Sony showcases HD 1080 LCD TVs

Sony has showcased its latest high-definition products, including LCD TVs, projectors, camcorders and a Blu-ray-enabled Vaio laptop.

It expects to see a five per cent rise in UK TV sales next year, with LCD sales leaping by 85 per cent. In 2008, sales are expected to grow nine per cent.

Darren Ambridge, group product manager for TV/Home Video at Sony, commented: “You can say the HD world is here now. You can expect the [TV] market to continue growing, boosted by HD and the digital switchover, as well as flat-screen TVs.”

All its Bravia TVs will now be HD, partly in recognition of the upcoming switchover to digital broadcasts, and its latest are 1080p HD (badged as HD 1080 on the units themselves).

Prices are falling fast, although its 1080p products are aimed more at the home cinema enthusiasts. Its entry-level 1080p W series LCD TVs start at £2,000 for a 40in screen, rising to £4,500 for the 52in X series KDL53X2000U set.

The more expensive X series uses the EX processing engine, giving the TVs better colour and contrast than the W range.

The real benefit of owning a 1080p TV will be once owners you have an HD-DVD or Blu-ray player, but Sony admitted that like its Playstation 3, its Blu-ray DVD players will not be available in the UK until next spring. Rivals, though, are releasing both HD-DVD and Blu-ray players. Ambridge said the PS3 delay was “regrettable”.

Blu-ray Sony Vaio laptops are available in the UK, though, with the latest being the Intel Core 2 Duo based AR21S. At £2,000, it’s expensive but comes with a 17in display with a resolution of 1,920x1,200, 2GB of memory, Nvidia Geforce Go 7600 GT graphics and a Blu-ray disc drive.

Blu-ray movies can also now be bought. Titles are limited and include films such as Hitch, Swordfish and Into the Blue.