Jan 21
Back in May of 2012
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Oct 01
Not one to rest on its 39- and 50-inch Ultra HDTV options, Seiki has announced that its promised 65-inch model is going to arrive this December, just in time for the holiday shopping season. Seiki’s newly minted, well-sized Ultra HD set, which is formally known as the SE65UY04, features a refresh rate of 120Hz on 1080p and 30Hz on 4K resolution. This means the outfit’s 65-incher won’t have HDMI 2.0 onboard, and thus potential buyers will have to be content with HDMI 1.4 technology. Now, given the not-too-shabby $3,000 MSRP, we have a hunch some folks won’t mind that too much once it becomes available in “early December.” More importantly, do you plan to snag one?
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Seiki
Sep 05
At Samsung’s press conference it’s bringing some of those extra large Ultra HD TVs it promised at CES, and mentioned something even more tantalizing: a 4K OLED. Unfortunately that last one did not make an appearance on stage, however the company has promised it will be present in its booth for demos tomorrow. We expect that, like the ones shown by Sony and Panasonic at CES, this is just a prototype, but if it’s anywhere near as beautiful as those we can’t wait to see it. As far as products that are actually shipping, Samsung also showed off its 55-inch curved OLED again, as well as the 65-inch F9000 UHD TV. As far as the supersized 4K sets, Samsung is showing off 98-inch and 110-inch models that outsize the 85-inch behemoth it kicked this crazy trend off with back in January. Finally, it’s trying to address the issue of high-res content, with representatives from Eutelsat and TF1 present to talk about the projects they have in the works.
Update: We stopped by big blue’s digs here at IFA to see the sets in action, and they’re as impressive as you might think. Even at such a large size, the resolution doesn’t appear to degrade when compared to their smaller brethren. Naturally, however, you’ll want to stand a few feet away from these behemoths for the optimal viewing experience. Just like the other panels in the line, the TVs produce vibrant colors, strong contrast and crisp visuals. When it comes to overall design, Samsung’s kept the S9 series Timeless Gallery frame, complete with speakers all around its stand — for better or worse.
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Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment, HD, Samsung
Source: Samsung Tomorrow Liveblog, Samsung
Sep 04
HDMI 2.0 officially announced: 18Gbps bandwidth, 60fps 4K, 32 channel audio
Posted in: Today's Chili
Only just after it leaked out, the folks at HDMI Licensing are announcing HDMI 2.0 officially. Arriving just in time for the wide rollout of a new generation of Ultra HDTVs, it adds a few key capabilities to the connection standard. With a bandwidth capacity of up to 18Gbps, it has enough room to carry 3,840 x 2,160 resolution video at up to 60fps. It also has support for up to 32 audio channels, “dynamic auto lipsync” and additional CEC extensions. The connector itself is unchanged, which is good for backwards compatibility but may disappoint anyone hoping for something sturdier to support all of those suddenly-popular dongles. The cables won’t change either, as the group claims current high-speed Category 2 wires can handle the increased bandwidth. Some companies have suggested upgrade paths for their UHDTVs already on the market — hopefully we’ll find out more about those plans this week at IFA 2013.
Follow all of our IFA 2013 coverage by heading to our event hub!
Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment, HD
Source: HDMI.org
Aug 11
Korean manufacturers Samsung and LG often match each other in product introductions, but today they were together in announcing cheaper options for some of their latest TV technology. Samsung is dropping the price on its new 55-inch curved OLED (above) and LG rolled out two lower priced versions of its 55- and 65-inch 4K TVs that sacrifice a few premium features. In Samsung’s case, the price is dropping by 34 percent, from 15 million won ($13,500) to 9.9 million ($8,910). While we’d heard the KN55S9 will arrive in the US mid-August for $15,000 there hasn’t been an official announcement yet, but Value Electronics is promising more details on the 14th.
For LG, the new LA9650 (pictured after the break) variant of its 65-inch UHDTV drops to 8.9 million won ($8,010) compared to 10.9 million ($9,810) for the original LA9700, while the 55-inch is 5.9 million won ($5,310) compared to 7.4 million ($6,660). In the US the original models sell for $7,999 and $5,999, respectively, while retailer B&H already has placeholders for the new models with US prices of $6,999 and $4,999. If the listing is accurate, we could see these versions ship in the US around October 23rd. These new models give up a few creature comforts like the bottom-mounted motorized 4.1 speaker and camera, but keep the pixel count along with fixed 2.1 speakers and 16GB of memory for DVR functions.
