Kodak has announced today that their agreement to sell the rights to OLED technology to LG Electronics is finally complete. There was rumor that LG plans to create a new branch called LG OLED in order to continue research and development, but LG has not officially announced any information yet. Now that LG has the rights to OLED technology, they do not have to ask for permission to use the technology for their devices. Some of the devices that LG has already developed include cell phones, house ware electronics, and HDTVs. LG is one of the first companies to release a OLED HDTV into the consumer market.

[via OLED Info]

Earlier this month, Sharp announced the opening of a new LCD HDTV factory. Today, the company has announced that they have made a deal with Sony to have the new factory produce a portion of their LCD panels. In 2010, only 7% of their total LCD panels will be shipped to Sony. However in 2011 that percentage is expected to increase to 34%. Sharp expects other LCD manufacturers to come to them to get panels from the factory with in the near future. The Sakai City manufacturing facility is a completely green building and uses over 100000 LED lights to illuminate it. They also use solar panels and other eco-friendly techniques. The factory is expected to produce up to 72000 HDTVs per month.

[via Engadget HD]

LG Electronics is happy to announce their latest plasma HDTV, the 50PQ30. This 50” display comes with only a WXGA (1366 x 768) resolution but an impressive 2000000:1 contrast ratio. The main feature however is the 600Hz refresh rate, which guarantees smooth action scenes every time. LG has also added a wide array of features including color reproduction, SRS TruSurround XT Sound system, Eco Mode, and many more. The connection panel includes three HDMI ports, dual composite and component connections, an s-video, VGA, USB, and an antenna connection as well. The 50PQ30 is available now for as low as $780, depending on which retailer you use.

[via I4U]

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is the first electronic show of the year. Every year thousands of companies come to display their best to give the consumers a taste of things to come through out the coming year. This year, CES will be in Las Vegas, Nevada from January 7-10. Many people are starting to guess what some of the hot topics will be this year and the writers from DVICE have come up with their top five pics. The #1 technology is really no surprise, 3D HDTV technology. This technology has been talked about for months and was expected to be released at the beginning of 2010. The new 3D HDTVs are supposed to be able to display full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution images for each eye. Older 3D systems would typically take native resolution and cut it in half to create the left and right eye images. This means that 3D movies also had a lesser resolution than any other movie. However, this new technology will fix that problem. The only major concern now is will there be enough 3D content to allow 3D HDTVs to succeed? Only time will answer that question.

[via DVICE]

Yesterday you may have heard about DirecTV’s announcement to launch the USA’s first 3D channel. They also launched yesterday the satellite that will be used to deliver more than 200 new HD channels and the world’s first 3D channel. As nice as it is to see that more 3D content will be available soon, unfortunately it is not going to be free. In a recent email that the company is circulating through out their customers, the rates for regular programming will be increased from $3 to $5 per month. In addition, DVR fees will also rise form $5.99 to an even $7. All of these changes will take effect starting February 9th, which is about a month before the new satellite is to become operational. Follow the link below to see the email and the rate increase.

[via Engadget HD]

When most people think of a cozy winter scene it’s usually getting warm with some hot chocolate in front of a fireplace. Well the creators from Helex have created a state of the art fireplace that has the added bonus of a big screen HDTV mounted just above the fire. The I-Frame fireplace is intended for the more modern looking house and will easily take and entire wall of your living room. The fireplace turns on with a press of the button to deliver a cozy looking gas fire. Unfortuantely, the company has not released any information about the TV specification other than it has full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution. The entire device is behind a solid sheet of glass in order to give it a sleek modern look as well. There is no information about a retail price, but it looks like the I-Frame fireplace can be custom made.

[via Gizmodo]

One of the newest HDTVs to come from Vizio is the SV320XVT. This model has a 32” LCD screen, full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution, and a 50000:1 contrast ratio. Recently, the writers from Associated Content released their review of the projector. The first aspect that the writers liked was the image quality, the TV’s HD resolution and 120Hz image processor make for smooth action scenes and amazing color and detail. The writers also liked the retail price of the SV320XVT. When compared to other 32” HDTVs, the SV320XVT is one of the cheapest models. Overall the writers were very pleased with the TV and couldn’t find any faults worth mentioning. Their final suggestion was, “Check out the Vizio SV320XVT as your next television purchase and you will not fail to be pleased.”

[via Associated Content]

With the year drawing to a close many people are looking back at what this year had to offer and what the New Year will hold. This week on HD Nation they first talk about some of the things to look forward to and the main item is 3D HD technology. Many companies are announcing that they will be releasing new 3D products at CES show, including HDTVs, HD media players, and set top boxes. The only concern is that there are only a few movies that available now in 3D, but the hosts think that the 3D content will explode shortly after the 3D electronics are released. Another topic they look at is some of the top Blu-ray movies that were released in 2009. Toping the list are the Watchmen and the Dark Knight. Other movies on the list include Star Trek, Groundhog Day, The Matrix, Three Days of the Condor, No Country for Old Men, Iron Man, Wizard of Oz, Battlestar Galatica, Kung Fu Panda, Up, and Inglourious Bastards. An honorable mention that was added is the Spears and Munsil HD Benchmark, which is an excellent test pattern disk to help users tweak their TV.

[via Revision 3]

Sony is proud to announce today the release of their new KDL-65W5100. This TV features a 65” display screen, full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution, and 2000:1 contrast ratio. The connection panel includes a wide array of connections including HDMI, composite, s-video, component, Ethernet, VGA and several more. The main feature is the integrated BRAVIA Internet services. These services allow the TV to stream video and audio straight from the internet to the TV. The services also include an internet radio feature, which allows the TV to play any of the online radio stations. Some of the online websites that are available include YouTube, Blip.TV, CBS, and Amazon On Demand. Sony is currently selling the KDL-65W5100 through their website for just under $5000.

[via Audio Video Revolution]

ViewSonic recently released their latest HD monitor, the VX2433wm. This 24” LCD display features full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution and a 1000:1 contrast ratio. Today, the writers from Think Computers published their review of the monitor. The first aspect they mentioned was the screen itself. The widescreen aspect ratio allows the display to show full HD resolution with out any problems or reformatting. The setup was quick and easy and didn’t require any image tweaking. The image was bright and vibrant and the contrast provided excellent black levels. The writers were very happy to watch movies and TV on the display, which are possible thanks to the HDMI port. The only concern that the writer made was with the internal speaker system. The writers thought that positioning them in the back of the display was a bad idea, and they are not powerful enough to deliver quality sound. The final though the writer made was, “The ViewSonic VX2433wm is a great display, I really didn’t find much wrong with it. I had never reviewed a 16:9 monitor (all 16:10) so I was surprised when I opened it up and it was a bit wider than my other displays. A 24-inch 16:10 monitor has a native resolution of 1920 x 1200, whereas this 16:9 display has a native resolution of 1920 x 1080. So you are losing some height, but I really do enjoy this aspect ratio. I really like how wide it is, especially when working in Photoshop or watching videos on it.”

[via Think Computers]