CES 2009

Samsung is clearly intending to make a big push with its LED-backlit LCDs, but the company did announce one new line of LCDs without LED. The Samsung LNB750 series uses standard CFL backlighting, but includes other cutting-edge features such as 240Hz refresh rate, a slim inch-thick design, and access to Samsung's new Internet@TV content. Here are the details.

Key features of the Samsung LNB750 series:

• 240Hz refresh rate
• Slim design, around an inch thick
• Ultra Clear antireflective screen
• Wide Color Enhancer Pro
• Internet@TV capable (Yahoo widgets)
• Built-in Ethernet
• Wi-Fi-ready, with purchase of additional adapter
• Energy Star 3.0 compatible

Pricing and availability of the Samsung LNB750 series (estimated street prices):

• 40-inch 40LNB750 ($1999, May)
• 46-inch 46LNB750 ($2399, May)
• 52-inch 52LNB750 ($2899, May)

We've covered 120Hz technology extensively before, and we expect 240Hz to offer similar advantages. The major area for improvement is the associated dejudder processing, particularly eliminating annoying artifacts and making the processing look more natural. Wide Color Enhancer Pro is a feature that supposedly matches a source's color space to the HD color space--we haven't seen a feature like this yet, so it will be interesting to test in the labs.

A built-in Ethernet connection enables access to Samsung's new Internet@TV platform, which lets users access Yahoo widgets capable of delivering content from services such as Flickr, Yahoo News, Yahoo Weather, USA Today, YouTube, Showtime, and others. The LNB750 series is also Wi-Fi-ready, but you'll need to purchase an additional adapter. Finally, the sets are compliant with the new Energy Star 3.0 specification, although it seems like almost all 2009 HDTVs are.