HDTV

Helios Labs takes the PC out of network media centers

By Darren Quick

18:23 October 22, 2007 PDT

October 23, 2007 Looking to improve the usability of networking media hubs while retaining their flexibility and functionality, Helios Labs have taken the PC out and kept the media center with the announcement of the Odyssey. The Odyssey is a networking media hub capable of streaming content to multiple network media players, such as Helios Labs X-Line players, as well as any UPnP-enabled devices. The Odyssey supports up to 1TB storage capacity, features a fan-less, passive cooling design and will be the centerpiece of the company's focus on a PC-free home entertainment solution. Read More

Kodak update EASYSHARE range

By Noel McKeegan

00:18 September 4, 2007 PDT

September 4, 2007 Despite the myriad of benefits offered by the era of digital photography, one downside is that images can remain locked away on memory cards or buried within computer hard drives and never see the light of day. Kodak’s latest releases are designed to address this issue by facilitating simple capture and display options for viewing high-definition pictures on wide-screen HDTVs and digital picture frames. Read More

46 inch all-weather outdoor LCD TV

By Emily Clark

16:25 August 29, 2007 PDT

August 30, 2007 Lovers of big screen viewing need not worry about missing the game whilst soaking up the outside ambience with options like this SunBriteTV 46”high definition LCD television built for the great outdoors. The super-sized 4600HD model comes complete with water-resistant speakers and universal remote control. Read More

Sony's all-in-one High-Def PC/TV with Blu-Ray

By Gizmag Team

20:05 August 28, 2007 PDT

August 29, 2007 Sony has introduced a new high-definition PC/TV model with Blu-Ray Disc Technology. Featuring a floating glass design, the VAIO LT HD PC/TV is designed as a complete computer entertainment center where you can watch and record analog, digital and cable television programming, including premium HD channels. Read More

AMD’s TV Wonder turns your laptop or PC into a feature-rich HDTV DVR home theater

By Mike Hanlon

July 10, 2007 AMD today introduced two new TV Wonder products that could really accelerate the blurring of the digital and analogue worlds – both are thumb-sized devices that plug into your desktop or notebook and offer high-definition television (HDTV) viewing and digital video recording (DVR) capabilities. The rangetopping ATI TV Wonder 650 Combo PCIe is a combo-tuner DVR with ClearQAM tuning, allowing PC users to receive unencrypted digital content available from their local cable television provider, and switch between analog and digital TV to watch and record a digital TV program while simultaneously watching/recording an analog TV channel. Read More

Lifemedia, the high-end digital home media server

By Loz Blain

May 23, 2007 Digital home entertainment servers seem to be heading high-end as Exceptional Innovation announces the release of its new Lifemedia server. Ready to integrate with home networks and EI's Lifeware home automation software, the Lifemedia units feature multi-core Intel processors, up to 4.5 Terabytes of storage, and high-end optical audio with Dolby Master Studio decoding. Most importantly, they look extremely sexy in an AV rack system. Read More

Sharp showcases World’s largest LCD TV - 108 inches

By Mike Hanlon

January 9, 2007 With global demand for LCD televisions expected to grow by more than 50% this year, it was opportune timing for Sharp to roll out the world’s largest LCD TV, the 108-inch AQUOS. to promote its expertise at CES 2007. Not surprisingly, the 108-incher was the drawcard, extending its LCD offerings to four distinct ranges and 50 models ranging from 13- to 108-inches in screen size. The prototype 108-inch Full HD 1080p LCD TV is the world’s largest, measures 93.9-inches (w) by 52.9-inches (h) in size, and is expected to become available by mid-year. Perhaps the most important announcement was that some of the screens due in showrooms prior to the end of the year will feature refresh rates of 120 Hz, double the current 60 Hz standard. Read More

Samsung releases innovative LED LCD TV

By Mike Hanlon

September 6, 2006 Samsung used the backdrop of the IFA show to announced a 40" LCD TV with high powered LED Backlight technology. The new technology has already received the prestigious "Innovation Award" from the EISA (European Image and Sound Association) for its superb features including LED light source, 146% wide colour gamut and industry leading contrast ratio (10,000:1). The new 40" with LED light source realises far richer colour reproduction, based on a wide colour gamut that is 46% improved from previous models and enables unprecedented sound volume. High Dynamic Contrast Ratio, Samsung's proprietary technology, provides deeper and more refined images with the highest contrast in the industry. Read More

