Panasonic and Sony Join Forces for Mass Production of OLED TV Panels

Sony and Panasonic recently announced that they have decided to team up to create mass production technology for super high-resolution TVs based on OLED technology. The companies said that this is also part of a concentrated effort to drive mainstream adoption and revive the companies' struggling television businesses. Panasonic and Sony are aiming to develop an effective way to print large panels that use OLEDs by 2013, according to a statement from the two manufacturers. In addition to that, both companies signed an agreement that includes sharing their technology and jointly researching mass production techniques.

Televisions based on OLED technology are widely considered to be superior to LCD televisions, which are currently the mainstream standard. The only downside is that OLED TVs are much more expensive than LCD TVs. OLED TVs are capable of producing their own light which means they do not require backlighting like LCD TVs. This means that they can display darker blacks and use less power while also providing better contrast and brightness in a much thinner frame.

In theory, OLED TVs can also be manufactured more efficiently than LCDs due to the fact that they can be printed straight onto a base material whereas the liquid crystal of the LCD screen is usually injected into tiny pockets. OLED screens are even widely used in phones and tablets nowadays, though cheap mass production of OLED TVs is still a major hurdle that needs to be overcome.

Sony debuted the world's first OLED TV back in 2007 with an 11" model that was only 3mm thick. The device initially wowed consumers and techies alike, though that enthusiasm was quickly tarnished by the device's $2,000 pricetag. Samsung and LG have both showed off super-thin 55" OLED models this year with Samsung stating that its TV will go on sale during the second half of 2012 in Korea for about $9,000. As a comparison, LCD TVs from Samsung that are the same size cost about one-fifth of that price.

Sony and Panasonic both saw record losses in the last fiscal year as costs increased in their TV businesses, with prices for LCD TVs dropping significantly. However, despite the depressing numbers, both companies have stated that they will not abandon the flagship product, even though efforts to revive sales through features like 3D and networked services have yet to generate any real profits for either company. Sony  stated that it will continue to contribute its knowledge and research into OLEDs, while Panasonic said it currently has production equipment and know-how that should be applicable to large-screen OLED TVs. 


Source: PC World - Sony, Panasonic to Team up to Mass-produce OLED TV Panels

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Samsung and Sony End HDTV Discounts in Stores

Got your eye on a slick Sony or Samsung HDTV that would totally bring your entertainment center together? Does the price seem a bit too high for your bank account? Are you waiting for Black Friday or some other day when that set goes on sale? If you answered yes to that last question then I have some bad news. Samsung and Sony have both announced that they will not allow retailers to sell their HDTVs at discounted prices below the suggested retail price of the device.

Discounts on things like HDTVs are amazing for consumers, though retailers don't particularly like the idea of discounts, especially amid dwindling profit margins. That is why Samsung and Sony have decided to force retailers to drop the heavily discounted pricing schemes in hopes of boosting profits and making more money. The Wall Street Journal reported first that Samsung and Sony were introducing new pricing plans that were specifically designed to increase the lackluster prospects of big name retailers like Best Buy while also trying to help other physical stores compete with online retailers that typically charge less for HDTVs.

This new pricing policy from both companies went into effect last month and prevents stores from advertising or selling Samsung and Sony TVs for less than prices that have been set by the manufacturers. Unfortunately, this plan is extremely risky. The main risk factor is that consumers may simply pass on these name brand TVs for other ones that are on sale, not to mention the fact that other name brand companies, like LG, Panasonic, Sharp and Vizio, are still offering sales and discounts. This could mean that Samsung and Sony's plans could backfire, losing more money for the companies than gaining.

HDTV manufacturers and retailers have suffered dramatically from slowing sales and declining profit margins for a while now, though some manufacturers are hopeful for this year. Both LG and Samsung saw profit margins of just over 2% in 2011, which isn't very impressive, though it is still better than breaking even like the companies did in 2010. In addition to that, retailers have been struggling as well. Best Buy announced in March that it was closing 50 of its bigger stores and replacing them with 100 smaller outlets that will focus on phones, tablets and e-readers but not TVs.

