With all the hype and hoopla about Sharp's 80-, and now 90-inch LCDs, I think it's important to point out that these are neither a good value, nor a good idea if your goal is a big TV for the home.
Yes, I'm talking about projection, and it's easier, cheaper, and better looking than a big LCD.… Read more
The television market hit a rough patch during the first quarter of 2012, according to new data from research firm NPD DisplaySearch.
During the period, total television shipments worldwide hit 51.2 million units, representing an 8 percent decline compared with the first quarter of 2011. LCDs took up the major share, tallying 84.2 percent ownership of the television market. Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) televisions took 10 percent of the market, followed by plasmas with 5.8 percent share.
The big news, however, was that for the first time ever, LCD shipments were actually down year over year. According … Read more
CNET reader Taher asks:
I'm trying to decide between two 3D TVs: a Panasonic that's active 3D and LG that's passive 3D. LG has all these international certificates for the best 3D picture and claims it's full resolution, but you and others claim Passive 3D is half the resolution of a real 1080p. Is there is a way for me to really tell the difference between an active and a passive 3D?There sure is.… Read more
The technology behind the screen that creates the image is the core of what you're paying for when you buy a TV.
Understanding the differences can be confusing and, frankly, very technical. Leave it to CNET's Brian Cooley to make it simple and narrow down your choice in just a few minutes. Luckily for even the least attentive consumer, there are very few bad TVs out there. But if you're about to lay out this kind of money for a piece of electronics you'll keep for almost seven years on average, know what you're buying. … Read more
Electronics retailer Value Electronics held its first 2012 flat-panel TV picture quality shootouts last weekend. The event was won by the Panasonic TC-P65VT50.
Panasonic's best plasma TV for 2012 beat out five other contenders. In descending order of average score (see the scorecard below), they were the Samsung PN64E8000 plasma, the Sharp Elite PRO-60X5FD LCD, the Samsung UNES8000 LCD, the LG 60PM9700 plasma and the Panasonic TC-L47WT50 LCD. Despite a lower average score, the voters gave the Elite second place overall however, ahead of the Samsung PNE8000.
The Panasonic VT50 outscored the others in color accuracy and general content … Read more
In the United States, hundreds of new TVs are released every year, and our job is to pick out the diamonds from among the dirt clods. In the past six months, two TVs have really stood out to me not only as diamonds, but iconic in the same way that the Pioneer Kuro was all of those years ago.
While we all wait for OLEDs to appear later in 2012, I have seen only two televisions in recent memory that I would consider buying for myself: the Sharp Elite Pro and the Panasonic ST50. Both have amazing image quality, but … Read more
CNET Reader Rob asks:
I've been reading your articles on HDTV and find them very informative so, here's something I need cleared up. You mentioned how plasma TVs can control the brightness of individual pixels, made me think they should have a superior picture to LCD -- so I went looking at plasmas. I noticed that they seem to have a "washed out" look, an overall dimmer picture than LCD. Everywhere I go this seems to be the case. What's up with that? Thanks.A common question, and a huge issue with plasmas, but not how you might think.… Read more
CNET reader Ray asks:
Will leaving my TV powered on (but on black screen) for an extended period of time do any damage or affect the picture quality?Good question.Not all HD is the same. For that matter, just because you have an HDTV, that doesn't mean you're actually watching high-definition video. A variety of factors could be conspiring to create an image that's not nearly as good as what your TV is capable of.
Make sure you're getting the most from your TV with this guide.… Read more
Recently, while shopping for a new TV, I found myself waffling between LCD and plasma. I've always chosen the former because they tend to pair better with PCs (and I'm a media-center guy), but because the TV in question was going to marry a TiVo, that wasn't a concern.
I'd also steered clear of plasmas because of longstanding issues with burn-in, but a little research revealed that thanks to improvements in plasma technology, it's not really a problem anymore.
Most of all, plasmas used to fetch a premium price -- but these days they're … Read more
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