The Sharp LC-46D85U is the company's first to offer a 120Hz refresh rate.
(Credit: CNET)
Ah, 120Hz. Like many features used by TV manufacturers to induce people to spend more money on step-up models (see also 1080p, HDMI 3.0), its visible impact on picture quality is often difficult to discern. In test patterns, 120Hz can reduce blurring, and when paired with a 1080p/24 source it can make film-based sources appear a bit smoother, but for the average viewer, and in many cases even experienced reviewers like me, the differences appear slight.
It’s easy to confuse 120Hz with dejudder processing, which can have a significant visible impact on picture quality–not all of it good, but that’s another story. The confusion increases because many manufacturers market 120Hz and dejudder in the same breath, and, in fact, nearly every 120Hz LCD also features dejudder. The Sharp LC-46D85U we just reviewed is one exception.
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Continue reading about Sharp’s 120Hz LCD TV bucks blurring, but doesn’t dejudder
(Credit: CNET)Q: I heard that TV calibration could reduce energy consumption and therefore reduce costs to operate. Do you have any evidence of that?
– Scott, via email
A: Yes it does and yes I do, but first it’s worth mentioning that you don’t necessarily need to pay hundreds of dollars for a professional calibration to get the savings.
What saves energy and operating costs, as well as increases product lifespan, is reducing light output. That’s typically controlled by the contrast or “picture” control and, in an LCD TV, the backlight control. Since calibration usually involves reducing light output from the very bright default picture settings, it will generally result in cost savings. The picture is still plenty bright after calibration, especially for the kind of darkened home theater environment more conducive to watching movies, it’s just not as blindingly bright as the default often modes used to compete with other TVs on the showroom floor….
Continue reading about Does calibration reduce power consumption? — Ask the Editors
The 63-inch Samsung N63A760 seems even larger in person.
(Credit: CNET)
We recently put the largest plasma TV we’ve reviewed yet, Samsung’s 63-inch PN63A760, though its paces, and this massive plasma came up a bit short of the tough competition. Although its distinctive red styling makes it stand out, its lighter black levels don’t help its picture quality.
We compared the Samsung directly with a pair of other huge-screen plasmas, the 58-inch Panasonic TH-58PZ800U and the 60-inch LG 60PG60, and both delivered better black levels and more-accurate color. That’s not to say the Samsung wasn’t without its charms–we liked its antireflective screen, and proponents of of dejudder will appreciate its Smooth option (although it doesn’t work with 1080p sources). The TV’s prodigious feature set, which includes a full suite of interactive options, will also draw some fans.
Read the full review of the Samsung PN63A760.
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Continue reading about Huge Samsung plasma flashes red, not so black blacks
If you thought the days of massive price drops in HDTV prices were over, think again. According to a survey by DisplaySearch, average global Internet pricing across all TV categories fell by a whopping 22 percent in September compared to the same month last year.
TV prices have plummeted again, …
Continue reading about TV prices fall 22 percent in September
Sharp's LC-52D65U has solid energy-saving chops.
(Credit: CNET)
It’s been awhile since we reviewed a Sharp TV. The last big-screen model was the company’s LC-52D64U from more than a year ago. At the time we liked most aspects of the TV’s performance, but there was one big problem we noticed in that TV and in models we reviewed in previous years:
The bad: Uneven uniformity manifests as irregular bands across screen.
Judging from the new 52-inch LC-52D65U we reviewed, Sharp has finally beaten the bands. We noticed no untoward uniformity issues with our review sample, and its picture quality was all-around decent given its entry-level place in the big-screen LCD totem pole. This Energy Star 3.0-compliant set is also one of the most efficient we’ve tested, thanks in part to a new power saving mode.
Read the full review of the Sharp LC-52D65U.
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Continue reading about Sharp LCD beats bands, belittles electricity bill
The Consumer Electronics Association has teamed up with Google’s YouTube to sponsor a contest encouraging homemade public-education videos on the DTV transition.
The contest, entitled “Digital TV: Convert Now!”, will award a tricked-out home entertainment center to the producer of the best video that “educates the public on how to prepare friends and family for the digital television (DTV) transition,” according to the Web site. To get the ball rolling, the Association enlisted the country act Whiskey Falls, whose call-out video is available on the site now.