If you still want deals on Samsung and Sony HDTVs, you will have to turn to the internet and online retailers for them as Samsung and Sony's pricing scheme doesn't carry over to online stores. However, you can still get name brand products from physical stores as LG, Panasonic, Sharp and Vizio still think discounts are a smart business decision.

Source: PC World - Samsung, Sony Put the Kibosh on TV Discounts

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Samsung's OLED HDTV Dropping in Korea This Year

Samsung is teasing more information on its future plans for OLED HDTVs. In a recent report, the company stated that it hopes to have a 55" Super OLED 3D TV hit store shelves in Korea by the second half of 2012. Unfortunately, the company has yet to release any information on when such a TV would drop in on U.S. shores. However, an executive for the company did say that it would probably take at least two to three years before OLED HDTVs were widely available.

On the other hand, Samsung did mention back in January that its 55" OLEF TV would be available worldwide in 2012 with an expected price tag of $9,000 when it starts selling in Korea. The company first debuted the set at CES 2012 and promised a TV that produced deeper contrasts and finer detail than your average OLED displays. The technology that Samsung is relying on is self-emitting RGB sub-pixels that are placed directly on the display in order to achieve what it claims are more vivid images. In addition to that, the new set will feature voice and gesture control, a dual-processor and Smart Hub media integration.

Aside from Samsung, LG also offers a 55" OLED 3D TV that debuted during CES as well. Amid the early competition between Samsung and LG, it was rumored that LG's set would debut in Europe this May for $8,000. However, the Associated Press reported that the company plans on releasing its OLED HDTV within the last three months of this year.

Sony is also jumping on the bandwagon, working on something that the company is calling Crystal LED, which was also a heavily discussed topic at CES. Sony is claiming that Crystal LED displays will have 3.5 times as much picture contrast as well as 1.4 times richer color. Unlike LG and Samsung, Sony's tech is still in the prototype phase and has no announced plans for a release date or pricing scheme. However, that could easily change as Sony announced in April that it would focus on Crystal LED and OLED display technologies as part of the new corporate overhaul under Kazuo Hira, Sony's new CEO.

Many people are looking forward to both Samsung and LG's 55" OLED HDTVs. What we all want to know is will be when these sets will hit and how much they will cost. As it stands right now, LG's device will be $1,000 cheaper than Samsung's and could also hit U.S. store shelves sooner. More information about Samsung's device is said to be released at Berlin's IFA Trade Show, which begins on August 31, 2012.

Source: PC World - Samsung's 55-Inch OLED TV Rolls Out in 2012; U.S. Launch Date Unknown

Sony Selling Share of Joint LCD Panel Company to Samsung

Sony just announced on Monday that it plans on selling its entire stake in a single LCD manufacturing joint venture with Samsung for a measly $934 million. The two companies negotiated and signed a contract that will have Samsung turn the company, known as S-LCD, into a fully-owned subsidiary that will provide panels for Sony TVs, among other technologies. The manufacturing company was established by Sony and Samsung in April of 2004 with Sony owning a little less than 50%.

This acquisition comes at a point when Sony faces extreme losses in its television market and also faces lots of inquiries about whether or not it can revive the business that was once at the company's core. Sony announced back in November that it expected to lose more than $1 billion in the current fiscal year through April, even though it is currently recalculating that number in lieu of the recent sale.

According to a Sony press release, "This deal will allow Sony to acquire LCD panels from Samsung Electronics in a stable way based on market prices, without the responsibility or costs that come with operating a factory."

Like so many other companies, Sony has struggled to find profit in the LCD market, despite the fact that executives have claimed that they will not abandon the product. The newest plan by Sony calls for a shift to focus on profitability as opposed to the number of units sold while also shifting to acquiring panels from other manufacturers.

