Less remarked upon in our CES 2009 coverage was the green factor consistently mentioned in many presentations, with various manufacturers promising more responsible production facilities, and plans to offer recycling for all the old televisions that will be replaced in the years to come. Courtesy of AV Watch and Google Translate, we can take a tour through one of Panasonic's recycling facilities, where the latest breakthrough uses a laser beam to separate the front and rear glass of CRTs, allowing for three times faster processing. If there's anything better than machine translation, old TVs headed for certain doom, and lasers, we have no idea what it is.

If you've been eying something a touch larger than Samsung's 61-inch HL61A650, why not consider Mitsubishi's WD-65835? The 65-inch Diamond series set was overshadowed by the altogether more intriguing LaserVue when it was introduced this Spring, but there's still a lot here worth loving. The surprisingly lightweight set was found to have accurate colors, "convincingly deep blacks" and a "bright, punchy, dimensional image," all of which sound characteristically Mitsu. Truth be told, critics had a tough time knocking the image quality at all under real-world scenarios, noting that its "exceptional contrast and solid blacks" easily trumped all but a few flat-panels. All that praise for a 65-incher under three grand? Smells like a winner if you've got the space.

Let's face it: there aren't too many new RPTVs hitting the market these days, but for those looking to save a little coin at the expense of a little depth, Samsung's HL61A650 is worth a look. The reviewers over at Home Theater Mag were able to take this beast in for a sit-down, and overall, they were duly impressed. The 61-incher included a respectable amount of ports, sufficient picture controls, very accurate colors and a swell remote. The main knock (outside of the bulky size) was the lackluster black level; in fact, critics noted that it was "among the worst that it had measured." That aside (if you can overlook it), but HDTV was said to perform "well above its pay grade," meaning that it could be an "ideal set at the right price for the casual viewer who will leave it in Dynamic mode and watch a heavy dose of sports in a brightly lit room."

Earlier this week we discussed the pros and cons of picking up a new digital tuner-equipped TV or simply throwing a DTV converter onto the analog set you already own. Needless to say, quite a few individuals across America will be choosing the former option, which creates quite the issue: where are all of those old sets going to go? Early on, surveys showed that people were most likely to resell it, donate it or recycle it, but we all know how easy it is to utter the politically correct response when under the microscope. In reality, there's a great chance that a large quantity of analog TVs will end up in the dump, and officials are making an eleventh hour push to encourage individuals to recycle their screen rather than clog up a nearby landfill. Given that we live here too, we'd also like to encourage the act of recycling if you're planning on ditching the old for something new -- wouldn't want the DTV conversion to be the start of the Apocalypse or something.

With DirecTV launching HD service in Latin America, we'd say it's about time its residents realized that flat-panels are the wave of the future present. According to a fresh iSuppli report, the Latin American television market is expected to make a hasty and noticeable transition between now and 2012. Reportedly, LCD TV shipments to the region are set to rise and account for over 83% of the market in under four years; meanwhile, shipments of bulky CRT sets will decline to make up around 8% of the total market. The numbers are pretty baffling when you consider that CRTs held 77.4% of the market just last year, and it's actually rather scary to think where all of those soon-to-be-unwanted sets will end up.

People love their money, sure, but people still love their style. A thought-provoking article over at CNET has us pondering whether or not these tough economic times will actually increase sales of thick RPTVs during the holiday season. After all, the desire for high-def isn't apt to wane while the belt tightens, but consumers may begin to sacrifice thinness in order to finally bring home a big screen of their own. In our estimation, we can't say in good faith that we think CRT / RPTV sales will skyrocket while flat-panels struggle, particularly when you realize just how cheap these wall-mountable sets will be on Black Friday and during the run-up to that final week in December. It's a cute gesture, but we're still saying the heartbeat for chunky sets is growing weaker by the day.

[Thanks, Anthony]

It's pretty obvious that flat-panel sales have the potential to slow (and that sets could get really, really cheap) in the current economic environment, but a new report from DisplaySearch asserts that the problem may be exacerbated by flat-panel maturity. According to David Barnes, DisplaySearch strategic analysis VP, the "concerns over contracting consumer demand over the near term may grab headlines today, but slower growth may be a long-term trend in the flat-panel market." In fact, it's expected that 4 out of 5 TVs in 2011 will use flat-panel technologies, meaning that this double-digit yearly growth we've grown accustomed to could be coming to an end. Of course, techs like OLED, SED (ahem) and holograms are just around the corner -- and be honest, who wouldn't trade in their KURO for a floating 1080p image with perfect contrast?

