Our Danish colleagues had press coverage from the CES 2008 fair with a lot of interesting stuff. We have compiled some of the most amazing new TVs and monitors here.

CES 2008 is hosted every year in Las Vegas, Nevada in January. All the biggest players in the market attend the gigantic fair to present and talk about their future products.

The death of HD-DVD?

It came as a shock; Warner has joined Blu-Ray – exclusively. Is this the deathblow that ends the HD-DVD adventure? It might be.

Warner Bros – the movie maker – has announced that it will join the Blu-Ray camp and this leaves HD-DVD with only a few supporters and even fewer potential supporters. New Line Cinema followed Warner Bros and Xbox360 is rumoured to drop HD-DVD and migrate to Blu-Ray, too.

HD-DVD and Toshiba looks almost dead and Toshiba cancelled their press meeting about HD-DVD. They too were shocked about the news.


Blu-Ray has for some time conquered more consumers than HD-DVD and Blu-Ray would benefit greatly from the increased sales because it seemed like the best investment for the movie makers. Paramount might even join Blu-Ray and leave HD-DVD empty-handed according to market rumours.

The war is not over yet but CES 2008 might be the last big event where both camps try to win the glory. Blu-Ray looks like the winner.

Pioneer

Pioneer is considered one of the best TV manufacturers in the world and their new Kuro plasma series is by far the best TV’s around.

Plasma panels today are thick and bulky but Pioneer has the answer. It’s a super-thin plasma panel measuring only 9 mm! For now it’s a prototype but Pioneer promise that the picture quality will be superb and that we will see it within some years.


Picture borrowed from Gizmodo, iPhone in front of Pioneer plasma Tv

The project has been labelled “Floating on a wall” and the weight of the panels is only 18.6 kilograms.

Pioneer had another prototype as well. It’s the next installation of the Kuro project – this time with even deeper blacks. Pioneer actually says that this time the Kuro will deliver _perfect_ blacks and the screen is invisible in a dark room.

The two prototypes haven’t been combined but the plan is to market both sometime in the near future. Pioneer usually introduces TV’s in August/September and the G9 is said to be the next big thing from Pioneer. G9 won’t use the new technologies so 2009 is the year if we’re lucky.

Panasonic

150 inch plasma Tv!
A 150 inch plasma TV’s was the object of attention, however. This enormous TV is by far the largest flat screen in the world and Sharp’s 108 inch LCD-TV looks like miniature TV compared to this new monster.

The panel has a resolution of 4096 x 2160 or four times Full HD. Panasonic has to be crazy to produce a TV this large but it’s a interesting step toward bigger TV as this TV gives us a hint of the future of flat panel TV’s with a super high resolution and a gigantic surface.


Panasonic 150 inch plasma, picture borrowed from Gizmodo 

The screen is big enough to reproduce a full-size human being and Panasonic exceeds the old plasma record of 103 inches by… a lot.


Panasonic 150 inch plasma, picture borrowed from Gizmodo

The prototype has been named Life Screen and is said to use 50 % less Watts (per inch?) than the old 103 inch TV. The TV is planned for the professional and consumer market too – that is if you can afford it. Panasonic says that the price tag tops the price tag of the 103 inch TV (36.000 Euro).


Panasonic 150 inch plasma, picture borrowed from Gizmodo

2009 is the year so you have plenty of time to save up for the 150” giant.

Pana has a lot of other new stuff to showcase. Panasonic will introduce no less than 7 new plasmas series called PX8, PX80, PZ8, PZ80, PZ85, PZ800 and PZ850.

PX80
PX80 replaces PX70 and offers a new improved contrast ratio of 15.000:1 because of improved blacks.

The PX80 also features 3 HDMI inputs and a SD card reader. The PX80 is said to launch in 37, 42 and 50 inch versions by March 2008.

PZ80
Pana has a new PZ80 line ready, too. It’s a Full HD line-up of 42, 46 and 50 inch models. The contrast ratio is 20000:1 and the screen has an anti-reflective coating.


Panasonic PZ80

PZ80 also features VIERA link, a SD reader and 3 HDMI inputs.