Sony has also announced that it is focused on a "four-screen strategy". This strategy is said to offer content and interconnect smartphones, tablets, laptops and other portable devices, as well as televisions. The company announced back in October that it would acquire Ericsson's 50% stake in their Sony Ericsson mobile phone partnership, which would allow the company to better integrate smartphones into its overall product lineup.

Source: PC World - Samsung to Buy Sony's Share of LCD Panel Joint Company for $934 Million

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Sony Introduces New PlayStation 3D Display

It is no surprise that Sony loves its 3D technology as the company keeps pushing the gimmick on its users year after year and touting the technology's "future potential". However, Sony has taken their love for 3D to the next level by creating a PlayStation-branded 3D computer monitor. This monitor is specifically designed to hook up to your PS3 with ease and guide you to 3D enjoyment and is aimed to be an ideal entry-level demonstration of the company's 3D technology.

The display itself is thin and light and extremely portable allowing you to take it almost anywhere. In addition to being easily portable, the device is easily assembled with an easy-to-install stand, showing that Sony definitely has usability as the focus. Connectivity is simple as well. You can connect the Sony PlayStation 3D Display to either a PS3 console or a PC via HDMI cable.

The display only has two USB ports and no TV tuner so you know that its intended purpose is to be a streamlined, user-friendly console display. There are also very few customization options once hooked up. You can switch between two 3D modes and there are also controls for channel and volume settings, all of which are situated behind the screen. In addition to that, there is no remote that comes with the monitor, which some users may find bothersome, especially considering the device has no standby mode and will need to be manually switched every time you want to use it.

The screen is highly reflective and presents a beautiful mirror image. It's almost needlessly glossy, much like Sony's PSP and while it looks good, you may want to reconsider playing it near any light sources. Be careful with touching the screen too as it seems like fingerprints are very likely to show up.

Once turned on you get a nice picture on the 240Hz LCD display with bright colors and a solid contrast and games look very good as well. As far as 3D goes, this device is decent though some games have a tendency to ghost pretty badly. This monitor supports Simulview, which uses the 3D glasses to have two players seeing entirely different things on the screen. Local co-op with two players is possible with each having the entire screen to themselves. How this works is beyond me but it sounds cool. Unfortunately, this only works on a handful of 3D Sony games.

$500 seems a little steep, especially considering there are a lot of other 3D monitors out there that are better and only slightly more expensive. However, the small size may be attractive for gamers with tight space who are looking for a fairly good 3D gaming monitor.

Source: Destructoid - Review: Sony PlayStation 3D Display

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Sony's New 65-inch Bravia 3D TV

The hot word at CES 2011 was undoubtedly 3D. There wasn't a booth you could walk into without hearing or seeing something about 3D. Even companies that had no 3D products whatsoever were using it to draw people in. If there was one company, however, that was severely showing off their 3D technology, it was Sony. Their new Bravia line of displays is what they were mainly touting which includes 27 new models of LCD panels.

The biggest and baddest of the group is definitely the Bravia XBR-65HX292, an LED backlit LCD panel with everything you could want in a t.v. Sony has decided to go with local dimming as opposed to edge lit LED technology which makes for a slightly deeper display. Sony calls it Sony's Intelligent Peak LED which gives you the ability to turn the backlight off in specific areas. This gives your LCD panel plasma-like contrast and black levels. Sony matches this with their MotionFlow XR 960 backlight control which precisely synchronizes the dimming with the liquid crystal movement in order to reduce motion blur.

This display also has an integrated Wi-Fi receiver so you don't have to use a wired connection, although the display does have Ethernet ports. Through this you can have access to Sony's Bravia Internet video and Qriocity. Sony's Bravia Internet Video Platform comes with Sony's Video on Demand and Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity as well as Pandora, Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon, Video on Demand, YouTube, Slacker Internet Radio, Crackle and Blip.tv. Video on Demand powered by Qriocity is a premium video streaming service that gives you instant access to hit movies, where Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity is a cloud-based music streaming service that allows users to have access at any time to a catalog of over 6 million music tracks from all the major labels.

