San Jose (CA) – Samsung released new LED-backlit LCD displays, which are expected to increase the contrast ratio of LCD TVs by a factor of 20.

According to the manufacturer, the new panels enable a jump in the dynamic contrast ratio from a typical 5000:1 and 25,000:1 in today’s LCD TV panels into a range between 100,000:1 and 500,000:1. The displays are available 40”, 46”, 52” and 57” diagonal screen sizes and promise the “clearest images on the market today” in what Samsung calls “premium LCD TVs”.

The panels are using a new LED technology described as local dimming: “Hundreds of wafer-thin diodes about the width of the eye’s pupil are electronically turned off and on in exacting sequences that respond to movement on the screen, areas only a fraction of what was previously possible with the most prevalent form of TV backlighting - long, thin fluorescent lamps.  In black areas of the picture, the diodes can be completely shut off in order to generate total blackness,” Samsung explained.  

Depending upon the number of LEDs used in a screen panel design, the dynamic contrast ratio can improve the contrast in colors by as much as 1000% over the CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent lamp) LCD TVs typically used today, according to the manufacturer.

Samsung said that its “extreme-contrast LCD panels” are now available in Samsung TVs in the U.S. The company expects other manufacturers to adopt the technology for their HDTVs in the future.

way to go Samsung

Nov 29, 2007 15:23     

now I just want to know the price of these new LCDs.
WilL report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +2

Nice., but what about cost?

Nov 29, 2007 15:45     

I hope this ports over to computer monitors. Thing is that it, the LED technology would probably cost more the smaller the screen, if there is a certain square area of pixels per LED and if LEDs are more expensive the smaller they get. These are things that I are not knowledgeable about, so if I am wrong please correct me. For example if there was an LED for ever 144 pixels(16pixels*9pixles); and you assume a resolution of 1920*1200, you get 16,000 LEDs. 1920*1200=2,304,000 pixels/144pixels=16,000. Now if those 16,000 LEDs are cheaper the larger there made; then the smaller ones going into 24" monitors would be expensive. So now that I am done going down conjecture alley, some please tell me I am wrong about the LED size/price issue.

Schrovan report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Cost will be ok

Nov 29, 2007 16:20     

LED chips are only a few cents each, maybe less in those volumes. I'd bet the assembly process will be glob-topped chip-on-board, which is also very cheap. I'd hazard a guess of ~$100 for a 40" backlight, given the kind of volumes samsung work in. Its a very good idea - congrats to the Samsung engineers!
Twospoons report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

This is OLD news

Nov 29, 2007 16:22     

Just for the record, this is old news (by at least 2 MONTHS!) Samsung has had these TV's out in retail for some time now and yes, they are expensive. Their 40" starts at $3,000. Link is below: http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Item/Main.aspx?g=146350&i=305LNT4081&tp=161
MBain report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Best Buy (Magnolia) Prices as of 11/29/07

Nov 29, 2007 16:32     

40" = $2999.98 46" = $3799.98 52" = $4499.98 57" = $7999.98
mykhailjw report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Expensive

Nov 29, 2007 16:56     

I like the idea, but this is still expensive stuff. The cheapest I've seen is the 46" for $3,800. Give it a year or two for this tech to improve and come down in price.
MooseMuffin report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Not Interested.........................

Nov 29, 2007 17:26     

My Money is with Lazer HDTV, Uses less power to operate and looks nicer. Best of all it costs less to buy, $ 1000.00 for 55 Inches of Pure HD.
barney report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Dynamic contrast

Nov 29, 2007 18:08     

So hundreds of LEDs that are as wide as pupils (dialated??) vs 1920 pixels. Are we basically getting darker blacks for grayer whites? Dynamic contrast is just a new great way for Samsung to turn contrast ratings into a meaningless number (1:3000 monitors that have real contrast of 1:700). Just like was done with the refresh speed, turning black to white into gray to gray so an 8ms refresh can be advertised as 2ms. Thanks for nothing...

Leftalone report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

Environment friendly in terms of energy bill?

Nov 29, 2007 19:24     

As LED uses much less power than "florescent lamps", it should use much less energy and so, save you some money in that as well?
PoorPoorGuy report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

An interesting improvement but....

