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Samsung's new televisions sport LED backlights

A number of new liquid-crystal and rear-projection televisions from Samsung feature LED backlights as the technology begins to gain a foothold in high-end consumer electronics.

The Korean consumer electronics giant Samsung has unveiled some high-end televisions that feature LED-based backlights.

LED manufacturers are pinning their hopes on backlighting of large-area displays as a key future market for their devices as growth is slowing in today's biggest application area "“ illumination of cell-phone keypads and screens.

While Sony has already released some top-of-the-range televisions featuring LED backlights (see related story), Samsung says that its 82-inch LCD is the largest commercial model to feature the technology.

Using LEDs means that the colors produced by the television are more "true to life" than in conventional sets that use a fluorescent backlight, particularly with red images.

That s because the three-color LED backlights have a greater red component than the fluorescent tubes used in conventional flat-creen television designs, leading to what television makers call an "increased color gamut".

Samsung has also released a 56-inch rear-projection television that is said to be the first such screen to utilize LED backlights. The "LumiLit" backlight features red, green and blue LEDs.

The LED-lit televisions do not come cheap, however, with the 56-inch rear-projection screen set to sell for $4199 when it is released commercially in April.

LED chip manufacturers will be hoping that the new backlight technology soon filters down to regular televisions and becomes a mass-market application.

The US chip manufacturers Cree and LumiLeds have both developed backlight "engines" for large-scale LCD televisions and monitors.

And last year, their German rival Osram demonstrated an 82-inch television backlight.

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