Loewe’s Art LED range for 2011 has gone on sale in screen sizes of 32, 40 and 47 inches.

Prices range from $6,643 to $9,710, with some models incorporating 250GB or 500GB integrated hard disks.

They also have up to 200Hz refresh rates, to optimise motion reproduction; edge LED backlighting, for maximum contrast; and, for the first time, Loewe’s MediaHome portal for accessing photos, videos and music from a home network or USB storage device (online content can be accessed on models with integrated hard disks).

The Art LED’s design, created in cooperation with Phoenix Design, references design elements from the Loewe Spheros and Loewe Art SL models.

Despite a full range of integrated functions, the televisions are slimmer than their predecessors and can be bought in two colour options: High Gloss Black and Chrome Silver.

Optional accessories include a rotating table stand with adjustable incline, an equally flexible floor stand and VESA wall mounts (the support for which is already integrated in the rear of the chassis).

Loewe says its closed two-way speakers “guarantee” precise treble, a clear midrange, and powerful bass (2 x 20 watt stereo power plus 40 watt for the low frequency range); all models have Dolby Digital Plus, AC3 and DTS.

Loewe has announced a world first in video streaming: programmes that can ‘follow’ users of its TVs around the home.

Known as DR+ Streaming with ‘Follow Me’ function, it allows viewers to pause any programme, then pick up exactly where they left off on another television in another room without missing any of the action.

It’s initially available only as a software update for the Individual SL series range but Loewe will be expanding it to upcoming series.

How does it work?

An internal hard drive in the main television records the chosen programme and simultaneously streams it to the TV of choice.

This can happen in real time, as the programme is broadcast, or archived recordings can be streamed to a second Loewe TV while another household member views live programming on the main set.

The feature supports video streaming over LAN, Wireless LAN or Powerline (networking over the home’s electrical wiring).

To use it, you’ll need two or more current model SL series Loewe TVs, one with DR+ hard drive recorder (the software can be downloaded from the Loewe support website for updating via USB).

Selected Loewe TVs also can be used to surf the web, using their integrated MediaNet portal to access content in a format optimised for big-screen viewing.

Samsung's D8000 LED TV

Samsung is poised to launch three new LED Smart TV ranges in NZ, with pricing still to be confirmed.

The D8000, D7000 and D6600 series will offer 2D, 3D, HD and streaming content, PVR functionality via USB recording, and “Smart Hub” entertainment options.

As with Samsung’s 2011 plasma TV range, these sets will have unusually thin TV bezels that expand viewing area but not the sets’ physical dimensions.

The D8000 and D7000 bezels will be ultra-slim – 5mm – whereas the D6600’s will be 12mm; the D8000’s will be brushed metal while the D7000’s will be black and framed by a transparent bezel tinged with red.

Initially, there will be only one D8000 model — a 55-inch display – and three D7000s, ranging from 40 inches to 55; the D6600 series will add a fourth screen size, 60 inches.

All will have Ultra Clear Panels with Micro Dimming LED technology, built-in Freeview|HD tuners and WiFi, four HDMI and three USB inputs, and an Ethernet port.

The D8000 and D7000 will have improved backlighting, new 3D frame interpolation that’s meant to be blur-free, and 200Hz Motionplus technology whereas the D6600 will be 100Hz.

All series will boast improved peak brightness of about 20% and reduced power consumption of about 15%.

Expect to see them in stores later this month.

For more details, see Samsung Australia and this hands-on sneak peek from CES.

Sony Bravia 55-inch NX720

Sony NZ today confirmed pricing and specifications for a range of TVs it predicts will turn the idiot box into “the smartest device in the house”.

“The new 2011 Bravia LCD TV line-up offers New Zealanders a gateway to an enormous and dynamic world of content and only Sony can provide this range of on-demand entertainment now, when consumers want it,” consumer marketing chief Matt Smith says.

The range includes 12 Full HD 3D models and 19 Internet-connected models.

Pricing ranges from $499 for the 22-inch BX320, to $1599 for the 32-inch, 3D entry-level EX720, to $6999 for the top-of-the-line HX925, which goes on sale next month.

Sony says its new 3D TVs will help to reduce crosstalk with a quicker response time, have 5:5 pull down for a more realistic cinematic experience, and can display 3D images taken with Sony’s new Cyber-shot cameras via USB input.

Sony’s Active Shutter 3D glasses are now rechargeable, have a new lightweight design for a more comfortable, and are backwards compatible with the 2010 Bravia TVs.

