CES 2007 is held in the prestigious city of Las Vegas in Nevada and has a proud tradition of housing all the major TV and monitor makers. In the article I’ll look at new products from Sharp, LG, Dell, ViewSonic, Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, Philips and Pioneer.

Sharp

Sharp stood in the spotlight once again with their 108 inch LCD-TV. It’s the largest LCD-TV in the world and even the largest flat panel TV as it exceeds Panasonic’s 103 inch plasma TV.


The giant has a resolution of 1920x1080 and accepts 1080p input. The contrast ratio is 15000:1 (dynamic).

The panel is manufactured at Sharp’s second Kameyama plant. The Kameyama plant is used to produce 52 inch panels and 65 inch panels as well.
The 103 inch TV measures 2.4 meters in width and 1.3 meters in height so it truly is a monster.

The LCD panel is a so-called ASV (Advanced Super View) which is the same type of panel that Sharp use in their high-end LCD-TVs and the same kind of panel Philips use in their high-end TVs.
Sharp also had to overcome some technical difficulties in order to produce the panel. This was made possible by Sharp’s extensive research in the LCD technology.

The price has not been announced but according to Sharp the TV will be sold to consumers on special orders starting from the summer of 2007.

Gamerserie af Tv:

Sharp also had a gamer series of LCD-TV to show off at CES 2007. The products are called GP1U in the US market but the name is said to be different in the European regions. 

GP1U has a response time of 4 ms (g2g) and a contrast ratio of 8500:1. The resolution is 1920x1080.


GP1U also has a system called QuickShoot that converts the input frequency to 120 Hz in order to reduce trailing and input lag.

It has 3 HDMI inputs, two 1080p compatible component inputs and a DVI-I input. The prices are US $1700 and US $2000 for a 32 inch and a 37 inch, respectively. The will be available starting from March.

LG

LG has an exciting new player for those who are still uncertain about the outcome of the HD war. You see, the LG BH100 plays both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray!


BH100 is the first commercial player to combine the two. 

The player will support the new audio format including Dolby Digital+ and DTS HD as well as picture standards such as mpeg-2 and H.264.
It has a HDMI output too.


The player has one shortcoming though. It won’t support the interactive elements of the HD-DVD movies. You can do this for Blu-Ray so why this is different for HD-DVD is hard to tell.

LG says the player will be out in the first quarter of 2007.
 
Dell

Dell has a habit of betting on the large-size monitors. Lately they introduced a 24 inch monitor as well as a 30 inch giant. This year they will introduce a 27 inch monitor into a so far unexplored monitor segment. This 27 inch was presented at CES 2007.

The monitor is named 2707WFP and will feature these specs: 
Resolution: 1920x1200
Response time: 6 ms (g2g)
Contrast ratio: 1000:1

The viewing angles haven’t been announced yet but 178 degrees is probably a good guess. 


Dell 2707WFP uses a panel with an expanded colour specter that can reproduce 92 % of the NTSC standard. 2707WFP will therefore be one of the first monitors to utilize expanded colours.

The new 27 inch monitor will also feature a 9-in-1 card reader, an USB hub and a new design.

The frame looks like the conventional Dell monitors but is actually an alloy of aluminum. The stand has a shinny layer underneath and a fancy glass layer on top. 

The ergonomics allows the screen to be adjusted in height and tilt degree. 

The price has not yet been announced. 

ViewSonic

ViewSonic had two new monitors to brag about. It’s the VX2435wm and the VX2835WM. As the model numbers indicate it’s a 24 inch monitor and a 28 inch monitor.

Both models have a widescreen aspect ratio and is equipped with a HDMI input that’s HDCP compatible. ViewSonic says both monitors are certified for Windows Vista.
 

The new monitors have a resolution of 1920x1200, a brightness of 500 cd/m2 and a response time of 8 ms (g2g). The contrast ratio is specified as 1000:1.
Both models have a DVI-T input too, as well as D-SUB (VGA), composite, s-video and component.

You’ll be able to buy these monsters later this year at a price of $699 and 879$, respectively. 

ViewSonic also presented a projector with an iPod docking station, a 1080p LCD-TV and a  so-called iPod LCD-TV that measures 37 inches.

Sony
Sony is on their toes and they have some interesting OLED products to exhibit at CES 2007. Its two OLED-TVs that are amazing and super slim.

To put it briefly OLED is a panel technology that generates a picture from small anodes and cathodes. With the help from am addressing matrix and TFT (thin film transistors) the pixels can be illuminated. OLED is an organic display and is short for Organic Light-Emitting Diode. 


The two prototypes shown on CES 2007 are 11 and 27 inches. The 11 inch panel is only 3 mm thick and the 27 inch panel is around 10 mm thick.

The 27 inch panels have a resolution of 1920x1080 and 10 bit colours. The contrast ratio is 1.000.000:1 that indicates perfect blacks. The viewing angles are perfect two as shown in the videos further down.

On a press event Sony’s spokesperson talked about the great expectations for the OLED technology. 

- ”Sony president Stan Glasgow said in front of journalists devices ready for the mass market might be around as early as next year."It is not as far off as you might think," Glasgow said. 

Sony CEO Howard Stringer, too, presented himself enthusiastic about the new technology; however, he also added that the question of cost would have to be addressed in a mass-friendly way first. Once this was solved, though, there would be nothing in the way of a market launch. 

Questions regarding materials and patent issues had already been attended to earlier, and, in the field of smaller TV panels, the requirements for a mass scale production would be clarified shortly, Sylvia Shin, spokeswoman for Sony Europe, affirmed. 

She outlined OLED as being one of the most important technologies of the future, whose potential benefits are obvious for Sony, too. Accordingly, compared to regular LED technology, OLED is said to allow for even thinner panels and improved image quality. 

