As a minor upgrade to their existing high end Z4500 LCD series, the Z5100 will feature amongst other things, the latest incarnation of Sony's picture processing engine, Bravia 3.

Available in the same 40in, 46in and 52in sizes the new screens will also feature Energy Star 3.0 compliance, Ethernet and DLNA support along with a USB port.

The Z5100 will feature an Ethernet connection, allowing the sets to directly access Sony BRAVIA Internet Video content using a broadband connection. The 'widget' type technology is already found in a similar guise on some high end Samsung LCD TV's in the UK.

Described as "internet applications delivering real-time information" widgets provide discreet on-screen applications that provide information such as weather reports, stock updates, financial news, Yahoo! Video and Flickr images as well as Sony's own extensive selection of free and premium movies, TV shows, sports and music.

Going 'green' will be a big feature of flat panel TV's this year with Energy Star 3.0 compliancy the credentials that many screens will carry to confirm those credentials. It may come as a surprise to some of you that TVs prior to this standard were only tested in standby mode (required to use less than a single watt of power) to comply with Energy Star ratings. The TVs were never turned on for the test and meeting tougher standards whether in standby mode or fully on is now part of the requirement.

The actual requirements for Energy Star 3.0 compliance are quite detailed and can be viewed here energystar.gov.

Sony's Z5100 LCD TV series is due to hit UK shores this spring; no prices have been confirmed as yet.

Read a full review of the current Sony KDL-40Z4500