TV Shop » Samsung TV and Home Theater

A First: Samsung to produce transparent, no-backlight 22″ HDTV LCD soon --

This we’re getting from a trusted source and blog Engadget is also reporting this: Samsung is about ready to produce a breakthrough product that could be the first in a wave of “transparent” HDTV LCD monitors with very high resolution and low power requirements. Read on:

They said they would do it, and by golly it’s nearly here — Samsung just revealed that its assembly lines are starting to churn out see-thru computer screens that don’t require power-sucking backlights to function. Unfortunately, it looks like the amazing AMOLED variety is still on the drawing board, but ambient light-powered LCDs are on the way, with Samsung offering a 22-inch, 1680 x 1050 resolution panel with a 500:1 contrast ratio to begin with. Sammy suggests we’ll see it in HDMI and USB-compatible monitors and suspects it’ll be used in advertising and teleconferencing first — which suggests this display won’t come cheap.

Price and exact availability aren’t out yet, but we’re thinking late this year/early next as an estimate.

No Glasses, Ma: Samsung shows 55″ glasses-free 3D HDTV prototype --

Samsung hasn’t been at the forefront of no glasses 3D HDTV as some other companies in recent years, but they’ve come out in favor of it in a big way at the FPD China trade show recently — or a test model of one, anyway, and in the next few years, it could be a game changer.

According to Tech-On!, which is a leading Chinese tech blog/news service, the 55″ monster is able to do nine different viewpoints for glass-free 3D viewing (that’s 9, folks), and it can be switched into 2D mode at any time as well for those of you non-3D scrooges, which works by changing the optical refraction index of an LCD panel that sits on top of the main LCD that’s actually used to display images. It’s a big potential step forward for a technology we’ve had our doubts about.

Right now, the demo model uses a direct-lit CCFL backlight, although Samsung indicates that would be replaced with an LED backlight before it actually hits the market, and Sammy is saying that a full-blown market version of this one is around 2-3 years away as of now.

Release Meter: Samsung puts out prices on new 3D HDTVs --

CES brought us early details of these models, and we’ve been tracking the progress of these 3D HDTV displays from Samsung ever since, first they were TVs, then they turned into monitors, then it turned out they were monitors with optional TV tuners built-in — and now their first pricing and availability announcement, which has not brought any big surprises.

South Korea is the debut market for the 950 and 750 Series, both 27-inchers with differing designs, which in the 950′s case is asymmetric and in the 750′s is all about the super thin bezel.

A 1,000:1 contrast ratio, super fast 2ms response, 1080p resolution, and a whole bunch of input ports await the buyer of either one, but not cheap: the 27TA950 will go for 890,000 KRW (almost $800 USD) and the 27TA750 sports a 840,000 KRW price tag (over $750). Not exactly super value types, but MSRPs have a habit of changing rather quickly once they’re released on the open market.

Best Seller this week: LG 32″ 32LD350 HDTV --

LG has a sterling reputation with us at SS, and now comes a major sales courtesy of Amazon on a very nice 32″ unit perfect for any bedroom or spare room in the house: how’s a nice 32″ unit for $309? That’s 31% off the normal list price, and its currently the number 1 HDTV seller on the site for a very good reason.

We’ve seen some interesting patterns among the top sellers of late. Mostly LG and Samsung (the former title holder for Amazon top seller) have jockeyed for the top position on the popular merchant destination on the web, and its only this week that finally LG has claimed the crown for top seller.

Here’s the link to the site to check out the sale, grab it while its hot!

3rd and 4th Place: Sony and LG respectively, LCD sales --

You know the market is pretty topsy-turvy when Vizio is so dominant with LCD HDTV sales, and a company like LG is in 4th place (and very far behind indeed). Curious is the word we’d use.

Now we know the raw reasoning behind this number: Vizio is prominently featured at Wal-Marts across the country, and their prices are pretty tough to beat. Never mind their pure stats with contrast ratio, etc are inferior to Sony and LG. Marketing and decent technologies have combined with low prices to make a juggernaut the other companies cannot ignore.

