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New Stuff Galore: Toshiba shows off its 2011 lineup with lots of goodies --

Press for new lineup announcements is always a fun thing for us, as we marvel at companies and all of their evolutionary advances, and such is the case for Toshiba’s HDTV advances announced recently via reports on blogs and tech publications. Engadget HD has a nice little roundup of the line coming soon to a store near you:

Toshiba’s focus at CES was glasses free 3D displays, but it highlighted more conventional HDTVs today at an event in Rome. Its new TVs and laptops all tie in to Toshiba Places, which sorts out access to different types of apps for video, social networking, music and other areas and is ready to launch this month. Separating Toshiba from the competition is a slew of new technology and the top of the line 55ZL1 model checks all the boxes: Seven core CEVO CPU for image processing, a Pro-LED512 panel that is the world’s first with 512 zones of dimming among 3,072 LEDs, Personal-TV facial recognition that picks up on which user is watching then personalizes to their preferred settings and active shutter 3D glasses. The edge lit LED VL863 series will come in 47- and 42-inch versions featuring LG’s FPR passive glasses 3D and four pairs of glasses, while the 32- through 46-inch UL863 drops 3D for built-in WiFi and Personal-TV. The SL863 series is the final step down, nixing built-in WiFi.

Prices? Nope, not part of the story here, but we expect fairly competitive prices considering Toshiba isn’t usually any higher than most of the comparable technologies from other companies. The Pro-LED512 panel in particular excites us as leading edge LED technology that should bleed into other designs in the future.

Real Life: Toshiba and Hitachi plants damaged by quake, will shut down for a month --

Yes, we discuss the joys of HDTV on our articles here, but every so often, real life intervenes, and such is the case here after the massive 9.0 quake in China apparently damaged some plants the produce some of the marvelous LCD screens we marvel at every day.

It appears Toshiba and Hitachi assembly lines will shut down for a month or so to deal with ‘damages’ cause by the quake and following tsunami that recently ravaged China, the hub of operations for many of our HDTV producing friends. No firm estimates have been given for full operations to resume for either company.

Who knows if this will affect supplies of HDTV screens in the near future, but some mild shortages are likely according to a number of blogs and sources, but that’s the least of the problems facing that country we suppose, in the big scheme of things.

Online Price Dip: $440 for a 40″ Toshiba 1080p HDTV? --

Prices are continuing to slide downwards for new HDTV units, seemingly hitting new lows every few weeks now.

Amazon has, for example, a really cool deal on a 40″ 1080p Toshiba HDTV with a USB connection and loads of good features, well-rated on the site as well: $440, brand new? Pretty amazing indeed, as our predictions of pricing sliding downwards is coming true pretty rapidly. We only hope this spurs slightly lagging sales into the new 2011 model year, as technology and TVs are looking better overall than they ever have.

It’ll be curious how many more deals like this will pop up as vendors seek to clear inventories following the big Super Bowl push.

Surprise, Not Quite: Glasses-free 3D HDTV selling slowly in Japan --

Yes, we’re all truly shocked indeed….glasses-free 3D HDTV units released by Toshiba, their GL1 line, is selling pretty slowly in Japan right now. We weren’t super jazzed about it at release time when we covered it, but there you go. More here:

In truly surprising news, it appears that a combination of high prices, small sizes and a somewhat questionable viewing experience have caused Toshiba’s new GL1 line of glasses-free 3DTVs to sell more slowly than the company expected. In their first month of availability the 20-inch set, priced at 240,000 yen ($2,940), sold around 500 units while its 12-inch cousin sold even less than that, despite projections both would sell at least 1,000 units. Don’t think Toshiba’s letting its hard work go the way of the old Sony XEL-1 OLED TVs just yet, as we saw at CES, it’s still committed to bringing autostereoscopic 3D in larger screen sizes to the masses despite the potential technological hurdles like providing more viewing angles for the 3D effect.

Once larger units come out at reasonable prices, that will be the real test, we think.

Glasses-Free: No glasses needed for Toshiba GL1 3D screens to be released soon --

We’ve spouted about 3D and possible limited future in the limelight, but one thing that may change the equation is the rise of glasses-free 3D viewing, such as the soon to be announced Toshiba GL1. More here:

The panacea of glasses-free 3D displays (or content) might not yet be upon us, but Toshiba’s doing its best by putting the two models in its Regza GL1 family up for sale in Japan. Tomorrow marks the debut of the smaller 12GL1, spanning a 12-inch diagonal and offering the unconventional resolution of 466 x 350. That’s expected to be priced at ¥120,000 ($1,431), exactly half of the ¥240,000 ($2,863) asking price of the 20GL1, which will follow it swiftly with retail availability on December 25th. The latter display has the decency to come equipped with a more civilized 720p resolution and 550:1 contrast ratio, although, as you can see above, neither panel can be accused of being unnecessarily thin or space-efficient. Still, this parallax barrier stuff is the best we’ve got for the moment — and as usual the best we’ve got resides in Japan only.

While not cheap, this could be where the future of 3D HDTV rests. We’ll keep an eye on it of course.

Big Time: Toshiba Power TV runs on integrated battery --

It seems the world of big screen LED HDTV has merged with the world of built-in batteries in a very nice marriage indeed, according to Toshiba. A 32″ LED HDTV running on a battery? Yes indeed. Read on:

Toshiba just announced its new Power TV family of battery-powered LED TVs. Mind you, these aren’t tiny portables. Toshiba’s PC 1 sets are pushing 32- or 24-inches and are the world’s first (according to Toshiba) to integrate a rechargeable battery good for about two hours of power. Why? Because even people lacking clean, consistent power desire the mind-numbing escape afforded by a large televised football match. The sets feature “auto signal booster” tech to enhance viewing in areas with weak signal coverage and “auto view” to optimize the picture based on ambient lighting conditions.

Now these have many uses, including areas with spotty electric service, or even to take along on a very modern camping trip of some sort.

More Google TV Fun: Toshiba and Vizio to jump on the bandwagon next year --

It appears Google TV has been a moderate success, at least with TV execs. It appears (according to Engadget and various other blogs and sites) that HDTV makers Toshiba and Vizio will be joining the G-TV parade in January or so of next year. Read for more info:

Content providers might be banning Google TV left, right, and center, but hardware partners don’t seem to be losing any enthusiasm. After Samsung openly admitted to contemplating a HDTV with Google TV hardware and software built right in, Toshiba and Vizio are now said to have firm plans to introduce such new products at January’s CES 2011. While neither manufacturer would be drawn into confirming this latest bit of insider info, Toshiba’s American GM, Jeff Barney, is quoted as saying, “Google certainly is a key partner for us on the PC side and will likely be key for us on the TV side as well.” How else could Google function as a key TV partner than with its web-connected TV experience?

Hopefully, this will convince content providers that GTV is worth supporting and lift their embargo of the service. We aren’t holding our breath to be honest, but we can always hope.

Premature Savings: Amazon launches Pre-Black Friday sales --

It appears the trend (as we predicted) towards launching pre-Black Friday sales is in full swing, as Amazon got into the party with a great deal on a 55″ HDTV, as written about here:

Amazon today is launching an early Black Friday sale, starting with a Toshiba 55-inch LED HDTV for 50 percent off.

The set, model 55UX600U, normally costs $2,399 but is available today for $1,199 while supplies last. The 55-inch TV is Net enabled and features Net services such as Vudu, a VOD service.

Now 50% off is an amazing deal, especially given its size and features, and it isn’t even November yet! We like the trend, and this season should see HDTV ownership skyrocket due to decreasing prices and great deals that should be offered. Offer subject to selling out of course.

A Bust: Toshiba glasses-free debut not promising? --

Here’s some early hands-on reviews regarding Toshiba’s glass-free HDTV 3D unit, and they aren’t exactly good. Many have negative things to say about the current state of the technology sans glasses:

Toshiba this week introduced several glasses-free 3D HDTVs at the Ceatec conference and the media reviews are not exactly eye-popping.

For instance, CNET writes that you have to sit very close to the center of the screen to experience the 3D effect. And, “you have to stand pretty close to the (set), closer than any normal person would want to for feat of singeing their retinas.”

3D TV makers have struggled to generate sales this year and consumer surveys have suggested that the 3D goggles is a major obstacle; viewers simply don’t want to wear ( or pay extra for) special glasses while watching TV.

To combat that concern, Toshiba this week has unveiled three models, a 12-inch set, a 20-inch set and a 56-inch model. The 12-inch and 20-inch sets are expected to be available in Japan by year’s end for $1,400 and $2,800 respectively (translated into dollars.)

CNET writes that the glasses-free 3D set uses a 2D image and then makes nine images from it to create the 3D effect.

But The New York Post writes today that the viewer would have to sit between 15 and 25 inches from the screen to get the 3D effect.

Well, that isn’t a good thing. We’re one of the ones that think this tech could take off, if a reliable and solid glasses-free unit could really work.

Newness News: Toshiba releasing LED HDTV series in the US --

Toshiba hasn’t been quiet all this time, they’re releasing a group of gorgeous Toshiba HDTVs that was previewed at IFA, and they’re coming to a living room near you, assuming you’re in the USA.

Just as we expected, Toshiba has come out with the US variants of its well-regarded LED-based Cinema Series, with the big-time WX800 models (46- and 55-inches) getting 3D Resolution+ technology, 240Hz processor, 802.11b/g/n WiFi included, the company’s own Enhanced NET TV service with the always fun Yahoo! widgets and a native 1080p panel too. We’re out of breath from all that, and you may be too when you get this in your living room.

The lower end VX700 models (again, 46- and 55-inches) is meant for those ok with 2D (read: most of us right now), but are fairly similar aside from that.