It's safe to say that LED-backlit TVs are here to stay. What form they take is the question.

LG and Sony have revealed new LCD TVs using LED technology, though four of the five models the companies announced at CEDIA Expo 2009 will be edge-lit by LEDs only on the sides of the screen.

LG's 55-inch 55LHX wireless HDTV model is the only one backlit by a full array of LEDs. The full array of LEDs is capable of local dimming, in which clusters of the energy-saving LEDs can be shut off during dark scenes, enhancing the picture's contrast and saving even more energy.

Consumers will pay for that level of performance and eco-friendliness, along with the wireless functionality, to the tune of $4,799.

LG's edge-lit LED LCD TVs include the slender, 1.15-inch-thick 42- and 47-inch SL models ($2,599 and $2,099). By edge-lighting with LEDs, manufacturers can make the sets…

Runco has always been ahead of the game when it comes to projection systems. The company can take a lot of credit for the 2.35 theater trend.

Now that CEDIA Expo 2009 is under way, Runco is presenting its latest innovative projector — based on LED technology.

The "InfiniLight" lampless LED illumination provides the imagery to Runco's new QuantumColor projectors, Q-750i and Q-750d.

Along with the energy-efficiency and long lifespan of the LEDs, color bursts onto the screen with the help of Runco's new Personal Color Equalizer, a six-axis color adjustment that Runco says works like an audio equalizer so colors can be individually dialed up and down for every video source, and preset personal preferences.

Also thanks to the LEDs, there's an InstantOn feature for a nearly-immediate projected image when turned on, rather than warm-up time of a lamp projector.

Each projector has CineWide…

Digital Projection International (DPI) is rolling out a 3D turnkey package for the high-end home entertainment market and will demo the system in its booth (No. 519) at CEDIA Expo 2009.

The Total 3D Experience System, which was co-developed with Mechdyne, comes with a Windows-based media server and is designed to provide a variety of 3D viewing. It even comes with pre-loaded 3D content and a pre-programmed iPod touch for system control.

The pre-configured packages are customizable and every system includes:

• A TITAN or LIGHTNING 1080p 3D display
• The Dimension server, a military-grade high-capacity, high-bandwidth 3D media server
• A graphics adapter capable of rendering 1080p gaming and HD content at frame rates up to 120 Hz
• Blu-ray drive compatible with future Blu-ray 3D releases and current active stereo 3D movies
• Preloaded stereographic viewers, 3D games and 3D demo movies
• Active 3D glasses
• IR emitters to synchronize the server, projector and 3D glasses
• A pre-programmed iPod touch for touch screen…

SmX Cinema Solutions has quickly made a name for itself in the projection screen category. That name stems from “SandmanX,” the AV Science Forum username of Ruben Ortiz, who founded the company shortly after completing his own home theater construction in 2006.

What started as a business with followers mainly from the do-it-yourself crowd that followed Ortiz’s 100-plus-page build thread on AVS now caters to the pro dealer, with almost 300 dealers in the United States and 70 international. The company has partnered with SIM2 for European distribution, Ortiz notes, and an appearance at CEDIA Expo (booth No. 6235) is sure to drum up more integrator enthusiasm.

“We probably do more commercial than residential, maybe a 60/40 split, and we do products that are pretty universal for both,” says Ortiz. “We do stadiums, museums, Hollywood post-production, mastering labs, residential, exhibits, restaurants, bars.”

Ortiz has a post-production background, and developed a…

Nothing quite says 'wow factor' like being able to watch TV through your bathroom mirror. Yes, it might also say 'excess' but it's still pretty cool, and it's a very sleek way to have an LCD in your large contemporary-designed master bathroom.

Wisconsin manufacturer Seura offers up a line of television mirrors designed to incorporate LCD TVs, and actually uses its mirror technology for smaller displays in bathrooms as well as larger mirrors that can go on any wall as decoration and house traditional-size LCDs.

How hip are these things? Redstone American Grill in Minnesota enlisted Seura to outfit its restaurant with the mirrored products, including having the TVs over urinals. No need to fret about checking those basketball scores while you're on a date at the Redstone!

Seura's television mirrors are offered in three series: Enhanced Series, featuring vanity mirrors with vanishing technology so the TV screen isn't in view when off; Premier Series, for the…