It didn't get all that much attention amid the typical hoopla of activity in Las Vegas last week, but several companies at CES2007 said they are about to unleash a noticeable (literally) advanced feature in HD viewing: the doubling of refresh rates for LCD sets.

By increasing refresh rates from their standard 60 Hz to 120 Hz, new HD units from Philips, Samsung and Sharp (and others, eventually) could produce clearer imaging for LCD and other technologies, especially for sports and other content that contains fast motion or requires swift camera movement, according to PC World.

The three companies said they expect to have 120 Hz products on retailers' shelves in North America by this summer.