Customers can also use Skype if they want to, but they will need to buy a camera and microphone separately. Sony's camera and mic will allow you to enjoy free widescreen Skype-to-Skype video calls anywhere. However, the one thing everybody is talking about is the 3D. A lot of people were talking about the new polarized glasses, but this display will be using Active Shutter glasses. Unfortunately, these are sold separately and will probably be pretty expensive. Most Active Shutter glasses on the market today are at least $100.

One interesting thing in this new display is the X-Reality PRO Engine. According to Sony, "The X-Reality PRO Engine is a two-chip digital video processor that optimizes high definition content, compressed HD signals, standard definition and other sources including low resolution Internet content. Utilizing a vast database of "ideal" signal patterns developed by analyzing and indexing an enormous library of film and video, the X-Reality PRO Engine compares incoming signals pixel-by-pixel with ideal scenes to display vivid and detailed images."

It is still unclear as to what this is or how it will work, but it may be something you or your installer may want to turn off. This display is custom installation friendly and has key features like rear IR-input and a two-way RS232c connection for easier integration with third party control systems. It can also stream media from a USB port. Sony's Media Remote app is also pretty cool. It gives you simple operation and allows you to search for internet content. A media bar is also included which resembles the one for the PS3, and the new UI provides uninterrupted viewing by disseminating the video and placing key menu functions along the bottom and side of the picture frame.

Overall this new display looks really good. Sony is known for making top of the line devices and their displays are usually something to talk about.

Source: Audioholics

Poor Reviews Delay Google TV

CES 2011, the huge upcoming electronics trade show, was supposed to be the huge unveiling of Google's new software for televisions, which would add a bunch of computer elements to the TV including Web video from sources like YouTube. While Google has an exclusive deal with Sony, other TV makers, like Sharp, Toshiba and LG, were supposed to come out with their own versions as well.

However, Google has requested that these other companies delay their premiers in order for Google to refine their software, software that has received mediocre reception so far. This request from Google was shocking to many of the other developers and it illustrates some of the struggles Google faces as it works on expanding into the field of consumer electronics.

What many people may not realize is that Google has a bit of a history when it comes to putting out new products and revising them at the last minute. On the other hand, companies in the consumer electronics market place big bets in order to attract holiday buyers and back-to-school shoppers.

Computer makers waited for Google's Chrome OS software this year in order to ship new types of Web-based laptops. However, Google once again had to delay, causing manufacturers to miss out on this holiday season.

A big win for Google does, however, come in the form of the company's Android software. But the same story follows here as phone makers and computer manufacturers have been forced, once again, to push back plans on tablet designs that are based on a refined version of the Android software which put Apple's iPad on top for this holiday season.

Now, it seems like similar problems are hitting the Google TV. While pushing to improve the less than stellar software, Google appears to be facing the technical challenges that have kept the idea of Web TV becoming mainstream head on. Industry analysts say that Google's abrupt change of plans shows a weakness in Google's business culture around managing their relationships with partners.

According to James L. McQuivey, analyst for Forrester, Google as a company is not a particularly partner-friendly or partner-focused company. Because of the delay it may might take another year before Google TV has a chance to catch fire."

Executives at the television makers stated that they were not reacting to abrupt changes from Google. On the other hand, according to people familiar with what was going on, these manufacturers were definitely caught with their pants down. Google spokeswoman Gina Weakley declined to discuss "rumors and speculation" about unannounced products.

According to Ms. Weakley, "Our long-term goal is to collaborate with a broad community of consumer electronics manufacturers to help drive the next-generation TV-watching experience, and we look forward to working with other partners to bring more devices to market in the coming years."

The first Google TVs were shipped back in October, according to the deal with Sony, which saw 24" models starting at $600 and up to $1,400 for a 46". Sony, as well as Logitech, sell complimentary appliances which allow people to tap into Google TV software without replacing their TVs.

