Following our previous post where we guided first time HDTV buyers towards making the right purchase, we are proud to announce our top 5 recommended HDTVs best buys for this Christmas.

LG 19LH20

The LG 19LH20 is a 19 inch HD Ready LCD TV with built in digital Freeview powered by LG’s Twin XD engine, invisible speakers and a resolution of 720p, Ideal for smaller rooms and bedrooms.

LG 22LH2000

The LG 22HL200 is a 22 inch HD Ready LCD TV with a 720p resolution, built in Digital Freeview and 1 HDMI socket. Same as the 19LH20 this LG LCD TV is ideal for smaller rooms and bedrooms because of its reduced size.

Samsung UE40B6000 LED TV

The Samsung UE40B6000 40″ FULL HD 1080P LED TV innovates in both style and technology, this new series from Samsung is a clear winner that’s guaranteed to please its viewers.

The new LED design is cleaner and greener using 40% less energy than most LCD TV’s giving you potential savings on your energy bills. This TV is made with no mercury or lead and the ultra slim design means the UE40B6000 requires little packaging.

Sony KDL40Z4500

The Sony KDL40Z4500 40 inch Full HD LCD TV has the smoothest and most detailed fast-moving images thanks to its world-first Motionflow 200Hz technology with image blur reduction.

Powered by Sony’s BRAVIA ENGINE 2 you will experience incredibly clear and define pictures as well as watch TV movies and games in high definition – ideal for hardcore gamers that are looking for a top notch screen resolution.

Samsung UE55B7020

With unmatched picture quality, incredible slimness and minimal environmental impact, the Samsung UE55B7020 LED TV is a whole new species of television. Discover a whole new era of television.

Predictions for the LCD TV industry couldn’t be better and everything indicates that the industry is in full recovery. According to DisplaySearch, global LCD TV shipments are expected to grow 21% this year with 127 million units shipped worldwide, while for 2010 shipments are expected grow another 16.5% with a total of 148 million units shipped worldwide.

“LCD TV shipments from the world’s top-10 brand vendors are likely to expand 35% to 141.5 million units in 2010, accounting for 96% of the total global shipments, according to the paper. In 2009, the top-10 vendors are expected to see their LCD TV shipments increase 25% to 104.8 million units and account for 83% of worldwide shipments, it noted.” DisplaySearch

Leading the pack in annual shipments is Samsung Electronics, Samsung LCD TV shipments are expected to climb to 25 million units this year and grow another 28% in 2010 with 32 million units shipped.

Another sign of recovery is the new highest monthly record for large-size panel shipments, according to DisplaySearch global large-size TFT-LCD panel shipments reached 46.7 million units in June 2009, up 8% sequentially and 24% on year.

Some pundits thought that with the credit crunch people where going to stay in more and watch films on their home cinema equipment. Ordering in takeaway pizzas rather than going out to restaurants and cinemas. The positive figures for shipment of LCD TV’s seem to bear this out.

What about you are you upgrading your TV and staying in more?

According to the latest figures from Ofcom, over 18 million British homes now have at least one television connected to a digital receiver.

Personal video recorders, which combine a Freeview digital tuner with the ability to pause, rewind and record live television, are especially popular, with one million devices being sold from January to march 2009 alone.

The Telegraph report that there are now almost nine million PVRs in UK homes, five million of which are Sky+ boxes, 2.6 million are Freeview recorders, and the rest are comprised of BT Vision, Virgin Media V+ and Top Up TV set-top boxes.

It means that most homes in the UK are ready for the digital switch over in 2012 and several areas of the country have already had their analogue service disconnected and are now digital-only.

Are you part of the 90% who have already made the switch over or are you still holding on to the traditional analogue??

If you are up-to-date then the new digital TV channels can look pretty impressive on an LCD or Plasma Television, particularly if its in HD.

AJ Electronics retail a full range of Plasma and LCD Televisions, for the full range please click here.

The US International Trade Commission has ruled that some Sharp LCD displays violate a patent owned by Samsung and should be banned from being imported into the US.

Samsung and Sharp, have been fighting in the U.S. and Japan over patented technology for LCD displays for a while now. Earlier this month, a trade judge said Samsung TVs, monitors and professional displays infringe four Sharp patents and recommended Samsung TVs also be banned from the U.S.

On the 24th Of June the U.S. International Trade Commission said the ITC said unlicensed Sharp LCD devices, including display panels and modules, and LCD televisions made overseas that use Samsung’s patented invention should be banned from the U.S.

Of course in the UK at AJ electronics we have a wide range of Samsung LCD TV’s with huge savings £360 off! this 40 inch Samsung LCD 1080p TV is just one example.

