With the current week having a focus on Earth day and green awareness, the market research firm iSuppli released a survey that showed more than half of all U.S. LCD TV purchasers said environmental issues influenced their decisions in selecting a LCD TV set. 27.5 percent of LCD TV buyers listed green factors as important influences in their purchasing decisions. However, with the increasing market share of LCD TVs in the home, what is happening to old televisions. What is the average consumer doing with the large boxy tv sets when the new flat panel goes on the wall. The concern is the TVs are being dumped into landfills, or collecting in attics due to the lack of recycling centers for old TVs.

So while 23.1 percent of consumers looking to purchase televisions, and looked for green features when buying an LCD TV, a bigger question is if a retailer offered a trade-in program; take in old TV for a new flat panel TV, then would that boost LCD television sales. Since more than half of U.S. LCD TV buyers are paying attention to environmental features, any type of recycling program offered by retailers would be greatly appreciated. Currently, the most understood green feature is Energy Star. More than 40 percent of respondents indicating their television set incorporated one or both of these and only modest variations between the categories and technologies.

More information is starting to be released related to the new 9 Series TVs from Samsung. The new LCD TV product line (not pictured) is expected to replace current A950 LCDs, and use a B9000 designation. As mentioned in the LCD TV Buyers Guide, the key product technology is rumored is reported to be LED backlighting with local dimming, as opposed to edge lighting. The benefit to local dimming is that it provides better contrast, by removing light entirely from black sections of an image.

It is expected that the Samsung B9000 LCD TVs will be marketed under Samsung’s Touch of Color line, and communicate via wireless connections to an external media box, helping to keep the LCD television thickness down. The Samsung TVs are expected to be internet ready with Medi@2.0 support that allows access to services such as YouTube and Yahoo Widgets, as well as streaming media from a USB device or PCs connected wirelessly through DLNA. European versions of the TVs are said to have DVB-T and DVB-C tuners. The Samsung 9 Series should roll out with just two screen sizes, 46 and 55 inches. Release is expected sometime in the summer or fall; no prices have been released, but anticipate premium pricing compared to the current market prices of 46 and 55 inch LCD TV models.

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Sharp reported that its financial results were impacted by declining sales of LCD TVs and panels. Sharp expects savings to come by accelerating opening schedule of its 10^th-generation LCD panel plant. The Gen 10 plant will focus on production of 57- and 65-inch panels.

Samsung has made it clear that it’s biggest focus of the year is on LCD TVs with LED back-lighting technology. New high end, ultra-slim, edge-lit LED TVs with 240Hz frame-rate technology should position Samsung at the top of market in 2009. Samsung also seems committed to developing the LED TV technology this year in new products that will have different marketing strategies than LCD or plasma.