Consumer electronics giant Samsung had a large array of announcements related to home video products at CES 2006 in early January. The most interesting of these focus on a huge LCD TV, an enhanced line of plasma TVs, some interesting DLP TVs, some ultra slim CRT HDTVs and their first mass market Blu-ray disc player.
In the realm of LCD TVs, Samsung’s most staggering display had to be the 82†LN-S8281D. This monster display, of which no release date or price were announced, is reportedly the largest LCD TV commercially available in the world. Features on this beast include HD 1080p resolution, a built in ATSC tuner, CableCard slot, two HDMI connections, LED backlight, 7000:1 high contrast ratio and a piano black glossy bezel.
Samsung’s 2006 plasma TV line up is highlighted by the 80†HP-R8082. With an estimated availability of next month, this huge model will sport some of the latest in HDTV technology, including 1920 x 1080 progressive scanning resolution, a 2000:1 high contrast ratio and a built in two-way, six-speaker system with advanced surround sound. It is joined by models such as the 50†HP-R5073 (July – $4,299) and 50†HP-S5053 (April – $3,999), both of which sport a new anti-reflective film technology which increases contrasts levels and prevents unwanted reflections. The HP-R5073 also offers features such as two HDMI and component connections, 175 degree viewing angle and a 9-in-2 multi-card interface slot.
Samsung’s most interesting new DLP TVs are the 56†HL-S5679W (April – $4,199) and 61†HL-S6187W (April – $3,599). The former is noted for being the industry’s first LED light sourced DLP rear projector television. This reportedly offers significantly longer life while also increasing color effectiveness. It has two 1080p HDMI inputs and 1920 x 1080p resolution. The 61†HL-S6187W, meanwhile, sports a hidden speaker design, 1920 x 1080 pixel count, 10,000:1 high contrast ratio, PC input and dual HDMI inputs.
Highlighting Samsung’s new ultra slim CRT HDTVs is the 30†TX-S3082WH SlimFit HDTV (March – $999). This particular model is reportedly 30 percent slimmer than a conventional CRT TV at a mere 16†deep. Features include 16:9 aspect ratio, silver bezel, built-in HDTV tuner, two HDMI connections and two auto-sensing HD/DVD component video inputs.
Rounding out Samsung’s early 2006 video related products is an announcement about their first Blu-ray disc player. The BD-P1000, scheduled to appear this spring for under $1,000, is one of thefirst players to market which plays one of the two new, next generation optical disc formats. Features include playing content at native 720p or 1080i resolutions, HDMI output, playback support ofCDs and various DVD formats, a memory card reader and support for various audio formats. Click here for film coverage of Samsung from CES
