Samsung Intros 2nd-Generation LED-Backlit LCD HDTV

By Raju Shanbhag

TMCnet Contributing Editor

 

Samsung (News - Alert) Electronics America Inc., today introduced the new Series 9 LED LCD HDTV.

 

The new series is a successor to the company’s award-winning 81 Series LED LCD HDTV, according to the company. The 2008 flagship Series provides consumers the powerful combination of LED and 120Hz technologies using Samsung’s LED SmartLighting technology, officials say. The Series 9 gives consumers the freedom to easily access and manage nearly all forms of digital content via the TV with its innovative features.

 

The Series 9 LCD HDTV can achieve dramatic contrast levels and express “actual black levels” by completely shutting off a pixel’s light source. This ability of Series 9 gets rid of the grayish black picture plaguing many LCD HDTVs, according to the company. Users can also produce more light increasing the brightness of the Series 9’s picture when necessary as they can locally control groups of pixels.

 

Providing touch-of-a-button access to news, weather, and stock quotes, the Series 9 LED LCD also features Samsung’s InfoLink RSS service. It also plays MP3 music, JPEG photos, and video files stored on memory drives, other digital devices, or PCs with Samsung’s WiseLink Pro and DLNA technology, company officials say. The Series 9 comes equipped with four (1 side, 3 rear) HDMI-CEC inputs, which provides easy connection to external components such as Blu-ray players and HD Camcorders.

 

The Series 9 sports an elegant charcoal gray bezel with a honey-comb pattern, officials say. The company has used dual-injection molding technology to achieve this effect. This technology wraps the bezel with a translucent coating and controls the density of the transparent and opaque material used in the process, providing a subtle yet unique look with distinct gray and black gradation, according to the company.

 

With its “EnergySaving Mode,” Samsung’s Series 9 950 LCD ensures the HDTV is compliant with the EPA’s EnergyStar rating system. Consumption of power is substantially decreased compared to similar 2007 models as it adjusts the HDTV’s backlight brightness with a low, medium, or high selection, officials say.

 

“Combining Samsung’s LED SmartLighting and Auto Motion Plus 120Hz technologies in one high-performance LCD HDTV, the Series 9 LCD represents Samsung’s continued focus on advancing the very highest picture quality available to consumers in the current HDTV market,” said Jonas Tanenbaum, a vice president at Samsung.