The Gefen EXT-WHDMI can transmit HDMI signals up to 30 feet without wires.

(Credit: CNET)

Sure you can get 30 feet of HDMI cable for $35 from monoprice, but the coolness factor of the $800 Gefen EXT-WHDMI, a wireless HDMI system with a 30-foot range, cannot be denied. And according ...

The ANSI checkerboard seems simple enough, so why is contrast ratio so complicated?

(Credit: Ovation Multimedia)

Contrast ratio should be black and white. Taken at face value, it's the ratio of the light level (luminance) the display produces when fed a white signal to the luminance when it's fed a black signal. Unfortunately, it's probably the most misused, inflated, and ultimately misleading specification used to describe HDTVs today.

At the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show, manufacturers quoted contrast ratio specs of 1,000,000:1 or 2,000,000:1 for upcoming LED-based LCD displays (Vizio and LG, respectively), which are similar to the specs quoted by Samsung and Sony for their current LED models. Those numbers sure do sound impressive, but what do they mean in the real world?

Very little. It's true that in general, a higher contrast ratio can indicate that the display produces a deeper level of black, with all of the picture-quality benefits that brings--but then again it might not. Despite the million-to-one contrast ratios of the Samsung and Sony LED sets we reviewed, we observed better black-level performance in the Pioneer PRO-111FD. Pioneer doesn't publish a contrast ratio spec for that television, but has claimed that its black levels are so deep as to be "immeasurable."

LG's first 240Hz displays with scanning backlight technology will ship in March, and like other 240Hz LCDs they'll confuse unwitting shoppers.

(Credit: LG)

Two of the most confusing letters thrown around in reference to LCD and TVs these days are "H" and "z." The confusion will just ...

Scads of tempting TV hardware was announced at CES, but is it really worth waiting for?

(Credit: Panasonic)

Dear David,

Just saw your report on the new plasmas from Panasonic at CES. I was all set to get an TH-50PZ800U, your current Editors' Choice, but these look better. Should I wait or buy the 800U now?

--Anonymous, New York City

Howdy Anonymous,

If I was in your situation I would wait for the new models, but if you're a bargain hunter, then there's no better time to buy than now.

Every year around this time, the flood of new gadgets announced at the January Consumer Electronics Show washes the diligently researched product picks from the wish lists of thousands of careful shoppers. The product you had your heart set on suddenly looks obsolete in the face of the latest and greatest, and the CES hype machine (guilty as charged) somehow makes even the lowliest entry-level gear seem shinier and more desirable than the cobweb-encrusted former flagships rotting away on store shelves today.

Every year improvements are made, such as the "better picture quality for half the power" claimed by Panasonic with its plasmas; the new 240Hz and LED-backlit LCDs, at least one for a formerly unheard-of price; and the addition of Netflix streaming. But are the improvements worth it? ... ]]> http://www.superparked.com/2009/01/13/should-i-wait-till-the-09-hdtvs-come-out-ask-the-editors/feed/ 0 http://www.superparked.com/2009/01/13/ces-post-show-wrap-up-hdtv/ http://www.superparked.com/2009/01/13/ces-post-show-wrap-up-hdtv/#comments Tue, 13 Jan 2009 17:31:00 +0000 David Katzmaier http://ces.cnet.com/8301-19167_1-10140707-100.html

Is plasma dead yet? Not if Panasonic can help it.

(Credit: Panasonic)

The television category is a perennial CES staple and this year was no different. For some reason nobody showed a TV bigger than Panasonic's 150-inch plasma from last year (have we maxed out in flat-panel screen size?), but most of the other trends I discussed in the preview were borne out in the show's extensive announcements. Here's my take on what CES 2009 bodes for HDTV this year.

Plasma ain't dead yet. I get more than my share of emails, and have seen plenty of blog comments and forum posts, that are quick to claim the demise of plasma at the hands of LCD. Judging from CES announcements by companies that comprise the "big three" of plasma--Panasonic, LG and Samsung--those big glass flat-panels have a brighter future than Detroit, at least.

Panasonic, by far the biggest and, unlike GM, the most-committed of the group, bragged about its newest plasma factory (number five) coming online, and showed its largest plasma lineup ever, with five new series and a new 54-inch screen size. I'm really excited to review the company's new "NEO PDP" panels, the first of which, members of the S1 series, will ship in March. They boast significantly improved black-level performance and contrast ratios, according to the company, yet manage to cut power consumption in half. If the latter claim proves true, LCD will lose perhaps its biggest arrow in the anti-plasma quiver (at least among consumers who care about the planet and are savvy enough to ignore the non-issues).

Absent any announcements by Pioneer (which will come in late spring, most likely), Panasonic's G10 series is probably the surest bet for Editors' Choice of any TV I saw at the show. That's why I awarded it Best of CES in the TV category. In case you're wondering, however, all of the Neo PDP panels, including the least-expensive S1, share the same basic picture quality specs....

Originally posted at CES 2009

Despite their entry-level status, the X1 plasmas look a lot like their more-expensive cousins.

(Credit: Panasonic)

Of the 42 individual models of plasma and LCD TVs that Panasonic announced at the 2009 CES, the X1 series lives on the bottom rung of the totem pole. That didn't stop the ...

Originally posted at CES 2009

The Panasonic Z1 plasma measures just 1 inch thick, leaving little room for wired connections.

(Credit: Panasonic)

The epic battle between plasma and LCD manifests itself in numerous ways--Hz oneupsmanship, contrast ratio and viewing angle specs, lifespan claims--but until now, panel depth was a frontier comfortably dominated by LCD, with ...

Originally posted at CES 2009

One-pane-of-glass design marks Panasonic's TC-P50V10.

(Credit: Panasonic)

The ability to properly deal with native 1080p/24 content is a big deal to some videophiles, because it guarantees that a display can capture the correct cadence of film. Panasonic tried and failed to implement 24p with its plasmas last ...

Originally posted at CES 2009

Panasonic's S1 series uses half the juice.

(Credit: Panasonic)

As we've been reporting for years, plasmas are much less energy-efficient than LCDs. Panasonic aims to level the playing field with its new NEO PDP plasma panel, which uses half as much energy to create the same brightness, ...

Originally posted at CES 2009

The V-series of Sony LCDs is the company's least-expensive with 120Hz processing.

(Credit: Sony)

The three-size V-series includes the ...

Originally posted at CES 2009