And you thought HDTVs were made for watching TV. VUDU has today slung its (admittedly paltry) library of applications over to its television partners, making both Picasa and Flickr access possible through LG and Mitsubishi sets with integrated VUDU software. Of course, all of this was already available to those relying on one of VUDU's dedicated set-top boxes, but it's always nice to have everything wrapped up neatly within the display itself. In related news, Pandora streaming is also available on VUDU-infused Mitsubishi panels, though for whatever reason, LG has "requested that only free TV and games be available on their devices." All bummers aside, the company has asserted that even more internet apps will be released to VUDU customers in the coming months, so make sure hold 'em to their word.

Speaking at the FPD show in Japan, Won Kim, VP of LG Display's OLED sales and marketing group laid bare its OLED plans for the future. Pretty significant as LG is one of only two players currently manufacturing production OLED TVs; though unlike Sony, LG has yet to ship anything -- that bit of consumer magic begins in November. So here's the deal: LG will release 20-inch and larger OLED panels in 2010, 30-inch and larger in 2011, and 40-inch and larger OLED panels in 2012. While 40-inch OLEDs will still be "fairly expensive" in 2012, Kim predicts that "OLED panels will cost less than LCD panels in 2016." We'd love to believe that but it sounds overly aggressive to us considering the enormous investment panel manufacturers have made in LCDs (they'll be milking profits just as long as they can) and new push towards 3D televisions. Besides, LG's been all over the map with its OLED dates so let's not go carving anything in low-temperature polycrystal silicon just yet.

[Via OLED-Display.net]

We jumped the gun a little a few weeks ago when we told you that the LG BD390 firmware update that would enable access to VUDU was live, so we wanted to let you know it was finally available -- for real this time. So next time you have a chance, turn on your player while it is connected to the internet and you should be prompted to install the update. After that is just a matter of activating it on VUDU's website, so yeah, pretty painless. If you're still unsure, you should check out our full review, but we think you'll find it as useful as we did.

If you've somehow managed to hold out from joining into the HTIB revolution, the time for caving is upon you. LG has just tapped Sir Mark Levinson to engineer the acoustics behind its latest bundle, the HB954SP. Packing a 5.1-channel sound system that includes 1,000 total watts of power, a quintet of oval drivers and a ported subwoofer, the system gets direction from a BD-Live-enabled Blu-ray player that's actually a fair bit more stylish than the tried-and-true black rectangle. You'll also find a pair of HDMI inputs, an iDock function for charging and controlling your iPod / iPhone right from the BD deck, 1080p upscaling of traditional DVDs, touch sensitive controls, a USB port for loading up external media and an optical audio input. There's nary a mention of price, but it should splash down this November for a hefty premium.

We have to admit that we've been intrigued by VUDU since its very beginning and although it is far from perfect, is the closest thing we've seen to our dream of being able to watch whatever we want, whenever we want, and at a quality level that is acceptable -- and our definition of acceptable is much, much higher than most's. So of course we were excited to learn that LG was adding VUDU to the BD390 Blu-ray player. The big news here is that this adds yet another great HD source to an already full featured Blu-ray player. Now from our geeky perspective -- it also added a perfect way for us to compare multiple HD sources; including Blu-ray, Netflix Watch Now and VUDU HDX on the same box. But of course you'll have to click through after the break to find out why these three HD sources don't really compare.

We just heard back from Vudu and there's good news. Unlike any other implementation before it, Vudu on the LG BD390 will bitstream Dolby Digital Plus via the HDMI 1.3 port to your AVR. In addition, if you prefer LPCM the BD390 can decode the Dolby Digital Plus track in the Vudu stream as well. This is much better than the LG HDTVs or even the Vudu box itself, which were only capable of re-encoding the stream down to old school Dolby Digital before delivering it to the receiver. We were also directed to this FAQ on Vudu's site which includes all the bit rates for various quality video; interestingly it looks like you need between 4.5 and 9 Mbps of throughput to enjoy moves in HDX quality.

As far as picture and audio quality, it is impossible to beat Vudu in HD streaming business. And for that reason we're happy to see some of our favorite products like the LG BD390 working with Vudu. We had a chance to catch up with Vudu at the LG's CEDIA booth and ask them a few questions. Apparently there were a few changes to the encoding techniques necessary to transition from a disk based device to all streaming, including more profiles to adapt to different broadband connections. We have ot say that our overall initial impression was that the changes went off without a hitch. One question we didn't get answered though was whether or not the Dolby Digital Plus used in downloaded stream could be bitstreamed to an AVR via HDMI -- the original Vudu hardware could only output vanilla Dolby Digital -- but we were promised an answer. In other words you'll know as soon as we do, so in the meantime click through and enjoy the short demo.

Seems like slim wireless HDTVs are the CEDIA special, and LG's joining in the fun by announcing official US availability of the wireless LH-series, first launched at CES. No surprises here apart from price, they're exactly as they were when they popped into the FCC: the high-end $4,799 55-inch 55LHX has a local-dimming LED backlight, an 80,000:1 contrast ratio with 240Hz motion ruining enhancement and is less than an inch thick, while the LH85 line offers both $2,399 47-inch and $3,199 55-inch models. Check out our demo from CES for some hands-on with the ASW1000 Media Box, which is where the wireless HD action goes down.

