The phrase” you can never be too rich or too thin” also can be applied to super-thin HD panels. Really slim panels, especially for wall-hung scenarios, always seemed to be welcomed. And being rich doesn’t hurt, either, when you consider the ultra-thin screens are far pricier than their deeper (but still slim) competition.
There is thin (as are most HD panels these days, at a wispy 3-4 inches deep for many models) and then there’s super-thin—barely more than an inch deep for large-screen panels such as some of Samsung’s recent offerings. And those who can afford it are willing to pay extra for added thinness, especially those who have an interior decorator pushing the very-thin-is-good mantra, according to the Associated Press.
While HD sets will continue to improve technologically for years to come, such factors as contrast ratios, plasma, LCD, HDMI connections and the color gamut are lost on many consumers. But thinness is never misunderstood—especially by the female half of society which often has the final say before any large HD television screen enters a living room. Thinness, therefore, is an easy thing to market.
Samsung’s newer ultra-thin sets are only about 1.2 inches thick for screens as large as 55 inches—albeit they come for at least twice the price points of their “bulkier” 3-4 inch counterparts. The enhanced thinness is made possible because the screens are backlit by energy-efficient LEDs (light-emitting diodes).
Yet some makers such as Toshiba appear to be foregoing producing ultra-thin panels (at least for now) and will stick with 4-inch deep models. Toshiba told the AP that continuing to make a slim (yet somewhat less than super-thin) panel allows it to better control backlighting without the more expensive LED technology, which is important because proper backlighting can produce deeper blacks and better contrast ratios for darker scenes.
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