Samsung: New 3D LCD, plasma HDTVs, more Internet apps

At a press event yesterday, Samsung unveiled several new 3D TVs (including the $1,000 50-inch plasma TV we reported on yesterday), the industry's first portable 3D Blu-ray player, and a new higher-end home theater system designed to match the cosmetics of its flagship C9000-series LCD TVs with LED backlights.

The company is also greatly expanding the content available via its Samsung Apps platform, and says it has new exclusive deals for 3D Blu-ray titles, including DreamWork's How to Train Your Dragon 3D, that will be part of a new Starter Kit bundled with two sets of 3D glasses.

Among Samsung's new 3D TVs, which all arrive this month, is the 65-inch UN65C8000, a 3D LCD TV with an edge LED backlight. The TV, a 240Hz set with local dimming, will sell for about $6,000. The three new 3D plasmas include the lower-cost Samsung PN50C490 model we wrote about yesterday—a 720p set that carries an estimated price of $1,100, although Amazon has it for $989 on pre-order—plus two C680-series 1080p sets in 50-inch (PN50C680) and 58-inch (PN58C680) screen sizes. Those TVs will sell for $1,600 and $2,300, respectively. None of the TVs come with 3D glasses.

To provide more 3D content to its customers, Samsung expanded its exclusive deal with DreamWorks (Monsters vs. Aliens 3D, Shrek 3D) to include How to Train Your Dragon 3D. That title, plus IMAX's Into the Deep and Galapagos, and Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs, from Giant Screen Films, will be available as part of a new 3D Starter Kit available this fall. The Starter Kit is free to those purchasing both a Samsung 3D TV and 3D Blu-ray player, or $350 if purchased separately.

During the event, Samsung executives said the company will double the number of applications available through its Samsung Apps platform by the end of the year, and announced a new exclusive app from ESPN, called ESPN Next Level. Also new is what it calls the first 3D video-on-demand app that provides trailers of upcoming 3D movies. We'll be checking out these new apps as soon as they're available.

—James K. Willcox