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LGE PG60 Series Plasma TVs

Size: 50″ (50PG60), 60″ (60PG60)
Pixel Format: 1080p Full HD
Contrast Ratio: 30,000:1
Frequency: 180Hz via Fluid Motion
Lifetime: 100,000 hours to half brightness
Input: HDMI 1.3 with Deep Color (4), USB Media Host (JPEG, MP3)

LG Electronics announced on April 2, 2008 that it is partnering with the Sonoma Valley Film Society as the “Official HDTV Sponsor of the 2008 Sonoma Valley Film Festival”. The Festival will run from April 9 to 13. LG will showcase its PG60 Series plasma HDTVs and market it as part of a stylish home theater setting that include the company’s BH200 Blu-ray player, and the LHT799 700W home theater system.

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On February 25, Pioneer announced that it will cease manufacturing 42″ plasma display panels (PDPs) and instead procure from Matsushita Electric Industrial or Hitachi. 42″ manufacturing from Pioneer’s Kagoshima prefecture will stop around March 2009.

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The most popular TV technology today is LCD. LCD TVs come in many sizes: from smallish 13″ ones to huge 70″ and larger ones. Although 32″ seems to be at the sweet spot now, 40″ and 42″ LCD TVs will take the spotlight in 2008, mainly because top brands will have lower-end models that dip below $1000. LCD TV wasn’t always popular. Just a few years ago, it was plasma TVs. Remember Gateway when the company introduced 42″ ED plasma TVs for just $1999? That was big news back then. Of course, now, you can get a 42″ HD plasma TV for just $999. For 50″ and larger TVs, plasma TV still has the edge in price but that won’t be for too long. But I’m not interested in either LCD TV or plasma TV. My interest is in liquid crystal on silicon or LCoS. LCoS-based rear projection TVs to be a bit more revealing. And to be ultra-precise, my next TV will be a 55″ Sony 3-chip 1080p SXRD rear projection TV. I will give you three reasons why.

1. Thin might be in, but is a waste of money. Unless you are intending to put your LCD TV or plasma TV on the wall, paying for thin is a waste of money. Although the display might be thin, the base needs to be fairly deep to prevent it from tipping over. For 40″ and larger sizes, you want a pretty sturdy base. Another reason why thin is a waste of money is because you will most likely put it on top of a table or furniture piece that is significantly thicker than the TV. The reason for this is simple: most if not all A/V equipment that will connect to your thin over-priced TV will have a depth that is 2x to 3x more. These include DVD players, A/V receivers, Blu-ray and HD-DVD players, game consoles such as Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, etc. So why do you need your TV to be thin?

2. EMI. Electro-magnetic interference is everywhere and the most come from when the microwave is on, but next to that is when your large TV is on. We, as in folks that live in the US, live at a time when 40″ is about the bare minimum size of a living room TV. In addition to that, I have kids, who love to sit or stand right in front of the TV and exposing themselves to all that EMI. Since kids will be kids, I want to get a TV that has minimal EMI. And guess what? Plasma TV is known for very high levels of EMI. LCD TV has much less, but rear projection TV is significantly less than both.

3. UHP. Ultra-high-performance lamps. Yes, these go out every 3-4 years and, some say, is a pain in the butt to replace. Add to that the $200-$300 price tag on one of these and a TV that uses a UHP bulb sounds downright expensive. Well, I want to look at this differently. A CCFL or LED backlight will last 50,000 or more hours before brightness levels drop to 50% of original. That turns out to be a very long time. So what happens when your TV’s brightness falls to a point where you don’t like it anymore? You can’t do anything. You can possibly find a company that can replace the backlight unit, but that is very unlikely. Most likely, you’ll need to get a new TV. And that will cost you quite a bit more than $300. With a UHP-based rear-projection TV, you can basically get a brand new TV every 3-4 years for just $300. I like that.