According to the Korea Times, Samsung’s price cut came as a result of improved manufacturing yield, and customers that already purchased one will be refunded the difference. Of course, these prices are hardly mass-market or challenging value priced entries from Chinese manufacturers Seiki or TCL, but is remarkable to see OLED technology dropping below $10,000 so quickly.
Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment, HD, Samsung, LG
Jul 25
If you’re yearning for a super high res HDTV and the usual suspects’ products are just a bit too pricey, there’s a new challenger about to join: China’s TCL. Its fall lineup of televisions leads with a 50-inch 4K model (shown above) due in September priced at just $999. It joins Seiki as a Chinese manufacturer bringing budget priced Ultra HD panels to the US with this 120Hz edge lit LED model that packs 4 HDMI inputs with MHL support. If the 7E504D’s 3,840 x 2,160 resolution screen isn’t a must-have for you, it does have some more traditional HDTVs on the way in the form of its 5510 series.
They include 40-, 46- and 55-inch 1080p models, priced at $399, $499 and $799, respectively. The largest one includes built-in WiFi with Smart TV features including Netflix, YouTube and Yahoo Apps, and all go on sale in August. So far, reviews of the Seiki UHDTVs have suggested resolution isn’t everything even at these prices (and especially at this screen size) — we’ll be waiting to see if TCL’s scaling, contrast, motion processing and other qualities can match up with the big guys.
Gallery: TCL 4K TV, 5510 HDTV
Filed under: HD
Jul 19
The Korean Cable Television and Telecommunications Association went live yesterday with a pilot run of new channels. Composed of five content providers, the group is now hopefully filling the airwaves with crisp 4K footage of something beyond water, flowers and night-time city vistas. (There’s no word on what is currently being shown — Korean readers, please let us know in the comments if you catch a glimpse.)
Apparently launching six months earlier than planned (and ahead of the rival scheme in neighboring Japan), the UHD service is likely to arrive in commercialized form even faster. We’d recommend wannabe viewers start saving for that compatible TV set immediately, as it could take a while to get there.
Filed under: Misc, Home Entertainment, HD
Source: ETNews (Korean)
Jul 10
After releasing its massive 85-inch UHD TV with a stunning $39,999 price in the US earlier this year, Samsung is ready to follow up with a few models that are more easily attainable. The 65- and 55-inch F9000 UHD TVs will carry US pricetags of $7,499 and $5,499, respectively, with pre-orders starting July 21st and shipments expected in early August. Samsung just began delivering these in its home country, and others like Sony, LG, Sharp and Toshiba are starting to offer 4K TVs in smaller sizes (not to mention value priced contenders like Seiki.) The F9000 series includes all of Samsung’s latest features like 3D, Micro Dimming Ultimate LED display, Wi-Fi and an embedded camera, plus support for Evolution Kit upgrades the company claims will let it keep pace with any future UHD standards.
Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment, HD, Samsung
Jul 01
Sony’s 4K player launches by July 15th, Video Unlimited 4K service coming this fall
Posted in: Today's Chili
Sony announced its FMP-X1 4K Ultra HD Media Player a few months ago, and today confirmed it’s arriving in homes and on store shelves by July 15th. The $699 box only works with Sony’s own 4K TVs, and early adopting owners of “qualifying” X900A sets can expect a $200 introductory discount. Also available is in-home setup and activations free of charge, set up through the 4KActivation.com site once it’s available July 8th. Sony’s also named the online 4K movie distribution network it’s launching this fall — Video Unlimited 4K — which will offer films, TV episodes and short-form content for download. For feature films, it will cost $7.99 for a 24-hour rental or $29.99 to purchase. The 4K Player (and its 10 pack-in movies) is available for pre-order now on the US Sony store, expect it to hit other retailers soon.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Sony
Source: Sony Store, 4KActivation.com
Jun 27
Toshiba will launch 84-, 65- and 58-inch 4K TVs in August, prices start at $4,999
Posted in: Today's Chili
We caught a glimpse of Toshiba’s second generation 4K TVs at CES in January and at a European event in March, and now the company has announced it’s delivering three versions of the L9300U series this fall. All feature its CEVO 4K Quad+Dual Core processor built-in to handle image processing and its suite of Cloud TV apps, plus built-in WiFi, Miracast and WiDi. It also announced Technicolor has certified its Blu-ray player and streaming media box for delivering HD content to its 4K TVs. The 58-, 65- and 84-inch models will all ship in August for $4,999, $6,999 and $16,999 respectively — we’ll see how they compete with similar Ultra HDTV options arriving from the likes of Sony, Sharp and Samsung.
Gallery: Toshiba L9300U 4K TVs
Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment, HD
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