Hitachi Bringing 1.5 LCD TV Line to U.S.

Hitachi is showing off its ultra-thin 1.5 line of LCD televisions - named because they're just 1.5 inches thick - as they finally bring them to the U.S. market.

Electronics giant Hitachi believes thin is in, so the company is showing off its sleek 1.5 line of LCD televisions, named because the entire set is just 1.5 inches thick. Hitachi announced the series back in October 2007 and showed them at January’s CES show in Las Vegas, but the UltraThin LCD panels are only now reaching consumers, starting with 32-inch and 37-inch sets, but leading up to 42- and 47-inch sets by September. the 1.5 line is designed to be stylish, lightweight, and flexible, so users can easily install them in any room in the home, without sacrificing quality or features.

Hitachi has been rather close-mouthed about the specs for the 1.5 line, offering mainly that the sets combine a number of “engineering breakthroughs.” The sets do offer a wide 178° viewing angle, 120 Hz Hitachi proprietary “anti-judder” technology on the 37-inch and larger models, 3D color management, a dynamics enhancer that reduces graininess without losing resolution, a 6 Watt digital amplifier and new box-type speakers that sit within the 1.5-inch frame, and power-saving features that can turn off the TV automatically, and disable power to the screen if there’s no video signal.

All told, Hitachi plans to offer ten units in the UltraThin 1.5 line, split evenly between Directors’ Series models and UltraVision-V Series Models. A 32-inch and 37-inch unit in the Directors’ Series are available now; the 32-inch starts at $1,999 and offers a 60 Hz refresh rate and 1,366 by 768 pixel resolution; a 120 Hz version is due in August for $2,299. The 37, 42, and 47-inch models in the Directors Series all sport 1080p resolution and should be available in April, May, and September for $2,999, $3,699, and $4,699, respectively. All Directors’ Series units will come with a two-year warranty.

The 32-inch unit in the UltraVision-V series also features a 60 Hz and 120 MHz models with 1,366 by 768-pixel resolution (due in August for $1,799 and $2,099 respectively). The 37, 42, and 47-inch models tout 1080p resolution and 120 Hz refresh rates; they should be available in July (37 and 42-inch models) and September (47-inch model) for $2,799, $3,499, and $4,499 respectively, with a one-year warranty.