The only manufacturer that appears to be an entrant to the Google TV market at CES 2011 is Samsung who will present two appliances which are similar to those from Logitech and Sony. Vizio also plans on demonstrating its version of Google TV, however, they will do it with private demonstrations on the show floor.

It is surprising how much the Google TV products are like computers. They run on Intel's Atom chips and can process software typically found on PCs. The biggest thing Internet TV promises is the ability to watch any show or movie at any time streamed over the web. However, this is a far, far away reality for Google TV.

People can now pay to watch all of their favorite shows and movies whenever they want to using Netflix or Amazon on Google TV and can watch regular TV shows as well. Major networks, however, are not providing programming on Google TV. NBC, CBS, ABC and Hulu have all blocked people from accessing full episodes of shows via their websites on Google TV.

There are some other things that people may find useless about Google TV as well, like watching YouTube videos and showing off pictures of your family trip to the Zoo on a bigger screen. Monitoring ESPN.com while simultaneously watching the game and updating your Facebook may also be a bit much for your average user.

The one thing Google is most famous for is their search engine, a feature which the company promises to incorporate into Google TV. In contrast with the traditional cable and DVR menus that you are used to using, Google TV allows you to search for the name of a show and see exactly when it is being broadcasted and where it is available online. In addition, you can view links to websites about the show and the actors in it.

According to consumer technology reviewers and early customers, Google TV is not ready for prime time. 38% of shoppers on Amazon only gave the Logitech Revue box 3 stars or less. 19% gave it the lowest possible rating of a one star. Many complaints consisted of it being slow and that it did not offer any more programming or features than some of the other less expensive set-top boxes.

The software in Google TV is fairly complex and requires a remote control that includes a mouse and keyboard. However there are also smaller problems like when the windows to watch TV and browse the internet simultaneously cover up crucial commands. These limitations aside, the major TV manufacturers were prepared to join the party with Google TV. Specifically, they hoped to cover up any sizable lead by Sony.

According to Vice President of Toshiba's Digital Products Division Jeff Barney, "We will not be announcing a Toshiba TV or Blu-ray player or demonstrating the products at CES. We have an understanding with Google about the future product roadmap and will bring the right product out at the right time."

A blog posted by Google last week announced software updates to its TV platform allowing it to include better tools for watching movies and TV shows via Netflix as well as a remote control app built for smartphones running Android software. However, the main updates are still yet to come.

According to McQuivey, "Google needs to learn some of those abilities [partnership skills] - both in terms of partnerships with broadcasters and working with hardware partners. You can give me the recipe for the absolute best chocolate chip cookies in the world, but until I put the ingredients together and bake them at exactly the right temperature for the right time, they're not cookies, and that is where Google TV is."

Big things could come from Google TV if they can get everything down pat. Once they get everything working like it is supposed to then this could be one of the biggest advancements in consumer electronics to date. We can only hope people have not lost interest when that time comes around.

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Sony's New 22-inch LCD TV with Integrated PlayStation 2

Sony is one of the top producers of technology in the world. This megacompany has produced some of the most amazing laptops, computers and televisions, but what is probably one of the company's biggest achievements is their gaming consoles. The PlayStation 3 is the company's newest console in the gaming world, and while the console is definitely a great piece of machinery, many people still consider the PlayStation 2 to be one of the best consoles ever created.

While video games are a huge craze in today's market, another huge craze is HDTVs. Well, now Sony is bringing you the best of both worlds in one single device. There have been all kinds of different technologies integrated into televisions like iPod docks, DVD players and even Blu-ray players. But now Sony has done something incredible, they have put a PlayStation 2 into a TV. And not just any TV, an HDTV.

