Sony's got every other LCD manufacturer in its sights this year (we know, we've got the roadmap), taking the stage of Finetech Japan 2008 predicting sales of 108 million units globally, and, through investments and "technological differences", being in position to take the lion's share of them. Sure in the U.S. upstarts like Vizio have grabbed a chunk of the market, and things are just as cutthroat in Japan, but beyond its partnerships with Samsung and Sharp, Sony's focused on growing partnerships with Best Buy, Costco and Wal-Mart to reach 15-20 million LCDs this year. Other than lower costs as production increases, and advanced technology, 2009 plans call for a 32-inch HDTV that needs less than half the power of a current model, and even more super-slim OLEDs.

We know that many consumers like their flat panels big and cheap even at the expense of quality. No doubt then, Vizio's new "full-HD" 52-inch LCD rumored to sell at Costco next month will be a hit. The $2,200 sets are even said to carry an LG.Philips panel according to DigiTimes' Taiwanese supply chain sources. Promising, but will they bring LED backlighting, 120Hz tech, and 1080p24 HDMI input? Doubtful, but the money you save should keep the fridge swollen with Bud into the foreseeable future.

When we first heard about the new FATHER's DAY HD DVD rebate we instantly hoped that it would be offered with other discounts, and now it seems that someone has spotted an HD-D2 at Costco for $249. For those who aren't familiar with Costco, they like to change the model numbers, so this is the same as the HD-A2 to everyone else. While $50 off the MSRP isn't the best deal we have seen without a rebate, at this price anyone trying to decide between an upconverting DVD player and HD DVD, has a really easy decision to make..

With a full year of the format war under our belt we grabbed our camera and took some pictures of both formats on display at local retailers. We hit Best Buy (with a Magnolia built in), Circuit City, Target, Wal-mart, Sears, K-Mart, Sound Advice, and Costco. We tried to get some pictures from the east coast and the west coast of the US in a few major retailers, and discovered how different their offerings are depending on location. Check out the full gallery after the jump and a synopsis.

The iconic tube TV is fading off rather quickly. People just don't want the big, bulky tube sets anymore with the new, fancy flat-panels just screaming for attention and it all boils down to price. For around $500 a person can get a quality tube TV or for around $800, they can pick up a cheap LCD. Now, we aren't saying that the cheap LCD is better, 'cause we all know that most CRTs will outperforms even the highest-end LCD, but the average person doesn't care. They just want the thin screen. Manufacturers have cut their model lines and retailers are slowly fading them out too. In fact Costco is not going to sell them after this years holidays. CRTs represented 78% of the market in 2004 but only 54 this year. There is still a market for some people looking for a bargain though as you can find a 32-inch tube for around $300 each weekend by looking in the weekly fliers.

Are you ready to kick your CRT to the curb and make way for a nice, new flat-panel HDTV?

Read that title again. Costco is getting into the high-def media with two Blu-ray titles that are available now! A Knight's Tale and House of Flying Daggers are up on their website and available for purchase. The release info indicates that it comes out on June 20th, but the site lets you add it to your cart and purchase the disc with no mention of any type of delay. Best of all too, they are cheap. The Blu-ray discs have a list price of $28.95 but Costco has it for the same price as Amazon at $19.99; but Costco seems to be shipping theirs. Not that there is really anything to play the disc in yet...

NOTE: We did go ahead and purchase A Knight's Tale to see what will happen. The order is 'In Process' right know but we will update the post when ever it changes.

[via HDBlog.net]