AU: Obviously this won’t happen for Australian customers, but reading about it is like gazing into a crystal ball and seeing what the future holds. Although knowing our luck, it’s probably decades into the future…

So what gets this? It’s a decent spread of 42-inch-and-up plasma and LCD TVs, including the 47-inch LCD 47LH50 and 50-inch plasma 50PS80, available now for $US1,699 and $US1,799, respectively, and the forthcoming 42-inch LCD 42LH50, and the 60-inch plasma 60PS80, which should land outside the price spread of the current sets on both ends.

Vudu has promised a smattering of improvements on their side of things, from video quality tweaks to a snappier user interface—mostly due to these HDTVs’ more substantial hardware, I’d assume. But the most important part of this announcement isn’t even about Vudu:

With LG’s NetCast Entertainment Access, consumers have instant access to millions of streaming movies, TV shows and web videos through an Ethernet connection. These models, ranging in screen size from 42- to 60-inch class sizes*, also include access to content from Netflix, Yahoo! Widgets, YouTube and more

This “choose your widget” scenario is an increasingly common scenario for new HDTVs right now, which is fantastic news for customers, and not so fantastic news for whatever poor companies got roped into manufacturing the various standalone streaming set-top boxes we’d just started to get used to. (Sorry, Roku!) Without the hardware entry cost, these video services can fight it out with the features that really matter: Netflix’s monthly subscription vs. Roku’s per-movie rentals and purchases; Vudu’s 1080p HDX streaming vs. Netflix’s 720p VC1AP video; etc. Open platform TVs and Blu-ray players are the new battlefield, and they won’t be a forgiving one. [LG, Vudu]

LG ELECTRONICS FIRST TO BRING VUDU HD MOVIE SERVICE
TO BROADBAND HDTVs

VUDU’s Unique Streaming Movie Service, Largest Library of HD Movies,
enhance LG ‘NetCast Entertainment Access’ LCD and Plasma HDTVs

NEW YORK, July 29, 2009 — LG Electronics will be the first to introduce broadband HDTVs with the instant-access high-definition (HD) movie service from VUDU Inc., a leading provider of digital on-demand entertainment services, the companies announced today. VUDU on-demand movies will be available on LG’s LH50 1080p LCD series and PS80 Plasma 1080p series with “NetCast Entertainment Access,” beginning next month.

“Our alliance with VUDU further demonstrates LG’s commitment to delivering the ultimate HD viewing experience, by providing instant access to more 1080p movie content than ever before” said Peter Reiner, senior vice president, marketing and strategy, LG Electronics USA. “VUDU highlights the superb video quality of our ‘Full HD’ sets with NetCast Entertainment Access, while providing consumers with access to thousands of HD movies with the touch of a button.”

The VUDU service allows consumers to instantly buy or rent from an extensive library of movies and TV titles, including an industry-leading catalog of more than 2,000 high-definition movies – with no monthly fees and without having to buy, install, or connect any additional hardware. Consumers will enjoy movies in VUDU’s unique HDX format, with Full HD 1080p resolution, plus Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 surround sound.

VUDU’s streaming movie service delivers a near-instant viewing experience – movies start immediately, including high definition HDX movies, and viewers can fast forward, rewind and browse chapters without the delays or the frustration associated with slow buffering. The VUDU catalog is updated weekly, and newly released movies from major studios are typically available months before they are available on subscription-based services.

“Together, LG’s Broadband HDTVs and the VUDU service set the industry standard for easy access to on-demand HD movies,” said Alain Rossmann, CEO of VUDU. “VUDU is blazingly fast on LG’s Broadband HDTVs and makes discovering and watching new HD movies a truly exciting and fun user experience. With this partnership, VUDU is raising the bar on delivering Hollywood movies to this new class of Smart TVs.”

With LG’s NetCast Entertainment Access, consumers have instant access to millions of streaming movies, TV shows and web videos through an Ethernet connection. These models, ranging in screen size from 42- to 60-inch class sizes*, also include access to content from Netflix, Yahoo! Widgets, YouTube and more. With this enhanced connectivity, LG’s Broadband HDTVs transform and personalise the home theatre experience by offering a virtually endless array of entertainment options.
LG’s 47-inch class* LCD HDTV (model 47LH50) and 50-inch class* plasma HDTV (model 50PS80) with NetCast Entertainment Access are available now at national retailers with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $US1,699 and $US1,799. LG’s 42-inch class* LCD (model 42LH50) and 60-inch class* plasma (model 60PS80) will be available and existing LG Broadband TV owners will be able to add the VUDU service next month.

