At their swanky Samsung Experience showplace in the Time Warner Center in New York, the Korean manufacturer touted its updated line of LCD HDTVs for 2009. The 8000, 7000 and 6000 Series of flat-panels set themselves apart with edge-mounted LEDs as their primary light source, versus traditional Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamps (CCFL), improving contrast ratios--blacks are deeper while whites are crisper than ever--and color detail, in addition to ultra-thin form factors and reduced energy consumption. Samsung also utilizes white LEDs specifically, rather than other manufacturers' RGB (red/green/blue) approach, claiming better uniformity across the image, longer life and higher efficiency, as well as more accurate color for the current HD color space.
Further innovations helped to deliver the impressive video witnessed first-hand by myself and Big Picture Big Sound Editor Chris Boylan. Samsung's Wide Color Enhancer Pro yields more vivid colors, and their Ultra Clear Panel allows more light to pass through the screen while reducing ambient reflections, for solid performance even with tricky room lighting. The Auto Motion Plus frame interpolation combines with either 120Hz (on the 7000 and 6000 Series) or 240 Hz (8000 Series), for remarkably smooth picture on sports and other fast-motion content. Auto Motion Plus also provides independent controls to adjust the level of judder and motion blur correction (so it's sure to make 24FPS film-loving purists happy).
All the new Samsung LED HDTVs also meet the tougher Energy Star v3.0 guidelines, drastically cutting their power demands. Compared to 2008 Samsung LCD HDTVs of similar size, the updated LED models consume 40% less juice. The LEDs are also a mercury-free light source, making them even more environmentally friendly. The depth keeps shrinking too, now down to just-over-an-inch (including tuner!), with an optional wall-mount that allows you to hang these remarkably light new models like works of art on your wall. The new mounting system puts the distance between wall and TV at just 0.6 inches.
For the widget crowd, the 8000 and 7000 Series include Samsung's Medi@2.0 suite, with the Internet@TV content service co-developed with Yahoo! for onscreen access to web-based content. Also supported are both wired and wireless DLNA compatibility, to access music, videos and photos from a networked PC. The 6000 Series includes Samsung's simpler InfoLink RSS Service for news/sports/weather via the TV's remote control. All models can accept an external multimedia drive via USB 2.0.
Landing in May, the top-end 8000 Series will include a 46-inch class ($3,299.99) and 55-inch class ($3,999.99). The same sizes for the 7000 Series ($2,999.99 and $3,799.99, respectively) have already arrived, with the 40-inch class ($2,499.99) due later this month. The larger models in the more affordable 6000 Series (40-inch $2,299.99, 46-inch $2,799.99, 55-inch $3,599.99) are also available now, with a $1,599.99 32-incher hitting in June.
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