The Sony Bravia KDL-22PX300 is a 22-inch LCD TV that has a built-in Sony PlayStation 2. This PS2 allows people to play not only PlayStation 2 games but also regular DVDs. Due to the fact that PS2 games were not originally created in the HD format, they still play in standard definition. However, the TV does present in 720p, and it has four HDMI ports, built-in Freeview tuner and even an Ethernet port for internet use. In addition to all that, the TV has three USB ports, Scart, VGA and Component video connectors.

One of the problems with the PlayStation 3 is that it hasn't really been backwards compatible with old PS2 titles since some of the very first models from Sony. That is why this TV seems like such a good value, especially with the fact that it has all those connections and support for 720p. There aren't really a lot of televisions integrated with gaming consoles. Actually, aside from Fuji's Divers 2000 Series CX-1 integrated with the Sega Dreamcast, there isn't any other device like this.

This is definitely one of the coolest devices that has come out recently and definitely one of the most unique. With many people considering the Sony PlayStation 2 to be one of the best consoles ever, it looks like Sony has made the perfect device. The Sony KDL-22PX300 is available now for around $300 and comes with a single controller.

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Sony's Rollable Mini-OLED Display Wraps Around a Pencil

Sonny has a new Organic Field-Effect Transistors (OTFT)-driven OLED display that they are calling "rollable," as in, it's so small, you can wrap it around a pencil. The project required OTFTS that use semiconductor material that is capable of delivering eight times what a conventional OTFT can.

The company released a statement saying, "This was achieved due to the development of integration technologies of OTFTs and OLEDs on an ultra-thin 20 μm thick flexible substrate and soft organic insulators for all the insulators in the integration circuit. By combining these technologies, we successfully demonstrated the world's first OLED panel which is capable of reproducing moving images while being repeatedly rolled-up - around a cylinder with a radius of 4 mm - and stretched.

The display is 4.1 inches wide and has 432 x 240 RGB pixels. Resolution is 121 pixels per inch and it offers 16, 777, 216 different colors. Peak luminance is greater than 100 cd/m2 and contrast ratio is 1000:1. Minimum bending radius is 4 mm and panel thickness is 80. The driving scheme is 2T-1C voltage programming with OTFTs.

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Sony BDP-S470 3D-Ready Blu-ray Player

Today Sony launched their new BDP-S470 stand-alone Blu-ray player. But what makes this device special is that it is Sony's first stand-alone Blu-ray player that is also 3D-ready. The device, which is said to ship later this month, will be able to handle BD, DVD, CD and even SA-CD along with a 3D Blu-ray upgrade that you can get via Firmware.

The BDP-S470 has a pretty decent spec sheet tacked onto it. The device comes with full HD 1080p single-disc Blu-ray, DVD, CD, SA-CD, Blu-ray 3D ready, a BRAVIA monolithic design, BRAVIA internet video and BD-LIVE, wireless LAN Ready with a USB wireless LAN adapter sold separately, entertainment database browser with Gracenote technology, BD remote with a free iPhone/iPod Touch remote app, photo/music/video playback via USB and DLNA with the Firmware update, DVD upscaling to 1080p with Precision Cinema HD upscaling and Dolby TrueHD and dts-HD Master audio decoding.

The Firmware update isn't set to be released until later this summer but the BDP-S470 has already been launched and should be on your store shelves later this month with a $200 price tag. For all of you out there that were planning on getting the BDP-S570 BD player or the BDV-E770W or BDV-E570 Blu-ray Disc home theater systems but are now upset about the BDP-S470's 3D upgrade don't worry about it because these systems will also be receiving the Gratis 3D upgrade as well. Looks like we won't be escaping the 3D generation anytime soon.

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Promising New TV Features in 2010

There are going to be a multitude of new features found in TVs that will be released in 2010. TV’s are promised to be bigger, better, and more reasonably priced this coming year. New features are said to include more LED backlighting, faster refresh rates, 3D features, and built-in Internet connectivity.

