A new range of LCD televisions from Phillips are intended to have a fresh and vibrant look. Phillips isn’t concentrating on creating thinner HDTVs or advancing the technology; instead the Dutch electronics manufacturer believes we are fickle, changeable bunch so have launched a range of LCD TVs with interchangeable frames. The frames are held on through magnatism so if you start the day feeling a little blue and end the day seeing red, it only takes a second to change the frame to fit your mood.

Initially Phillips Flavours (nice descriptive name) will only be available in Italy. The Flavours range comes in 22-inch, 32-inch and 42-inch, the latter features a HD resolution (1080p), 30,000:1 contrast ratio, 5ms response time, two HDMI port, and if it means anything to you the 42-inch Flavour sports 500cd/m2 brightness.

The new LCD TVs come complete with two interchangeable magnetic frames, you can pick one up for

Earlier this year LG hinted at a HDTV that would be LED-backlit instead of fluorescent-lit and touted a whopping 1,000,000:1. LG have now firmed up the details on this 1080p LCD and even given us a release month and price tag. Read on for all the details.

The LG90 (formally known as 47LG75) is set to rival LG’s competitors in both price and specs and will be LG’s first LED-backlit LCD TV. But why choose LED-backlighting? It’s all about the hunt for the true deep dark black. LCD TVs are wonderful but they do have their flaws, one of them being that the blacks come out grey unlike traditional CRT or the new FED screens which produce deep blacks. As you can image grey instead of black, doesn’t do much for picture quality so manufactures are always looking for ways to improve the blacks displayed on the screen. LCD screens are historically backlit using fluorescents but by using LEDs instead LG will be able to produce much deeper blacks. One of the ways LEDs help produce deep blacks is by enabling individual portions of the LG90 screen to be dimmed thus preventing light bleed into dark areas and causing unintentional greys.

So, LG has made an effort at trying to address the problem with deep blacks, but have they done anything about motion artefacts which is another problem with LCD TVs? The answer would be… yes, the LG90 will use a 120Hz panel for motion processing to reduce the problematic motion artefacts. Encase you don’t know, motion artefacts are caused when previous display values start to affect the current display content. This will cause the image to be slightly blurred and occurs when the image is changing quickly, such as in a high action screen. Not what you want when you have paid a fortune for your HDTV to get a nice crisp image which then appears blurred due to motion artefacts.

LG has not released much specific information on their LG90 1080p LCD but what they have announced sounds pretty sweet. The LG90 will come in a 47-inch version that matches Samsung’s 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, and has a 500cd/m2 brightness rating, 3 HDMI v1.3 inputs, USB port and LG’s SimpLink control technology. The LG90 comes with an Intelligent Sensor to adjust for lighting conditions, but personally I would turn this off and manually set my TV for different lighting conditions, see this article for improving your HDT’s picture. An even better option if you have the spare cash is to get a professional to do the work for you. The LG90 is ISFccc calibration ready which is basically a process that enables a trained certified calibrator to adjust your HDTV with a high degree of accuracy.

The “unique teardrop design” with stunning blue accents is not disrupted by hideous speakers because LG has managed to make them disappear, and in stroke of naming genius they have called them “Invisible Speakers”. The LG90 when released in September will be a mere 5-inches thick but this doesn’t come close to its cousin the LGX which has gone for thinness rather than picture quality and will come in at 1.8-inches. The LG90 will be priced at $3,599.

[Source: PR Newwire and Spec Sheet via Engadget]

Asus’ new 22″ widescreen LCD is a mere 45mm thick, this feat of engineering has earned the ASUS LS221H the title of “World’s slimmest”.

There are plenty of features mentioned other than its thinness but nothing in Asus’ press release was particularly outstanding. Light-in-motion II dynamic lighting effects which works by shining LED up at the main screen to add “ambience”, sounds intriguing, but not interesting enough to make me want to shell out

There will be three television commercials; two of them have the tagline: “Change your TV, Change your Life”. The other commercial will focus on the greener side of things, again with a tagline which claims a lot: “Change Your Power, Change Your Planet”. This however may not change the planet for the better, the commercials will be focusing on LCD screens which, as we posted last week, use a gas in production that is 17,000 times more harmful than CO2. For some reason they don’t mention this… instead they big up the energy saving you will get from LCD screens. The upside to the “Change Your Planet” campaign is that solar power will also make an appearance, which until proven otherwise is good for our planet.

Alongside the TV commercials they are launching a micro-site: lifechangingbox.com and a supporting Facebook game. The game involves a box which you steal from your friends, and then other people can steal it from you. The idea is to be in possession of the box when it opens so you win the prize inside it.

It is interesting how green has become the new black, it would seem that if you aren’t appearing to save the world, you will be put in the corner with a dunces hat on. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for being environmentally friendly and I actively try and do as much as I can, but with it becoming a marketing ploy, are the “right” things being done or are they only doing things that will make the most noise in the market place? Turns out this actually has a name: Greenwash. LCD screens are a prime example of this; they seemed good on the face of it but it turns out they are actually harmful. They have become so popular, in part, because “energy saving” is easy to market.

[Source: Sharp USA]

Hang on a second, what if the heavens open and your nice HD TV becomes no more than a sparking fish tank? No problem, cue Sanyo’s 52in waterproof HD TV (apparently you can even spray it with a hose if you so desire).

It doesn’t just stop there; it is also dust-proof (I wish my whole house was dust-proof) and comes with toughened glass that should handle a football being pelted at it. Not only that, but as it is not constantly raining outside the screen has been treated to ensure that its entire 179