CES 2009: Samsung Luxia LED TV
Samsung has announced the slimmest LED-backlit HDTVs to date, in their new Luxia LED TV range. Available in sizes from 40 to 55-inch, the HDTVs all have a unified UI across all of Samsung's consumer electronics ranges, whether from digital cameras or home cinema systems, to the new full-touchscreen PMPs such as the Samsung P3 PMP. Three series will be available, the 6000, 7000 and 8000.
The Luxia 6000 series will have a slim, just over 1-inch thick casing, four HDMI ports and an integraded ATSC tuner. The Luxia 7000, meanwhile, will have four HDMI ports, 120Hz refresh, USB 2.0 and Wireless DLNA streaming support, as well as using the Yahoo! Widget platform for video from YouTube, eBay auctions, news and photo sharing. In the future, social media widgets and streaming TV shows and movies are planned. Finally, the Luxia LED 8000 series has 240Hz refresh, together with Samsung's AutoMotion blur-reduction, a new Touch of Color design with prism-light and chrome edging.
The Luxia range are all being described as eco-friendly, with reduced use of dangerous chemicals, Energy Star certification, and benefit from Samsung's own Recycling Direct network that will take in and safely dispose of unwanted electronics. Energy use across the three series are down 40-percent compared to rivals. There's also a new wall-mount, reducing the gap between the wall and the HDTV to 0.6-inches.
All the new sets will be available in the first half of 2009, prices tba.
Press Release:
SAMSUNG USHERS IN NEW ERA FOR FLAT-PANEL TELEVISIONWITH NEW CATEGORY LINE-UP OF LED LCD HDTVS
LED Technology Brings Higher Contrast Ratios, Slimmer Designs and
Improved Energy Efficiency to the Living Room
LAS VEGAS, January 7, 2009 – Samsung Electronics America, Inc., a market leader and
award-winning innovator in consumer electronics, raises the bar for flat-panel TVs
everywhere with the launch of an entirely new line-up of advanced LED HDTVs.
Samsung's latest HDTVs will be on display at Booth #11033 during the International
Consumer Electronics Show, which will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center,
January 8 -11, 2009.
The new 8000, 7000 and 6000 Series build upon the success of Samsung's first and
second generation LED HDTV models. These cutting-edge TVs use LEDs as their
primary light source, rather than traditional Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamps (CCFL).
Benefits of using LEDs include ultra-high contrast ratios, slim depths that allow for more
artful designs, plus increased energy savings. In addition, a variety of state-of-the-art
networking features give the ability to adapt to how consumers view and experience
with shows, movies, games and other multimedia at home.
"Samsung has proven LED technology is a viable choice for consumers desiring the
best picture possible from an LCD television. Samsung's latest LED televisions redefine
the standards for viewing quality, energy-efficiency and home entertainment décor,"
said Jonas Tanenbaum, Vice President of LCD HDTV Marketing at Samsung
Electronics America. "Samsung stays committed to developing technology and products
that go beyond current expectations of value, quality and innovation. And, we are
excited to be a part of this exciting point in TV evolution."
Top-Notch Picture Quality
Each of the three Samsung LED HDTV Series for 2009 boast high dynamic contrast
ratios, complements of Samsung's ground breaking LED light source. Compared to a
traditional CCFL, LEDs produce darker blacks that appear endlessly deep to the eye.
Whites also remain crisp and bright with vivid colors. The result is picture quality that
measures up to the natural beauty of life. For instance, Samsung's Wide Color
Enhancer Pro feature lets consumers enjoy a broader color palette. The Ultra Clear
Panel further allows the preservation of every detail even in brightly-lit, imperfect
viewing conditions. This is done by effectively allowing more light to pass through the
screen and simultaneously reducing reflections from ambient light. And with an adaptive
"Natural" mode, Samsung's LED HDTVs can combine the recognized brightness
advantage of LCD displays with the cinema-like viewing experience of plasma displays
by automatically optimizing picture settings.
Samsung's entire LED HDTV line-up incorporates a number of innovative features to
reduce the motion blur and image judder, which traditionally plague LCD HDTVs when
displaying fast movement. All three series boast Samsung's acclaimed Auto Motion
Plus™ frame interpolation technology. The 8000 Series uses a swift refresh rate of
240Hz – four times the rate of other TVs – that nearly eliminates the ill effects of
displaying quick, action-packed motion. The 7000 and 6000 Series, with an also-quick
120Hz refresh rate helps ensure crisp, easy viewing of sports, video games and movies.
