Sony unveils world's thinnest LCD HDTV - 9.9mm KDL-40ZX1
By Richard Lawler 
posted Aug 28th 2008 1:44AM
posted Aug 28th 2008 1:44AM
Sony's taken the crown in the race for thinnest LCD HDTV. At just 9.9mm thick the KDL-40ZX1 nearly halves the depth of Hitachi's former champ (likely throwing up in the bathroom right now) and comes within a whisper of Pioneer's ultra thin concept. Featuring a LED backlighting, a 3,000:1 contrast ratio, 120Hz MotionFlow tech, x.v.Color and BRAVIA Engine 2 image processing this is about as close to a 40-inch window on your wall as is likely to arrive soon. Only one HDMI in is directly on the screen itself, all unnecessary HDMI / USB / component inputs are relegated to a base station, with the option for wired or -- possibly WHDI based? -- 5Ghz wireless (unfortunately limited to 1080i max resolution for now). We'd mention the XMB GUI, AcTVila video on-demand and DLNA support, but at some point it's just piling on. A mere 490,000 yen ($4,474 U.S.) puts the ZX1 on your wall, due at your local Japanese retailer November 10. See you there?[Via AV Watch & Sony Insider]
Waauw, it is thinner than my iPhone. It looks yummy (:
my patience with these iphone comments is also wearing thinner than an iphone.
How much do you wanna bet i89 has never even touched an iPhone?
Hmm.. I am just impressed. It IS thinner than iPhone (at the thinnest place). Gad get, sorry but I have both (EDGE and 3G).
Ohh guess what? http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/28/iphone-3g-vs-sonys-40-inch-xz1-lcd-fight/
then you my friend are a tool. the only people i ever see with iphones are attention seeking "metro" sexuals. as in abercrombie and flip flop wearing douches. and you do realize that you're paying about $1000 a year for a false sense of being the cool guy. and if you upgraded for the 3g because you cant go 5 minutes without seeing or should i say hoping that someone wants to talk to you, then you need help.
Wow. That's fantastic. Go have a cookie.
I was... er... talking to the "i"-whatever guy.
@v3xx
On behalf of metrosexuals everywhere:
Not all of us wear Abercrombie and carry iPhones... (Fill in witty retort here.)
Yes but will it blend. willitblend.com
I want it, who here is willing to buy it for me.
Well if I won't buy your Big Issue why would I buy you a TV?
There s white PS3 in the background on the table.. anyone... anyone?
orly?
pretty sure its Bigfoot out there.
yeah i see it. damn sony, using product placement in their own ad!
White PS3 with a black TV? not very good placement there...
a white PS3 in the wild?..don't play with my emotionz like that.
Reminds of this one time at Band Camp when i seen a unicorn..
I got a white PS3 sitting in my living room....hehe...
Got it from HK....MSRP even cheaper than in US...lol
I believe you, this does blend well... with the background...
http://www.play-gadgets.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/white-ps3-40gb-japan.jpg
1st to neg you.
Back to the subject, I wonder what is the point of making it this thin, especially since this design needs a stand, and a external power adapter from the looks of it. It would be better if the power adapter could be integrated into the stand, as well as all the inputs.
WOW SONY does it again. Thin and feature complete.
Gasp. That is all.
man that's thin
Except you can't actually put it on your wall because it needs that damn base-station. Gimme one that I can remove from the base, and I'll get excited.
wow...... I want this....
but... stop giving us all those largest, thinnest, smallest foot print... bla bla bla... all what I want it CHEAP and QUALITY image with normal size 42 inch. that all.
Seriously.
I'm looking for a good, fairly large (50-80) inches HDTV that'll look great when watching high definition television and playing Blu-Ray videos through the PS3
"wow...... I want this...."
"...all what I want it CHEAP and QUALITY image with normal size 42 inch. that all."
Can you say, "self-contradictory"?
@ gad get
i think he means stop with the uber thin and work on making average thickness flat screens cheaper. and honestly i agree. show me someone whos table has 9mm of space but not 20mm. the practicality of this tv jut isnt there, and with these sony base stations the point of thinness is moot.
