A couple of months ago, ESPN launched their 3D TV station ESPN3D. Today, the company made a public statement thanking Sony for their support and help. However, even with the company backing up their station, the point of the matter is that without 3D content, there is no reason to warrant spending thousands of dollars for a new 3DTV. The company also had problems with their press release because they were in England trying to sell ESPN3D by advertising American college football and the Harlem Globetrotters.

[via Crunch Gear]

There are many companies who are looking towards the future of 3D technology. The next step is to develop a way for 3DTVs to do away with 3D glasses. While many companies are looking to develop glasses free models within the next year or so, Philips has a more reasonable time line. Recently, the company announced at IFA that they won’t have a glasses-free 3DTV until at least 2013. However, at the conference, the company is displaying a working prototype. The company states that the displays will probably be available sooner, but only for advertising purposes at first. Maarten Tobias, CEO Diemco said, “With former Philips 3D experts Dimenco is able to provide the best 3D viewing experiences today without the need for special 3D glasses”.

[via Engadget]

Samsung unveiled their PN50C490 3DTV a few months ago. This display features HD (1366 x 768) resolution, a 2000000:1 contrast ratio, and plasma technology. Today, the company announced that this TV is now available for shipping. The TV comes with a wide array of connections, including 3 HDMI ports, 2 components, a composite, RGB, antenna, and a USB port for good measure. The company is retailing the TV for just under $1100, but it can also be found through certified retailers for as low as $989.

[via Engadget]

LG displayed their impressive 31” OLED display at this week’s IFA convention. However, more details have been announced today. The screen is the second generation OLED display to come from LG. It is also the biggest OLED screen ever made, so far. The OLED display panel does not require a lighting panel, which means the thickness is reduced to only 0.11 inches thick. LG also claims that the screen will display 3D content. The company is looking to release the display sometime at the beginning of 2011 for about $9000. That might seem expensive, but when you look it’s predecessor, the price is actually rather reasonable.

[via Gizmodo]

Click here to view the embedded video.

Toshiba is one of the many presenters as this year’s IFA. Today, the company unveiled several new HDTV series. The flagships are the WL series, which feature 3D technology and LED lighting that can produce a 7 million:1 contrast ratio. They will range from 40 to 55 inches. Next down the line is the VL series, which also features LED backlight technology and integrated Freeview HD. Lastly there is the SL738 series, which are the smallest in the lineup. They measures from 9 to 32 inches and feature standard LCD technology. Click the link below to see more video of the new series.

[via Engadget]

Yesterday, you may have ready about Sharp’s new LE925 Aquos series. This series is the world’s first 3DTVs to feature Quattron technology. Today, the company unveiled a long list of lesser series HDTVs. The series includes the LE924E, LE824E and LE814E. Unfortunately they don’t feature 3D technology, but they will have access to Aquos Net + internet interface. Their screens will range between 117 and 102 centimeters (46” and 40”). Unfortunately there isn’t any additional information available at this time, but Sharp expects release of these series later this month. Expect a follow up report when that happens.

[via Engadget]

Samsung is displaying this week at IFA at one TV that they are displaying is the UN55C9000. This display features LED technology, full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution, and it is 3D Ready. The writers from Engadget were at the convention to get a hand on look at the display. The main feature that the writers were interested in was the touch-screen remote control. This kind of technology is typically reserved for high-end models. Some of the features that they showed include a twin display, an easy to access media gallery, and a premium mode. The twin display allows the user to see on their remote the exact thing that is being displayed on the screen, while the premium mode lets the user search and watch other channels while the TV remains unchanged. The UN55C9000 is already available and retails for just under $6300. Click the link below to see video of the remote in action.

[via Engadget]

Being able to stream movies online has been rapidly growing in popularity. Today, Amazon has unveiled that they intend to purchase certain TV shows for only 99-cents. The price only works for shows from ABC and FOX. The good news is that owner of set-top-boxes that access Amazon now has a cheaper option. Unfortunately though there is no word yet on if Amazon will try to compete with the $5 movie rentals that Apple TV will provide as well.

[via Engadget]

Yesterday, Steve Jobs and the rest of apple unveiled their new product lineup and among the products is the infamous Apple TV. This set-top-box is a palm-sized box that can deliver full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution movies and TV episodes. The company plans to rent TV episodes for only $1, while movies will cost $5. The box will also allow users to access several websites like Netflix, YouTube, Flickr, and more. This release marks the beginning of Apple finally going into the HD industry. The Apple TV box will not retail for another four weeks, but it will be priced at just under $100.

[via DVICE]

Panasonic is announcing another new series that will be making its way to the retail market soon. The VT20 series includes three new models, including the TX-P50VT20B, TX-P46VT20, and the TX-P42VT20. As of right now, the only model that is available is the biggest, the P50VT20, which measures 50” and comes with full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution and a 5000000:1 dynamic contrast ratio. All the TVs in the series will include the latest in plasma technology and be able to display 3D content. They will also be fitted with a 600Hz sub field drive and 2D-to-3D conversion. Panasonic has decked the connection ports out with 4 HDMI inputs, an SD card slot, and 2 USB ports. The retail prices have not been announced yet, but the P50VT20B is already available through the company’s website.

[via HDTV Org]