HDTV: On a high this year

Here are some of the high-definition TVs to watch out for in 2008

Philips Eco TV
A green HDTV? Philips8217; 42PFL5603D makes a case with power consumption less than 100 watts8212;comparable screens use at least twice that amount8212;when the 1080p set automatically dims the backlight in darker scenes. It saves money as it enhances black level.
How much money will it save in electricity? Probably not much in a year, but Philips will also attract the green crowd by using lead-free components and little mercury. To complete the green package, Philips ships the HDTV in a box made from recycled materials.

Mitsubishi LaserTV
This could become the year8217;s biggest HDTV development if Mitsubishi finally delivers sets that use lasers to fire up the screens with twice the colour of today8217;s HDTVs. Enhanced colour, depth of field, clarity and extraordinary brightness with a high contrast ratio could produce the best picture quality ever seen on an HDTV.
Not so cool: These are clunky rear-projection sets, not sparkling, thin, flat panels.
Mitsubishi, after promising the sets would arrive late last year, now says they8217;ll reach stores sometime this year. No prices or screen sizes announced.

Sony XEL-1 OLED
A new year and new set of letters. For 2008, it8217;s OLED8212;as in Organic Light Emitting Diode or, just among friends, pronounced 8220;Oh-Led.8221; The XEL-1, with its 11-inch screen, is among the year8217;s least impressive HDTVs physically. And its cost, 2,500, guarantees this will rank among the year8217;s slowest sellers.
But its extreme design8212;the panel is 3 millimeters deep, about the thickness of three credit cards8212;and predictions of deep black levels, high contrast ratios and rapid response times could alter HDTV8217;s future.
Unlike LCD technology, an OLED8217;s chemical-compound layers between two charged electrodes do not require backlighting. By providing their own light, they produce more brightness with less power. So far, they8217;ve been showing up mostly in cell phones, MP3 players and other portable devices with tiny screens. But there8217;s no evidence that Sony can produce these screens in larger sizes and larger quantities.

JVC8217;s No-Remote Control LCD
The HDTV meets The Clapper with technology that uses snap, clap and gesture recognition instead of a remote. That8217;s right, turn the TV on and off, change volume or channel and scroll through the menu aerobically. And what happens when you cheer during the Super Bowl and suddenly you8217;re watching Giada De Laurentiis salivate over a truffle?

Panasonic Viera Plasmas
Panasonic, which annually makes the best of the more affordable plasma HDTVs, devotes almost its entire new line renamed Viera to 1080p. Only two 720p sets, in 42- and 50-inch models, remain. The 1080p series has a new screen size: 46 inches. Nothing too exciting technologically, but more people will buy these sets in 2008 than any other in this roundup.

LG Electronics LG60 LCD
It8217;s the big slim-down. This 60-inch set is about 1.75 inches thick. Hitachi countered with several smaller LCD sets, each 1.5 inches thick. Maybe that8217;s too thin8212;none can fit a digital tuner, though it won8217;t matter for households with a cable box or satellite receiver.

Vizio VP504F
Haven8217;t even seen it, but this 50-inch plasma could be the bargain of the year. Vizio, which made its reputation with great prices on HDTVs that compromised performance slightly to reach those prices, is going for the price-performance knockout by adding Silicon Optix8217;s superb HQV processing to a 50-inch, 1080p plasma that arrives in June. The HQV chip is effective at transforming low-resolution material.
-kevin hunt LAT-WP