Unlike practically ever other brand, Hitachi didn't take the wraps off of its 2009 HDTV line at CES. Instead, it waited until summer officially began, and we can't really argue with the tactic. At any rate, the company is following JVC, LG and Sony with their respective HD news by announcing new members in the long-standing UltraVision line (shown left) as well as the Alpha series (shown right). In the former, we'll soon see the 55-inch L55S603 ($1,799), 46-inch L46S603 ($1,299) and 42-inch L42S503 ($999) hit the streets (in September, August and June, respectively), while the Alpha crew contains the 42-inch L42A403 ($849) and the 32-inch L32A403 ($499), both of which ship this month. The UltraVision sets all boast 1080p panels, 120Hz dejudder technology, up to five HDMI sockets and built-in ATSC / QAM / NTSC TV tuners. As for the Alphas, you'll find a total of seven HD inputs (four HDMI), a 1080p panel on the fat kit and a 720p display on the little guy.

This year's edition of the Hitachi Wooo line of flat panels look a lot like their predecessors on the outside (120Hz IPS LCDs, 250GB HDD equipped models with iVDR slots for additional hard drives and Wooonet DLNA network support) but it's what's inside that counts. The four new XP plasma models range from 42- to 50-inches and promise even better contrast ratios, as high as 40,000:1, with better color reproduction and the promise of greater energy efficiency. The ultra-thin 35mm / 1.4-inch thick LCDs are back in four new models, with UWB wirelessly connected tuners, auto sensing/adjusting brightness and aforementioned "eco" power sipping improvements. The relatively fat XP line of LCDs consists of just three displays, but just like all the rest, buyers can still hook up to the 'net and pull down video on-demand or Yahoo! Japan's web TV portal -- features unlikely to make the jump when we see U.S. versions of these later this year. The XP plasmas and LCDs go on sale in Japan later this month or next, while the ultra-thins will be crash dieting until October.

Read - Hitachi, recording double-35mm-thin LCD TV "Wooo UT800"
Read - Hitachi, 7 new plasma / LCD

Sorry Hitachi, we really are, but there's no way consumers can squeeze a satisfactory amount of fun out of a SXGA+ projector. In fairness, the 3LCD CP-SX635 does boast a brightness of 4,000 ANSI lumens for showing up in even dimly lit areas, but the lack of 1080p just leaves us squarely on the fence. For those who aren't resolution junkies, this one also includes four optional lenses for various throw distances, a 2,000-hour hybrid filter, an inbuilt 16-watt speaker, network control capability and an HDMI input. Too bad we're not even given a price to ponder, huh? The full release is just past the break.

While unpacking we found this clip (after the break) and these images of Hitachi's latest entry into the Super Resolution arena and figured you might want a look at this attempt to make all things SD into high definition. At least so far, Toshiba has not impressed many with its approach, we'll see if Hitachi has different luck.

Hitachi asked itself "what if...?" prior to CES 2009, and its best idea included a "Style-Unlimited" corner for its booth, said to feature design ideas that match the craftsmanship of its TVs with stands and frames made of Japanese lacquer and gold leaf. Immediately refocusing on "what is..." -- a questionable economy and wary buyers -- the 2009 line of UT HDTVs will expand primarily by carrying a more mainstream pricetag and now standard 1080p / 120Hz features. For those still living the dream, Hitachi's managed to narrowly beat its previous best with a 15mm thick 37-inch LED backlit display , while the 50-inch UltraThin plasma from CEDIA comes along for the ride. Also making celebrity appearances? 2010's finest Super Resolution upconverting technology plus the always hilarious Gesture Control TV demo. Excited or depressed, we can't decide.

Not to be outdone by their LCD brethren, plasma displays from Hitachi, LG, Panasonic and Pioneer have earned the right to wear Energy Star badges (or sashes). All told, 43 models from the manufacturers successfully navigated the 208-Watt "on mode" and less than 1-Watt "standby mode" limbo stick, and although the Plasma Display Coalition isn't crowing about smashing the requirements like JVC did with its LCDs, it's still a testament to advances to plasma efficiency. For us plasma-philes here at Engadget HD, knowing our obsessive pursuit of image quality isn't destroying the planet is a bit like having our cake and eating it, too.

Apparently through with its legal issues, Tzero's decided now is the time to show its second generation UWB-based wireless HDMI technology. ZeroWire 2.0 is sending out 1080p (24/56/30/60fps) video with 16ms or less "sub-frame latency" suitable for lag-free high definition gaming, 7.1 audio support, and 480Mbps transfer rate with ranges of greater than 20 meters. The most important number is a $50 per unit price, with all that wireless magic performed via UltraMIMO signal technology and h.264 compression (replacing the old JPEG2000 system seen in Hitachi's Wooo HDTVs and Gefen wireless extenders) in the TZC7200 chipset. Impress Watch caught one of the demos currently going on in Japan and were told this is well below the price of other technologies like Wireless HD and WHDI, while enjoying wirelessly connected gaming on conveniently located PlayStation 3 consoles. With the previous generation's external antennas also getting the ax, we'll see if a leaner, cheaper technology can stand up to the competition (and convince us there's a reason to play Rock Band from way across the room) next year.