LG's WiFi-enabled, DivX-friendly BD390 Blu-ray player has been shipping here in the States since May, but not until now have you really had a reason to pick one up. Here at CEDIA, VUDU is taking one step further away from its standalone movie set-top-box by announcing that the aforementioned deck will become the first of its kind to tap into VUDU's growing library of on-demand film rentals. Of course, adding VUDU to this player was a natural move given the built-in Ethernet port, though users will have to wait until the end of this month to suck down the free update. In case you're wondering, the VUDU interface on LG's player will be the same as the one found on the company's own hardware (not to mention a few LG HDTVs), and the $399 price point will remain the same even after the new functionality is added.

You can't exactly accuse LG of lacking audacity -- the company that today unveiled the eccentric Color Pop displays has also updated its consumer monitor line with a gamer-centric Full HD entry that has everything but humility. The 23-inch W63 touts a new Thru Mode, which sacrifices image processing to deliver "zero-delay" visuals, a 1,000:1 (real) contrast ratio, 2ms response time, 300 nits of brightness, two HDMI inputs and picture-in-picture functionality. There's even a Tru Light equalizer-like thingy at the bottom of the screen that pulsates in time with the sound of your glorious battle triumphs and Skype message pings. Only question left is, can anyone actually tell the difference between two milliseconds of delay and none at all?

Read - LG press release
Read - W63 product page

What can we say -- it's a near final build of LG's 15-inch OLED TV that's set to go production in Korea before the baby New Year can suckle at the big one-oh. We could say it's beautiful, that even motion looked good pushing genuine blacks on this razor thin panel. But we wouldn't want to rub your noses in the fact that we're at IFA and you're not. Perhaps this will make you feel better: by the time it makes it Stateside in February or March it'll be carrying a price tag right around $2,500. Really, but it's Wireless TV-capable and that's gotta be worth something.

Oh, and LG tells us that its 32- and 42-inch OLED panels are on schedule and due to be released sometime in 2010. Yes, 2010 contradicting what we've heard earlier. No word on price but it's going to be tres, tres expensive.

You knew good and well it was coming, and come it has. Starting today, those fortunate enough to own an LG Broadband HDTV in the LH50 LCD series and PS80 plasma range can tap into VUDU's growing library of on-demand 1080p films. If you're still skeptical, we'll invite you to surf over to your set's Netcast interface; from there, you can either update your software to gain VUDU access or begin viewing right away (depending on when you purchased your tele). Oh, and if you're thinking of just lallygagging around while the rest of the world takes advantage, you should know that your first HD or HDX movie rental is gratis for a limited time, so there's some pretty obvious motivation to hop on it. Anyone given it a go? Impressed / unimpressed?

LG bared the fruits of its OLED labor last week with a new set of photos of its gorgeous 15-inch screen, and now comes word from Reuters that it's gearing up to become consumer reality. The company will be showing off the model at next week's IFA trade show, and then expects to start selling it in Korea this November, followed by overseas sometime next year. Excited? You bet. Affordable? Price unknown, with Sony's two-year old 11-inch XEL-1 still retailing for $2,500 in the US -- and worse elsewhere -- you can expect to be sacrificing a pretty penny for small-screen bliss. LG also plans to show off a 40-inch OLED in the "not too distant future," but don't expect to be seeing that hit retail shelves for a good long time to come.

[Via OLED-Info]

Whooo. (Not Wooo.) Amazing how a few well framed PR shots can reignite gadget lust, just when it seems extinguished. Sure, LG's 15-inch OLED HDTV will probably follow the path of Sony's $2,500 11-inch XEL-1 to the land of ridiculously overpriced trinkets that few can or will purchase and eventually falls by the wayside when larger, cheaper options become available. Still, checking out that ultra bright screen in these photos has us checking our bank account for an extra few grand, refreshing the feeling last experienced when we checked it out in person at CES. The appearance of these on LG's Flickr stream would appear to support the summer mass production-December launch we've been promised, who else is wishing the 30-inch version wasn't delayed until 2012?

Sure it's summertime in New York and not January in Las Vegas, but that didn't stop LG from rolling out a couple new lines of LCD HDTVs today. The new SL80 and SL90 models don't bring new high water marks on the spec sheets, but feature LG's take on the "borderless" design trend that's the rage these days, built from a single edge to edge piece of glass with a slim bezel and Invisible Speaker design. The top of the line SL90 is due later this year for an unspecified price range in 42- and 47-inch sizes with LED backlighting contributing to its 3,000,000:1 claimed contrast ratio and 1.15 inch depth, plus 120Hz TruMotion processing. The SL80 line has 240Hz processing, but older CCFL backlighting means a 300,000:1 measured contrast ratio and 1.8-inch thick design, but the 42-, 47-, and 55-inch models will be available this August for $1,599, $1,899 and $2,799, respectively. Want a closer look at LG's new global flat panel design platform? The gallery is right here.