There is another reason why I want Sony’s 55″ SXRD TV. Soon, it will come below the $1000 mark. And that’s a great value for a 1080p 50″ TV. Sony’s LCoS implementation in its SXRD technology is a gem. Although many of you might disagree with the reasons I put forth, one of my goals is to maximize the return on my investment. Thin is nice, but is way overpriced and in most cases (unless you’re putting it on the wall) is not even a useful feature.

LG introduced two Xcanvas Gallery wood PDP TVs, four Reddot TV (two LCD TVs and two PDP TVs), and two “slim & wave” design LCD TVs with third generation Time Machine functionalityThe 60″ Xcanvas Gallery wood PDP TV uses highest quality wood imported from Italy for its external frame. Wood was chosen to better match the interior design of customers’ homes. The Gallery wood PDP TV can be customized at the time of ordering with an option for wood: walnut or ash. The 60″ wood PDP TV is Full HD capable with a pixel format of 1920 x 1080 and incorporates the third generation Time Machine technology that allows for recording HD video content onto the hard disk while watching another HD channel. The price is set at KRW9.9 million, or just over US$10,500!

LG also introduced four Reddot TVs that incorporate the designs of the company’s 47″ LCD TV and 50″ PDP TV that won Reddot design awards. The new Reddot TVs come in 32, 42″ LCD TVs and 42″, 50″ PDP TVs. The LCD TVs are called Shine Ruby and has a ruby-colored line that goes across below the screen that presents a high-end look. These Reddot TVs also incorporate the company’s TruM technology that doubles the frequency from the normal 60Hz to 120Hz. This is done so that other technologies such as backlight blinking and black frame insertion can be applied to reduce motion blur.

“Slim & Wave” design LCD TVs incorporate the company’s third generation Time Machine technology. Also incorporated is EyeQ that maximizes front screen performance depending on the ambient light environment. The Slim & Wave LCD TVs are just 8.8mm thick and from the sides have a wave design. LG Electronics is planning to export these models in the second quarter of this year.

Here is the list of all the new models. Prices are in KRW and for wall-mount versions (US$1 = KRW941.50):

PDP TVs
60″ wood (60PT1DRW):  9,900,000
60″ wood (60PT1DRA): 9,900,000
50″ 2007 Reddot Design (50PB4DR): 3,500,000
42″ 2007 Reddot Design (42PB4DR): 2,300,000

LCD TVs
42″ 2007 Reddot Design (42LB5DR): 2,500,000
32″ 2007 Reddot Design (32LB3D): 1,700,000
42″ Slim & Wave Design (42LB5DR): 2,600,000
37″ Slim & Wave Design (37LB5DR): 2,100,000
Source: Donga-Ilbo, Akihabara News, Ubergizmo, LG

Samsung Electronics’ Cannes plasma display panel (PDP) TV is the culmination of the company’s many display enhancement technologies such as: Ultra DayLight, Natural True Color, and Real Motion Studio. The Cannes PDP TV features a contrast ratio of 1000:1 in a bright room and a much improved 15000:1 in dark rooms due the its Ultra DayLight technology. PDP TVs have typically suffered in bright ambient environments with low contrast ratios where colors are washed out. The Natural True Color technology processes color at 18-bit, improving color fidelity while the Real Motion Studio technology improves sharpness for facial outlines and on-screen textual information.

Samsung chose the name Cannes for the Cannes International Film Festival, or Festival De Cannes. This year the Cannes Festival will be held from May 16 – 27. The company has promotional events planned including the invitation of lucky customers of the Cannes PDP TV. There seems to be three Cannes models: 42″ HD, 50″ HD and 63″ Full HD. Prices for these PDP TVs are as follows: 42″ HD for 2.1 million Korean won (around US$2234), 50″ HD for 3.4 million Korean won (around US$3617) and finally the 63″ Full HD for a cool 9.0 million Korean won (around US$9575).

Source: AVING