All of the Bravia models from the CX series and above, which starts from $899 for a 32-inch model, can access online entertainment and services through Bravia Internet Video.

Sony’s IPTV service offers more than 20 Internet channels as well as the new music streaming service, Qriocity.

As well as social networking and web searching abilities, the 2011 models feature Sony’s new Gracenote-powered Track ID, which analyses any selected song playing on the TV, whether it’s during a movie, TV programme or advertisement, and identifies it online.

With Skype-capable Bravias, video calls can be made while watching TV for those who want to gawk and talk.

The new Bravia TVs can also be controlled via Media Remote App, a free download available from the iTunes store and the Android Marketplace.

Sony’s new X-Reality PRO  and X-Reality Picture Engines have been designed to process 3D, HD, SD and low resolution Internet content for optimal viewing.

In selected new models, Sony’s Intelligent Peak LED Backlight uses full array local dimming for improved on-screen contrast while the OptiContrast Panel is meant to deliver a rich and vibrant picture even in well-lit rooms.

Sony says its Motionflow XR will help to reduce blur caused by quick movements and enhance image sharpness.

The HX and NX series’ Monolithic Design comes with bespoke Corning Gorilla Glass, to protect the displays from wear and tear, and have an optional stand, with built-in 20W speakers, that tilt the screen at a six-degree angle.

HX Series (HX925 and HX820)

•            X-Reality PRO Picture Engine

•            Full HD (1080p) picture quality with Intelligent Peak LED backlight (HX925) Dynamic Edge LED backlight (HX820)

•            Motionflow XR 800 (HX925 Series) and Motionflow XR 400 (HX820 Series)

•            Full HD 3D

•            Sleek Monolithic Design with OptiContrast Panel and Corning Gorilla Glass

•            Optional Display Stand with Active Speaker System

•            Integrated Wi-Fi (802.11n)

•            Two 3D Active Shutter Glasses and 1x Skype camera included (HX925 only)

•            Sony Internet TV, including Bravia Internet Video, Qriocity and Skype.

NX Series (NX720)

•            Full HD (1080p) picture quality with Dynamic Edge LED backlight (40” Edge LED backlight)

•            Sleek Monolithic Design with OptiContrast Panel and Corning Gorilla Glass

•            Optional Display Stand with Active Speaker System

•            Sony Internet TV, including Bravia Internet Video, Qriocity and Skype

•            Full HD 3D

•            Integrated Wi-Fi (802.11n)

•            Motionflow XR 200

•            X-Reality Picture Engine

EX Series (EX720, EX520, EX420)

•            Full HD (1080p) picture quality with Edge LED backlight

•            Full HD 3D

•            X-Reality Picture Engine

•            Motionflow XR 200 (EX720 Series)

•            Sony Internet TV, including Bravia Internet Video, Qriocity and Skype

•            Wi-Fi ready (USB wireless LAN adapter sold separately).

Trusted Reviews has given the tentative thumbs-up to Philips’ first passive 3D TV with a 21:9 ratio.

Stressing it was an early production model, TR praised the ultra-wide, 50-inch LED stunner for its snazzy design, affordability, multimedia flexibility, Dual View Gaming option, and lack of cross-talk and subliminal flickering while watching 3D content.

However, the set lost points for a picture that wasn’t as crisp and detailed as its active 3D sister model, although TR expected these areas will be improved for its official launch in the UK summer.

Don’t bank on buying it here — Philips no longer markets its high-end TVs in Australasia.

Hopefully, other manufacturers will offer their own 21:9 displays, just as they followed Philips in the mid-’90s when it released the first 16:9 CRT TV (the first to do so is Vizio in the US).

Meanwhile, Sound + Vision has published its list of 2011′s most anticipated 3D movies, with Piranha 3DD topping the top 10.

CNET has more news about Toshiba’s glasses-free 3D TV plans and PC World has a new Early Adopters Guide to all things 3D that includes a “State of the Union” analysis of shooting in 3D and being able to view the footage on a compatible TV.

Finally, Sony will film Wimbledon in 3D for global broadcast — but Kiwis will have to settle for a Blu-ray 3D highlights disc, as Sony did with the FIFA World Cup.

Sony's smallest 3D TV in 2011 will be the 32-inch EX720

Sony NZ is about to announce a “big increase” in 3D displays as part of  a “fundamental shift” from passive to active viewing in its 2011 TV range.