[Via TWICE]

You're probably dusting the dirt from your spectacles as we speak, but yes, the set you see above is an RPTV. You know, those not exactly wafer-thin rear-projection TVs that used to be all the rage? This 61-inch set provides an awful lot of screen space for not a lot of dough (comparatively speaking), and as with most sets with a little junk in the trunk, picture quality was seen as "excellent" in a recent CNET review. On the downside, off-angle performance was expectedly poor and there was no 2:3 pulldown for SD sources, but the positives here far outweighed the negatives. For under $1,800 (way under in some places), you can get 61-inches of LED-backlit goodness in your den -- just have to make room for it, is all.

[Thanks, Matthew]

Not so long ago, the good people at DisplaySearch were forecasting good times for plasma. But there's no way around the first quarter of 2008 global sales numbers that show LCD outsold plasma by an 8 to 1 margin. Take a breath -- those are global sales numbers -- but it still isn't the most encouraging news for plasma fans. Worldwide, plasma has a frenemy in good old CRT, though, which actually edged out LCD on its way to the highest sales volume. Click on through for all the numbers, but globally it looks like this: LCD is taking over, plasma is moving into a very small niche, RPTV is all but gone and CRT is going down with a fight.

Granted, almost half of OTA-only households in America (48-percent, to be precise) are planning on picking up a digital converter box in order to get a few more years of life out of their old set, but for those taking other routes -- like spending their stimulus checks on a new flat-panel -- it seems as if tossing 'em in the garbage is a last resort. According to new research from the Consumer Electronics Association, fewer than 15 million NTSC-only TVs will be removed from homes through 2010. Of those, 95-percent will be resold, donated or recycled -- or so the owners say. We can also remember a time when Salvation Army accepted bulky, inefficient CRT computer monitors with open arms, but trying to hand one over today can be a lesson in futility depending on the store. All in all, we figure it's easy for respondents to voice good intentions, but shortly after these sets become useless in the OTA realm without a DTV converter, we have our doubts about the vast majority of them dodging the dump for very long.

Just months after Sony hauled its RPTV production business off to the graveyard, the firm is now bidding a fond farewell to the Trinitron CRT. Believe it or not, the first Trinitron became a reality in 1968, and here we are some 40 years later shedding a tear as LCDs and OLED displays steal the thunder. Reportedly, the firm has moved some 280 million units worldwide between televisions and computer monitors, but we suppose all good things must eventually come to an end. So long, Trinitron -- it's been a mighty impressive run.

[Via Slashgear]

Just days after Sony vaulted to the top of North American LCD sales charts, DisplaySearch is now reporting that worldwide shipments of LCD TVs have overtaken CRT TVs for the first time in the history of the universe. More specifically, LCD TV sales rose some 56-percent year over year, and 47-percent of the world's TV market is now held by said technology. Reportedly, the transition from CRT to LCD was seen as a logical one, considering that it could extend down to sizes smaller than 20-inches and satisfy desires for large-screen sets. We know you're just itching to go diving head first into more numbers on the subject, so feel free to toss on those wire-rimmed glasses and hit the read link below.

[Via TGDaily]

While the rest of the world seems to be bailing on RPTVs, Samsung is using CES to showcase a pair of all new DLP rear-projection sets. Up to bat first is the 61- / 67-inch HL67A750A, and here's a look at what it's packing:

• Next-generation LED light engine: no color wheel, longer set life (30,000 hours)
• Full HD 1080p resolution and 10,000:1 contrast ratio
  
• 3D Ready integration with 3D accessory kit (sold separately)
  
• Four HDMI 1.3 ports with CEC
  
• USB 2.0 socket for PMPs, cameras, etc.
• Single-tuner picture-in-picture (PIP) can display two separate sources without an external tuner

But wait, there's more! Click on through to see it.

It was around this time last year when we saw RPTV sales hit an unexpected jump, but honestly, we wouldn't read too much into it. Manufacturers are bailing from the aging technology left and right, and even though sales were up 27-percent in October over September (tallying "the highest unit sales since May"), these figures are still "less than half" of what was seen in January. Additionally, 1080p LCDs outsold 1080p plasmas in the 50- to 54-inch arena "by nearly three to one," and research from Pacific Media Associates also discovered that LCDs "made up 80-percent of flat panels sold" in the 26-inches or larger category. Also of note, street prices sunk around 30-percent from the same month a year ago, and while Samsung led the flat-panel market with a nearly 20-percent share, Toshiba's 32-inch 32HL67 was said to be the best seller.

[Image courtesy of NFM]