayed its 1.5" LCD TVs which came out earlier this year in 37" and 32". For a current review of the UT37X902 click here. Hitachi displayed a 50" plasma TV prototype in white which will be released in early 2009 with a 1.5" frame.

Pioneer Plasma TV

Pioneer Plasma at CEDIA Pioneer newly had on display its newest Elite plasmas the 101FD (50") and the 141FD (60"). These two plasma monitors have the KURO black levels and no integrated tuner. They are specifically designed for the installation community with IP control, RS232 and IR sensors. They come with a special owners case and are sold as a limited edition. MSRPs are stated to be $5500 for the 101FD and $7000 for the 141FD.

Sharp LCD TV

Sharp AQUOS at CEDIA Sharp featured a new Signature Series LCD the LC-65XS1U-S. The LCD was shown in a brushed silver and is only 1" in depth. There is an outboard AVC box which accompanies the LCD and contains 5 HDMI inputs. This attractive LCD solution was also featured in other sizes. These models are to release to specialty resellers in October of 2008.Sharp also introduced the D65 and D85 series. The main difference between these two black LCDs is the 120Hz refresh rate 10 bit processing in the D85 series.

Samsung LCD TV and Plasma TV

Samsung TV at CEDIA Samsung displayed its new LN46A950 which has Touch of Color and an LED backlight solution. Also displayed and currently shipping was the LN46A850 which has many of the features of the A95O except it contains a CCFL (fluorescent) backlight and is a scant 1.8" in depth. Samsung had announced most of its new models a couple months ago in its pre-holiday show in New York.

Mitsubishi LCD TV

Mitsubishi LCD TV at CEDIA Mitsubishi displayed new LCD models such as the LT-46149 with Immersive Sound technology, and the LT-46246 Diamond series with Perfect Color and Deep Field Imager features.