LCD TVs
”Giz Explains LCD TV Basics
If you guessed that Giz Explains Plasma TV was just the first of several TV-technology explainers, you were right. Congratulations! You win... this week's installment: Giz Explains LCD TVs. The little panels are in your phone, on your desk and maybe you're looking at one for your home theater too. Here's the quick and dirty basics.
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Samsung Develops New 'Blue Phase' LCD Panel for TVs
Samsung has developed a new technology for LCD panels called Blue Phase, which it claims improves picture quality on its high-end LCD TVs. Called Blue Phase, the cost-efficient design eschews liquid crystal alignment layers, instead making its own, bringing production costs down. Current video image quality is driven at 120Hz, but the new technology will effectively double that to 240Hz. A 15-inch model will be unveiled in LA next week, and Samsung expects mass production to begin in 2011. Full press release below. More »Hitachi Release Specs of Its Ultra-Thin Woo TV With Wireless Main Unit
We brought you the good news that Hitachi's swanky UT range of LCD TVs would be coming to the US, and now Hitachi has dished the dirt on their specifications. The 32-inch version will have a 1366 x 768 screen, versus the 1920 x 1080 of the bigger 37- and 42-inch versions. But all are just 1.4 inches deep (that'll be the Ultra Thin bit, then) and sport a 250GB internal HDD. More »Pioneer Giving Kuro Brand to LCD TVs and LCOS Projectors
Pigs officially fly today: Plasma king Pioneer has announced their LCD lineup for Europe, and yep, they're getting the coveted Kuro distinction (equivalent to a "best TV on earth" badge) as is the already released KRF-9000FD LCOS projector. The 1080p LCD sets are on the smaller side (leaving big boy TVs to plasma) in 32, 37 and 46-inch sizes, with a 100hz frame mode and a "specially tuned" picture quality. But do they live up to Kuro? UPDATE: Apparently not, since the Pioneer US gang will not be announcing any LCDs at this time, though it will soon reveal what we assume will be gen-2 Kuro plasma for the US. Pioneer declined to comment on the projector, so it still may come here with the Kuro brand. More »
huh?
Toshiba: "1080p is the New 720p!"
Okay, so part of Toshiba's TV presentation at their press conference was this list of "trends for 2008." Two caught our eye: "1080p is the new 720p!" and "120Hz is the new 1080p!" Wait, what? It's obvious the former is something of a guiding philosophy, since the RV530 crams 1080p into 32- and 37-inch LCD sets. Fantastic! Except that, you know, 1080p is completely pointless at the size, unless you're using the sucker as a computer monitor. Nice try, Toshiba.
ces 2008
Virtual Press Office Leaks JVC Dual-iPod Dock, World's Thinnest LCDs and More CES Announcements
We just got an automated e-mail from the Virtual Press Office with 64 press release titles, all with broken links. But the titles themselves are very exciting, particularly the ones concerning JVC:• LCDs with integrated iPod docks
• Dual-iPod docking stations
• "Colorful" Everio camcorders
• The world's thinnest LCD TVs, complete with a qualifying asterisk
Don't believe me? Jump for a shot of the email and all of its JVC-related listings: More »
Two New Vizio LCD Televisions Leaked
Hidden pages on Vizio's site have revealed two new additions to the Vizio lineup. First up we have the VO47L FHDTV complete with a 47-inch viewable, 16:9 wide screen aspect ratio, 1920 X 1080 resolution, 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 480p, 480i compatibility, a 2000:1 contrast ratio (with DCR), a 178 degree viewing angle, included HDMI cable and 4x HDMI inputs.
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home entertainment
Vizio Still Leading Supplier of LCD TVs in U.S., Samsung On Its Heels
According to iSuppli, Vizio, of Sam's Club and other fine club merchant fame, holds on to its spot as no. 1 supplier of LCD TVs in the US for Q3 2007, with 13 percent of sets shipped. But that's a .7 percent drop from last quarter, while every other major player saw a spike. More »Philips Announces Aurea HDTV LCD Using Bolds and Boobs (Full Specs Below)
Philips' official unveiling of their new Aurea line pulled out all the stops. From dancing to models to a new, very colorful/melodramatic short by filmmaker Wong Kar Wai—it was big. Here are the specs:More »
The Trouble With LCD TVs: Motion Blur and the 120Hz Solution
When I first saw LCD TVs in stores and at exhibitions years ago, I was like, WTF? Why would anyone buy these? They were blurry as hell—couldn't everyone see that? Over time, the blur problem has subsided thanks to improved refresh rates of 8ms and less. But motion blur is not only caused by refresh rate, it's a natural problem that arises as LCDs flip from frame to frame, 60 times per second. The solution is to double the flipping, to 120 times per second, hence high-end "120Hz" LCDs hitting the market. We've talked about these sets when they were just launching. But there's new controversy as explained in this Home Theater Mag article right now.
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burn unit
New DirecTV DVRs Can Mess Up Plasma TVs, But Not LCDs
According to Gary over at HD Guru, the newest DVR receivers from DirecTV, the H20 and HR20 models, border nearly every standard def 4:3 channel with vertical black bars. The black may be a nice touch visually, but if you leave one of those channels on your plasma TV too long, those bars will glow strangely bright when the whole screen is in use. LCD TV owners, of course, need not fret. More »Rumor Smashed: Dell Not Leaving LCD TV Market
Ungar buy Dell LCD. Ungar use Home Business coupon, save much money. Ungar see Reuter report on Dell leave LCD market. Ungar sad. Ungar then see dell denial. More »Dell Says Buh-Bye to LCD TV Biz?
Reuters is reporting that a Chinese paper is reporting (yep, double, well now triple unconfirmed reporting) that Dell isn't doing so well at the LCD TV game and plans to get out. Is it true? I think the Reuters report nicely sums up the results of non-TV companies like Motorola and Dell getting into the TV business:...Many of the non-traditional players have quietly de-emphasized the business since then in favor of focusing on their core products.
Ah, so it's actually not super easy to make and sell TVs? You tell us, Dell. (We prefer your core products anyway.) More »
deals
Black Friday Watch: Best Buy Edition
A reader sends in this tip about Best Buy's plans for Black Friday. More »
home entertainment
Alu Media Wall - Flat Screen Wall Mounting Simplified
Bought a new flatscreen LCD or Plasma but don't know how to mount it on your existing wall, or live in an apartment where you can't? The Alu Media Wall is a home entertainment center and faux wall-mount that holds TVs up to 47" and 185 lbs. Avoid drilling holes and calling an electrician but keep the picture-frame look for your TV. More »
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