Nov 29, 2007 19:43     

Beware....OLED displays cometh! I reckon these will make the LCD and Plasma displays go the way of the CRT...
big_davos report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Yes it is OLD news

Nov 29, 2007 19:43     

the LED backlit Samsungs have come out in USA under the name of 81-series towards the end of August (available for shipping from online sites at the time, 71 series also came out at the same time) even though it took over a month to have them all loaded onto the Samsung's US website... Some other countries received it only on costly 52" and 70" models while other countries (Australia) still haven't received it to this day, we only had 71 series released just two weeks ago and arriving in stock one week ago, no LED backlighting *** NOTE *** be vary of this LED backlighting technology as the LEDs switch on and off in "banks" and so whole parts of the screen switch off at once, not one LED at a time, the panel is faster then the backlight which can't keep up at times and this can result in the smearing effect, as well as being too light or too dark for scenes that have a mixtue of dark and light, the benefit is only for the dark scenes in a dark room as the backlighting can switch off, you're better off waiting for at least the 2nd generation of LED backlighting when they are faster and can be controlled more precisely, for now the 71 series is actually better overall even without the LED backlighting and 10 bit panel and yes I was very dissapointed as well (read AVS forums)

Icy report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Wow people, stop getting suckered.

Nov 29, 2007 20:41     

These LED backlights may sound good but they aren't as great as it looks. It's still a LCD...It's also dynamic contrast. I really can't understand why so many people are buying into LCD's. They are inferior to CRT's in many ways. Yes, they may be flat and light. But they have inferior dark shades, they lose detail in darker areas, they have input lag, response time issues, backlight bleeding. Also..When I pay for a monitor..I expect it to work 100%...None of this "ohh I'm sorry, you need 6 or more dead pixels for a return". It's garbage....LCD's are a gateway to the more superior flat panels, which are FED and OLED which will appear within the next 2-3 years and take over. It's not for no reason that inferior TN panels have flooded the market as well. The consumer see's a 200 dollar 24 inch widescreen and they flip. Thanks to purchases like that, the more color accurate IPS panels have become quite rare. Personally, I'm nabbing a refurbed sony FW900 CRT till 2009/2010. I'm skipping LCD's in general...FED and OLED will eliminate the issues that plague LCD/Plasma, as well far surpass their contrast ratio. Count me out for LCD..really a waste of money in my eyes.

Kamrooz report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Not PIxel Perfect yet.

Nov 29, 2007 21:40     

See, now, I was told there's only 20 light areas in these tvs. Overall, they are nice, but, i haven't been so impresed yet. Panasonic Plasma seems better on a pixel for pixel basis. I'd rather have their PZ77 series with 1080p AND an anti glare panel instead of a high glare overpriced LCD. Nice work on the innovation though.
CaliMan! report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Agreed: OLD news

Nov 29, 2007 23:03     

Yawn.... These TV's have been on Best Buy's web site for over 2 months. Tell me something I don't already know.
Bob report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

71 81 series

Nov 29, 2007 23:28     

The 81 series is the main one, its been out for about 2 months now. The 71 series incorporates led's as well but to a much lesser extent...old news tom
Warpious report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

I have a bigger question

Nov 30, 2007 03:27     

Will this improvement take away those stupid "jaggies" or resolution squares on fast motion media? I refuse to drop anything for 2k on a LCD if im going to see stupid squares of pixelation on my HD movies.
VILLAIN_xx report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

My 22" LCD has 800:1 w00t! =D

Nov 30, 2007 03:37     

500,000:1 !!!??? My 22" PC gaming Chimie LCD has 800:1 contrast ratio lol!!! It seems good enough already, so I kinda fail to see the benefits of 500,000:1 =? Would anyone be able to notice a difference from say a 25,000:1 vs a 500,000:1 monitor?
Gamebro report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

@gamebro: Yes, you can tell the difference!

Nov 30, 2007 13:59     

Go to a store, see 2 "identical" (they can be 2 samsung, if you like) side by side... and you will see the big difference. Huge difference, by my standards. Black is BLACK, not dark grey. Now... if I had the money to spend on one... Antonio.
Antonio report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Mr.

Dec 02, 2007 13:22     

Did someone bother to get definition of Static and Dynamic contrast ratios. Static is ratio on same picture and dynamic is from different pictures (very bright and very dim).
Kim report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Contract Ratio Hype

Dec 03, 2007 10:01     

Are you watching this TV in a blackout room with absolutely no ambient light whatever? Can your eyes even distinguish the range? Antonio, when you go to a store they adjust the picture so you see what they want you to see. And in the lighting at your typical retailer, you would be able to distinguish the difference in anything over about 800:1. A movie theater (where stuff looks the best, right?) is about 500:1. Sorry, contrast ratios above even 1000:1 don't improve quality that much. Important Safety Tip: To be sure you don't get suckered, ask to adjust the controls on a TV before you buy. If they won't let you, then you know there is some definite hanky-panky going on. Your higher class of retailer will also have the high-end stuff in a room that is darkened or at least can be darkened. Have them turn the lights down as low as possible or off. Then adjust the set. Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see.

Paul (The Other One) report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +2