DisplayBlog

Sharp AQUOS X Series LCD TV

Size: 37″, 42″, 46″
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Pixel Format: 1920 x 1080, Full HD, 1080p
Contrast Ratio: 15,000:1 (dynamic), 2000:1, 900:1 (living room contrast)
Brightness: 450 cd/m2
Viewing Angle: 176/176
Frame Rate: 120Hz
Color Processing: 12-bit
Other: CCFL-based backlight unit (BLU)
Input: HDMI (3), DVI-I, D5 (3), S2, RCA (3)
Availability: March 1, 2008

Sharp Corporation announced its new AQUOS X Series of LCD TVs in three sizes: 37″, 42″ and 46″. According to Sharp, the X Series AQUOS is the industry’s thinnest at just 3.44cm (less than 1″) in depth at the thinnest part. Thin is definitely in. If you intend to hang one of these X Series LCD TVs on your wall, the more flush it is with the wall, the better it would be aesthetically. I look forward to most high-end LCD TVs to shed thickness this year. What I would like to see in the distant future is a TV that’s just pure display with little else.

Source: Sharp via Engadget

Samsung 40″ 1080p LCD Panel

Pixel Format: 1920 x 1080
Thickness: 10mm (0.3937″)
Bezel:  14.6mm (0.57″)
Backlight: LED
Color Gamut: 92% NTSC
Power Consumption: <=90 Watts

Samsung will introduce a 40″ Full HD LCD TV panel that is just 10.0mm (0.3937″) thick. The bezel was reduced too: from 30mm (1.18″) to a slender 14.6mm (0.57″). The panel is incorporates a LED backlight that generates a color gamut of 92% NTSC. Not only is Samsung’s 10mm-thick 40″ super slim, it also consumes very little power: 90 watts or less. Can’t wait to see the Samsung LCD TV that will use this panel!

Source: Akihabara News

Hitachi introduced three WOOO series LCD TVs: UT42-HHV700 (42″ 1080p), UT37-HV700 (37″ 1080p), and UT32-HV700 (32″ 720p). The most special feature of these three models is the thickness: a mere 35mm thick. For those who are more versed in inches, that is less than 1″ thick (0.9887″ to be exact). The UT42 and UT37 uses the company’s Twice Velocity Panel that doubles the frequency to 120Hz, which should substantially reduce motion blur for when you’re watching sports. Hitachi decided to use an external box for external connections like HDMI. These thin WOOO LCD TVs will be available in early 2008. I couldn’t find a decent picture to show off the LCD TV as a whole while focusing on the the thinness of them, but a ton of pictures are available at Akihabara News. By looking at the models carrying these WOOO LCD TVs, the TVs must not be too heavy at all.

16:9 LCDs

Size: 18.4″, 16.0″
Pixel Format: 1920 x 1080 (18.4″), 1366 x 768 (16.0″)
Colors: 262,144 for both (6-bit)
Brightness: 300 cd/m2 (18.4″), 220 cd/m2 (16.0″)
Color Gamut: 90% NTSC (18.4″), 60% NTSC (16.0″)
Contrast Ratio: 800:1 for both
Response Time: 8ms for both
Viewing Angle: 140/135 for both
Availability: 1H’08

Active White LED Backlight LCD

Size: 15.4″
Pixel Format: 1440 x 900 (same as one in 15.4″ MacBook Pro)
Contrast Ratio: 10,000:1 or more (dynamic contrast ratio)
Viewing Angle: 120/120 (not very good)
Brightness: 300 cd/m2
Color Gamut: 45% NTSC (just average)
Power Consumption: 2.0W or less
Availability: 2H’08

More pictures at Akihabara News

On October 17, 2007, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., (SEC) announced the development of new LCDs for notebook PCs. Two offers a 16:9 aspect ratio, just like a HD TV, and the third features an active white LED backlight that increases picture clarity and reduces power consumption. SEC will unveil these LCDs at FPD International being held in Yokohama, Japan, October 24-26. Mass production is scheduled to commence in 1H’08 for the 16:9 LCDs and in 2H’08 for the white LED backlight LCD. I’m not as excited about the 16:9 LCDs as I am with the “active” LED backlight panel, but it is quite a long ways from now, unfortunately.

The two 16:9 LCDs are 16″ and 18.4″ in size. The color gamut is 60% for the 16″ and 90% for the 18.4″. Quite high considering typical notebooks have about 45% NTSC. Since these two are using CCFL backlights, I will assume that the phosphors have been improved to generate an improved color gamut. The wide color gamut CCFL (WCG-CCFL) can be nice for general movie watching but color matching can be a problem for those serious about color. Contrast ratio for the 16:9 panels is a pretty good 800:1 but the response time isn’t going to be fast enough (8ms) to replace your TV for video viewing. The number of colors (262,144) tell you that these are 6-bit panels. It seems the 18.4″ will have a pixel format of 1920 x 1080 (Full HD, 1080p). I have a 17″ Dell with a pixel format of 1920 x 1200 and it is pretty large. I wonder if consumers will buy into a 18.4″ notebook PC. It might be just a tad bit too big in my opinion. Of course, if it was slimmer, lighter, sexier and lasted many more hours, I wouldn’t mind the extra 1.4″. But please don’t put the keyboard to the left since I have no use for a numeric keypad. By the way, the 1366 x 768 pixel format for a large 16.0″ LCD sounds a bit on the low side.

SEC’s 15.4″ active white LED backlight LCD sounds pretty cool as the company states that it will consume 40% less power than a typical LED backlight. That would mean that it will consume even less than a typical CCFL backlight. I certainly appreciate the improvements in backlight technology as it seems the battery industry is not going to be providing much useful advances soon with batteries exploding and even battery factories catching on fire. The active part of the LED backlight involves illuminated areas of the display with varying degrees of brightness. To make dark areas dark the LEDs for that portion of the display are turned off. When dark becomes more dark and bright areas become more bright, contrast ratio is improved and SEC states that the contrast ratio is 10,000:1. Wow. But other features are just normal: viewing angle (120/120), color gamut (45%) and brightness (300 cd/m2).

Source: Akihabara News

On 2007.09.29, Sony Taiwan introduced two 1080p LCD TVs series: X and W with three different sizes for each series: 40″, 46″ and 52″ that will be available in October. The 52″ (KDL-52X3500) will cost NT$219,000 (US$6719) and the 40″ (KDL-40W3100) will be NT$74,900 (US$2297). Sony expects total demand for LCD TVs in Taiwan to reach 700,000 units in 2007. Sharp’s 42″ Full HD LCD TV is priced at NT$109,000, significantly higher than Sony’s KDL-40W3100, by NT$34,100, even compensating for the extra 2″ in size.  Competitors have announced that they will not enter into a price war in the short term with Sony. This will most likely lead to Sony capturing a significant amount of market share. Not only does Sony have a strong brand presence worldwide, when Sony’s TVs can be had for substantially less, the decision would be quite simple, in my opinion.

Source: DigiTimes