The next step in LCD TV revolution is picking up speed and LG are ensuring they among the forerunners by launching their first Freesat LCD TV.

The LG 37” LCD TV has a sleek, stylish and streamlined design which is very typical of LG, with some nice eco-friendly features too including LGs Intelligent Sensor II technology which will adjust the picture depending on the light levels in a room.

There isn’t a confusing or complicated set up menu, just a nice and simple interface using bold and clear graphics coupled with the remote control with its own selection of shortcuts which is always a bonus.

The picture is sharp, the detail and black levels are excellent and the TV speakers deliver smooth, rich sounds.

If you are looking to purchase a LCD HD TV with Freesat installed, the LG 37LF7700 37” LCD TV makes an appealing choice and will soon be available from AJ Electronics at the great price of £763.99!

Interesting one this. A new joint venture company has been formed by LCD TV rivals Sony and Sharp. The new company called Sharp Display Products Corporation will be open for business from April 1st 2009 with the intention on focusing on large LCD TV panels.

Sharp will have 66% of the company and Sony will have 34%. The venture is aimed to help both companies; to give Sony ready access and control over large LCD panel and to relieve the site development off Sharp. The first screens from Sharp Display Products are expected to be launched in just under two years from now.

The second joint venture could possibly be by Toshiba who are currently in negotiations to buy out Panasonics stake of a joint LCD venture.

Presently, Panasonic controls 40% of Toshiba Matsushita Display Technology which produce small LCDs used in mobile phones and the deal, said to be initiated by Panasonic, should be worth several million yen when completed. Panasonic have refused to comment on the buyout but has admitted that its current strategy is to focus on larger LCD TV panels (sound familiar?) and larger Plasma TV panels.

The Korean electronics giant LG has announced that it will be producing a range of LCD TV’s and possibly other devices with built in Freesat functionality.

Until now, Panasonic were the only other LCD TV manufacturer in the UK to offer integrated Freesat tuners.

Interestingly Freesats sales doubled in the last quarter of 2008, possibly due to the introduction of the Freesat+ boxes with a 320gb hard drive capacity, allowing 80 hours of high definition and 200 hours of standard definition content to be recorded.

A spokesperson for Freesat stated that it was "extremely pleased to have LG on board".

Today is the opening day of the world’s largest consumer electronics show, the 2009 International CES in Las Vegas. The show will bring together the whole electronics industry, with top end and emerging brands showcasing their latest technological advances.

CES 2009 will also bring together celebrities, sports icons and legendary musicians to experience and promote the latest products and technologies in the consumer electronics industry.

Here at Aj’s Electronics we pride ourselves in being top for high definition TVs, so lets have a look what LCD’s the top brands will have on display.

SHARP the official HDTV of the MLB (or rounder’s as we call it in the UK) will have a constellation of Major League Stars in their booth. SHARP will be displaying HDTVs with screen sizes from 19″ to 108″, home theatre front projectors, home theatre and conventional audio systems, Blu-ray players and cell phones.

Sony will be showcasing new series of high definition TVs with built in, interactive entertainment with the announcement of the first new BRAVIA LCD HDTV models with Internet applications called widgets that deliver real time information, as well as streaming video capability via integrated BRAVIA Internet Video Link.

Sony’s new XBR9 and Z-series models feature an Ethernet connection, allowing the sets to directly access Sony BRAVIA Internet Video content using an existing broadband connection.

Samsung is bringing the internet to the living room with the launch of a new service that enables viewers to access the web on their TVs. On display there will be a few new series 3, 4, 5 and 6 panels with the main focus being on their LED-backlit-ness with sizes ranging from 40-inches and up.

Panasonic is betting on high definition 3D TV technology and is planning in proposing a standard for Japan in the coming months. On their booth visitor will find top end HDTV like 0.33-inch thick Neo PDP Eco plasma TV and the 1-inch thick TC-P54Z1 VIERA plasma TV.

This is year at CES LG will be focusing on HDTV and mobile gear, with multidisplay laptop and HDTVs wired for broadband to Blu-ray players that can deliver Web content.

LG has two new high end LCD TVs at the CES Show designed for the UK market - the LG LF7700 LCD with integrated FreeSat support is LG’s response to the Panasonic’s TX-37LZD81.  A Plasma version is rumoured for release later in 2009.

To match Sony’s 200hz LCD TV Sets, LG also have a 200Hz LCD TV offering the LH5000. Using LG’s TruMotion 200HZ technology, its going head to head with Sony’s Motionflow for the crown for top HD TV.

AJ Electronics have both the Panasonic TX-37LZD81 and the Sony KDL40Z4500 in stock.

Note that CES opens on Thursday the 8th of January check back regularly for more CES news and commentary.