“We will have 23 [2D and 3D] models in the first half of 2011,” Sony’s Tim Barlow told ScreenScribe.tv.

“The overall range will be a similar size to previous years, but there is a big increase in the range of LED-backlit, 3D and Internet-capable TVs.”

3D will be supported on three of the eight series: the EX720, the NX720 and the HX series models (glasses optional, but all will also ‘upscale’ any 2D content to 3D); the smallest 3D display will be 32 inches and the largest, 65.

Screen sizes over the entire range will vary from 26 inches to 65, Barlow says.

“We will have entry products in a range of screen sizes — BX320, EX500 and the CX520 Internet TV; the mid-range EX520 and EX720 for those wanting a thinner LED-backlit screen; and then our ultimate design and picture quality ranges, the NX and HX series.”

There will be a choice of screen sizes across the BX320 (entry digital TV), CX520 (basic Internet TV), EX500 (big-screen CCFL/conventional backlighting but no Internet), EX520 (LED backlight), EX720 (3D), NX720 (“monolithic” design), HX820 and HX923 (highest picture quality)

Everything from the CX520 above, except the EX500, which is being carried over from last year, is Internet capable, including Internet video, Skype (optional camera), browser/widgets and support for Sony’s new unlimited music subscription system Qriocity.

Wireless is in-built on NX and above; all models can also connect via ethernet or with an optional USB wireless adaptor.

The 55-inch NX720

The EX520/720, NX and HX-series, which account for just over half of the range, will have LED backlighting, which Barlow points out comes in different flavours – “our best being ‘Intelligent Peak LED backlighting’ on our HX923-series, which can light individual parts of the screen without affecting the rest of the display for virtually infinite contrast ratios.”

None of the new TVs will have built-in Blu-ray players. “But we will be launching a new range of BD players around the same time,” Barlow says.

“They will also be capable of many of the Internet ‘tricks’ that the TVs have, making them a great ‘upgrade’ for older TVs.”

Barlow says the concept behind many of the new TVs is a “fundamental shift” from passive to active viewing.

“So that changes quite a few aspects of the design. Generally speaking, we’ve improved TVs in three key areas.”

They are: TV redefined (including 3D, Internet features); picture quality (new technologies like Motionflow XR and X-Reality Pro video processing, the use of new high-contrast local dimming and unique OptiContrast panels); and design (ongoing development of the Monolithic design idea with slimmer and lighter TVs using energy-efficient LED backlighting).

“The newly developed X-Reality PRO video processor is designed specifically to improve the quality of low bit-rate Internet video, which obviously was not really a consideration in previous TV ranges,” Barlow says.

“Likewise, the thin design and glass surface on our Monolithic models presents challenges met with an ultra-thin but ultra-durable Gorilla Glass surface and a special resin-filled OptiContrast panel, which prevents reflections and ensures great contrast in all lighting conditions.”

The top-of-the-range HX820

Smarthouse reports Samsung Electronics will unveil a “swag of new IP enabled TVs” at the Consumer Electronics Show this week, as it switches focus from 3D to Internet content.

Home Cinema Choice has a preview of LG’s 3D range for CES while on the eve of the year’s biggest hi-tech showcase, Trusted Reviews has posted a “look back in anger” review of 2010’s tech trends.

Writes John Archer: “In looking over 2010’s TV and projector technology as a whole, it seemed to us that for once, maybe the a/v world had innovated too much.

“It felt as if the TV brands had tried to introduce so much new stuff that they’d ended up fumbling some of it.”

The New York Times has published a useful guide to buying a TV, most of which is as relevant to the NZ market as it is to the US.

It includes a viewing distance rule of thumb that recommends you divide it by three, with the result being the ideal height of the screen (which is usually about half the diagonal measure).

And if you want to know how to hook up that new Boxing Day bargain, Engadget has the answers.

Trusted Reviews has judged the best TV of 2010 to be one you can’t buy in New Zealand: Philips’ ultra-wide LED model, the 58PFL9955H Cinema 21:9.

Runner-up was Panasonic’s 3D plasma series, with an LED model from LG and a Samsung LCD TV rounding out the top five.

Sony’s best placing was eighth, for its top-of-the-range 3D behemoth.

Another of its displays ranked 10^th, and Philips, Panasonic and Samsung each had another entry in Trusted Reviews’ top 10.

Loewe’s Individual 40 Compose Slim ranked ninth.

KDL-55NX810

The last of the consumer electronics giants to start selling 3D TVs in NZ, Sony, has just started shipping to retailers three LED models with varying 3D capabilities.

