Despite the weakening economy here in the US and elsewhere, people are -- as predicted -- still showing interest in HDTV. Shortly after seeing what a nice Q2 the plasma sector had, DisplaySearch has revealed that TV shipments in general were way, way up in said quarter. In fact, North America saw the biggest year-over-year increase (28%) since the outfit started tracking TV shipments in 2004; then there's the 26% quarter-over-quarter growth, which is equally impressive. LCD TV shipments rose 52% compared to last year while PDP shipments shot up 34% in the same period, and it's safe to say that Samsung has the most to gloat about. It was the leading overall brand with shipments of its sets surging to a record 19.1% of all shipments in North America during Q2. Anxious to see who took the proverbial silver / bronze? Check out all of the stats in the read link below.

Samsung treated us to a few new HDTV lineups just last week, but apparently one of the fresh families managed to slip through the cracks. The all new Series 6 -- not to be confused with the widely available 650 Series -- consists of the 40-inch LN40A630, 46-inch LN46A630, and the 52-inch LN52A630. Each set provides a 1080p panel, 120Hz technology, the outfit's Touch of Color bezel design, three HDMI 1.3 ports and a USB socket for accessing digital photos and the like. Expect the trifecta to ship sometime next month for $1,699.99, $2,099.99, and $2,699.99, respectively.

That glut of LCDs sitting on the shelves has some manufacturers at odds on how to react, with world #2 LG cutting production by 10% (with plans to raise it again in September), while the number one manufacturer Samsung is going to keep pushing them out as fast as it can, aiming for double digit sales growth this year. That doesn't mean it's not concerned about falling demand and too much supply, but it looks like all those partnerships mean its going to have someone to sell all its screens to at the end of the day. Don't expect that attitude to crash prices anytime soon however, as OEMs like AUO and CMO are following LGs lead and cutting production temporarily.

Read - Samsung Elec says has no plans to cut LCD output
Read - LG Display to cut output by 10 pct in downturn

Oh, how quickly the mighty have fallen (again). Shortly after Matsushita dropped to third in plasma shipments in Q1, the outfit has leapfrogged both LG and Samsung SDI in order to claim the gold in Q2 2008. The outfit's revenue share skyrocketed from 29.4% to 36.8%, showing a 23% year-over-year improvement. Also of note, 1080p PDPs saw remarkable growth (54% year-over-year) this quarter, which were reportedly driven by sales of 46-inch models. Looking at Matsushita in particular, over 43% of its plasma shipments in Q2 were 1080p, and overall it "accounted for over 70% of all 1080p PDP shipments." Anyone taking bets on who comes out on top in Q3?

Samsung SDI has definitely been on the offensive of late, producing the world's first WVGA OLED panels for handhelds, a 3D AMOLED display and plans to crank out medium to large OLED TVs in just a year or so. Its efforts are paying off, as the firm is expected to post its first profit since dipping into (and remaining in) the red back in Q1 2005. According to Kim Dong-won, an analyst at Hyundai Securities, the outfit is forecasting a ₩3.1 billion ($3.05 million) profit for Q2 2008 -- quite a bit better than the ₩31 billion ($30.5 million) in losses analysts were expecting. Here's a hint for staying in the black: get a few big screen OLED HDTVs out before everyone else. Simple, right?

We had a chance to see Samsung's not-exactly-diminutive SP-P400 projector at CES this year, but it seems the time has finally come for Sammy to release it into the wild. Reportedly, this portable beamer is now available in South Korea (alongside the SP-D300 business projector) for around $800, which it would totally be worth if it fit easily within the confines of a front pocket. At 145- x 145- x 64-millimeters, we'd have to think about it. Heavily.

[Via AboutProjectors]

If you're finished digesting all that information spewed by Samsung this morning, why not head on over to Engadget Classic and have a look at everything in the flesh? We were able to point the camera at a few of Sammy's latest wares this afternoon, and as always, we hosted up a gallery for you to gaze at. Go on, get!

Even if you're not exactly in the market for a new flat-panel, Samsung's still hoping to snag a bit (or all) or your latest paycheck with its Touch of Color LCD monitors. Hinted at during CES and officially unveiled back in April, these displays boast a 5-millisecond response time, transparent plastic bezel, 10,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, twin 3-watt speakers, a built-in ATSC / ClearQAM TV tuner (!) and an optical digital audio port for channeling 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound. As for resolutions, the 24-inch T240HD and 26-inch T260HD both offer full 1080p, while the 22-inch T220HD gets a 1,680 x 1,050 panel . Snag whichever one suits your fancy right now for $429, $549 or $599 from smallest to largest.

Ever since we got our hands on Samsung's Media Center Extender at CES last year, we've wondered how the CE giant's rendition would stack up against the rest. Rather than build the Media Center Extender functionality into a TV the way HP has, or make a completely separate set-top-box like Linksys or D-Link, the $200 MediaLive Media Center Extender is designed to be a companion product for Samsung HDTVs. It can be mounted to the back of certain Samsung sets, and with the help of HDMI-CEC, the TV's remote will control the box even while it's out of sight -- of course, this begs the question of whether or not it will work with other TVs, but we'll just have to wait and try it ourselves when it launches next month. Oh, and in case you don't know already, Media Center Extenders are not just another media streamer, because it will allow you to have the full (almost) Vista Media Center experience -- including the ability to watch live HD from CableCARD tuner -- on any TV (connected wired or wirelessly) in your house.