LCD TV with 120Hz Refresh Rate

By Mike Hanlon

June 30, 2006 Competition imporoves the breed and the LCD screen continues to improve in both size and picture quality. One of the traditional weaknesses in LCD television performance is in the area of delivering crisp, fast action imagery, which can be significantly improved with higher refresh rates. JVC introduced the world's first 120Hz LCD TV last year (Q3, 2005) in Japan, and earlier this week announced plans to offer the technology in the US market. JVC's Clear Motion Drive technology produces images at 120 frames per second (120Hz), double the typical rate, and inserts an interpolated image. The result is a significant reduction in blurring or ghost images. JVC will offer Clear Motion Drive in the 37-inch LT-37X987, to be available in August, and the 32-inch LT-32X987, to be available in October. Both sets offer 1366 x 768p native resolution and JVC's fifth generation D.I.S.T. (Digital Image Scaling Technology) Genessa 32-bit CPU video processing, which seamlessly upscales any video source to display at 768p. Read More

32-Inch HD-Ready All-Weather Outdoor LCD TV

By Mike Hanlon

June 13, 2006 We understand ruggedised laptops, mobile phones and digital cameras, but didn’t realise the trend had taken hold to this extent … the ruggedised teev! Homeowners can now enjoy their favorite TV show or DVD in the comfort of their own backyard, with the new SunBriteTV 32-inch HD-ready all-weather LCD television that is designed for outdoor installation. Read More

Panasonic to sell 103-inch plasma display

By Mike Hanlon

April 23, 2006 Worldwide demand for plasma TV screens is expected to top 25 million units in 2010 – plasma displays are just that much bigger for the price. Accordingly, we have a market shaping up as a wonderful contest between the world’s largest plasma manufacturers. Prior to 2006, LG and Samsung had both displayed 102 inch not-for sale plasmas, but in January at CES, Panasonic unveiled a 103 inch and claimed the heavyweight championship. Now, Panasonic has decided to put the 103-inch screen into production. Yes folks, you’ll actually be able to buy one before the end of the year though no price has been mentioned just yet. We think this will signal a declaration of war in the very large display market as the highly competitive Korean companies LG and Samsung love to play “mine’s bigger than yours” and can be expected to focus attention on the area. Read More

LG announces retail availability of World's largest (71-Inch) production plasma display

By Mike Hanlon

April 7, 2006 The ever-changing digital display landscape received a seismic tremor yesterday when LG announced the U.S. availability of its 71-inch Plasma High-Definition Monitor (MW-71PY10), the largest production plasma display in the world. The mammoth MW-71PY10 boasts 1920x1080p display resolution, making it among the first plasma displays to offer the full HD specification, about twice the resolution of conventional plasma displays. The unit also incorporates LG's proprietary XD Engine technology, which takes the low resolution of analog signals to near high-definition levels, providing consumers with better overall picture quality and viewing experience. This offering can be broken down into six distinct processes that help to improve brightness, enhance detail, and apply more accurate color and noise reduction with film-like high-resolution. Read More

The world’s most advanced LCD TV - 56-inch and 3840 x 2160 pixels

By Mike Hanlon

February 24, 2006 Taiwanese Chi Mei Optoelectronics is a name you may not know, despite the company being the third largest LCD TV panel supplier in the world. At CEBIT in Hannover in mid-March, the company will display the world’s first 56-inch LCD TV panel. Perhaps more startling than the size of the mega-telly is the definition which is known as Quad Full High Definition (QFHD) with a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels and an astonishing 8.29 million pixels. The new panel features resolution that is four times that of currently available products (1920 x 1080), and the highest ever achieved. The new panel consists of over 24.8 million units of transistors, with a data transmission speed of over 1.4 gigabytes per second. To achieve this breakthrough result, the Chi Mei Optoelectronics research and development team overcame a number of significant technical challenges, including the development of special new driver methods and scanning procedures and solving massive heat generation problems caused by the alignment of so many transistors. Read More

World's largest plasma display: Panasonic 103-inch 1080p

By Mike Hanlon

January 5, 2006 Panasonic will begin showing a super-large-size prototype 103-inch plasma display panel (PDP) at its booth at the 2006 International CES later today. The 103-inch PDP has 1080p (progressive) HDTV resolution and can deliver more than two million pixels (1,920 x 1,080) of performance – not surprisingly, it’s world’s largest plasma display, edging narrowly ahead of the 102-inch Samsung shown at CES last year. Given Samsung’s penchant for having the largest and mostest of everything, we suspect it won’t take long for the Korean giant to leapfrog back into the lead, but for now the record goes to Japan and Panasonic (and ultimately to Matsushita, Panasonic’s parent company). Read More

