Sony intros 70-inch LCD and Internet link, demos OLED

Sony at CES debuted a series of new TVs in its Bravia line. Topping the announcements is the company's KDL70XBR3, the company's largest ever TV at 70 inches and also promises the best image quality of any Sony TV to date, according to the company. As with the new Samsung 81 series, the new XBR3 model will feature LED backlighting and support HDMI 1.3's deep color for improved accuracy; its 10-bit LCD panel can also run at 120Hz for smoother response times in action scenes. Sony anticipates shipping its signature TV in February for $33,000.

The electronics maker also discussed ts new Bravia Internet Link technology. Starting with the upcoming S3000 series of Bravia LCDs, owners of Sony sets can buy an optional adapter that will provide access to simplified Internet content suitable for control with a TV remote: RSS news feeds, streaming video, and other content will be supplied by partners such as AOL and Yahoo. The access will be easy to manage using the Xross Media Bar (XMB) interface borrowed from the PlayStation 3 and PSP, Sony says. The Bravia Internet Link should be available by the time the S3000 line ships in sizes between 26 and 46 inches in Spring this year.

Details of the OLED prototype follow after the jump.

The Japanese firm also hinted at its future direction by unveiling a 27-inch prototype OLED TV. One of the largest examples of the organic display technology, the test system demonstrated both the extra-slim profile and massively improved image quality over existing LCD and plasma displays. The company claims a contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1 for the panel, exceeding by nearly 100 times that of LCD panels despite also supporting the full 1080p resolution of HDTV. No definite plans were cited for producing the display. While increasingly viable, the technology is still too costly to bring to market, Sony says.