Expansive Networking and Entertainment Possibilities
In 2009, Samsung plans to redefine what it means to watch television with
"Internet@TV – Content Service" Developed with Yahoo!, the Internet information
interface will be available on a number of 2009-model Samsung HDTVs. Using either a
wired or wireless Ethernet connection included in the 8000 and 7000 Series,
"Internet@TV – Content Service" lets consumers access content onscreen from Yahoo!,
Flickr, YouTube and more with the push of a button. The widgets-based interface and
scrollbar run along the bottom of the screen for easy browsing of the latest programs
and content. Even after purchase, consumers will be able to enjoy a growing library of
widgets, as the widget development kit will be open to content providers willing to create
new offerings. The 6000 Series includes access to Samsung's InfoLink™ RSS service,
which can instantly display updated news, sports, weather and stocks information with a
touch of the remote.
Beyond online entertainment, Samsung's LED HDTVs can also connect to a variety of
other devices and content with ease. Included USB ports make viewing videos and
photos from a camcorder, playing music from a media player or accessing multimedia
files from a portable drive simple.
Lighting the Way for Functional Design
Samsung's new LED HDTVs offer not only a lifelike viewing experience and a portal to
the latest entertainment, but break free from the conventional limits of integrating a
television into a room's décor. By using LEDs, Samsung has been able to shave all
three series down to ultra-thin depths. At just over an inch thick, the sets remain trim
without cutting back on connectivity options, nor foregoing an ATSC tuner.
To further complement the svelte design of the new LED HDTVs, Samsung created an
ultra-slim wall-mount solution – reducing the gap between the TV and the wall to around
0.6 inches, down from the two inches of bulkier solutions. The ultra-thin LED HDTV
depth coupled with the new wall-mount solution allows for a simple installation akin to
hanging a picture frame.
In 2008, Samsung created its unique Touch of Color™ (ToC™) design, which uses
dual-injection molding to coat a translucent, colored surface to achieve an attractive
crystalline appearance. The latest evolution of Samsung's ToC™ design begins with a
deep piano black bezel that fades into distinct chrome that finishes as a clear prism
along the outer edges (8000 Series) or light ruby (7000 and 6000 Series) highlights. The
intensity of the color subtly changes depending upon the viewing angle, and further
accentuates these TV's slim bezels.
Going Greener
Lit by LEDs the Samsung 8000, 7000 and 6000 Series all meet the more stringent
Energy Star® v3.0 guidelines by cutting power consumption to significantly new lows.
LEDs are also mercury-free, which adds another degree of environmental friendliness
and safety compared with other currently available backlight technologies. Energy
consumption is reduced by 40%+ versus traditional LCD HDTVs of similar size. The
LED HDTVs also include an optimized energy savings mode that adjusts the backlight
and picture quality while continuing to produce smoother, more natural images.
SAMSUNG'S 1080P LCD HDTVs COUPLE ENERGY-EFFICIENCY
WITH ADVANCED PICTURE QUALITY
Compliance With New Energy Star® v3.0 Guidelines Help Consumers Save and Go Green;
Auto Motion Plus™ Technology Delivers Stellar Picture Quality
LAS VEGAS, January 7, 2009 – Samsung Electronics America, Inc., a market leader and
award-winning innovator in consumer electronics, today unveiled its next-generation
LCD HDTV lineup with CCFL backlighting. The LCD HDTV line-up is led by the Series
7, which is the company's first CCFL-backlit LCD TV with a 240Hz refresh rate.
Samsung's line of LCD HDTVs will be on display at Booth #11033 during the
International Consumer Electronics Show, which will be held at the Las Vegas
Convention Center, January 8 -11, 2009.
"We are proud and excited to deliver consumers Samsung's first CCFL-backlit 240Hz
LCD HDTV to consumers," said Jonas Tanenbaum, Vice President of LCD HDTV
Marketing at Samsung Electronics America Inc. "Samsung continues to push the
envelope in terms of technology and design innovation, and consumers will experience
even better clarity, more vibrant colors and unprecedented networking capabilities
available on Samsung's newest line-up of LCDs."
The Series 7 features a fast 240Hz refresh rate, a speed twice that of current 120Hz
sets, and quadruple that of standard HDTVs. The refresh rate and a faster panel work
together with Samsung's proprietary Auto Motion Plus™ 240Hz frame interpolation
technology, to eliminate motion blur and judder with fast-action material, for stunning
motion detail.
