at w w
at w w w.ifa-international.org PRODUCT TRENDS NEW “BRILLIANT PEARL” COLOUR DESIGN FOR AUREA TVS SECOND-GENERATION AUREA LCD RANGE LAUNCHED BY PHILIPS AT IFA 2008 Aesthetic and technical improvements are at the heart of the latest generation of Aurea TV, launched for the media at IFA Preview events in Munich and Hamburg. The new Aurea range consists of two screen sizes – 37” and 42” and featuring the latest version of Philips’ Active Frame technology – the outer frame surrounding the TV screen, which perfectly emulates the colours on the TV screen with an everchanging glow of light and soft halo of colour. The improved 2008 Active Frame features a new “brilliant pearl” colour, made from high quality glass with anti-reflective coatings creating what the company terms “an even more vibrant and immersive halo effect.” “Philips has implemented various improvements based on extensive consumer feedback and recommendations received since launching the first Aurea LCD TV in 2007. The new Aurea range has unrivalled levels of functionality, a stunning design with a full-glass front, and offers consumers a unique entertainment THINNER… AND MORE ANGULAR experience in their living room,” said Robert Smits, Executive Vice President Television, Philips Consumer Lifestyle. Other key product improvements within the 2008 Aurea LCD TV range include: • The latest version of the Philips Perfect Pixel HD Engine • 100Hz Clear LCD with 2ms performance (previously 3ms refresh rate) • 2,250 trillion colours processing 17bit RGB (previously 4 trillion colours) • Contrast ratio 30000:1 (upgraded from 8000:1) • Perfect Natural Motion (replacing HD Natural motion) Download Podcast at w w w.ifa-international.org • Ambilight Spectra technology has been improved for a smoother surrounding light • Integrated digital TV tuner (DVB-T/C MPEG-4) • DLNA PC network link allows browsing of content from a PC or a home network • 4HDMI inputs (replacing 3 HDMI inputs) • Reduction in standby power consumption from 0.8W to 0.15W • The 42” Aurea can now be paired with the new, white Ambisound Soundbar. The single unit home theater system produces a powerfully, immersive 5.1 sound performance. Hall 22 / Stand 101 TOSHIBA’S NEW TV RANGE GOES ONE STEP FURTHER ON PREVIOUS TREND SASCHA LANGE – HEAD OF MARKETING FOR CONSUMER VISUAL PRODUCTS – TOSHIBA Download Podcast shop. Toshiba’s head of marketing for Consumer Visual Products, Sascha Lange, has told IFA International that in addition to running at 100 Hz in Full HD, the TVs have a new feature that gets around the problem of Standard Definition programmes on an HD set… “We developed a new picture service called Resolution Plus, which uses a very complicated algorithm to reproduce a near HD picture out of the SD picture.” hopefully they are right. It’s not only in CE products, but also the automobile industry is doing the same thing.” Hall 21 / Stand 101 The Regza ZF series with the Picture Frame 2 design was introduced last year, highlighting a very thin bezel meaning more screen for the same space. This year the company has also reduced the depth of the TV, meaning it requires even less space. Towards HD from SD It’s a fact that at time of writing there are still very few HD channels on air in Europe, meaning people that buy HD TV’s often feel deceived about the image quality, having seen something different in the Styling – Following the Angular Trend While the bezel of the TV is very thin, the design is also very angular. According to Mr Lange, “This is something that our designers considered a global trend. So 26 www.ifa-international.org IFA International • Monday, 25 th August 2008
PRODUCT TRENDS MAKING YOUR LIFESTYLE DESIGN BECOME A REALITY MORE THAN JUST THE TV… THINK ABOUT WALL MOUNTING OR SPECIALIST A/V FURNITURE Until recently it was hard to choose a wall mount or the right kind of furniture for LCD or Plasma TV. With European HQ in the Netherlands, worldwide giant Sanus Systems have brought their expertise to the fore when it comes to choosing the right solution for your new TV. Thanks to highly explicative in-store displays and intensive reseller education provided by Sanus, not to mention the online “MountFinder”, buyers feel much more comfortable in their choice. This is important, as Sanus are constantly innovating and have a very wide product range. New at IFA ! Sanus is introducing many exciting new products at IFA, underlining why they are the world’s leading AV mount manufacturer… such as vertical foundations and clever new mounting technologies. But perhaps the most exciting thing is the addition of motorised products. I’ve Got the Power! You can now “power up” your TV mount, thanks to 2 fabulous new motorised products being launched onto the European market by Sanus: the LMT15 and the MMS18. This new units, part of the “Vision Mount” series, mean you can lay-out your living room in all kinds of new ways, re-orienting the TV at the touch of a button. When the TV is switched off, it automatically retracts against the wall. When switched back on, the mount automatically takes it back to its last memorised position! Imagine the decoration possibilities! LMT15: This motorised mount is able to support flat screens from 37 to 60 This year it’s all about EMO for us. EMO are electronics products, such as electric wall mounts, electrical swivels and that will be the main focus this year. Of course, they will be next to other products which we will show in our programme. As you can imagine, in 35 years we have a lot of heritage so we will focus on that as well during IFA. What trends are you seeing? Are you seeing more people now wanting to mount their TVs on the walls? Yes more people are mounting their TVs, in fact the flat screen itself is used in more locations in people’s houses and of course business applications. They are now mounted in more different inches. It inclines up and down and sends TV flush to wall when off. It comes in an elegant black design. MMS18: The MMS18 goes one step further, not only inclining TV up and down but also in any angle from side to side, thanks to “Virtual Axis” technology. Suitable for TVs or monitors from 26 to 46 inches. Hall 25 / Stand 14 TRENDS IN MOUNTING SOLUTIONS VOGEL’S CELEBRATES 35 YEARS IN BUSINESS WITH LAUNCH OF NEW MOTORISED PRODUCTS AT IFA 2008 A veritable family garage start-up in the early 70’s, Vogel’s began as a manufacturer of speaker brackets… the first in the world. They then came up with the idea of hanging TV’s on the wall (yes back in the ‘70’s), which at the time was revolutionary. Since LCD and Plasma have become commonplace, business has of course boomed, but what are the trends today? We asked Gerdi Vogels, currently at the helm, to give us the “heads up” for IFA 2008. areas, where mounting on a ceiling or wall is sometimes a more logical solution. If it is not placed in the living room where is it placed in the cabinet or on the table where the traditional CRT was placed. Now the LCD is going into the kitchen, the bedroom, the study, or other places where often it is more convenient to hang it. What should people keep in mind concerning mounting solutions? You need to take into consideration the sitting area, whether it is in a U shape or a L shape, etc., as it may be much easier to watch the flat screen in front of you in a straight line rather than a strange angle. If you have a U- shaped or L-shaped sitting area, a flexible wall mount is the best option. If you want a luxury solution, you should choose an electrical mount. What about safety? People are very concerned about just how safe a mounting bracket is… they certainly don’t want it to break or fall down. Safety is a very important topic, and hanging and trusting your flat screen is important. You have to trust the mount itself. Of course, flat screens are a high value item and you don’t want to see them drop on the floor. We have high standards of internal testing here and also the mounts are TUV approved, a German safety testing association. We are also in contact with TUV to keep the standard high. We check them ourselves. So we have a laboratory where we test the products with different uses and maximum load capacity, so customers can be totally assured about the safety aspect. Hall 25 / Stand 118 IFA International • Monday, 25 th August 2008 www.ifa-international.org 27