PZ85

After PZ80 comes PZ85. The PZ85 has and nicer design and comes in a 42, a 46 and a 50 inch version.


Panasonic PZ85

It’s a Full HD series with 3 HDMI inputs and hidden loudspeakers.

PZ800

If you like it big the PZ800 is the one for you. A 58 inch version is to be introduced as well as models in 50, 46 and 42 inches.


Panasonic PZ800

It has specs such as Full HD, 30000:1 contrast ratio and four HDMI inputs.

Panasonic says it will playback 24p material and has VIERA link and a SD card reader.

PZ850
PZ850 is the cream of the crop. It has a all-in-one design with a front glass that covers even the black frame.

It has an IP-TV feature that let’s you connect directly to services like Youtube.


Panasonic PZ850

You can buy a PZ850 in a whooping 65 inch version as well as a 58, 50, 46 and 42”. The PZ850 series has a Pro Setting Menu for the advanced user and the contrast ratio is 30000:1 because of excellent blacks.

The PZ850 has a SD card reader and 4 HDMI inputs. It supports VIERA link and 24p playback too.

Panasonic Blu-Ray

Panasonic showcased their new Blu-Ray player on CES 2008 and plan to be the number one Blu-Ray manufacturer in the world.

The new player is DMP-BD50 and it’s the first 2.0, final profile player on the market.

It supports 1080p output in 50, 60 and 24 Hz as well as Dolby True HD and DTS HD Master.


Panasonic DMP-BD50

The horse that pulls the load is called UniPhier. UniPhier is a technology developed by Panasonic to handle the lot of information contained on a Blu-Ray disc.

Panasonic DMP-BD50 supports Deep Colour from the HDMI 1.3 output to allow colour depth of 12 bit. A 12 bit signal contains 4096 steps per colour (RGB). Our current 8 bit standard contains 256.
In order to utilize Deep Colour you need a TV supporting Deep Colour, a Blu-Ray player that supports Deep Colour and Deep Colour material.

The player support PIP (Picture in Picutre) and BD-live, too, and plays HD video and pictures from the integrated SD card reader.

Sony

Sony probably has one of the most amazing products at CES 2008. They brought the 11 inch OLED-TV that indicates a bright future for the small organic LEDs.

The OLED-TV is called XEL-1 and is the first large OLED panel to be introduced. Japan got it in December 2007 but on CES 2008 Sony unveiled that North America can expect it in 2008. Still no plans for Europe, however.


Sony XEL-1, OLED-TV

The OLED market looks promising but according to analysts the real break-through won’t happen before 2009 or 2010. OLED is, however, believed to be the next major panel technologies with characteristics like high contrast, perfect viewing angles, a super thin profile and low power consumption.
The contrast ratio is specified to be 1.000.000:1.

The XEL-1 is only 3 mm thick and has a power consumption of 45 W.


Sony XEL-1, OLED-TV

Sony XEL-1 has a price tag of 2000 US dollars when introduced in the US. Sony also has a 27 inch prototype ready but hasn’t disclosed any concrete plans to market it.

Samsung

Samsung presented two OLED-TVs, too. Both were a notch larger than the ones Sony showcased with a 14 inch panel and the 31 inch panel.

The panels are manufactured by Samsung SDI but the consumers won’t see the OLED-TVs before 2010. When 2010 comes the panels will be available with a contrast ratio of 1.000.000:1, a colour gamut of 107 % and a brightness of 550 cd/m2.

If Full HD isn’t enough to impress you then take a look at this four times Full HD 52 inch panel from Samsung that was presented on CES 2008.

It has a contrast of 50.000:1 and a brightness of 550 cd/m2. The resolution is whooping 3840 x 2160. You wonder if this is really necessary when no TV today can utilize the full potential of the 1080p resolution but bring it on and let’s see how it turns out. The panel will make in into mass production in 2009.

Samsung also had this 82 inch QUAD Full HD LCD-TV on display.

TVs

Samsung has a brand new 2008 line-up and it was exposed at CES 2008. The line-up includes both plasma and LCD TVs.

6 & 7 series, LCD
To start off with let’s take a look at the new 6 and 7 series, LCD.