They range in price from $4000 for a 40-inch display to $10,000 for a 60-inch, and each TV is being bundled with two pairs of 3D active glasses, the choice of a 3D Blu-ray player or Cyber-shot camera, two 3D Blu-ray movies (Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, IMAX: Deep Sea 3D), and a PlayStation Network download code for the PS3 3D game collection (Motorstorm Pacific Rift, Pain, SuperStardust HD, Wipeout HD).

While Sony may be well behind Samsung, Panasonic and LG in delivering 3D TVs to the market, the company’s confident it can better support its product with 3D content, such as that accessible through its motion picture arm, Sony Pictures, and its PS3 games.

Indeed, Sony says only it can provide a full “lens to lounge room” 3D experience from content capture and creation, such as films and games, to device delivery.

Last month a PS3 download enabled playback of movies in 3D, making it the only console on the market to deliver true-HD 3D.

Sony Computer Entertainment recently announced that some of the company’s biggest games titles will be available this year in stereoscopic 3D, including Gran Turismo 5.

Watch also for 3D versions of KillZone3, Crysis 2, Mortal Kombat, Shaun White Skateboarding, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Future Soldier, and Tron: Evolution The Game.

“With PlayStation 3 consoles now offering 3D Blu-ray movie playback as well as stereoscopic 3D game capability, and even more 3D entertainment content in the pipeline, attached to a Bravia 3D TV, we can provide Kiwis with the most comprehensive 3D viewing experience possible,” Sony Computer Entertainment NZ’s sales and marketing director David Hine says.

While many are still sceptical of 3D TV’s prospects beyond early adopters, Sony appears more confident of its success now than a few months ago.

Initially, Sony NZ was going to bring in only its top-of-the-line 3D series, the LX900, which is limited to 52-inch ($7,500) and 60-inch displays ($10,000).

But it’s also decided to offer two 3D-ready series: the NX710 (40-inch, $4000; 46-inch, $4,500), and the NX810 (55-inch, $7,500; 60-inch, $10,000).

To see 3D content on these models, you’ll need an optional transmitter, which Sony initially will bundle with them.

All of the new models have Dynamic Edge LED backlighting, BRAVIA Internet Video and Motionflow 100Hz PRO (NX710) or Motionflow 200Hz PRO (NX810 & LX900).

They all sport Sony’s snazzy “Monolithic Design”, and the NX710 and NX810 also have an optional designer stand with a 2.1 sound system mounted in the base.

KDL-46NX710

Loewe today announced a new range of ultra-chic, high-spec German TVs, audio systems and stands in NZ it claims offers more than a million combination options “to create a uniquely personal home cinema solution”.

The LED TVs in the Individual series range from 32 inches to 55 inches, and comes in two design styles: Compose, with a glass contrast filter screen; or Selection, with a high gloss front frame.

The Compose model also offers 400Hz with intelligent backlight control for more precise movement on models 40 inches and above.

All models feature edge-lit LED technology and comprehensive connectivity that, with the help of new Media+ technology, can perform numerous multimedia functions.

Optionally, or as standard with the Compose series, WLAN allows rapid access to online content. With the help of the new ‘MEDIA’ remote control button, multimedia can be accessed via the Loewe media portal.

With Loewe MediaHome, images, music and videos can be played via USB or the network; with MediaNet, Internet content such as Internet radio, Internet video or Web TV can be viewed; and with MediaUpdate, new functions can be received via software update.

The dual tuner versions of the Individual TV have an integrated Loewe DR+ hard disk recorder with 250GB memory for HD recordings.

The anodised aluminium TVs come in Aluminium Black, Aluminium Silver or High Gloss White, and can be tailored to personal tastes with interchangeable insets.

The TVs can be integrated into a variety of floor stands, wall solutions and racks that integrate audio components and conceal cabling.

Each TV also comes with or without a quality stereo speaker system that attaches below the screen.

A second option is the Sound Projector, a slim one-box solution capable of delivering up to 7.1 channels of virtual surround sound.

Those wanting a pure audio experience can opt for the Individual Stand Speaker SL: an electrostatic speaker system that uses a large flat membrane to generate sound waves.

Loewe says this allows for “incredibly accurate, detailed sound. Paired with an active subwoofer to handle the low frequencies, this system takes television sound to a whole new level.”

The new Individual series TVs, speakers and stands will go on sale next month, with the TVs ranging in price from $5,999 to $12,999.