Hitachi goes Ultra Slim with Wooo

Coming in at a depth of just 35mm, the unusually named 'Wooo' series of LCD's from Hitachi are due to make their debut on these shores this Spring.

Initially available as LCD monitors, the Wooo range will expand in October 2008 with the addition of a separate box holding a Freeview tuner and extra connectivity.

Although the removal of the of some of the Wooo's innards goes some way to explain its ultra slim profile, Hitachi has also employed some innovative light-diffusing wizardry at the back of their new panels to shave those extra few millimeters from its width.

Available in 32in, 37in and 42in sizes, all of the Wooo range of LCD TV's apart from the 32in model will come equipped with Full HD (1920 x 1080) resolutions. Prices for these slim screens from Hitachi are likely to start at around £1200 for the 32in model with prices for the larger panels yet to be confirmed.

http://hdtvorg.co.uk/news/articles/2007123001.htm

Panasonic 150in Plasma breaks cover

Stealing LG and Samsung's thunder at the 2006 consumer electronics show (CES) in Las Vegas (the two Korean manufacturers had previewed 102in panels), Panasonic introduced their 103in TH-103PF9 plasma which held the title of worlds biggest flat screen for a year.

Sharp introduced a 208in LCD at the 2007 CES, and this coming year, Panasonic is set to regain its crown at the 2008 CES with a leviathan 150in Plasma. Panasonic have not released any details of the new screen simply saying that it was; "putting its efforts into developing larger screens" because the 103-inch was well received.

Available in the UK for around £56,000, Panasonic's 103in TH103PF9 Plasma has not exactly hit the best selling list, but it has shown that there is a market for screens on this scale. If the 150in screens does make it to the UK, it may actually retail for a lot less than you may imagine.

It is likely that the 150in screen would be an early prototype from the Panasonic's state-of-the-art PDP production line in Amagasaki, western Japan. Operating with larger 'Mother Glass' the new production line is more advanced than Panasonic's current production facilities, and has the potential for significant cost savings and improved quality.

Whether or not Panasonic's leviathan 150in plasma actually breaks cover at CES 2008 is not certain, but what we can be sure of is that manufacturers will be striving for the 'worlds largest' crown for some time yet.

http://hdtvorg.co.uk/news/articles/2007122801.htm

LG 32LB75 LCD is pure Design Art

With their 'Design Art' LCD and Plasma TV's, the Korean electronics giant LG has gone from clunky to cool virtually overnight.

LG Recognized at an early stage that consumers were being enticed as much by the design aspect of a flat panel TV as by its performance. Employing a Milan based design studio, LG began to introduce a range of high style LCD and Plasma screens earlier this year which quickly captured the public's imagination.

The latest fruits of LG's design partnership is the LB75 range of LCD TV's. Once again, we have to blink twice, not having completely erased the memory of clunky LG's of the past, before we can appreciate the stylistic merits of this screen.

With a glossy black finish, every element of the 32LB75 seems to blend into the next, rather than appearing to be a collection of hastily bolted together components.

First indications are that the 32LB75 is an excellent performer, with decent black levels and excellent Standard and High Definition pictures along with a rich and accurate colour palette. Look out for the review on HDTVorg coming shortly.

http://hdtvorg.co.uk/news/articles/2007122701.htm