I know what he means. But I don't think he does.
Provided it uses a normal power adapter, which I'm sure it does, it'll need at least 15 mm of space + some bezel space. It'll also need the bottom base station.
This is like saying a Macbook Air is .16" thick when the thickest is actualy .76".
I say fail.
What if you fall on that thing? Instantly cut in half? Nice...
Richard Lawler: hard-hitting, unbiased, daring, insightful, gadget reports.
Well, it's Engadget, what can you expect? They're never neutral on a product, they either bash it to death, or love it love it love it!
Gotta love 'em.
Or else hate them....
nearly as thin as a cat walk mode dale
That thing can cut a cake!.
Until next month when Sony announces the next world's thinnest LCD HDTV.
Is that a KDl-40ZX1 in your pocket or are you really unhappy to see me?
somebody tell me what i'm missing. laptop screens have been a few millimeters thick for years, its not that big a deal. also, from the front, does it matter if its 3 inches thick versus 2 millimeters thick? does that translate to some quality i'm missing?
Because most of the things your laptop screen needs to run are embedded onto the motherboard of the laptop not to mention you cant get 40" laptop screens, with a standalone tv all the tech including all the ports have to fit into the back of the machine hence the thickness.
black
i agree. and with sony's last thinnest tv i dont think it's fair to call it the thinnest tv when it has a huge brick of a stand. isnt the future about tv's integrated into walls or being paper thin? build everything into a single unit and we'll see who's the thinnest. whats the point of a thin screen when you need a foot of table space.
Don't worry Apple fanboys, in a few years will start making TVs and copy this design.
http://www.hahastop.com/pictures/Failure.jpg
since 40" lcd is made only by samsung, will we see thin lcd tv announcement from samsung, too?
i wonder this tv's stand includes electronics like sony's oled tv
Samsung has no LCD-factory, you probably mean S-LCD? This is a joint venture between Samsung and Sony.
the panels arent samsung if you dont know its a joint venture between sony-samsung 50-50.
BTW its looking great,propably my next tv
chris4, you need to get the fact right
s-lcd was, indeed, a joint venture between samsung and sony, but sony was only investing in samsung to get lcd panel supplied in sony's spec; all the developments & manufacturing were done by samsung. if you open up most of sony lcd tvs (especially high end models), it will say samsung rather than s-lcd. whether the panels were branded as s-lcd or samsung; they are samsung panels. you just don't image samsung panels in sony tvs
of course, the lcd panel isn't everything about tv...just an important part of tv; that's all.
Are you starting a debate with yourself..?
Aww, man... That was meant as a reply to "gad get." Now I see what you guys are always complaining about with this comment system. At least it wasn't a double post though.
Aww, man... That was meant as a reply to "gad get." Now I see what you guys are always complaining about with this comment system. At least it wasn't a double post though.
@Abisinthe
That was either fabulous self-parody or a monumental fail
Maybe the idea is to make a small hollow place in your wall to store the stand in?
@gaddelyz: pictures?.....hhmmm?
Do want.
Should this be the "world's _second_ thinnest LCD HDTV?"
http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/28/philips-8mm-thin-lcd-turns-the-screws-on-sony/
I'm curious to see if this set is really LED back lighting. Something tells me that it is CCFL.
Sony is at it again... 2008 will have almost 10 different models... whats this one called Sony?
You've already used up XBR 6,7, & 8. XBR X?
Just like that other ultra thin tv they released...........
what is the point of having a tv millimeters thick at one point but you still need at least a couple of inshes of clearance for the base
and plus
Phillips just released a 8mm thick 32 incher and Sammy should be releasing something similar soon too
and since the company is LG Phillips, i shall assume LG has something in the works
id say in a couple of months not many people will still be ohhhhing and ahhhhhing about this
Just like that other ultra thin tv they released...........
what is the point of having a tv millimeters thick at one point but you still need at least a couple of inshes of clearance for the base
and plus
Phillips just released a 8mm thick 32 incher and Sammy should be releasing something similar soon too
and since the company is LG Phillips, i shall assume LG has something in the works
id say in a couple of months not many people will still be ohhhhing and ahhhhhing about this