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Fujitsu Aviamo: The new plasma diva

These days TVs need a groovy, vaguely Italian-sounding name -- think Sony's Bravia or Panasonic's Viera. The marketing men at Fujitsu have come up with a new high-end range of screens called Aviamo. Ciao, bella!

Richard Arrowsmith
2 min read

If you want to invigorate your TV brand's recognition, dear reader, all you need is a vaguely Italian-sounding moniker -- think Sony's Bravia, Toshiba's Regza or Panasonic's Viera. The marketing men at Fujitsu have weathered a brainstorm and come up with a new high-end range of screens under the name Aviamo. Bene!

The Aviamo range has three screens: 55-inch and 65-inch plasmas, and Fujitsu's first LCD (37 inches). All models have 'Full HD' 1,920x1,080-pixel resolutions capable of displaying the latest 1080p high-definition format, which is used by next-generation devices such as Blu-ray and HD DVD players and the eagerly awaited PS3. Molto bene! Okay, that's enough.

The future-proof spec is supported by integrated digital Freeview tuners, a B&W speaker system and a full suite of connections, including dual HDMI digital inputs, which means you can connect several hi-def sources at the same time.

All screens are equipped with the latest version of Fujitsu's advanced AVMIII processing. The system has been specifically enhanced for 1080p scaling, processing and display. And integrated processing also means that standard-definition content and typical high-definition 720p and 1080i formats can be upscaled to 1080p quality.

Screen styling has been given a face-lift compared to Fujitsu's earlier conservative designs. All the sets are finished in attractive piano-key black and fitted with integrated stands. Wall-mounting options are only available for the large screen plasma models, however -- Fujitsu claims that anything below 40 inches is unlikely to be wall-hung.

We saw the screens at a recent show, where their design and performance looked impressive, but we'll have to wait for a review sample before we can cast any detailed judgement.

The range will be released in January 2007 and although official pricing hasn't been confirmed, it's expected to be expensive -- ranging from £3,000 for the 37-inch LCD model to £8,000 (for the 55-inch) and £12,000 (65-inch) for plasmas. -RA