Raw numbers: Vizio captured a 27.6 percent market share, shipping roughly 2.9 million units in the US last year, a huge number. Samsung was second (kind of a surprise) with a 20.6 percent market share, shipping about 2.1 million sets total. Sony was third with 10.1 percent market share while LG was fourth with 9.4 percent.

Big Target: LG and Samsung want to sell 15 million 3D HDTVs this year --

Yes, we’ve frequently spoke about the limitations and low expectations of the 3D HDTV format, but LG and Samsung (two companies we appreciate and admire) plan on trying to aim on selling 15 million combined HD 3D units this year, if a recent projection report is accurate. Here’s more scoop for your reading pleasure:

Here’s one way to solve a chicken-and-egg dilemma: crank out 15 million chickens. That’s seem to be the plan for Samsung and LG, anyway — Samsung plans to sell 10 million 3D TVs this year, up five times from the two million it sold last year, while LG plans to sell some 5 million. Now, it’s unclear whether this increase in sales will come as a result of consumer demand for 3D or simply because almost all new TVs will be 3D-capable, but we’re hoping that pesky 3D content problem will get a lot better once more people can actually view it — assuming anyone actually wants to wear the glasses, that is.

We really like LG, but given the sales of 3D over the holidays (read: poor), we aren’t optimistic about their projections.

CES 2011: Summary of Best Stuff (that we haven’t covered already) --

CES 2011 is over and the highlights are legion, including lots of 3D developments, new models and other such news. Here our friends at Engadget have summarized the best of the rest, and given us a nice concise rundown for your reading pleasure.

Feel free to read, and drool over the coming growth in the world of HDTV, and get as excited as we are. Samsung and Panasonic in particular have some pretty neat stuff on the way, and we can’t wait to report it to you right here on these pages.

Thanks for reading on this fine Saturday!

Fresh HDTV Deals for the New Year --

Why not ring in the new year with some really great HDTV deals designed to make any hi-def fan swoon? Here we go:

Abes of Maine has a very nice Samsung PN58C550 58″ 1080p Plasma HDTV for $1285 and we include a $15 off with coupon code “LOYALTY15” = $1270 with free shipping too? Yes, indeed, only here will you see this great price.

Walmart.com has a great deal on a huge TV from a relatively unknown brand: a Proscan 55LC55S240V69 55” LCD 1080p 240Hz HDTV for $999.00 with free in-store pickup. Amazing price for the size and features, decent reviews too.

Thanks for joining us and have a happy new year!

Thinnest Ever (Again): LG grabs thinnest bezel title with new 37″ unit --

LG seems to be on a ‘thinnest ever’ LCD HDTV title quest lately, we’ve noticed, and they’re at it again with their latest announced release.

Samsung grabbed the title last month with its 55-inch Display, but today LG is moving ahead of Sammy with a nearly nonexistent frame around its new 37-inch LCD unit that’s guaranteed to turn a few heads, especially as it migrates to larger screens in their line.

Here’s the stats: There’s 2.5mm of bezel on the bottom and right side of the screen, and 1.5mm on the top and left sides, resulting in a microscopic 4mm (0.16 inches) of separation, which is about as small as it can get and still actually have a bezel present.

We appreciate the race to slickness, but now its getting a little silly in our opinion. Thinner doesn’t always equal better, with people or HDTVs.

The Specs Specs: Prescription 3D HD Glasses? --

In all the hubbub over 3D and such, people forget that many need prescription eyeglasses to see anything, 3D or otherwise. Now Samsung is apparently doing something about this, as they’re preparing prescription level 3D active-shutter glasses for certain parts of that population. More here:

If the only thing holding you back from that new 3DTV purchase was the inconvenience of slipping the 3D glasses over the regular old 2D glasses you already wear, Samsung is the first major manufacturer with a solution now that it’s unveiled a prescription version in Korea. The SSG-R2200 models appear to be very similar to the company’s other active shutter 3D glasses in various shapes and sizes, but they’re made to order from an optometrist.

We’ll see these in the US as well at some point, but we’ll also have to see what kind of prices these go for.