These numbers, however, rely on some pretty shaky sources — Vudu’s PR people and the clumsily organised online directory of BD titles — so don’t be surprised if the Blu-ray Disc Association shoots back a hasty “yeah, no” in the next few days. No matter what, the encoding-happy company is bound to end up with a massive library, as Vudu encoding HD movie at a rate of about 150 a week. [Vudu via Crave]

HD releases:

All the President’s Men [HD]

An American Haunting [HD]

Be Kind Rewind [HD]

Belly 2: Millionaire Boyz Club [HD]

Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 [HD]

Chaos Theory [HD]

CSNY / Deja Vu [HD]

Death of a President [HD]

Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights [HD]

Dirty Harry [HD]

Doctor Strange [HD]

Fatal Attraction [HD]

Fido [HD]

Full Metal Jacket [HD]

Funny Games [HD]

Ghost [HD]

House of 1000 Corpses [HD]

Invincible [HD]

Kickboxer [HD]

Mama’s Boy [HD]

Mistress [HD]

Mr. and Mrs. Smith [HD]

My Fellow Americans [HD]

Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow [HD]

Patriot Games [HD]

Saturday Night Fever [HD]

Saw [HD]

Saw 2 [HD]

Signs [HD]

Speed Racer [HD]

The Naked Gun [HD]

The Prestige [HD]

Timeline [HD]

Training Day [HD]

Ultimate Avengers 2 [HD]

Ultimate Avengers: The Movie [HD]

What’s Eating Gilbert Grape [HD]

Xmas Tale [HD]

xXx [HD]

HDX Releases:

The Breakfast Club [HDX]

Pitch Black (Unrated Director’s Cut) [HDX]

Field of Dreams [HDX]

Casino [HDX]

The Chronicles of Riddick (PG-13 Rated) [HDX]

The Fast and the Furious [HDX]

Happy Gilmore [HDX]

Lord of War [HDX]

Requiem for a Dream [HDX]

The Last Samurai [HDX]

Troy [HDX]

Unleashed (Unrated Director’s Cut) [HDX]

Stop-Loss [HDX]

21 [HDX]

The Jerk [HDX]

Uncle Buck [HDX]

Weird Science [HDX]

Death of a President [HDX]

Fido [HDX]

Witless Protection [HDX]

Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll [HDX]

The Bad News Bears [HDX]

Boomerang [HDX]

Chinatown [HDX]

Harold and Maude [HDX]

Bless the Child [HDX]

Up in Smoke [HDX]

Fatal Attraction [HDX]

G.I. Blues [HDX]

Ghost [HDX]

Patriot Games [HDX]

Saturday Night Fever [HDX]

Staying Alive [HDX]

The Longest Yard [HDX]

The Naked Gun [HDX]

The Two Jakes [HDX]

Tommy Boy [HDX]

What’s Eating Gilbert Grape [HDX]

The Italian Job [HDX]

Star Trek 5: The Final Frontier [HDX]

Drugstore Cowboy [HDX]

Close Encounters of the Third Kind [HDX]

Resident Evil [HDX]

Starship Troopers 3: Marauder [HDX]

Over Her Dead Body [HDX]

Darfur Now [HDX]

Mama’s Boy [HDX]

Semi-Pro (Unrated) [HDX]

Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days and 30 Nights [HDX]

Fool’s Gold [HDX]

The Bucket List [HDX]

Snow Angels [HDX]

Speed Racer [HDX]

Run, Fat Boy, Run [HDX]

Step Into Liquid [HDX]

The Spiderwick Chronicles [HDX]

In Bruges [HDX]

Signs [HDX]

The Prestige [HDX]

Invincible [HDX]

Cube [HDX]

Shaun of the Dead [HDX]

The Recruit [HDX]

No wonder though, the bit rate averages around 9Mbps and spikes to 20Mbps during action scenes, which totally blows away the competition. Still, that giant flood of data takes a while to squeeze through our tiny broadband pipes, so one downside is that the movie needs a bit of lead time before it’s ready to be watched, though you can start the download process remotely from a computer, so it can be ready when you get home from work.

Right now, there’s only 65 movies in HDX, though every new movie released will be available in HDX. And while six bucks is pricey for a rental, it’s almost worth just to push Vudu to keep breaking new ground in video downloads. Pogue says that it’s coming to Best Buy this week, and if you buy one from there before Dec. 31, you get your first $US200 of movies for free. [NYT]

The HDX900 features mechanised drive doors at the front of the full tower ATX chassis. Inside, there’s the latest Intel Core 2 Quad processor, NVIDIA GeForce 9600GS or 9800GT 3D graphics card and Vista Home Premium. There’s also a 15-in-1 card reader, a convenient carry handle and behind the bay doors lies a HP Pocket Drive Bay and space for up to 4 5.25-inch disc drives for Blu-ray or DVD.