This will be the new high-end series and once again Samsung presents a new look in black. The TVs is marketed with the slogan “Touch of Colour”.


Samsung 6 series, LCD

The 6 series use S-PVA panels that Samsung and Sony manufacture in the S-LCD joint venture. A 40, 46 and 52 inch model is available.
The TVs has characteristics such as a response time of 4 ms and 100 Hz circuits. All of the TVs feature Full HD panels and 4 HDMI inputs.


Samsung 7 series, LCD

Internet is a part of the 6 series, too. Samsung as integrated an internet input that allows the user to access interactive online services. You need to use a cable, however – strange.

The 7 series has the same characteristics as the 6 series but also features a USB port that allows playback of HD material. It has improved online features, too, with an all new RSS reader – next-gen teletext.

The 6 series launch in May and the 7 series in the fall 2008.

7 series, plasma

A plasma variant of the 7 series is also coming.  It has a Full HD panel, 4 HDMI inputs and an USB input – just like the LCD alternative.


Samsung 7 series, plasma

I’m almost certain that this will be a top-seller. Samsung has made a significant progress in their plasma technology lately and this bad-boy is ready to adorn your living room in sizes much larger the LCD alternative. You see, it’s the perfect addition to your PS3 setup with 50 inch, 58 inch or 63 inch models – all in Full HD.


Samsung 7 series, plasma

Besides this the 7 series plasma has similar online services that I mentioned in the preview of the 7 series, LCD.

5 & 4 series, plasma

A new 5 series and a mid-end 4 series were on display at CES 2008. Both feature 3 HDMI inputs and a USB input on the side of the frame.

The 4 series has a 3D technology that aims to please the gamers. What the 3D technology is about Samsung hasn’t said yet but I’m sure more information will be available soon.


Samsung 5 series, plasma

The 5 series is not a 3D screen but has Full HD resolution instead. The 5 series is to be introduced in 50 and 58 inch models, the 4 series in 42 and 50 inches.

5 and 4 series, LCD

The new LCD series was presented as well. They are the LCD version of the 4 and 5 series but no 3D is mentioned on the 4 series.

Both LCD-TV series have S-PVA panels produced by Samsung and Sony, 3 HDMI inputs and a USB input.

5 series: 32, 37, 40, 46, and 52”.

4 series: 26, 32, 37 and 50”.

Both will be available in May 2008.

Blu-Ray

Blu-Ray won an important battle when Warner Bros went Blu-Ray exclusive. The news was thrown at CES 2008 and it looks like the final punch - Blu-Ray stands tall.

Samsung has 2 new Blu-Ray players ready for you. It’s the BD-P1500 and the BD-UP5500.

BD-P1500

This is the fourth-gen Blu-Ray player from Samsung. They were one of the first manufacturers to introduce a Blu-Ray player and since then a lot has happened.

The BD-P1500 supports 1080p, 1080i and 720p output. It can upscale DVD too.


Samsung BD-P1500

The player supports 7.1 PCM, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD, DTS HD HR and MA. Bitstream audio output is supported too. 

The HDMI output is rev. 1.3 and the player is a profile 1.1 Blu-Ray. It also has a Internet connection to allow firmware updates.

The price is not disclosed but the player is ready in Q2 2008.

BD-UP5500

The second player from Samsung is actually a combi-player that plays both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD,

With the news about Warner and Blu-Ray it’s doubtful whether this player will make it to the market but if Samsungs decides to do so you can see it on the shelves in the second half of 2008.


Samsung BD-UP5500

The HDMI is rev. 1.3 and the player has an internet input. It supports 1080p24 and the interactive elements on both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray.

BP-UP5500 also supports 7.1 PCM, DTS-HR and MA and Dolby True HD bitstream.

OLED and four times Full HD
Samsung also had some nice futuristic prototypes brought with them to their stand. These include OLED and a panel with four times the resolution of Full HD

"OLED and quadruple full-HD technologies represent an entirely new paradigm in picture resolution technology," claimed Dr Jongwoo Park, President of Digital Media Business, Samsung Electronics. "This is a level of clarity that is in some cases four times beyond current industry standards, yet retains the slim fits and light weight that have made our models preferred among consumers."