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Continue reading about CEA launches YouTube contest on DTV transition
Mitsubishi's LaserVue TV.
(Credit: Mitsubishi)
Just a couple days after we noted the first comparison involving Mitsubishi’s LaserVue HDTV, the HD Guru has posted the first in-depth review of the set.
The Guru, a.k.a. Gary Merson, put the $7000 65-inch television though its paces at Mitsubishi’s California headquarters, and definitely liked what he saw. Lauding nearly every aspect of its performance, he especially highlighted its brightness capabilities and wide color gamut in “Brilliant” mode. Overall, he placed this rear-projection set in the same league with the best flat panels on the market.
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Continue reading about First Mitsubishi LaserVue review posted
According to a new survey by ABI Research, twenty percent of TV viewers–3 million Americans–who rely on analog over-the-air reception will let their sets go “dark” after the DTV transition on February 17, 2009.
Will three million TVs look like this next February?
(Credit: CNET)
The firm’s web-based survey of 1002 US consumers found that 70% will purchase a DTV converter box, 10% will switch to cable, and 20% will do nothing, causing their old analog TVs, which are incapable of receiving the new broadcasts without additional equipment, to go dark or display only snow. Currently, fifteen percent of Americans get their TV from over-the-air broadcasts, while the remainder subscribe to cable or satellite services.
The survey also found that non-traditional TV content delivery methods, such as DVD rentals and video options available via broadband internet, might help fill the gap for customers deciding to ditch broadcast TV.
“Our survey data suggest that the net result of consumers’ choices after analog switch-off will be a drop in overall terrestrial viewing,” said ABI analyst Scott Wilson. “Terrestrial viewers tend to be more likely to use alternative video entertainment forms such as DVD rentals and broadband video and the transition may push them further in that direction.”
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Continue reading about Three million analog viewers will let TVs go dark
Man, it sure would be nice if we could do this comparison here at CNET.
Mitsubishi's LaserVue TV (not actual size).
(Credit: Mitsubishi)
The first third-party side-by-side comparison we’ve seen between Mitsubishi’s LaserVue rear-projection TV and Pioneer’s Elite Kuro plasma appeared at TheTechlounge Friday, and according to its authors, the LaserVue more than held its own against what’s widely regarded as the best TV on the market.
Author Cameron Baker and editor Kurtis Kronk sat down before a 60-inch Kuro and a 65-inch LaserVue at a San Antonio, Texas, HDTV retailer and watched a pair of Blu-ray movies: Ice Age: The Meltdown and Iron Man, along with Pioneer’s Kuro test disc. They were unable to get their hands on a distribution amplifier for true side-by-side comparisons, apparently, so they based their observations on watching “the scenes back-to-back on each display a few times, juggling HDMI connections,” and on still photos.
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Continue reading about Mitsubishi LaserVue goes up against Kuro
Samsung has updated the A950 series, the company’s flagship line of LED-based LCD HDTVs, by introducing changes that affect picture quality. In accordance, we have updated our review of the 46-inch LN46A950.
Samsung’s LN46A950 looks the same on the outside, but received a minor performance related update recently.
While the change will have a minor impact on picture quality, it probably irks current A950 owners to find out that they don’t have the most up-to-date version of the television. Here’s the relevant section from the review’s updated performance section, describing the differences we saw:
To assess the picture quality impact of the changes, we compared our original LN46A950 review sample side-by-side to a new one, and will use the new one in all comparisons involving the A950 going forward. The differences we saw concerned black levels primarily. The company has raised the black level in very dark scenes–those with a very low “average picture level.” In those scenes the new model showed improved shadow detail and eliminated some of the worst blooming effects we mention below, while the older model reproduced darker overall black levels–its LEDs appeared to dim more aggressively, while the new ones stayed more illuminated. We didn’t notice any differences between the two Samsungs in the vast majority of scenes however, which have higher average picture levels. As a result, we’re not modifying the rating for this review.
According to Samsung, all A950 series sets sent to market after September 20, 2008, will feature the upgrade. Of course that means A950 series TVs sent to market before that date, whether still on store shelves or comfortably at home with their new owners, won’t have the update….
Continue reading about Samsung updates A950 series of LED-based LCDs