Sharp is happy to announce today that they have entered into a display partnership that will give Foxconn access to half of the LCD panels from Sharp’s 10G LCD plant in Sakai. In return, Foxconn will invest about $8 million in Sharp and will take a 10% share of the company. The panels that Foxconn will get part of are from the large-sized category and measure over 100 inches, diagonally. Neither company has stated why the need for the partnership at this time.

[via Flatpanels HD]

Vizio is proud to announce today that Westinghouse Digital has become a licensee under Vizio’s QAM patent portfolio. The agreement helps both companies in the LCD HDTV market. Unfortunately, neither company is disclosing any details about the agreement at this time. “We are pleased with the result of our patent licensing efforts. It further demonstrates the technical strength and value of VIZIO’s patent portfolio,” said Rob Brinkman, VIZIO Chief Administrative Officer. “Having successfully resolved the disputes, we shall continue to aggressively protect our rights and actively expand VIZIO’s licensing program.”

[via Market Watch]

One of the upcoming HDTVs from Samsung is the PN60E8000. This 60 inch plasma screen features full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution and has 3D and Smart TV technology. Recently, the writers from PC Magazine released a preview about this device. One of the more interesting features is that this TV comes with a built-in camera that is used for facial recognition and gesture controls. The TV also recognizes voice commands as well in order to reduce the need for a remote control. Unfortunately, the company has not released a lot of information about the PN60E8000 at this time. The company has not announced yet when the TV will be available, but it will retail for just under $2600.

[via PC Magazine]

One of the new HDTVs to come from Panasonic is the TX-L37E5B. This 37 inch screen features LED lighting, full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution, and a laundry list of features. Today, the writes from Trusted Reviews released their review of this particular device. One of the first things they complimented was the TV’s overall value. The writers state that the TV has good online features for the low retail price. This suggests that there are problems with that feature, but none worth stating in the review. The picture quality was good for the most part. However, the writers did notice some resolution loss while showing video. There was also some problems with contrast and sharpness as well. The final verdict was, “While the Panasonic L37E5 in some ways merely whets our appetite for some of Panasonic’s incoming more high-end LCD and plasma TVs, it’s actually still a very likeable TV in its own right, delivering enough picture quality and features to thoroughly justify costing a bit more than your average bargain bucket 37in TV.”

[via Trusted Reviews]

Sharp and Sony are proud to announce today that they have agreed to further amend their joint venture agreement. The agreement was originally created in 2009 and was amended for the first time in 2011. But now the company will amend it a second time in order to continue working together. The joint venture will allow both companies to produce and sell large-sized LCD panels and modules. Under the new amendment, Sharp and Sony discussed possible further contributions by Sony to SDP, but they have agreed that Sony will not make additional capital injections to SDP. The agreement also states that this joint venture will now expire in September 2012.

[via Sony]

One of the new HDTVs to be introduced this year is the Vizio XVT3D500CM. This screen measures 50 inches, diagonally and features the popular 21:9 aspect ratio and 2K HD (2560 x 1080) resolution. Today, the writers from PC Magazine got to preview this device before it hits the consumer market. The screen features a wider than average aspect ratio that allows widescreen content to be stretched to in order to use the entire screen. The screen also features 3D and internet capabilities and even comes with a QWERTY remote control in order to make web browsing easier. The XVT3D500CM is expected to release later this year and will be priced for $3499.

[via PC Magazine]

The world’s largest commercially available flat screen is the Panasonic TH-152UX1W. This screen measures 152 inches, diagonally and features plasma technology and an incredible 4K2K (4096 x 2160) resolution. Today, it was unveiled that this TV is now available in the UK. The screen is typically reserved for airports and theme parks, but it can be purchased by anyone who has an abundance of money lying around. The TV includes 3D technology, but the glasses will need to be purchased separately. The retail price for this behemoth is $958000 (£600000).

[via Gizmodo]

We are always told never to put electronics in the microwave. But today, video serviced of an Australian man who decided to hook an LG plasma HDTV to a microwave transformer and the results are hypnotizing. The plasma screen first starts to spark as individual pixels begin to pop and fizzle out. But as time progresses, little arcs of lightning can be seen as the current flows from the still live pixels. The video shows this for 15 minutes straight as the screen continues to spark and die. The video probably would have lasted longer if the man didn’t run out of camera battery. He does state in the video that this screen lasted a lot longer than other screens he has fried.

[via Gizmodo]

Earlier this year, LG announced their very first OLED big screen HDTV, the 55EM9600. This screen measures 55 inches, diagonally and is able to provide full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution with the use of an OLED screen. Today, the company was happy to announce that this screen will officially launch in May as part of the Cannes Film Festival. This means that the TV will launch two months before its original release date of July for the London Olympics. The 55EM9600 is expected to retail for 9 million Won (about $7900). The company has also stated that they are currently deciding whether to have other OLED TVs be released during the Olympics instead.

[via Flatpanels HD]

With more HDTVs gaining access to the internet, costumers are starting to show that they favor streaming movies over purchasing the physical disks. According to a study conducted by IHS Screen Digest, the streaming movie market is poised to surpass DVD and Blu-ray use by 1 billion views in the US in 2012. This year will mark the first year that streaming movies will surpass physical disks. If the predictions are correct, streaming will continue to grow and could double the amount of disk sales by the year 2016. “We are looking at the beginning of the end of the age of movies on physical media like DVD and Blu-ray,” Dan Cryan, senior analyst at IHS says to Bloomberg.

[via Flatpanels HD]