Hitachi today announced that its latest line of TVs, the 2006 Director's Line, has begun shipping to retailers across the country. Included in the series are plasma and LCD high-definition TVs with sizes of up to 55 inches.

On the LCD side, Hitachi has launched a 37" flat-panel HDTV, the UltraVision CineForm Director's Series LCD Flat Panel HLX99. It has a 120 Hz high-speed double refresh drive to accommodate the high-definition picture quality.

Hitachi has also released two new flat-panel plasma TVs - a 42" (42HDZ99) and 55 inch (55HDX99) model. According to Hitachi, the 42" plasma model introduces 1080i resolution to a plasma TV of this size for the first time. Both the 42" and 55" plasma TVs incorporate a "deep-black natural color filter" that are promised to provide richer blacks and more vibrant colors, both of which have plagued plasma TVs since they were first introduced.

They both also have the new PictureMaster HD III digital video processor, as well as a special factory setup that Hitachi says will help increase specific details on the screen, sharpen focus, and minimize the noise emitted from the TV.

Each of these TVs comes with a proprietary home theater remote control. The 42HFX99 and 55HDX99 plasma HDTVs list for $3100 and $5000, respectively.