Samsung’s stand at IFA 2006 would have brought tears to the eyes of HDTV’s early adopters. On display were the LE40M91 and LE40F7, which are the replacements for Samsung’s current crop of 40-inch LCD displays.
The LE40M91 (pictured right) is an HD Ready set with a 1,366×768-pixel panel. It uses an LED backlight for better contrast and also offers Samsung’s LCD 100 Hz video quality enhancement technology, which inserts a frame in between each pair of frames in an attempt to reduce motion blur.
The LE40F7 (pictured left) is the grown-up ‘Full HD’ product, supporting 1080p through its 1,920×1,080 panel. You won’t be able to tune into 1080p broadcasts anytime soon, but it will be an output option on next-generation disc players such as Samsung’s BD-P1000 Blue-ray disc player.
Both sets have two HDMI ports, allowing you to connect both a Sky+ box and games console or DVD player. Up close and personal, these displays look absolutely stunning — better than real life in some cases — and you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference between them
The LE40M91 is set to cost around £1,500, while the LE40F7 will set you back around £2,000. Both will go on sale later this month. We’ll post full reviews once when we get them in. -RR