OLED-TV by 2010
OLED is considered the next big panel technology and is predicted to capture a substantial market share. LCD and plasma displays aren’t expected to disappear from the market but OLED certainly looks like the next big thing.

Samsung brought two OLED prototypes; one on 14.1” and one on 31”. The panels have characteristics such as a super-thin profile, a high resolution and extremely light frame.


Samsung 14” OLED, by Engadget

The OLED panels are produced by Samsung SDI. The final TV weights 40 percent less than a traditional 32 inch LCD-TV. It has a contrast ratio of 1000000:1 and a colour spectre of 107 percent. The brightness is said to be 550 cd/m2. 


Samsung 31” OLED, by Engadget 

Samsung is expected to start mass producing large-size OLED panels in 2010. 

Four times Full HD soon to come
A LCD-TV with four times the resolution of Full HD is the newest addition to Samsungs impressive portfolio of products-to-come. The LCD-TV is 52 inches large and is said to be significantly thinner than current LCD-TVs.

The contrast ratio is 50 000:1 and the brightness is 550 cd/m2. The resolution is 3840x2160. Full HD is 1920x1080. Samsung promises the first panels in 2009.


Samsung 82" Quad HD, by Engadget

Besides the 52 inch prototype, Samsung also has an 82 inch prototype with a resolution of 340x2160.

LG

LG did manage to pull some attention with their new monitors and TVs. The new TVs included both LCD and plasma.

TV

The design is pride of place and the new TVs from LG looks very nice and different. Amongst the new TVs you’ll find the 6000 series. The LCD variation is LG 6000 and the plasma is called PG 6000. More about the new TVs here:

LG 6000

The LG 6000 series has a very unique design. It’s designed with style and elegance to reflect the modern lifestyle and it is only 4 cm thick.


LG 6000

You can choose from two colours; red and black. In the middle of the bottom frame there is a small hole that is being lid by a diode.

The technical specifications consist of 4 HDMI inputs and a 100 Hz circuit. 


LG 6000

LG says that the new LG 6000 series has been pre-calibrated according to the ISF standard (there is no such standard but I think they mean it has been ISF calibrated).
The screen also has an intelligent sensor to control the light of the panel according to the external light (night/day).


LG 6000

The loudspeakers are hidden in the bottom frame but LG says that the sound quality is quite good as Mark Levison has be a co-developer in the project.


LG 6000

LG 6000 is said to arrive in 32, 37, 42 and 47 inches in July 2008.

PG 6000

PG 6000 is the plasma alternative. This one has a different design with a all-in-one glass front plate that covers the outer frame.
The rest of the TV is made from metal to give the screen an exclusive look. LG even made it possible to replace the lower frame of the screen with different variants of wood and plastic. For example walnut.


PG 6000

PG 6000 has a n improved G plasma panel according to LG and like the LG 6000 series, the PG 6000 has been pre-ISF calibrated.

The TV has 4 HDMI (rev. 1.3) inputs and an USB input. It also has a DVB-T tuner and you can choose from 5 different colours.

In addition to the PG 6000, LG will launch modified models called PG 6300, PG 6500 and PG 6900.

PG 6300 has a DVB-C tuner.

PG 6500 has a DVB-C tuner with mpeg-4 decoding.

PG 6900 has 2 DVB-T tuners and a 250 GB hard drive.

All the PG plasma models are available in 32 (yes 32 inch plasma), 42 and 50 inches as of April 2008. No prices have been mentioned.

Monitors

LG also had some new monitors to show at CES 2008. It’s the W52 series and the W00 series. The L227WT has finally arrived, too.

W52

Not much was said about the W52 but what we know is that it will feature a nice glossy design in 19, 19 (wide), 22 and 24 inches.

It has a contrast ratio of 10.000:1 achieved by an improvement in the dynamic contrast system called DFC (digital fine contrast).

All of the four models has a TN panel and a response time of 2 ms (g2g). They are well-suited for gaming.

W00

Monitors with the strange W00 name comes in 26 and 30 inches. They are called W2600 and W3000, respectively.

