CES 2009

The crowds were overflowing at the Samsung press event. We couldn't even get in. But according to Samsung's press kit the company will be releasing a new dedicated Blu-ray player, the BDP-1500, in June. Reportedly, it can output both Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio in bitstream form. (Ditto for DTS-HD High Resolution as well—though we are unaware of any Blu-ray discs that use this audio format.)

There are no apparent changes for the time being to Samsung's current flagship series 8 LCD flat panels, with their local dimming and other exclusive features. But there will be new Samsung 6 and 7 series designs in April and June. These will not have local dimming.

Samsung also continues to support RPTVs, with new 6 and 7 series designs from 50-inches to 72-inches. The 7 series features LED backlighting.