DENVER —Samsung showed at CEDIA a pair of new big-screen flat panel HDTV sets slated for distribution through A/V specialty and custom installers later this year.
In LCD, the company showed a 57W-inch 1,080p LCD TV in model LNS-5797, which will receive limited distribution through high-end dealers, such as Magnolia. It is due out in about two months and will carry a $9,999 suggested retail and an $8,999 minimum advertised price, said Jonas Tanenbaum, Samsung Visual Display Products group flat panel marketing director.
Samsung also demonstrated its new 63W-inch plasma high-definition set featuring its FilterBright Plus anti-glare screen technology. The set is designed to “absorb ambient light” to enable the set to be viewed optimally in a wider range of ambient room lighting conditions.
The HPS-6373 plasma model will carry a $7,999 suggested retail and a $6,999 MAP. Resolution is listed as 1,366 by 768, and distribution will be limited to A/V specialty dealers and select national accounts, Tanenbaum said.
Meanwhile, Tanenbaum said Samsung continues to see a bright future ahead for plasma display technologies, despite the rapid growth of large-screen LCD TVs.
“We’ve made huge investments in LCD fabs, but we also continue to invest in our plasma manufacturing,” Tanenbaum noted. “Samsung recently announced plans to invest $750 million in a new plasma manufacturing line that will come on board in the third quarter of next year.
“Whereas we don’t project as high a rate of growth in unit sales for plasma as we do for LCD, we expect plasma to be a big business for us for many more years to come.”
Among the screen sizes expected to be produced from the facility is a 63W-inch 1,080p set for mass production, Tanenebaum said.