Both new monitors accept 1080p inputs from a Blu-Ray player and it looks like these monitors are suited for gaming consoles.


LG W3000

Both monitors have a response time of 5 ms (g2g) and a dynamic contrast ratio of 10000:1 (DFC). The gigantic 30 inch monitor has a resolution of 2560x1600 and the smaller 26 inch, W2600, has a resolution of 1920x1200.

L227WT

This monitor was announced ages ago but nothing happened. LG had some problems with the supply of 22 inch panels for the old L226WT but the supply is almost stable now. This means that the L227WT is finally here.


LG L227WT

It features a 2 ms (g2g) response time and a colour gamut of 100 %. The has a very nice black and glossy design as well.

The resolution is 1680x1050 and as said before it’s the successor to the L226WT.

Philips

Philips recently launched the Aurea with the Ambilight technology. The Aurea used the frame to light up the room and had LEDs on the back to light up the wall behind the TV. It was advertised through fashion magazines and not the traditional electronics magazines so it got a lot of attention from the media.

The next TVs from Philips are ready and even though they aren’t called Aurea you can see the parallel n the design.

The new TV series are named 7600, 7400, 5000 and 3000.

7000 series
The new design is called minimalistic, emotional and recognisable in Philips’ own words. It has smooth and soft edges and hidden loudspeakers.

Most of the new LCD-TV series has the Ambilight LED technology to create atmosphere.


Philips 7600 series

7600 and 7400 are the new high-end models from Philips. The overall term is the 7000 series.
The 7000 series utilize the Pixel Plus 3 HD picture chip and a 100 Hz ClearLCD system. Both series are said to deliver better blacks and a better shadow detail – something we criticized the Aurea for lacking in our review on our Danish site.

The difference between 7600 and 7400 is the type of Ambilight.


Philips 7400 series

The 7000 series has 4 HDMI inputs and range from 42 inches to 52 inches with a 47 inch model in between.

5000 and 3000 series

The design of the 5000 series is close to the before mentioned. Besides that no details have been disclosed.


Philips 5000 series

The 3000 series has different and more traditional Philips design. 


Philips 3000 series

The smallest model is a 19 inch model and the largest (7000 series) is a 52 inch model.

Blu-Ray

Philips’s new Blu-Ray player is named BDP7200 and as you might have guessed already Philips is a Blu-Ray supporter.

The player has a dark look with soft edges like the new TVs.

It supports 1080p inputs in 60, 50 and 24 Hz. It can upscale your old DVDs as well. Deep Color is supported, too but you need a Deep Color compatible TV and some Deep Color material to benefit from the new technology.


Philips BDP7200

The player features a CEC function called EasyLink. EasyLink is used to communicate with other HDMI devices.

Philips BDP7200 is a profile 1.1 Blu-Ray player and therefore it supports PIP (picture in picture).


Philips BDP7200

The player will launch in April 2008 and the suggested price is 349 US dollars.

Dell

Dell presented a remarkable design concept at CES 2008. It’s called the Crystal monitor and has a very appealing glass frame around the panel.

In the outer glass frame you see four loudspeakers and visible connectors that look great.


Dell Crystal LCD monitor

Everything is thought through and even the stand is nice looking. It built from polished metal.

The monitor has a 22 inch widescreen panel with a response time of 2 ms (g2g). It’s a TN panel with a resolution of 1680x1050 and a contrast ratio of 2000:1 (dynamic). The colour gamut is 98 %.


Dell Crystal LCD monitor

At the top of the screen you can spot a small web camera. On the back you’ll discover that the monitor has a HDMI input and a DVI input.

It won’t be cheap though. You can expect a price tag of 1199 US dollars. The current 22 inch monitor from Dell is priced something like 3000 dollars.

Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi is one of these allround manufacturers that produce everything in almost every category. They haven’t penetrated the TV market yet, however, but they hope to do so with their new Laser-TV. The one problem is that it’s not a flat panel TV, hmm…


Mitsubishi laser Tv

Mitsubishi has been talking about their laser-TV for some time now but no one has seen anything. At CES 2008 they unveiled it at the top of The Palms Hotel & Casino in a luxurious suite called the Moon Room.

