Even though there are some sketchy figures bandied about in the mad rush to hop on the "green" bandwagon, the trend of producing more efficient devices with less environmental impact is for real. It looks like LCD manufacturer AUO is spreading its tech bets. Only a couple of months ago, the company was touting LED backlighting for a 44-percent reduction in energy consumption (and better images, to boot). Now the company is planning to show off a 32-inch LCD that it claims will cut consumption by 50-percent and will be market-ready in Q2 2008. No radical new technology here, just good engineering that cuts the number of fluorescent tubes used for the backlighting from 16 down to 4. No doubt that LED backlights are the future, but we'll be more than happy to see fluorescent backlights put some pricing pressure on them.

[Thanks, Richard!]

If a few more companies get into these speaker-lamp combo designs, it just might define a whole new product category. Yamaha's YST001 speakers, however, offer up a couple of features that make them better suited for HT use. First and foremost, the cabinet design and front-facing drivers on these are a natural fit for the HT arena. Second, the lighting is rearward-facing, so using a pair of these speakers for front channels will bring an adjustable backlight to your display -- good news for those who want to produce better perceived contrast. From our mangled Japanese translation, the YST001 seems to be a combination of Yamaha's NS-M125 bookshelf speakers and a speaker stand with integrated lighting from Koizumi. Nice idea -- and the design seems to have avoided the gimmick of dynamic, colored backlights -- but ideally we'd like to see the speakers positioned closer to ear level. Read on for a couple of gallery shots.

[Via CyberTheater]

Today, Samsung is the only TV maker with sets containing Luminus Devices' PhlatLight, but according to a new report detailing the technology, that could be a-changin'. We heard that this stuff was taking home some fancy award earlier this year, but now we're getting a real in-depth look at what all it can do to make our lives better. Aside from having the potential to last the entire lifetime of the TV (over 60,000 hours) and "deliver a consistent picture without fading," PhlatLight essentially "combines the benefits of both LED and laser technologies." There's plenty more on the technicalities waiting in the read link below, but those focused on end products will be delighted to know that this system is slated to arrive in front projectors and pocket projectors in the not-too-distant future.

No doubt, emissive displays like plasma and OLED get lots of oohs and ahs, but for right now, LCD dominates the market. With plasma moving to the niches and OLED still on the horizon, we're happy to see that innovation in LCD performance keeps on coming. No doubt the biggest innovation we saw last year was the introduction of LED backlighting. Fashion being what it is, though, Luminus Devices' PhlatLight technology -- which puts LEDs along the display edges as opposed to directly behind the panel -- makes it possible bring LED backlighting to increasingly thin cabinets. Personally, we'd go for a slightly thicker display to get HDR capability from our LEDs; but we're on the fringe like that. For its contribution to making thin, evenly backlit, energy efficient LCDs, Luminus will be given the Society of Information Display's Gold Award next week alongside two other gadgets familiar around these parts: the Apple iPhone and Sony XEL-1.

Samsung believes that by 2010, 30% of all LCD televisions will include LED backlights instead of the conventional flourescent used in most sets now. What's different from the LED units we've seen before is that Samsung wants to use white LEDs, with single diodes custom-coated to produce the same backlight previously requiring combinations of red, green, and blue bulbs. Samsung recently invested in Intematix, which produces custom phosphor coatings for LED bulbs to create uniform color -- required in a television to faithfully reproduce colors. Until recently costs have been higher for LED backlight units, keeping them relegated to higher-end models. Samsung claims the single bulb process reduces costs by 40%, but time will tell whether white-only LEDs are truly better or cheaper than tri-color LEDs, or if they are just the next "Reveal lightbulb" marketing gimmick.

[Via I4U News]

Even though Toshiba's SED technology will be a no show at CES this year, Proton let us know that its LED backlit LCDs will be on display. The last time we saw these HDTVs (the 42-inch 1080p P42L1 and 32-inch 720p P32L1) at Computex they were expected to hit this year but now are slated for a second quarter 2007 release. In case you've forgotten during the long wait for this technology to reach reasonable prices, LED backlighting (like SED) promises more accurate color reproduction than current CCFL-based LCDs.
We'll have to wait until next year to see which one actually delivers.

LCD TVs using LEDs for backlighting aren't exactly new -- Sony's high-end Qualia line has had this feature for a while -- but getting them down to a price affordable for most consumers has still proven to be an unattainable goal. Samsung had a 40-inch 10,000:1 contrast ratio beauty on display at IFA 2006 last month, and now the good folks at JVC are showing the model pictured above at CEATEC 2006. No deets on pricing, specs or even size are available yet, but if plasma isn't a good fit for your wall or budget -- and waiting around for SED is too much of a bore -- LED backlighting is the best bet for improved color reproduction and black levels in LCDs.

Samsung is showing off their LED-backlit LCD panel for European markets at IFA 2006. The LE40M91 40-inch 720p LCD has a 146% color gamut, 10,000:1 contrast ratio and 450 cd/m2 brightness rating. LED backlighting has been available in Sony's Qualia line, but remained out of reach for most buyers due to its high price. Although Samsung didn't release any pricing information earlier reports pegged the 40-inch LCD at about $3,000. This TV also features Samsung's 100hz technology, while inserting a frame between other two frames, they claim their motion adaptive technology helps reduce blurring without reducing brightness, clarity or color. They showed off two other new LCDs, a 40- and 46-inch (LE40F7/LE46F7) that don't feature the LED backlighting or 100hz technology, but do have 1080p resolution, 6,000:1 contrast ratio,127% of the NTSC color gamut and 450 cd/m2 brightness, much like the upcoming 52-inch LN-S5296D. All three screens feature Samsung's Wiselink "10-in-3" technology which apparently allows for USB, memory card, printer and dual-HDMI connection.

[Via Digitimes]

Speaking of "reaching a broader customer base in a speedy and timely manner", Sharp has already announced US pricing and availability for two of the LCDs already shown this morning in Japan. The 52-inch LC-52D62U and 46-inch LC-46D62U 1080p Aquos LCDs will be available in October with MSRPs of $4,799 and $3,499 respectively. Couple that with their new next-generation ASV panel that provides a 2000:1 static contrast ratio (10,000:1 dynamic), 450 cd/m2 brightness, 4ms response time, two 1080p HDMI inputs, two component inputs, built -in QAM/ATSC tuners and Sharp's 4-wavelength backlighting system and you have a good product at a great price compared to Samsung and Sony LCDs of the same size. No word yet on the 42-inch HDTV shown earlier in Japan, but they may wait to announce it here since it is not due until November.

Cuz all the cool kids are doing it for at least the next year or so, much unlike the mullet. Despite all the hubbub about LEDs, CCFLs are likely to continue backlighting your LCD panel, even as manufacturers ramp up production to meet demand.

When will light emitting diodes and flat fluorescent lamps become a part of the flat screen TV landscape? Who knows but Kumho Electric isn't looking to find out. I still wanted my HDTV t-shirt though.

Everything has a downfall. LCDs are notorious for being backlit too much causing bad black levels. Plasmas, on the other hand, do not suffer from this. Nether will LCDs though if manufactures starting using LED (light-emitting diodes) instead of conventional backlighting. This process will cost a tad more then the current method, but I believe that there is enough of people like us that will pay a bit more in order to achieve plasma like colors.

Right?