Mitsubishi is better known as a rear-projection TV maker than an LCD manufacturer, but given the slow death of the RPTV market the company has ventured into new waters with the 52-inch LT-52148. And while the company has to tweak their LCD technology an little bit, the new 148 series’ pulls off the incorporation of some high-end high-def technology pretty well. The 1080p, 120 Hz LCD set does have some ringing around objects with the default picture presets, excessively bright green tones, a sluggish menu, and power consumption one can’t exactly call “green”, but with an impressive native contrast ratio, HD video handling and an effective 120 Hz refresh rate, the Mitsubishi LT-52148 looks to be the first of many quality flat-panels.

via pcmag

Sharp LC-16E5

Sharp LC-16E5 in beige

Sharp LC-16E5

Sharp announced the upcoming release of a pair of its newest AQUOS LCD HDTVs, the 20-inch LC-20E5 and 16-inch LC-16E5. Both are capable of displaying 720p (1366×768 resolution) images and feature two HDMI connections for HD sources such as Blu-ray players.The new AQUOS LCDs feature a contrast ratio of 1,200:1, brightness of 450cd/m² and a horizontal viewing angle of 176 degrees. Traditional RGB video, as well as S-video and component plugs are also part of the HDTVs’ connections. A network jack and RS-232C input are also included, and the TV remotes can also control a connected Sharp Blu-ray player through CEC support.

The LC-20E5 and LC16E5 are rated to use up just 61kWh and 48kWh, respectively, of energy per year.

When the TVs are released in Japan on September 10, the LC-20E5 will list for an equivalent of around $870, while the LC-16E5 will be priced at nearly $780. The LC-16E5 is available in a black or beige surround. A US release has not been announced, although Sharp regularly releases its smaller AQUOS sets in the country.

Sharp expanded its large screen SB series of LCD HDTVs, making the sought-after high-definition (HD) experience available to more consumers. The SB series (LC-52SB55U, LC-46SB54U and LC-42SB45U) provides consumers with affordably-priced Full HD, big-screen options, available in 52- 46-, and 42-inch screen size class units (diagonal 52 1/32”, 45 63/64 and 42 1/64” respectively), some of the most popular screen sizes today. All three feature Full HD 1080p (1920 x 1080 resolution), and are cased in a glossy piano-black bezel.

Our 1080p TVs also feature Sharp’s Spectral Contrast Engine, built-in ATSC/QAM/NTSC tuners, and HDMI interface (four available on the 52″, two available on the 46″, and three on the 42″).

The 52″ LCD TV will cost 1485€, the 46″ version 1100€, and the 42″ 900€.

Epson today announced it released two complete home entertainment systems, with the Ensemble HD 720 and Ensemble HD 1080 systems. As the product names suggest, the projectors are the main difference between the two packages, with the former capable of 720p (1280×720) HD images, the latter of 1920×1080 (1080p) resolution video. Other components part of each system include an audio/video source unit that doubles as an upconverting DVD player and a 150-Watt Atlantic Technology 5.1-channel surround sound system with a 10-inch subwoofer. The A/V receiver / DVD player has two HDMI inputs, with the surround speakers integrated into a custom cradle that holds the projector. The front-channel speakers are integrated in the screen’s hide-away housing. A universal remote with LCD screen is preprogrammed and controls all aspects of the systems, including the operation of the motorized screen.

The Ensemble HD 1080 system is priced at $6,999, while the HD 720 setup can be purchased for $4,999.

JVC released last week  new TV series with built-in iPod docking station. Starting at 32″ and 720p and going up to 52″ and 1080p, you’re looking at way too many pixels and way too much screen real estate to make the average, highly-compressed iPod video look like anything better than an animated smear of pixelated puke. Luckily, the JVC also allows you to play your iPod music through the dock… which is probably a much better use for such a thing.

The new JVC P-Series includes the 32-inch LT-32P679, 42-inch LT-42P789, 47-inch LT-47P789 and the 52-inch LT-52P789. The LT-32P679 is a 768p model, while the others offer 1080p resolution. They’ll cost respectively 640€, 1000€, 1400€ and 2000€.

Via FreshGIZMOS 

BenQ released first 21.5” 1080p Full HD LCD display sporting a 1920×1080 native resolution. The 10,000:1 DCR and 300nit brightness render dark details in razor-sharp clarity along with a rich, vibrant display of 16.7M colors. Senseye+photo instantly optimizes viewing for all home and office applications, while gaming and video are enhanced by integrated speakers (2 x1W) , headphone jack, and a fast 5ms response time.