The TV is 65 inches large but has a big butt.


Mitsubishi laser Tv, picture by Engadget

Laser TVs are expected to hit the market sometime in 2008. The price will be approximately the same as other 65 inch flat screen TVs. Mitsubishi believes that they can lower the costs quickly because of other divisions that put a great effort into developing lasers. 


Mitsubishi laser Tv, picture by Engadget 

The 65 inch TV has a resolution of 1080p and the colours are made from three separate lasers. The technology is able to reproduce 90 % of all the colours visible to the human eye according to Mitsubishi. This is because the lasers have a very wide colour range. This is far more than any other panel technology today.


Mitsubishi laser Tv, billede lĺnt af engadget 


Let’s see if the market is ready for another rear projection TV. I doubt it but let’s not kill Mitsubishi for their efforts just yet.

LaCie

LaCie is a monitor manufacturer that primarily manufactures monitors for graphics work. They also manufacture calibrators for monitors like the Blue Eye Pro that we use in our reviews.

LaCie uses CES 2008 to introduce a new 24 inch monitor called 324 for graphics work. It has an S-PVA panel from Samsung and a colour gamut of 92 %.


LaCie 324

The resolution is 1920x1200 and the monitor features a 10 bit gamma LUT (look-up table) to ensure precise colours. It also has a Faroudja picture chip that allows 1080i and 1080p input.

You can connect the monitor with D-SUB (VGA), HDMI or DVI. It actually has 2 HDMI input so you can connect a Blu-Ray player or gaming console too.


LaCie 324

It’s aimed for graphic designers or applications such as CAD. In the box you’ll also find a Blur Eye Pro calibrator from LaCie. The price is 1050 US dollars and it available as of now.

LG.Philips

LG.Philips is one of the large LCD panel manufacturers and their R&D department often has some nice new products to show of. 

Multi-touch panel

This is not just a touch panel, it’s a multi-touch panel. This means that you can operate by more than one person or with both of your hands. At the moment it registers two different areas of interaction but the plan is to include even more.


LG.Philips multi-touch panel 

At the moment it’s aimed to serve as a public display panel but it might show up on the consumer market some day.
And imagine the possibilities. You can for example create a large user-interface where you and your partner can work at the same time on the same project.

Two sided panel 

LG.Philips has a LCD panel that can show different pictures from both sides. The panel from showcased at CES 2008.

Both panels have a resolution of 1920x1080 and a brightness of 500 cd/m2. It’s only 7 cm thick by the way.


LG.Philips two-sided  panel 

The idea is to use it as a public display in super market and large shopping malls.

Triple View panel

Sharp has a similar panel but LG.Philips has improved the technology even further.

This panel shows different pictures from the right, the left and the bottom. In a shopping centre this means that three people can see three different commercials at the same time.

E-paper

One of the most promising new technologies of tomorrow is the super thin and flexible panels like the E-paper. These are said to replace our traditional news papers and maybe even regular paper.

LG.Philips brought a 14.3 inch E-Paper – the same as an A4 format. The resolution of the E-paper is 1280x800 and that is a new record from the large panel manufacturer. It has a colour depth of 8 bit and can show 16.7 millions colours.


LG.Philips 14.3” E-paper 

It is both flexible and very thin. LG.Philips says it’s only 300 micro meters at the moment. 

The panel is built from a plastic substrate and metal foil that allows it to bend. The power consumption is very low because E-paper only updates and addresses the panel when something changes on the screen.

Sharp

The last thing we’ll talk about today is the new Sharp gamer TV series called the GP3U.

The GP3U is designed for gaming on consoles and has a LCD panel with a very fast response time together with a game mode that is said to reduce input lag. The remote has gamer buttons too.


Sharp GP3U

The new TVs have a so-called Vyper Drive technology that is the secret behind the fast response time of 6 ms.

The specs include a contras ratio of 10.000:1 (dynamic) and 3 HDMI inputs. The GP3U models have 2 component inputs as well.

You can buy the new Sharp TVs soon but only in a 32 inch version. Three colours are available, however; black, white and red.