Samsung SDI shows an ultra-thin OLED panel at the FPD International 2008 conference.

Samsung calls it the flapping display. I guess they just want to underline the fact that it is so thin that it moves with the wind.

The 0.05mm-thick screen sheet has a diagonal size of four inches, a resolution of 480 x 272 and a 100,000:1 contrast ratio. Its brightness is rated at 200cd/m², Japan’s Nikkei reports.

That width is a fraction of the 0.3mm thickness Sony recently hailed for its first flexible OLED panel.

What it lacks is the glass substrate all other OLED panels use for stability. Instead of sealing the panel to the glass, Samsung removed it and used a membrane seal instead.

What Samsung didn’t say is how easily its boffins can transform the process used to produce the prototype into one that can be implemented commercially.

Samsung LE32A558 32in LCD TV

So successful has Samsung been with its media-friendly ‘hint of red’ A656 LCD range that it hasn’t really seemed as particularly bothered about marketing its other LCD TVs. Certainly it’s taken us an age to get our hands on something from the brand’s ‘5 Series’.

But our perseverance has finally paid off, and we have a 32in LE32A558 sat on our test benches as we speak. And first impressions of this new set are, well, mixed.

The problem is that it’s hard not to feel an immediate pang of disappointment at how relatively ‘straightforward’ the A558 looks versus the red-tinged glories of its A656 siblings. But to be fair, once you’ve got over this, you start to appreciate that the design is actually still very nice, partly thanks to the extreme minimalism of its gloss black lines, and partly due to the quality of its finish. Continue Reading…

Samsung has done a rather unique spin on the whole sound bar in front of the flat panel thing, unveiling the other day a sound bar which doubles as a self-contained DVD system. It is called the Samsung HT-X810 and pricing is said to be around $700.

Samsung HT-X810

The Samsung HT-X810 is, according to Samsung, a virtual 5.1-channel system which incorporates an upconverting DVD player and FM tuner. It makes use of 5.8 GHz technology to connect with the included wireless subwoofer and also incorporates Bluetooth so one can stream from Bluetooth-enabled mobile devices and home theater components.

Features of the HT-X810 include HDMI output, a slot-in interface for the DVDs, 300 watts of total power and the ability to play media off of attached USB devices. It is available now.

[Via Samsung]

Samsung Electronics America Inc. lets consumers view PC-content on a Samsung HDTV with the retail launch of the company’s MediaLive adaptor. Samsung’s MediaLive delivers digital content (including HD content) in real-time from Windows Media Center on a PC running Windows Vista Home Premium or Windows Vista Ultimate operating systems to the big screen of a Samsung HDTV via a wireless or wired home network.

Samsung MediaLive HDTV Accessory

From photos, music, feature films, home movies, and live and recorded TV programs, Samsung’s MediaLive is the ideal plug-and-play complement to most 2008-model Samsung HDTVs. Continue Reading…

Samsung  announced its 7-series of plasma TVs, which will be become the new flagship plasma product line for the manufacturer when the devices go on sale in August.

Samsung said the TVs are the first TV cases designed with dual-injection molding technology which infuses color to the bezel rather than using spray paint. Samsung described the design as a “hint of red color blended into a piano black bezel.”

Specifications include 1080p resolution, a 1,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, 1300 cd/m2 brightness,
day/night calibration modes, InfoLink RSS support, four HDMI 1.3 connects and one USB 2.0 port and playback compatibility with MP3, JPEG, XviD and MPEG4 files.

Prices start at $2800 for the 50″ model. The 58″ version is priced at $4500 and the 63″ TV at $5500.

Sony, Canon, Kodak, Hitachi, Victor Company of Japan, KDDI, Kenwood, Panasonic, Nikon, Olympus, Pioneer, Samsung, Seiko Epson, Sony Ericsson and Toshiba today announced an agreement to form a consortium to develop specifications for interconnecting products using TransferJet a new interoperable wireless transfer technology that enables rapid transfer of high resolution video, music and images.

Sony Trasferjet

TransferJet wireless technology enables a high speed data transmission rate of 560Mbps, while eliminating the need for complex setup and operation. Directly touching two compliant electronic products together allows files to be transferred automatically, without the need for an access point. Continue Reading…

Samsung BD-P1500

Samsung have been making noises in the Blu-ray market for some time now. But does their latest player offer enough to convince you to switch from your humble DVD? We get watching to find out.

Samsung have a reputation for delivering affordable technologies and the uptake of their LCD panels over the past few years is testament to this. But are too many corners cut in the delivery of their Blu-ray player? Fortunately, we think not.

The unexcitingly-named BD-P1500 replaces the P1400 before it and improves on the design of previous Samsung players, ironically, by being less fussy and taking a more minimal approach. Now you’ll find a simple black gloss front, with only a bare minimum of controls. Continue Reading…

Sanyo is switching to Sharp LCD panels for its HDTV sets, the former company has announced. While Sanyo is well-known as a brand in general, its TVs have not been able to compete against the likes of those from Samsung and Sony. The Japanese electronics market has been consolidating as whole, and has forced the adoption of strategies similar to Sanyo’s on the part of companies like Pioneer. In Sanyo’s case its consumer electronics division has done poorly, and Reuters notes that on Thursday, the corporation announced its first profits in four years.

Sanyo says that by turning to Sharp it is hoping to revitalize its consumer electronics, even as it invests more heavily into technologies such as solar cells and rechargeable batteries. Its relationship with Sharp may even deepen, as the companies are said to be mulling joint development of kitchen appliances.

Sony is really sinking quite a chunk of money into OLED (organic light-emitting diode) technology. A couple of months ago, they announced $200 million to develop and produce larger OLED panels.

Today Sony announced that they plan on having large OLED displays ready to go by 2009, and they are authorizing an additional $210 million to make sure this happens.

Sony’s only OLED screen currently in production is a small 11-inch OLED, the XEL-1, but the promise of much larger OLED screens is fairly exciting. Samsung, Sony’s major competitor for large screen OLED displays, is also planning a 2009 release for their medium-to-large OLED screens.

There is no word on when in 2009 these sets will be made available or what kinds of prices we will have to pay to get one.