What measures 3.9-mm thin by 40 inches? If you answered the standard Korean product waif you'd be close. This time, however, we're talking about Samsung's LED backlit LCD featuring a 120Hz refresh and 5,000:1 reported contrast. Yup, that makes it the world's thinnest -- easily besting cross-town rival LG's 5.9-mm thick LCDs -- even if you can't buy it as a complete television package... yet.

[Via Akihabara News]

OLED displays are synonymous with being impossibly thin. But Samsung's 8.9-mm thick "production-ready" 31-inch OLED TV was just trumped by this 32-inch LCD monitor from JVC measuring just 6.4-mm at its thinnest point. Oh right, thinnest point, we get it, all the processing circuity (Genessa Premium) and jacks (2x HDMI, RGB, component, composite, and more) are bundled into a brick riding the lower-half of the Full HD (1920 × 1080) monitor resulting is an unsightly pear-shaped pudge measuring a full 22.5-mm (0.89-inches) -- eww. You'll also be giving up the million-to-one contrast ratio of OLEDs for the relatively weak 4,000:1 contrast (on 400nits of brightness) found in the GD-32X1's LCD panel. No worries, with JVC dropping out of the consumer display business, these panels are targeting business-use anyway, so you can save your cash when these start shipping in August.

[Via Impress]

Samsung's new value priced Blu-ray player managed to fly under our radar at CES in favor of its better equipped brethren but that hasn't stopped Dave Zatz and others from stumbling into them at retail lately, like this one sitting on a Best Buy shelf. By making BD-Live required 1GB storage and WiFi dongle aftermarket accessories, you can grab a slim, Netflix streaming, fast Blu-ray loading box for $299. Right now we'll probably wait until the whole product line appears and prices slide down a bit more before considering picking one up, but depending on your needs this could be a good option, more pics of this bird in its unnatural habitat beyond the read link.

While we wait for the the commercialization of those crazy-flat, high-contrast OLED televisions from Sony, Sharp and now Hitachi are trying to tempt us with super-thin LCDs of their own. Either way, we're good. Hitachi's 19-mm (0.74-inch) thin 32-inch LCD television was just announced but won't be revealed until CREATEC Japan 2007 gets underway. Not bad... not a scant 3-mm OLED mind you, but not bad. CREATEC kicks off on Tuesday so be sure to check back then for pictures and specs.

Just hours after getting wind of Sony's plans to unveil a three-millimeter OLED, Luminoz is claiming that it has "developed a screen that can reduce the depth of a rear projection TV to about 12-centimeters." Apparently, the newfangled screen "eliminates the need of a large mirror that is necessary in the existing rear projection TVs," and as if the space savings weren't spectacular enough, we can also expect increased contrast ratios. Reportedly, the firm is hoping to inject its screen into 65-inch or larger rear projection televisions, and if all goes as planned, commercialization should occur sometime next year.

JVC is highlighting its LCoS-based D-ILA with a few new products due in early 2007. First up, the new DLA-HD1 projector, with its 1080p resolution and native 15,000:1 contrast ratio, is now set to hit the U.S. in February with a price of $6,300. If you prefer your projection from the rear JVC has unveiled two new slim HD-ILA sets, the 58-inch HD-58S998 and the 65-inch HD-65S998. Much like Samsung's 10-inch deep DLP from CEDIA, these are designed for shallow cabinets and stands made to fit flat panel displays or even hung on a wall. The three D-ILA devices in each HDTV are combined with a new mirror and lens that has allowed JVC to reduce the projection distance needed and slim down the sets considerably. They feature a 10,000:1 contrast ration and the same Genessa image processing found in other JVC sets, as well as two native 1080p HDMI inputs. The HD-58S998 is due in January for $3,299 followed by the HD-65S998 in March for $4,199. Continue on for a pic from the side of the 10.7-inch deep HD-58S998 and a look at the DLA-HD1.

Read - JVC Slim HD-ILA RPTVs
Read - JVC DLA-HD1 Projector

Sure we're impressed (or not-so impressed) by Samsung's LED-backlit DLP rear projection televisions, but another advance in the technology is the new Slim DLPs. The idea is to create DLP HDTVs small enough for wall mounting solutions, and Samsung's first television based on the technology is on display at CEDIA 2006. The 46-inch 720p HDTV is a mere 10.6-inches deep, and weighs only 46 pounds. They expect to bring the set to retail by the end of this year for $1,799.

Follow the link for a front shot of yet another HDTV.