With 100% dot-for-dot matching to Full HD materials, BenQ’s new 16:9 large screen E2200HDA deliver immaculate rendering of 1080p content such as Blu-ray movies and PS3 and games without distortion, blur or need for resizing.

Sony XBR8

Sony in an afternoon announcement updated its high-end BRAVIA XBR line with three new set ranges that it hopes step up the quality of its TVs across the board.The XBR8 series starts with 46- and 55-inch sets that are Sony’s first to include LED backlights: the lighting not only provides a more even and color-accurate image but builds in local dimming that shuts off unneeded lights in darker areas, giving a major boost to the contrast ratio. The two sets also sport Sony’s updated BRAVIA Engine 2 PRO for rendering the image, 120Hz panels to improve the picture in fast movement, a hooks for the BRAVIA Internet Link adapter, and a media port for connecting iPods and other media players.

Sony XBR7

Each of the XBR8 models has four HDMI 1.3 connectors with deep color support, dual component jacks, a PC input, and Ethernet for pulling Internet data and updates. Sony has yet to supply a final price for these or the other sets in the lineup but expects a launch for the entire line in the fall.

Sony XBR6

At the base of the new updates, the XBR6 line has also been expanded beyond the sizes available in the initial January lineup to include 40-, 46-, and 52-inch models. These use Sony’s more familiar “floating glass” look and have a hidden chin-mounted speaker; all the new sets still use a more typical 60Hz panel but have Sony’s characteristic swappable front bezel that allows use of more exotic colors such as brown or red.

Hauppauge Digital Inc, a manufacturer of video, TV and data broadcast receiver products for PCs, is launching a USB TV dongle to support high definition TV broadcasts on Freesat.For £79, the Hauppauge WinTV Nova-S Freesat USB2 will enable anyone who already has a satellite dish, such as Sky subscribers, to view Freesat channels on a laptop or desktop computer.

The USB dongle plugs in to the satellite dish socket at one end and to a USB port on a laptop or PC at the other, and is ideal for providing a secondary tuner for viewing in areas such as a kitchen or bedroom.

The broadcasts can be viewed either in fullscreen, or in a smaller window to allow the PC to be used for other tasks at the same time.

The dongle comes with WinNova software, which together with suitable hardware will enable a PC to display HD content. The software also provides a scheduling feature making it possible to save programmes to the computer’s hard drive for later viewing.

The device is compatible with 32bit versions of both Windows XP and Windows Vista.

Freesat is a joint venture between the BBC and ITV which will provide 80+ free-to-air digital TV and radio channels. Broadcasts will be from the Astra 2D satellite, which is also used by Sky, so there should be no need for Sky subscribers to realign their satellite dish.

Hitachi unveiled 9 new Wooo HDTV’s yesterday across the pond in Japan. The Hitachi Wooo UT Series will be available in three sizes, 32-, 37-, and 42-inches, all with full 1080p resolution save for the smallest display which features 720p. Super-slim 35 mm thin bodies are a result of several of the televisions’ components and dual TV tuner being removed from the set itself and placed in an external box connected to the set by Ultra Wide Band. All three LCD’s have 250GB of internal HDD space, an iV an iV port for iVDR HDD cartridges, DLNA compatibility, x.v. Color, and Deep Color. The two smaller screens feature IPS Alpha panels while the 42-inch display boasts a 120Hz IPS panel.

Three more LCD’s will become members of the Wooo XV Series, available in identical sizes as the UT Series, and utilizing many of the same features. Once again, all displays are 1080p aside from the 32-inch display which features 720p resolution and all have an iV port. None of these sets have any internal drive space and aren’t quite as thin, integrating all the TV’s components within the sets.

The final three new releases are plasma displays, branded under the Wooo 02 Series moniker, and available in either 42- or 50-inch sizes. The 42-inch big screen features 1024×1080 pixel resolution, while the two 50-inch sets feature 1920×1080 pixels or 1280×1080 pixels. Like the Wooo UT series, the two larger 50-inch displays integrate a 250GB hard disk drive, while all three new Hitachi plasmas features an iV port.

44 million households worldwide will have a HD signal received and displayed on an HDTV by the end of 2008. That’s 4% of worldwide households, double that at the end of 2007, but only a quarter of the expected 180 million HD homes by 2012. All this thanks to dropping HDTV and set-top box prices according to the London-based research firm behind the new numbers, Informa Telecoms & Media. Not surprisingly, HD penetration has been the highest in North America, due to the growing availability of HD content and the poor quality of analog signals. The research also found the HD subscriptions rose dramatically once 20 HD channels are available in any given area.

Via marketwatch