There’s plenty of freedom to upgrade as well, with toolless component switching and an easy open side panel to get at the insides.

No word on whether we’ll ever see this in Australia, but if we do, it probably won’t be considered cheap…

HP admit that they’ve learned a lot from their acquisition of the Voodoo brand in the US, and the HDX is their attempt to bring those lessons to the market. That doesn’t mean we’ll never see Voodoo in Australia, but it’s unlikely in the near future.

Available in a 16-inch and an 18.4-inch model, the HDX range features the new Fluid imprint across the outside front cover and palm rest. Inside the HDX16, you get Vista Home Premium SP1, a 1366 x 768 BrightView Infinity Display (upgradeable to 1080p version), up to 8GB RAM, Blu-ray disc drive, Express Card Slot, integrated HD tuner, Altec Lansing speakers, webcam with microphone, 6-cell Li-ion battery and a fingerprint reader. It weighs in at 3.205kg with battery, and measures 37.85 x 33.5 x 4.32 cm.
Meanwhile, the HDX18 comes standard with the 1080p screen, 8-cell battery, with space for an extra hard drive. Both models feature the latest intel Centrino 2 Processors and an NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT with 512MB of dedicated memory.

Pricing hasn’t been announced for Australia, but they quoted a US price of $US1399 for the HDX16 and $US1699 for the HDX18. They should be shipping at the end of this month.

[HP on Giz]

Other features include one-touch access to entertainment, video-upscaling to view standard DVDs in hi-def, a 55% wider viewing angle, a built-in bass subwoofer, an integrated fingerprint reader and… “lustrous sophistication with HP Fluid Imprint finish in titanium,” though I’m not really sure I see what’s so lustrously sophisticated from the press photos. The HDX16 will drop in late September for US$1299, while the HDX18 will cost you US$1349.

The HP HDX Experience*
• HP MediaSmart for one-touch access to entertainment plus video-upscaling to view standard
DVDs in high-def.
• Platinum Support via direct line (866.408.5408) to speak with an HDX Specialist. (U.S. only)
• Project lustrous sophsitication with HP Fluid Imprint finish in titanium.
• Get a 55% wider viewing angle plus enhanced brightness, colour intensity and clarity with the
18.0″ diagonal HP Full HD Ultra BrightView Infinity display.(8)
• Experience thunderous audio with built-in HP Triple Bass Subwoofer.
• Immerse yourself in simulated surround sound with Dolby Home Theater.
• Get extra protection from accidental drops with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection.
• Simplify your password management with the integrated fingerprint reader.

