At CES in Las Vegas this week, Samsung unveiled not only some super cool looking Blu-ray players but an extensive line of new HDTVs. The 8000, 7000 and 6000 Series of Luxia LED HDTVs use light-emitting diodes as their primary light source for the LCD, rather than traditional Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamps (CCFL). LEDs can provide extremely high contrast ratios with incredibly dark blacks while enabling a slimmer profile and drastically reduced energy costs. These third-generation sets are little more than an inch thick, despite their built-in ATSC tuners, at screen sizes from 40 to 55 inches. As Samsung prepares to halt production of rear-projection DLPs this year, and OLED remains a complicated, costly "someday" product, LED backlit LCD TVs stand poised as a potentially new category of high performance HDTV.

Samsung's Wide Color Enhancer Pro provides a broader color palette, and Ultra Clear Panel allows more light to pass through the screen while simultaneously reducing reflections from ambient light, offering superior detail even in a bright viewing environment. All series incorporate Auto Motion Plus frame interpolation technology: The 8000 exploits a 240Hz refresh rate, four times that of other TVs, practically eliminating many picture flaws born of fast motion, while the 7000 and 6000 go 120Hz.

The 8000 and 7000 also feature Samsung's "Internet@TV" content service," developed with Yahoo!, over either a wired or wireless Ethernet connection. The 6000 Series includes access to Samsung's InfoLink RSS service. The USB ports make for plug-and-play digital video, photos and music. The 8000 arrives in the latest flavor of Samsung's stylish "Touch of Color" design, with a deep piano black bezel that segues to chrome then a clear prism at the edges, or ruby highlights on the 7000 and 6000.