Samsung unveiled its latest products at a press event held this past week in New York City. New products included LED backlit LCD flat panel HDTV’s, wireless Plasma panels and new Blu-ray players.

The 71 series flat panel LCD HDTV’s incorporate motion blur reducing 120Hz processing (moving objects blurring and losing sharpness, especially in sports programming and action movies, is a phenomenon that has plagued standard LCD [60HZ] panels for years. It’s not an issue in plasma panels, however).

Samsung calls its 120HZ feature “Auto-Motion Plus 120”. The reduction in motion blur was clearly visible during a demonstration, but it should be noted that despite the improvement, plasma technology still beats LCD in this regard.

Additional features include: wide color gamut CCFL capable of reproducing a wider range of color than normal CCFLs (cold-cathode fluorescent lamps), a 25,000:1dynamic contrast ratio and three HDMI connectors. Additional features, specifications and pricing from Samsung’s press release appear at the bottom of this article.

The 81 series LCD HDTV’s are the first Samsung panels to use light emitting diodes (LEDs) instead of CCFLs to provide the backlight illumination. In addition to the LEDs, the 81 series models employ “Auto-Motion Plus LED” (to reduce motion blur) and a “local dimming” technology that allows the LEDs to dim in dark image areas to produce a rated dynamic contrast ratio of 100,000:1. All the 71 and 81 series displays are 1080p.

Plasma

Samsung introduced its first wireless HDTVs. These new 94 series model plasmas are 1080p and include a wireless broadcast module that allows connection of multiple devices (including up to three HDMI sources in either standard or up to 1080i high definition). The module will switch sources by remote control and transmit a source audio/video signal (such as a HD cable box or HD DVD player) up to 200 ft wirelessly to the panel via the 802.11n standard. The plasma just needs AC power to receive the signal. This new technology will save money for consumers, who will be able to skip the expense of having long runs of audio and video cable snaked through walls by custom installers. The wireless technology also allows signal transmission in difficult or impractical custom installation environments such as rooms with concrete or plaster walls and ceilings. Certainly, custom installers and HDMI cable makers will not be thrilled with this revenue-reducing technology but they surely knew it was coming. Samsung also debuted the 84 series of plasma HDTV’s identical to the 94 series but without the wireless feature. Specifications are listed below

Blu-ray

Samsung introduced two new third generation Blu-ray disc players, the BD-P2400 and BD-P1400. Both feature HDMI 1.3 connectivity, 1080p playback of Blu-ray discs at 24 frames per second (fps) or at 60 fps, 5.1 audio decoding of Dolby TrueHD and DTS MA as well as Dolby Digital Plus and DTS. Both models will also upconvert standard definition DVDs to 1080p/60 via HDMI connection. The BD-P1400 uses Faroudja DCDI video processor, while the step-up BD-P2400 uses Silicon Optix HQV video processor. The BD-P1400 will be available in September 2007 at $499 retail; the BD-P2400 will ship in October 2007 with a retail of $599.

Specifications
81 Series LCD
Display 40-inch / 46-inch / 52-inch / 57-inch
Resolution 1080p
Features · Wide Color Gamut LED backlight unit
Local Dimming technology
10 bit processing
Wide color enhancer
Auto Motion PlusLED
Built-in digital tuner (ATSC/Clear QAM)·
Fast 8ms response time
Picture-in-Picture
Super clear panel
Contrast Ratio 100,000:1
Audio · Premium Audio with dedicated low-range speakers· 10 Wx2 Watts per channel· SRS TruSurround XT™· “Hidden” side speakers
A/V Connection · 3 HDMI — High Definition Multimedia· Interface version 1.3 (2 rear/1 side)· 2 Component video inputs· 2 S-video inputs (1 side/1 rear)· Side and Rear A/V inputs· PC input· USB 2.0· Swivel stand· HDMI – CEC
Estimated Selling Price 40-inch: $2,99946-inch: $3,99952-inch: $4,99957-inch: $6,999
Availability August 2007

71 Series LCD
Display 40-inch / 46-inch / 52-inch
Resolution 1080p
Features · Auto Motion Plus120Hz
Built-in digital tuner (ATSC/Clear QAM)
Fast 8ms response time
Wide color enhancer
178º(H)/178º(V) viewing angle
Super clear panel
Swivel stand
Contrast Ratio 25,000:1
Audio · Premium Audio with dedicated low-range speakers· 10 Wx2 Watts per channel· SRS TruSurround XT™· “Hidden” side speakers
A/V Connection · 3 HDMI — High Definition Multimedia· Interface version 1.3 (2 rear/1 side)· 2 Component video inputs· 2 S-video inputs (1 side/1 rear)· Side and Rear A/V inputs· PC input· USB 2.0· HDMI – CEC
Estimated Selling Price 40-inch: $2,69946-inch: $3,39952-inch: $4,399
Availability August 2007

84 Series Plasma
Display 50-inch / 58-inch
Resolution 1080p
Features · Built-in NTSC/ATSC/QAM tuner
Ultra FilterBrightâ„¢
18-bit color processing
Energy Star® Compliant
Game Mode
Contrast Ratio 15,000:1
Audio · 10-watts per channel built-in audio amplifier· SRS TruSurround XT™
A/V Connection 3 HDMI-CEC ports· 1 USB 2.0· 2 S-video and composite connections· 1 PC Input· 1 Headphone jack
Estimated Selling Price· 50-inch: $2,999· 58-inch: $4,699
Availability · 50-inch: Now· 58-inch: September 2007

94 Series Plasma
Display 50-inch / 58-inch
Resolution 1080p
Features · Wireless Plasma
· Built-in NTSC/ATSC/QAM tuner·
Ultra FilterBrightâ„¢
18-bit color processing
Energy Star® Compliant
Contrast Ratio 15,000:1
Audio · 10-watts per channel built-in audio amplifier· SRS TruSurround XT™ ·
A/V Connection · 3 HDMI-CEC ports· 1 USB 2.0· 2 component connection· 2 video connection· 1 S-Video connection· 1 Headphone jack
Estimated Selling Price · 50-inch: $3,599· 58-inch: $5,299
Availability · 4th Quarter 2007

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