[Via Tzero]

Hitachi's latest trifecta wasn't designed for your surely swank abode per se, but we suppose those with enough cash and willpower can do anything they darn well please. That said, the CP-X10000 (1,024 x 768), CP-WX11000 (1,280 x 800) and CP-SX12000 (1,400 x 1,050) can all handle professional (read: lit) settings with ease, featuring 7,500 / 6,500 / 7,000 lumens, respectively. The whole lot also boasts a 2,500:1 contrast ratio, 10-bit signal processor, HDMI / BNC connectors, Ethernet, an RS-232 control port and a lamp good for 10,000 maintenance-free hours. Mum's the word on price, but don't worry, these are going on the corporate card anyway.

[Via I4U News]

Hitachi's DZ-BD10HA isn't for everyone, as evidenced by the built-in 3-inch BD-R / RE burner that your content gets cooked onto. If you're one of those folks who doesn't mind (or enjoys, we should say) the direct-to-disc approach, however, CNET's review is apt to give you some food for thought. The hybrid HD camcorder also packs a 30GB hard drive, but you'll pay for the multi-format approach with the larger size. Reviewers found the operation to be simple enough, though that's partially due to the rather skimpy features list. 'Course, it all comes to down to image quality, and critics simply found the video performance to be "decent" and the photo quality "above average." At the end of the day, the unit mustered just three out of five stars, and if you're looking for our advice, we'd suggest ditching the whole BD bit and having a look at Samsung's SC-HMX20C.

If you're gunning for a mid-sized HDTV this holiday season, the chances are relatively high you've paid at least a small bit of attention to Hitachi's 37-inch UT37X902. An integral crew member of the 1.5 UltraThin family, this here set was recently taken for a ride over at CNET, and unfortunately for fans, they weren't entirely pleased. Now look, even they couldn't give a cold shoulder to the beautiful design and exceptional thinness, and the "solid" picture quality, "relatively" deep black levels and "accurate" color were all lauded. The kicker, though, is that it's mighty expensive (around $1,900), had a tendency to introduce blues in very dark scenes, offered few ports and boasted a poorly integrated optional AV center. What's it all mean? It still managed to a net a 3.5 out of 5 stars, so if money ain't a thang, you just might be alright here; those on a budget, however, may be disappointed in the value proposition.

Hitachi sure was busting out the prototypes at CEATEC: a 15mm 37-inch LCD TV, wireless HD camcorder and a slew of custom framing options for its Wooo HDTVs. This isn't the first (far from it, actually) attempt we've seen at covering those traditional black / silver bezels with something a bit more flashy, but it's not often that a TV manufacturer gets involved. Unfortunately, there's still a good chance the pre-production frames will be held as Japan-only accessories depending on US demand, but we hear planes fly to Tokyo everyday if you're dead-set on eventually acquiring one.

If you're still in disbelief that wireless HD is finally catching on, here's yet another demonstration that just may sway you into being a believer. Hitachi demonstrated a wireless HD camcorder setup at CEATEC in Japan, which saw a hacked up handycam get fitted with a protruding wireless card and stream high-def content to a nearby TV via DLNA (got all that?). Obviously, there's no telling when or if the company will clean the application up and bring it to retail, but in all seriousness, we have our doubts about the value proposition here.

Hitachi drug its oh-so-sexy 1.5-inch plasma to Japan after showing it off in Denver earlier this month, but what we didn't see at CEDIA was this: a 15-millimeter thin 37-inch LCD TV. The "reference" set packed a 1,920 x 1,080 panel and a fittingly designed stand, though it won't see mass production until "2009 or later." Ugh, even 1-inch just seems so bloated now.

We actually had to dust off our spectacles to make sure this wasn't some sort of misunderstanding, but clearly, Hitachi is pulling a Toshiba. Generally, we wouldn't make such a claim, but given that Tosh also calls its wizard-like upconverting technology Super Resolution, we'd say the likeness requires such a comparison. Reportedly, Hitachi has been toiling day and night on its own "super resolution technology," which will theoretically take SD images and scale them to near-1080p. Amazingly, we're told that it can also "convert HDTV images, such as digital terrestrial broadcasts, into images with even higher (what, SHV?) definition." The tech is executed on a frame-by-frame basis and should be exhibited at the upcoming CEATEC trade show in Japan; as for a release, Hitachi's currently aiming to get this into LCDs and plasmas "after 2010."

Hitachi is the latest manufacturer looking towards the door as the party at plasma's house is winding down, and the cost cutting isn't surprising in light of the company's steep losses on plasma TVs. Just to spare plasma's feelings, though, it has agreed to buy some panels from Panasonic (which looks to be last man standing at the dwindling party). It's hard to see the move as anything but inevitable -- as LCDs take over and OLEDs ramp up, Hitachi's 7.5-percent stake in the plasma market isn't the issue, it's the shrinking overall plasma market that's the problem (matched only by the thinning physical profiles). UltraThin, 1.5-inch thick plasmas or no, we wouldn't be surprised to see a complete exit from the plasma market in the foreseeable future.