Philips feminizes the LCD TV

With its 'Design Collection' of LCD TV's the Dutch electronics giant is cottoning on to the fact that style sells. It is actually focusing some of its design efforts around market research that suggests that for 98% of female consumers style is an important factor in the buying process.

Andrea Ragnetti, Philips' consumer lifestyle guru is at the forefront of a growing trend within large consumer focused organisations who have recognized the increasing importance of female buying power.

Three new LCD TV series' the 7000, 5000 and 3000 certainly lean towards a more 'femmine' style without being overtly directed towards the fairer sex. The new panels however have substance to back up the style with

The top of the range 1080p 7000 series comes equipped with 120Hz processing, an extremely rapid 2 millisecond response time along with an impressive 4 HDMI (v1.3) inputs.

The new panels will feature Philips' proprietary HD Digital Natural Motion technology (HD DNM) which has been designed to reduce on-screen juddering, while Motion Estimation Motion Compensation (MEMC) acts to further smooth motion by inserting compensating frames within faster scenes.

With a growing reputation for producing some of the most technologically advanced LCD TV's around, Philips' like other manufacturers have begun to realize the importance of psychological aspects and how they affect their bottom line.

http://hdtvorg.co.uk/news/articles/2008013002.htm

The demise of HD DVD?

Without wanting to sound too premature about the possible demise of the HD DVD High Definition format, more bad news continues to suggest that its rival Blu-ray may well emerge as the dominant format.

This week, the market research group Gartner indicated that it believed that the format war would be resolved in 2008 with Blu-ray emerging as the victor. It also suggested that Toshiba's strategy of cutting HD DVD player prices would simply delay the inevitable.

HD DVD was dealt what many believe to be a fatal blow earlier this month with the announcement from Warner Brothers that it would no longer be producing HD DVD versions of its films. With around 20% of all DVD sales, the big Hollywood studio's decision was certainly a huge set back for the HD DVD format.

More bad news for HD DVD has emerged this week in the UK with Woolworths announcing that it would no longer be offering HD DVD films in its stores after March this year. The stores decision is based on Blu-ray outselling its rival 10:1 over the Christmas period, with a company spokesperson pointing to the fact that the 750,000 (Blu-ray playing) PS3's in the UK give the format a significantly larger user base than HD DVD.

If a single format emerges, it will be good news for consumers who up until this point have been reluctant to commit to High Definition DVD, and for the industry in general which will surely see an explosion in public interest. Barry Meyer, chairman of Warner Bros had previously warned that "the window of opportunity for high-definition DVD could be missed if format confusion continues to linger,"

http://hdtvorg.co.uk/news/articles/2008013001.htm

Ultra Slim LCD TV's from Sharp

At a mere 3.44 cm wide, three new Aquos LCD TV's from Sharp are destined to become the slimmest screens commercially available, for a while at least.

The 37in, 42in and 46in screens represent a trend in demand for larger slimmer panels which owe as much to consumer demand for high style as for the latest technological wizardry. This is not to say that the new panels from Sharp are not very well specified.

The AQUOS X Series feature Full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution panels, 120Hz processing, thin-profile 3-way 8-speaker system and 1-Bit digital amplifier along with 3 HDMI (v1.3) inputs.

Available to Japanese consumers this March it looks like that the X series will be available in the UK some time this year. No dates or prices available as yet.

http://hdtvorg.co.uk/news/articles/2008012901.htm