Might want to slow down there, Samsung -- don't want to pull anything by cranking out too many new HDTVs at a time. Yep, Sammy's letting loose a few more sets today alongside the Series 7 plasmas and Series 9 LCDs: the September-bound Series 8 LCD HDTV line. The Series 8 850 (rose accents) and Series 8 860 (deep blue accents) only differ in color, while they both pack a 1080p Ultra Clear panel, Auto Motion Plus 120Hz technology, a 50,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, InfoLink RSS reader, DLNA certification, 4-millisecond response time and twin down-firing speakers with an integrated subwoofer. You'll also find a built-in NTSC / ATSC / ClearQAM TV tuner, a DNIe Pro video processor, swivel stand and four HDMI-CEC ports (among others). The pain? $2,699.99 for the LN46A850, $3,399.99 for the LN52A850, $2,799.99 for the LN46A860 and $3,499.99 for the LN52A860. Got all that?

Not a huge fan of the LCD HDTV? Is plasma more your style? Fantastic, because Samsung just took the (official) lid off of the already spotted 7 Series plasma lineup. Featuring the outfit's Touch of Color design, a 1,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, daytime / nighttime calibration options and a DNIe Pro video processor, this trio makes no bones about which rival it's gunning for. The entire crew also features InfoLink RSS access, a USB 2.0 port (WiseLink Pro), DLNA compatibility, four HDMI-CEC jacks and 1080p panels. Read up on the full rundown of specs in the read link, and prepare to hand over $2,799.99 for the 50-inch PN50A760, $4,499.99 for the 58-inch PN58A760 or $5,499.99 for the 63-inch PN63A760 sometime next month.

Can't say we're surprised to see 'em, but Sammy has done its due diligence by pumping out the official verbiage for the 9 Series LCD HDTVs that were leaked late last week. These second-generation LED-backlit sets feature 1080p Ultra Clear panels, Auto Motion Plus 120Hz technology, 1,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratios, the familiar Touch of Color design and a smattering of networking technologies like InfoLink (RSS access) and WiseLink Pro. Additionally, both the 46-inch LN46A950 (pictured) and 55-inch LN55A950 feature 4-millisecond response times, down-firing speakers with a built-in subbie, an integrated NTSC / ATSC / ClearQAM tuner, four HDMI-CEC ports, a PC input, Ethernet socket and a pair of component jacks. Look for each to land next month for $3,199.99 and $4,199.99, respectively.

Be still, our hearts! After watching the wireless HD / HDMI sector fumble along for years on end, a team of mega-corps have finally agreed to push their self-interests aside and collaborate on a standard. WHDI creator AMIMON has joined forces with Motorola, Samsung, Sony and Sharp in order to form "a special interest group to develop a comprehensive new industry standard for multi-room audio, video and control connectivity" utilizing the aforementioned Wireless Home Digital Interface technology. Reportedly, the group will have a standard completed before 2009 dawns, but we all know how easily these things can get pushed under the rug. Nevertheless, the overriding goal here is to "enhance the current WHDI technology to enable wireless streaming of uncompressed HD video and audio between CE devices such as LCD and plasma HDTVs, multimedia projectors, AV receivers, DVD and BD players, set-top-boxes, game consoles and PCs." A tall order, sure, but one we're elated to see taken on. Full release (and promo spot) after the break.

You're probably dusting the dirt from your spectacles as we speak, but yes, the set you see above is an RPTV. You know, those not exactly wafer-thin rear-projection TVs that used to be all the rage? This 61-inch set provides an awful lot of screen space for not a lot of dough (comparatively speaking), and as with most sets with a little junk in the trunk, picture quality was seen as "excellent" in a recent CNET review. On the downside, off-angle performance was expectedly poor and there was no 2:3 pulldown for SD sources, but the positives here far outweighed the negatives. For under $1,800 (way under in some places), you can get 61-inches of LED-backlit goodness in your den -- just have to make room for it, is all.

[Thanks, Matthew]

Mmm, IFA. The Berlin-based trade show is drawing near, and Samsung isn't waiting around to tease us with what will be unveiled there. The company is already showcasing a number of swank flat-panels including the 7 Series (46-inch LE-46A780 and 40-inch LE-40A780), 9 Series (46-inch LE-46A950) and 7 Series plasma (50-inch PS-50A750). We're also noticing a number of HTIB systems along with a few other components we're sure to take interest in, but the whole German language thing is a bit of a barrier right now. Nevertheless, tap the (roughly) translated links below for specifications on the aforesaid HDTVs, and look for more details (read: information in English) to emerge as the expo approaches.

Read - Samsung's IFA information
Read - 7 Series LCD HDTVs
Read - 9 Series LCD HDTVs
Read - 7 Series Plasma