While the 27 inch panel measures only 1 cm at its thinnest point, the also presented 11 inch model is a mere three millimeters thin.”


The 11 inch OLED has a resolution of 1024x600 pixels.

To study the OLED further look at these two videos from CES 2007.
http://www.unbeatable.co.uk/news/Sonys-new-product   - (After Gran Turismo 3)
http://blog.t3.co.uk/page/t3?entry=skinniest_tvs_in_the_world

OLED is considered one of the most promising new panel technologies and has already made its entry into mp3 players and small handheld units. The small-size OLED panels have been produced since September 2004 but the new 11 and 27 inches OLED-TVs haven’t been sold anywhere yet.

Like Samsung Sony also presented a 70 inch LCD-TV on CES 2007. It uses the expanded colour space xvYCC or x.v.Color.

x.v.Color is the name for an expanded colour space. It has become a industry standard after it was implemented into HDMI 1.3. x.v.Color is able to hold 1.8 times more colours than RGB and therefore a far more detailed picture. In order to use x.v.Color your TV, HDMI and source needs to support it.



The 70 inch Sony LCD-TV is named KDL-70XBR3 on the American market. In Europe we haven’t got the XBR series so except a different model number here.

The TV is of course a part of the Bravia series and will be introduced in the spring of 2007 with a price tag of 33.000 US dollars.

The TV uses a 1920x1080 panel as well as Motionflow + 100 Hz. It also utilizes a LED backlight and a real 10 bit panel. The viewing angels are 178 degrees and the contrast ratio 7000:1 (dynamic). It’s a S-PVA panel.

You’ll find 3 HDMI inputs, one PC input and two HD component inputs. 

Sony also had an 82 inch on display. It has the Motionflow + 100 Hz technology and a LED backlight. It’s a prototype for now, however.

Samsung

Hold your breath fore here is the new Blu-Ray player from Samsung. It’s called BD-P1200 and is the successor to BD-P1000.





It’s stated the the BD-P1200 will feature a HDMI 1.3 output and the HQV system that handles 1080i to 1080p deinterlacing. 1080p is supported to – naturally.

The price is 20 % lower than that of BD-P1000 according to Samsung.

Samsung didn’t show any new TV son CES but they talked about the three new LCD-TV series and three new plasma series. You can expect these starting from spring 2007.
 
LCD:

Let’s take look at the LCD-TVs. The three new series are:

S8
R8
M8

R8 will replace the popular R7 series but whether S8 and M8 will replace the current models isn’t clear.

M8 will be introcued as a 40 inch, a 46 inch and a 52 inch, R8 as 19, 23, 26, 32, 37 and 40 inch and S8 as 26, 32, 40 and 46 inch.

R8 will feature a new design. It has a transparent frame at the bottom and a blue diode. R8 will also feature 3 HDMI inputs (rev. 1.3) and a contrast ratio of 8000:1

M8 is the newflagship of LCD-TVs from Samsung. It’s a Full HD line with something called Super Clear Panel (a blank surface). The contrast ratio is 12000:1 (dynamic) and ships in April.

Further details haven’t been disclosed. 

Plasma:

The new plasma series are: 

P7 
C9
Z9

P7 is available now but the C9 and Z9 are new. A 42 and a 50 inch model will be introduced in both C9 and Z9.

Besides that no information has been passed on. The new series are to be introduced between March and June 2007.

All new TV series will feature a digital DVB-T tuner.

Philips

Philips availed themselves of the facilities to present a number of new TVs including 9732D, 9832D, 7432D and 7332D. Also a 52 inch was presented. 

The 52 inch LCD-TV has a resolution of 1920x1080. According to Philips it will be introduced in September 2007 and will be named 52PFL7423D. It supports 1080p input.


52PFL7432D has features such as ClearLCD, Pixel Plus 3HD, Pixel Perfect, 120 Hz circuit and of course Ambilight. 

The following TVs were put up, 32PFL7332D 42PFL7432D, 42PFL9832D, 47PFL7432D, 47PFL9732D, 52PFL7432D. All except the 32 inch 32PFL7332D are Full HD TVs and will be launched in Marts, April, June, April, June and September, respectively

Ambilight has been further developed and now employs LEDs as the source of light. This allows for a greater colour specter and more colours.


63" plasma

Philips wants to introduce a new plasma TV too. It’s a 63 inch model called 63PFP7422D which will hit the market in June an attractive price. 63PFP7422D is a 1080p TV with a number of HDMI inputs and a USB port.


An unusual TV was presented as well. It’s a 42 inch LCD-TV with 2250 diamonds of 225 carat in the frame of the TV. The TV is launched to celebrate the sale of the millionth Ambilight TV from Philips.
The price has not been announced but it is probably higher than most people can afford :-)

Panasonic

Panasonic was proud to present a Full HD 42 inch plasma TV – the first of its kind. 

Panasonic didn’t mention any details on price or availability as it’s a prototype at the moment. Whether it will be part of the 2007 launch is still unknown.


Panasonic also had the successors to their popular PX60/PX600 series.  The new models are PX70 and PX700 and will be available in Marts or April 2007.
Available sizes will be 42, 50, and 58 inches.

Panasonic says these models will include an improved coating to reduce reflections of light in the screen’s surface. This sounds promising. 

Pioneer

Not too much concrete from Pioneer but they did have a presentation of their future plasma series. The code name is Kuro which means black and that’s one of the major improvements according to Pioneer.

A comparison of the current Pioneer plasmas was put up and the difference in the black levels was stunning. The new Kuro was a 60 inch Full HD which will be part of the portfolio from Pioneer.

The Kuro plasma series will be introduced in the summer or autumn of 2007. We can’t wait.