AfterDawn: News

Samsung introduces HDTV with 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio

Samsung has announced a new series of LCD HDTVs including the company's first ever with a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio.

The new 950 display line combines improved LED backlighting with "improvements to the panel and image processing" to hit the high contrast ratio. The 950 also is the first LED-lit model from Samsung to have a 120Hz refresh panel.



The new HDTV also has a built-in Ethernet jack that can stream media from PCs and consoles. Users can also use any DLNA media hub or Samsung's own popular WiseLink Pro. USB ports are built in to allow digital content to be played locally.

The 950 series has four HDMI ports with CEC automation support and will be available in 46-inch and 55-inch models. The units will cost $3,200 USD and $4,200 USD respectively when they hit retail shelves in August.




Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 23 Jul 2008 23:58

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• 28 comments

• DXR88

  That price point is not that bad for those specs not bad at all.

  24.7.2008 01:14 #1

• area_51

  SWeeet

  24.7.2008 01:15 #2

• blueroad

  hmm sweet indeed ^^

  24.7.2008 02:00 #3

• llongtheD

  I wonder if the human eye will be able to detect the difference between a 10,000 to 1 contrast ratio, and a 1,000,000 to 1 ratio
  Maybe so, but at nearly 5 grand, I won't be rushing out to buy one.
  Sounds like another gimmick to me. Oh wait, I guess I better upgrade so I can keep up with the Joneses.

  24.7.2008 04:51 #4

• Vanilla66

  Originally posted by llongtheD: I wonder if the human eye will be able to detect the difference between a 10,000 to 1 contrast ratio, and a 1,000,000 to 1 ratio
  Maybe so, but at nearly 5 grand, I won't be rushing out to buy one.
  Sounds like another gimmick to me. Oh wait, I guess I better upgrade so I can keep up with the Joneses.LMFAO

  24.7.2008 11:26 #5

• emugamer

  Nice specs. A bit pricey, but that comes with the territory for new technology. I'd seriously have to stand it next to a TV with a lesser contrast ratio and refresh rate to see if the difference in quality is worth the added cost.

  24.7.2008 12:17 #6

• SDF_GR

  Originally posted by llongtheD: I wonder if the human eye will be able to detect the difference between a 10,000 to 1 contrast ratio, and a 1,000,000 to 1 ratioMe prev TV was 8000 my new one is 30.000 (or 33.000) you see great difference, especially in game, but from 30000 or 40000 to 1.000.000 i wonder the same thing.
  
  Samsung showed that LCD's are still alive and can perform really great.
  OLED and Laser can wait.

  24.7.2008 12:27 #7

• rlessmue

  ...now all we need is a TV that can provide
  "the smell" along with this great picture and sound!
  
  That seems to be the only thing missing now days with
  the movies...smell!
  
  Cheers!

  24.7.2008 13:13 #8

• emugamer

  Originally posted by rlessmue: ...now all we need is a TV that can provide
  "the smell" along with this great picture and sound!
  
  That seems to be the only thing missing now days with
  the movies...smell!
  
  Cheers!Lol....I don't think the porn industry would like that :P

  24.7.2008 17:59 #9

• iluvendo

  Originally posted by rlessmue: ...now all we need is a TV that can provide
  "the smell" along with this great picture and sound!
  
  That seems to be the only thing missing now days with
  the movies...smell!
  
  Cheers!
  
  What, you want smell-o-vision ?
  

  If it wasnt for bad luck, Id have no luck!
  "The flimsier the product,the higher the price"
  Ferengi 82nd rule of aquisition

  24.7.2008 18:10 #10

• rlessmue

  Quote:Originally posted by rlessmue: ...now all we need is a TV that can provide
  "the smell" along with this great picture and sound!
  
  That seems to be the only thing missing now days with
  the movies...smell!
  
  Cheers!
  
  What, you want smell-o-vision ?What a great name! Oh the "porn-industry" would maybe give you
  what THEY wanted to give you... nice smelly things (like roses!)
  Oh you know...it would just be another industry that would be
  watched...LOL...
  ++++++++++++ NEWS FLASH +++++++++++++++
  Seattle customer was watching a Harry Potter movie and
  is now suing Warner Brothers because the "swamp gas" made
  him sick. It seams that watching any segment with your
  "smell-o-vision" of any movie set on a "swamp gas" mode
  can make you sick... He is suing for 1.2 Billion...
  ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
  Cheers!