The vast majority of the TV market that accounts for the sales in the U.S. are flat-panel, LCD TVs. This means that most of the TVs released in 2010 will possess these qualities. Bigger TVs are constantly being pushed by providers, but this year will also show other features that will differentiate one TV from the next. LED backlighting and higher refresh rates are something that will show great improvement in the coming TVs. Many will use backlighting in either an “edgelit” configuration or a full backlit design with local dimming to provide better blacks. Faster refresh rates are a guarantee as manufacturers are wishing to drastically reduce motion blur in TV sets.

Another very interesting development that is going to be pushed this year is TVs with 3D capabilities. Sony and Panasonic are the companies that have been talking the most about their 3DTVs. This feature could branch out into more than just 3D movies but also television broadcast in 3D. How cool would it be to watch a football game with the players jumping right off the screen?

The last of the most interesting developments of 2010 is the Internet capabilities that will be included within the set. With all the advances that are being made, soon enough Internet features will be found standard on TVs. This should be one of the things that manufactures are sure to push hard for.

Thin is in, so most of the newly released TVs should be even thinner than what’s already on the market. The LED backlighting technology takes up a lot less room allowing for the thinner screen. Manufacturers are also pushing more energy efficient TVs, so expect to find more environment-friendly TVs at a much more reasonable price.

OLED TVs are beginning to get plenty of attention these days, but they are not going to be mainstream any time soon. This coming year, it is expected that there should be a couple sets that are 15 inches or larger, but they will cost you more than a 32-inch LCD TV.

We can definitely look forward to these fantastic developments in 2010. Manufactures will be offering their best in the coming year.

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Sony to Sell 3D TVs by 2010

Today, Sony announced that is plans to sell 3D televisions by the end of 2010. So far, the 3D industry has focused mainly on theater (over 7,000 digital 3D screens are expected to be in theaters worldwide by the end of 2009), so the Sony announcement will come as a big boost to the 3D world. Sony chief executive, Howard Stringer, is expected to announce that Sony will sell 3D Bravia television sets and also make the company's Vaio laptops, PlayStation 3 consoles, and Blue-ray disc players compatible with the new technology, at the IFA technology trade show in Berlin. Sony believes that 3D is "on its way to the mass market through technology, distribution, and content," but does insist there are still some issues to be face, including agreeing on a single 3D standard and avoiding a format war.

While there are several types of 3D technology, Sony will be going with "active shutter" technology, which means using electronic glasses with tiny shutters that open and close in sync with images on TV. This creates a 3D impression and is different from the "polarisation" technology used in theater that only works when viewers are sitting at a certain angle.

Many in the electronics industry believe 3D will soon be the new HD. Hyundai is also currently working on 3D television sets for Japan and Panasonic has announced it has plans for 3D TVs in the works. Neither company has matched Sony's commitment, however, to making 3D TV mainstream.

There has been no word on exactly how much the TVs will cost, but analysts predict the earliest versions to cost several thousand dollars. Hyundai's 3D TVs currently retail for about $4900.

New: LG's 15-inch OLED TV Coming in 2010

Last week, LG, the world's second biggest TV brand, released a set of photos of its new OLED 15-inch screen and in September, they will be showing off a model at the IFA 2009 consumer electric show in Berlin. The television is set to start selling in Korea by November 2009, and overseas in 2010. As far as affordability goes, be prepared to dip into your life savings for this one. If Sony's two-year-old 11-inch XEL-1, the world's first OLED TV, is any indication, it retails in the United States for a cool $2,500.

The television set will use organic display technology and is the largest commercial model to do so, so far. These active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AM-OLED) displays use self-glowing materials, have better picture quality, consume less power and are thinner than liquid crystal displays (LCD). Compared to LCDs, the much higher price has kept it from becoming a mainstream, mass-produced technology for TVs and PC monitors, however, OLED screens are starting to make their way to high-end mobile phones.

According to LG, DisplaySearch research projects OLED TVs to reach 320,000 units in 2011 and 2.33 million by 2013. LG says it also plans to unveil a 40-inch OLED in the "not too distant future."