CEATEC 08: Hitachi joins the super-upscaling club, shows most outrageous LCD TVs ever

Hitachi used CEATEC to stress its  TV technology credentials...and  taste in design.

Amongst the many innovations was a new intelligent picture upscaler and a range of bezels that were easily the most outrageous at the show.

Other niceties include a new fan-less, vent-free approach to LCD display construction, which cleverly uses the TV's frame itself as a heat dissipation device.

Hitachi also demonstrated a wireless HDMI system for its super-slim UT TV range, with a transmitter in a separate TV tuner box and a receiver in the set's stand. The no-wires wizardry is based on the UWB (ultra wideband) standard which operates in the 4.2-4.8GHz range. The idea is that it allows owners of the brand's Ultra Thin LCD TV to free their sets from the shackles of a wall-mounted aerial terminal.

This may (or may not) come with as part of a package with a prototype screen, just 15mm thin and using RGB LED back-lighting technology similar to that championed by Sharp. The set is expected to go into production during 2009

The company, which is outsourcing all its plasma panel requirements to Panasonic from 2010, also had a new generation of TVs with built-in hard drives on show.

The latest UT42-XV700 and DV-BH250 screens claim to be at least 12 per cent more energy efficient than previous TV/HDD models. if Hitachi's eco-vision doesn't push your button, then it's new Super Resolution upscaler for its TV might do the trick.

Not to be confused with Toshiba's Super Resolution upscaler, it aims to stabilise the differences between watching a mixture of standard definition and hi-def material.

In side by side A/B demonstrations, it looked remarkably effective. Using intelligent picture processing, the upscaler selectively chooses which are of a screen to upscale. In sharp objects are given extra detail, while backgrounds remain softer to reinforce depth-of-field effects. It's expected to debut on Hitachi TVs from 2010.

Ultimately though, it was a range of concept paint jobs for its UT range that attracted the most attention.

Easily winning the award for most audacious screens at the show, Hitachi demonstrated everything from a gold-leaf traditional Japanese approach to gangsta-bling. No news on when (or even if) these bezels will come to market though.