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.