Philips LCD and plasma screens win blind comparison test

By Mike Hanlon

June 9, 2005 There isn't a big screen manufacturer on the planet without a team of fast-talking, jargon-wielding product managers and technical experts who are all incredibly good at convincing you their brand is the most technologically advanced in existence. Which made it a refreshing change when Philips invited us to a blind comparison test – over 400 retailers and journalists were invited to go along and see its 42-inch Plasma and 32-inch LCD televisions placed alongside several other comparable brands and models in a ‘masked’ study. We were there – we participated – from a blind survey of 400 industry people 74% ranked Philips Plasma first, and over 60% ranked the Philips LCD first based on overall picture quality. The products tested were 42 inch plasma screens from Philips, Panasonic, Pioneer and LG and the 32 inch LCD screens from Philips, Panasonic, JVC, Samsung and Sharp. Read More

Sharp to produce World's largest LCD television at 65 inches

By Mike Hanlon

June 5, 2005 Sharp has announced it will begin selling a 65’ LCD television in Japan in August, and in so doing will claim the title of the world’s largest “production” LCD television. The announcement is a major coup for Sharp in the public relations cut-and-thrust with its fellow television manufacturers Matsushita (aka Panasonic), Samsung and LG and pushes the Japanese company into screen real estate territory previously inhabited only by plasma screens. Further embarrassment will caused by the pricing and specifications of the Sharp 65 incher which will sell for 1.68 million yen and have a screen resolution of 1920 x 1,080 pixels both considerably better than equivalent plasma screens in the Japanese domestic market. Read More

Samsung develops World's largest (82-inch) TFT-LCD screen

By Mike Hanlon

March 11, 2005 Samsung has again inched ahead in the “mine’s-bigger-than-yours” contest it is playing with LG over the world’s largest LCD screen. This time it has announced an 82-inch TFT-LCD. In an illustration of just how far and how fast the game has progressed, Samsung developed the first 40-inch model in August 2001, the first 46-inch panel in October 2002, the first 57-inch model in December 2003 and now the first 82-inch panel. The screen uses12.44 million thin-film transistors to achieve an image quality of 6.22 million pixels. Read More

Bang & Olufsen Beovision 7 LCD TV

By Mike Hanlon

March 1, 2005 danish design icon Bang & Olufsen has released its BeoVision 7 television, a 32” LCD widescreen TV with integrated DVD player, digital surround sound module and a three-way stereo loudspeaker system. The BeoVision 7 system also incorporates Bang & Olufsen’s VisionClear, a package of picture technologies designed to deliver the best possible picture in all situations. For example, if the curtains are opened, the BeoVision 7 automatically adjusts its picture to match the light conditions of the room. A special anti-reflection coating reduces the effect of incoming light, allowing the TV to be viewed even in broad daylight. Read More

LG release a 71-inch HDTV Plasma Display

By Gizmag Team

November 16, 2004 LG Electronics have pushed the boundaries for home theatre with the announcement of a massive 71-inch high-definition (HDTV) monitor for use in Presidential Suites at premium hotels. Unveiled recently at the LG Electronics booth at the 2004 International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show, the 71-inch monitor is the first plasma display panel (PDP) measured in feet, not inches. Read More

Philips' New Line Of Flat Plasma And LCD TVs.

By Mike Hanlon

Philips Australia has announced the availability of the two largest Philips plasma televisions to date, the 50PF9966 and 42PF9966. At the same time, they've released eleven new look flat television solutions for every room in the home, with sizes that extend to 50 inches in Plasma and 42 inches in LCD TV.

Highlighting key innovations in the new FlatTV range for 2004, these models feature Philips' own Ambilight and Pixel Plus 2 visual enhancing technologies. Philips is significantly extending its FlatTV range to match consumers' growing demand for flat, slim and widescreen televisions, modern design and advanced picture quality. Read More

LG Electronics unveils 76-inch Plasma TV

By Mike Hanlon

Wednesday October 15, 2003: LG Electronics announced that it has developed the world's largest-screen plasma-display panel (PDP) TV at the Korea Electronics Show earlier this week. The 76-inch screen adds 5 inches of real-estate to the largest unit previously manufactured by LGE, and at just 83mm thick, its unlikely to shrink the seating capacity of your home theatre. Read More