Both the Series 7 and Series 6 650 (32-inch and larger) LCD HDTVs impress with
Samsung's improved Ultra Clear panel, a polarizer that reflects room light to produce
deeper, darker black tones and bolder colors. By enhancing the performance of the new
polarizer, the reflection rate is decreased significantly from previous versions, making
blacks even darker, regardless of the ambient lighting conditions in the room. Both
Series also feature Samsung's adaptive contrast picture setting, called "Natural" mode,
which combines the brightness advantage of LCD displays and the cinema-like viewing
experience of plasma displays. The result is a new level of video richness perfect for
viewing films.
Additionally, both the Series 7 and 6 feature low power consumption, thus saving
energy and money for the consumer. They meet the more stringent Energy Star® v3.0
efficiency guidelines.
Recognizing the need for HDTVs to not only be technologically advanced, but also
aesthetically pleasing, the HDTVs all feature Samsung's new Touch of Color™ (ToC™)
design. The unique ToC™ frame is produced by using dual-injection molding
technology to luxuriously coat a translucent surface over the chassis.
Series 7
Superior Picture Quality
The 240Hz Series 7 LCD HDTV offers an excellent option for home theater enthusiasts
who are focused on high-performance LCD picture quality and innovative product
design. The HDTV's swift 240Hz refresh rate and Auto Motion Plus™ technology,
Samsung's proprietary frame-interpolation technology, work in tandem to produce
viewing quality comparable to that of the best CRT displays.
Samsung's exclusive Wide Color Enhancer 3 technology maps source colors to the
panel's color space. This results in exceptionally vibrant, yet natural-looking images
faithful to the director's original intent.
Advanced Design
In addition to the new ToC™ design, the Series 7 also sports a transparent bar that runs
across its bottom bezel. The bar clearly divides the TV from the speaker compartment
which houses a pair of down-firing speakers. It further serves to highlight the glass-like
quality of the set's frame while giving the illusion that the display floats in mid-air. With a
stand constructed using transparent reinforced glass, this stunning look is heightened
even more.
Connectivity Features
Equipped with impressive networking skills, Series 7 LCDs feature Samsung's new
Internet@TV – Content Service. Powered by the revolutionary Yahoo! Widget Engine,
users will be able to access widget-based content from a wide array of Yahoo! Internet
sources including Flickr, News, Weather and Finance along with future 3rd party
providers as they become available. For added flexibility, the Series 7 goes beyond its
built-in wired Ethernet connection, and supports 802.11a/b/g/n wireless networking
capabilities via a wireless USB dongle. What's more, the Series 7 is DLNA certified and
supports wireless connections allowing viewers to easily enjoy their PC-based music,
video, and pictures from any room in their home. .
Series 6
Auto Motion Plus™ 120Hz
Available on all Series 6 models 32-inches or larger, Samsung's proprietary Auto Motion
Plus™ 120Hz frame-interpolation technology virtually eliminates motion blur and judder.
Furthermore, the advanced panel has a fast pixel response time to produce razor sharp
images even with fast-paced motion in action scenes.
Touch of Color™
Further reinforcing Samsung's commitment to innovative design and high performance,
the Series 6 distinguishes itself with a ToC™ design reminiscent of a beautifully blown
wine glass. Taking a cue from the popular Bordeaux series, Samsung carries this
fashion-forward look further by applying transparent color to the TV's four edges. A two-
tone gradation of transparent ruby color yields a much softer, glassier look for the
deeper and wider curve at the bottom of the bezel. The color does not appear from the
front but at the sides, resulting in a lighter and unobtrusive design compared to previous
ToC™ models.
A Multimedia Hub
Just like Series 7 sets, the 2009 Series 6 650 (40-inch and larger) HDTVs also feature
the Yahoo!-driven Internet@TV – Content Service. Made possible with a collaboration
with Yahoo!, Internet@TV – Content Service is widget-based and delivers a whole new
level of connectivity by providing access to Internet-based multimedia content from
Flickr and other Yahoo! services. With a click of the remote control, these widgets are
easily accessed via a bar-style graphic user interface which sits on the bottom of the
screen. Using an optional wireless dongle, the Series 6 is also wireless DLNA compliant
allowing for simpler access to multimedia stored on household computers.
The Series 7 ranges in panel sizes of 40, 46, and 52 inches. Series 6 sizes, on the other
hand, extend much more broadly.19, 22, 32, 37, 40, 46, and 55. Both the series 7 and 6
will be available by the 1st half of 2009.