  24.7.2008 20:03 #11

• BazNZ

  Panasonic already has a TV on the market with 1,000,000 to 1 contrast! and at a cheaper price with a 480Hz refresh rate. Samsung needs to catch up...lol. PANSONIC PLASMA TH-50PY800

  24.7.2008 20:24 #12

• pieman

  But the Panasonic is PLASMA dopey!

  25.7.2008 13:38 #13

• leo8013

  I was thinking of buying that panasonic. so I had the guy put in a good blu-ray to see the high def 1080p and it looked like garbage. It was playing right next to the samsumg that had a contrast of 500,000-1 and it blew it away. the panasonic was cheaper and I new why then.

  25.7.2008 21:53 #14

• BazNZ

  warm apple pieman.... exactly it is a plasma. Which just goes to show whatta bad choice buying a Samsung LCD is instead. Who's the dope?

  26.7.2008 01:16 #15

• BazNZ

  Originally posted by leo8013: I was thinking of buying that panasonic. so I had the guy put in a good blu-ray to see the high def 1080p and it looked like garbage. It was playing right next to the samsumg that had a contrast of 500,000-1 and it blew it away. the panasonic was cheaper and I new why then.Well Leo I have spent months viewing HDTV's and the best picture came from this Pansonic model. It has the best specs of any HDTV on the market which confirms my claims as having the best picture quality especially for fast moving action sports and movies because its specs blow away all other HDTV's. The LCD Samsung's just blurred the picture in motion and their blacks were crap. The Samsung LCD had no depth at all (flat picture). The Panasonic had huge depth almost looking like 3D. It has the best price also for any 50" HDTV model on the market.

  26.7.2008 01:23 #16

• BazNZ

  Plasma's are better than LCD's for Picture Quality and fast action sports and movies. The bigger the screen the better Plasma's get. Fact. I too was ignorant for the longest time until I got salesman who knew what he was talking about and proved it to me with my own eyes. LCD propaganda is rife! http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/14911.cfm

  26.7.2008 01:32 #17

• pieman

  @bazNZ...the thread was talking about lcd, not plasma....and anyway who wants burnout?

  26.7.2008 06:22 #18

• BazNZ

  @pieman burnout???? Never heard of it? This Panasonic will last for 100,000 hours of viewing!!! If watching a TV for that long means burnout? well then yes...lol

  26.7.2008 08:33 #19

• emugamer

  Originally posted by BazNZ: @pieman burnout???? Never heard of it? This Panasonic will last for 100,000 hours of viewing!!! If watching a TV for that long means burnout? well then yes...lolPlasma Buying Guide
  
  It's a slightly older article, but some good info nonetheless. Plasma has improved. Too bad it's past is still haunting it.
  
  Quote:In fact, many plasma manufacturers boast a life span of 60,000 hours to half life! This is a longer life than a tube based television. The specification is somewhat suspect since the process of determining longevity of the product is based on deductive mathematical calculation of phosphor dissipation, and does not take into account the electronic components and the myriad of problems that can occur. Panasonic was the first to claim the 60,000 hour life span, up from a previous 30,000 just a year prior."
  
  Within months after Panasonic announced this new life span, other manufacturers jumped on the bandwagon announcing that their plasma television is now rated to 60,000.
  I believe it's "burn-in." Burnout Paradise City will not damage your plasma...lol
  
  Quote:1) Never leave static images on the unit. Plasma phosphors have become more resilient to burn in, but still its better to be safe. Do not leave a static image on the plasma screen for more than 7-10 minutes. This can cause a ghosting effect which will "wash" out by use. Watch the unit in full widescreen format as much as possible to avoid differentiation between the side bars of the unit. While this does not actually decrease the longevity of the phosphors it does cause an annoyance to have to play a gray static image to "erase" the temporary burn in.

  26.7.2008 10:33 #20

• Mr-Movies

  Originally posted by llongtheD: I wonder if the human eye will be able to detect the difference between a 10,000 to 1 contrast ratio, and a 1,000,000 to 1 ratio
  Maybe so, but at nearly 5 grand, I won't be rushing out to buy one.
  Sounds like another gimmick to me. Oh wait, I guess I better upgrade so I can keep up with the Joneses.Gimmick? Do you even know what you are talking about? Obviously NOT!
  
  We seem to be dumbing down as a society what a shame.
  
  I was looking at the 35K contrast and it does pretty well but the dark screens still loose detail with 1M contrast this issue should go away I would guess and should make FP's almost as good as a CRT, great news!
  
