LCD

Update--Vizio stunned the consumer electronics world when it became the No. 1 seller of flat-panel TVs in North America.

But it may be only a temporary victory.

During the second quarter, Costco and Sam's Club, the two primary retailers of Vizio TVs, asked the company for more TVs than normal to increase their own inventories, according to a Vizio spokesman. The store chains typically had been carrying one to two weeks of inventory. They requested that the inventory be increased to three to four weeks. (Costco, by the way, declined to comment.)

As a result, Vizio experienced a sudden … Read more

Maybe it's got something to do with global warming, but personal weather stations seem to be a dime a dozen nowadays. So even though some may look better than others, it's difficult to get too excited over yet another model from Oregon Scientific, one of the more prolific makers of the devices.

Yet "Weather In Motion" really is noteworthy, though not necessarily for its meteorological qualities. What got our attention is its infrared motion-sensing technology, which Technabob says automatically adjusts the size of its numeric display depending on your distance from it--something that will be welcome … Read more

The price of LCD panels for notebooks and desktop monitors has been on the rise since April, though the increase has not yet been passed on to consumers. But that could change very soon, according to a new report from iSuppli.

Though LCD television prices have stabilized, monitor prices are far more volatile right now. As an example, the average price for a 15-inch notebook display has inched up from $90 to $108 between April and September, according to iSuppli. But during that time, monitor prices did not go up even as panels did, severely eating into the margins of … Read more

CHIBA, Japan--TV maker JVC says it will crank up the refresh rate on LCD TVs to 180Hz, which should lead to clearer images with less fringing.

Older and cheaper LCD TVs refresh images at a rate of 60 times a second, or 60Hz. Last year, Samsung and others announced plans to crank that number up to 120Hz and followed up the announcement with products.

At the Ceatec show here, JVC showed off a TV humming at 180Hz--a 50 percent speedup of the refresh rate. That doesn't mean a 50 percent improvement in quality, but it should result in more … Read more

We hate to say this, but we fear that this whole multimedia-kitchen thing may be getting out of hand. As much as we appreciated the built-in LCDs, espresso makers and, of course, beer on tap (we're human, after all), those conveniences were restricted mostly to the refrigerator--where we spend most of hour waking hours anyway. But a range hood? That's a little sick, even for us.

Nevertheless, Siemens plans to introduce its "Media Range Hood" to North American markets sometime next year, Appliancist says. Based on the "AvantGarde MultiMedia Hood" that has been selling … Read more

Is it possible to get a quality dashboard-mounted GPS system that can play video and MP3s for $175? We don't know about the quality part, but there's a new product that advertises all of the above, as well as a 3.5-inch color touch screen.

DealExtreme, an online retailer that habitually teases us with interesting products that offer frustratingly little detail, has done it again with this no-name item. The unit, which can apparently be removed from its mount and carried away from the car, also features an SD card slot, a car charger and USB cable, according … Read more

Don't worry, LCD makers. Even if those ridiculously thin OLED screens do end up taking over the flat-display market, there will always be a use for your wares--inside engagement ring boxes.

The "Euricase" is one such example that features a 2-inch LCD inside the lid bearing your personal message, as well as a clock, alarm, calendar and even a photo album that can store either 500 images or 60 minutes of video, according to Everything USB. And at under $200, it won't cost as much as the ring itself unless you got it at the drugstore.… Read more

CHIBA, Japan--Sharp, Hitachi and JVC are taking the bulk out of large LCD televisions.

All three manufacturers are showing off LCD TVs here at Ceatec this week with panels that are less than an inch thick. The TV stand and the electronics add bulk, but the electronics can be put in the base of the stand or in a unit that connects to the TV wirelessly.

Hitachi had the thinnest. It showed off a 32-inch TV with a panel that measured only 19 millimeters thick. Sharp showed off a 52-inch TV with a 20-millimeter thick panel. There are 25 millimeters … Read more

If Sony wants to be effective in this mystery marketing game, it's going to have to be more patient. Unlike B&O's "Serenata" campaign, which made us wait weeks before letting the secret out, Sony's latest product went live only days after its teaser site began to circulate in earnest.

But no matter. It turns out that the box under wraps was what it called the world's first OLED TV, referring to its ultra-thin and flexible screen technology that uses organic light-emitting diodes. The energy-efficient TV is just 3 millimeters thick and will … Read more