Every year it seems there's a new catchy spec in the HDTV realm everybody likes to talk about. A few years back it was 1080p resolution. Then we heard about 120Hz, which is supposed to reduce motion blur in fast-moving images on LCD TVs. Well, this year, the latest and greatest spec is 240Hz, which is supposed to do what 120Hz does, but better.

Not too long ago, our video guru David Katzmaier gave his initial impressions on 240Hz in a post titled "Is 240Hz worth waiting for?" When he wrote that piece, he'd just seen his first 240Hz TV in action and wasn't sold on the new technology. Now that he's reviewed four 240Hz HDTVs and has a fifth review (the Samsung UN55B8000) in the works, he's still not sold, but he admits the verdict isn't totally clear-cut.

Part of the problem is that there's a difference between what your eye sees in everyday material you watch and objective testing done with test patterns. As Katzmaier notes in his post, "Standard LCD and plasma TVs refresh the screen 60 times per second, or 60Hz, which is plenty fast enough to eliminate flicker and create the illusion of motion from a series of still images. In fact, most sources sent to your display arrive at the nominal rate of 30 frames per second, and each frame is repeated once by the television to achieve 60 total fps."

For most people, including me and Mr. Katzmaier, it's very difficult to see the impact that "faster" LCD sets have on picture quality. We spent some time in our AV lab watching various source material from 120Hz TVs and 240Hz models and it's really hard to detect any difference (it's hard to detect any difference between 120Hz and 60Hz models, too). To be clear, I'm referring here to motion-blur reduction because of faster refresh rates, not to dejudder processing, which smooths out motion and makes film-based material shot at 24fps look more video-like. When dejudder is engaged, you can easily spot its impact on the picture. (It's also worth mentioning that the dejudder processing on the 240Hz TVs we tested so far wasn't any better--or worse--than than the dejudder on 120Hz TVs).

source: CNet.com

Samsung introduced what it says is the slimmest LED HDTV on the market at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this year, and it is now available locally.

The new line-up of LED HDTVs in Samsung's arsenal includes the 6000, 7000 and 8000 series TVs with ultra-high contrast ratios and a thickness of 29.2mm. The 6000 and 7000 series TVs feature a 40-inch (UN40B6000 and UN40B7000) and 46-inch (UN46B6000 and UN46B7000) screen respectively, while the 8000 series has a UN55B8000 55-inch screen.

Jean Victor, senior product manager for Samsung TVs in SA, says: “By incorporating LED technology in our TVs we have managed to make the thinnest TVs around and have increased the quality of picture and viewing with our motion blur, image judder and Auto Motion Plus frame interpolation technology. We can also now present images with contrast ratios, not in the thousands, but millions.”

The LED HDTVs are 100% recyclable, says Victor. “Our new TVs contain no lead or mercury heavy metals that are harmful to the environment and we do not use spray paint, which releases VOCs [volatile organic compounds] when heated, on the TVs either. The TVs can therefore be fully recycled for a greener environment,” he says.

Other features of the ultra-slim LED HDTVs include networking capabilities, such as WiFi connection. “You can now wirelessly connect your TV to your PC or media centre to share your movies or other multimedia content between the devices. The new TVs also incorporate basic Internet functionality, not to surf the Net, but to support widgets, and allow you to track up-to-the-minute newsfeeds like Twitter,” Victor adds.

The TVs include USB 2.0 support, a built-in library of flash memory, either 1GB in the 6000 and 7000 series, or 2GB in the 8000 series. The prices for the new TVs range from R15000 for the entry-level series to R54000 for the high-end 8000 series.

Samsung Electronics has introduced a new series of LED TV, the Series 8, with sizes of 46 inches and 55 inches.

The Series 8 LED TVs feature 5,000,000:1 Mega Contrast and 240Hz technology.

The LED TVs use 40% less power than conventional LCDs, and they are free of lead, mercury and other VOCs compared to 2008 similar size class Samsung LCD TVs in standard mode, the vendor said.

Other features include Internet@TV that allows users to receive content via Yahoo!, Flickr, and other online TV Widgets. USB 2.0 Movie: Multi-Media Center makes it easy to watch movies, browse photos and listen to music on your TV, the company added.

Samsung UN55B8000 55-Inch 1080p 240Hz LED HDTV

One of our favorite HDTVs of 2008 was the Samsung LN52A650, which has remained in our lab for more than a year as a comparison model representing LCD TVs that use a conventional backlight as opposed to LEDs. Now that 240Hz processing has arrived in force on the LCD landscape, we expect the Samsung LNB750 series to take up that mantle.

This set outperforms the company's edge-lit LED-based LCDs in most areas, including black-level performance and picture uniformity, and it produced a better picture than any other LCD we've tested, aside from last year's LED-backlit models that use local dimming. It's definitely not perfect, however, and the best plasma displays still equal or surpass this LCD in overall image quality. But for people seeking an LCD and willing to pay a premium for 240Hz and interactive extras, the Samsung LN52B750 should make the short list.

Samsung LN52B750 52-Inch 1080p 240Hz LCD HDTV with Charcoal Grey Touch of Color