Key Specifications
• Intel® Centrino® 2 Processor Technology featuring Intel® Core™2 Duo
Processor P8400 (2c)(3)(4b)
• Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium 64-bit with Service
Pack 1 (1)(20a)
• 18.4″ Diagonal High Definition (8) HP Ultra Brightview Infinity Display
(1920×1080p)
• NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT with up to 2302MB Total Available Graphics
Memory with 512MB dedicated
• 4096MB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• 500GB (5400RPM) Hard Drive Dual HDD – 250GB + 250GB(SATA) (7)
• LightScribe Blu-Ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD±R/RW Double
Layer (6d)(16a)(16c)(16d)
• Intel® WiFi Link 5100AGN & Bluetooth™(10)(10b)(10d)
Luxurious Style
Expanding on the elegance of the current line, the new HDX series is defined
by fluid, modern lines and metalized finishes with surprising innovations
inside and out. High-gloss HP Imprint finish in titanium and chrome now
encases all surfaces visible during normal use for greater durability, and a
sleeve is included for extra protection. The HDX series Fluid Imprint features
an flowing linear pattern that enhances the reflective qualities of the metallic
finish. The streamlined look is enhanced with a color-matched keyboard and
touchpad. And touch media controls light up and become visible only when
the system is powered on further enhancing the clean appearance. HP’s
mobile products have won coveted International Red Dot, iF and CES
Innovation design awards and been recognised by other leading design
institutions.
Extreme Entertainment
Extreme entertainment is at your fingertips with everything you need to enjoy
content in the highest-quality formats – and create your own
show. Introducing HP MediaSmart for access to DVDs, videos, photos, music,
karaoke, games(25), Internet(15) TV, and streamed or recorded TV at the touch
of a button.
• Watch standard DVDs in high definition with Video Upscaling.
• Connect to your HD TV via the HDMI port to view content from your HP
HDX notebook.
• Control playback with the HP ScrollSmart Remote Control.
• Edit and burn HD content with Cyberlink DVD Premium.
• Create movies complete with special effects fast with Muvee autoProducer
Premium.
• Enjoy thunderous audio enabled by the HP Triple Bass Subwoofer.
• Get simulated surround sound with Dolby Home Theatre and Altec Lansing
speakers.
• Experience true immersion in 3D games with NVIDIA G9600 series
graphics and discrete video memory with DirectX 10 support.
Platinum-tier Support
• One-year limited hardware and software warranty with 24/7 phone
support
• Toll-free phone support during warranty via direct line to an HDX Specialist
in the U.S. @ 1.866.408.5408 and toll-free support in Canada @
1.800.HP.INVENT.
• Easy-to-use dashboard for system diagnostics and updates with preinstalled
HP Advisor
Designed to Captivate
For those who want the latest performance technologies enabling a premium
home cinema and computing experience, the HP HDX 18 delivers in an
elegant desktop-replacement design. Its reflective Fluid Imprint finish encases
leading-edge mobile architectures from Intel and NVIDIA. HP HDX notebook
PCs provide the options you need to connect, enjoy and experience peace of
mind.
• Full HD (1920 x 1080) 16:9 Ultra Wide Display. Enjoy a viewing angle of
140 degrees (vs. standard 90) and significatnly enhanced brightness, color
and clarity with the HP Full HD Ultra BrightView Infinity display.(8)
• Connect(15) with the HP Webcam. Turn your next instant message into a live
video chat with the integrated webcam, omni directional microphone and
an IM solution. Optimised for low-light environments, it’s great for
capturing short videos to share on your favourite social networking site.
Personalise your videos with included YouCam software.
• Enhanced security options. HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection locks
your hard drive into place when it senses abrupt motion to help prevent
data loss. The eSATA/USB Combo port enables fast backup to an external
hard drive. And the dual hard disk drives provide an easy back up option.
The integrated fingerprint reader offers greater security and ease-of-use by
associating passwords to your system and online accounts with unique
fingerprints.
• Personalised disc labels with LightScribe. Create custom laser-etched disc
labels right in the drive with LightScribe and preinstalled Cyberlink DVD
Premium. Just burn data on the disc, flip it over and burn the cover image
using any scanned image and/or text.(16a)
• Full-memory access. Windows® Vista®(1) 64-bit operating systems are able
to fully access system memory to support 3D games and complex
applications.
HP and the Environment
• Help conserve energy with this ENERGY
STAR® qualified and EPEATTM Silver
registered PC.
• Reuse or recycle your HDX series
packaging to help minimize waste.
• Please recycle your computer hardware
and printing supplies. HP recycling
services make responsible disposal easy.
Learn more about HP’s environmental
initiatives and recycling at:
www.hp.com/go/ecohighlights

The Laser Gaming Mouse with Voodoo DNA is pictured above. Here’s the more ho-hum Laser Mouse:

And here’s the mysterious Vector Mouse:

Plug and Play Performance
• Customise your mouse for an effortless gaming experience personalised to the way you play

Features & Benefits:

• Keep up to 5 mouse setting profiles
• Five programmable buttons to store macros
• 8x faster than conventional mice. Delivers blazing speed and instant acceleration
• Polytetrafluoroethylene Gaming Feet. Large, frictionless feet for effortless smooth glide
• High resolution engine churns images at an astounding 6.4Mpixels/sec. Large sensor array and precision laser technology allow the HDX Laser Mouse to deliver best-in-class performance and tracking
• Gaming laser mouse with four on the fly selectable DPIs
• DPI=400/800/1600/2400 *
• 4 multi-colour DPI settings
• Up to 35 inches/second **
• Up to 8G
• Up to 500 reports/second
• Full speed USB 2.0
• 5 programmable buttons
• 5 individual setting profiles
• 4 large Teflong feet, 3D racing rubber tire pattern scroll wheel

System Requirements:
• Genuine Windows Vista® or Genuine Windows® XP

Warranty and Support:
• One-year, worldwide parts-and-labour limited warranty
• 24×7 HP technical phone support during warranty period

What’s in the Box:
• Laser mouse
• Documentation
• Software Driver
• 1 year limited warranty

Additional Information:
Questions about the HP HDX Laser Mouse?
Look us up online at www.hp.com