  Do you think they will trade up my old Sammy? Now I'm getting crazy. But I will definitely be looking at getting this new FP.

  30.7.2008 09:58 #21

• Mr-Movies

  Quote:Originally posted by BazNZ: @pieman burnout???? Never heard of it? This Panasonic will last for 100,000 hours of viewing!!! If watching a TV for that long means burnout? well then yes...lolPlasma Buying Guide
  
  It's a slightly older article, but some good info nonetheless. Plasma has improved. Too bad it's past is still haunting it.
  
  Quote:In fact, many plasma manufacturers boast a life span of 60,000 hours to half life! This is a longer life than a tube based television. The specification is somewhat suspect since the process of determining longevity of the product is based on deductive mathematical calculation of phosphor dissipation, and does not take into account the electronic components and the myriad of problems that can occur. Panasonic was the first to claim the 60,000 hour life span, up from a previous 30,000 just a year prior."
  
  Within months after Panasonic announced this new life span, other manufacturers jumped on the bandwagon announcing that their plasma television is now rated to 60,000.
  I believe it's "burn-in." Burnout Paradise City will not damage your plasma...lol
  
  Quote:1) Never leave static images on the unit. Plasma phosphors have become more resilient to burn in, but still its better to be safe. Do not leave a static image on the plasma screen for more than 7-10 minutes. This can cause a ghosting effect which will "wash" out by use. Watch the unit in full widescreen format as much as possible to avoid differentiation between the side bars of the unit. While this does not actually decrease the longevity of the phosphors it does cause an annoyance to have to play a gray static image to "erase" the temporary burn in.If you are worried about Burn-in or what some call Image Retention on Plasma sets just run the shading program when you go to bed and put the sleep timer on for 2 hours if you can that will normally take care of the wear issues and image retention/burn-in.

  30.7.2008 10:07 #22

• goodswipe

  Err, I'm still waiting on the LaserVue to be released. Nice specs on this LCD though.

  30.7.2008 10:09 #23

• Mr-Movies

  Originally posted by goodswipe: Err, I'm still waiting on the LaserVue to be released. Nice specs on this LCD though.Agree and that should be very soon now plus much cheaper.

  30.7.2008 10:24 #24

• emugamer

  Quote:Originally posted by goodswipe: Err, I'm still waiting on the LaserVue to be released. Nice specs on this LCD though.Agree and that should be very soon now plus much cheaper.Ahh, I hope so. I hope that my new 42" TV next year will be Laser. The price needs to be right!

  30.7.2008 10:37 #25

• goodswipe

  Originally posted by Mr-Movies: Originally posted by goodswipe: Err, I'm still waiting on the LaserVue to be released. Nice specs on this LCD though.Agree and that should be very soon now plus much cheaper.Yea, and the picture quality will be comparable or MUCH better. I've always though DLP's looked better then LCD or plasma other then the Pioneer Kuro's. And according to everything I've read, LaserVue beat out Pioneers top of the line Kuro hands down when it came to color reproduction and clarity.
  
  I think id still rather buy the LaserVue over this tv because you will get 10 inches or more in screen size and will cost about a quarter less then this LCD.
  
  Originally posted by emugamer:
  Ahh, I hope so. I hope that my new 42" TV next year will be Laser. The price needs to be right!They are only coming out with 65" and 75" tvs that I know of.
  
  Mitsubishi's LaserVue
  
  

  
  
  "Can someone please please give me a website that tells me all about hdtv, bluray, plasma tvs and all about the cords like how they work and stuff.... Because my Dad said if i learn this stuff he will get me a lcd tv a ps3 and a computer. So can someone please please please send me a website." - mumbomum

  30.7.2008 10:40 #26

• champman

  Manufacturers each measure the contrast ratio differently, so there still isn't a way to compare like-for-like to see which has the best picture quality. Only by sitting the LCDs next to each other in a professional test environment will you be able to distinguish 20,000 to 1,000,000.
  
  How about they stop the obsession with contrast ratios & spend more time reducing lag (120Hz is nice but not amazing), thinner/lighter screens to make it easy for everyone to hang 55"+ LCDs on the wall & better colour reproduction.
  
  Or then again, they are just fretting over new technologies like OLED that will take over. In 4-5 years, LCD will be the main budget choice for bedrooms, not living rooms.

  1.8.2008 22:04 #27

• FredBun

  would want to see it with my own eyes, and at somebodys home not at the store.

  2.8.2008 13:37 #28