LCD

Sony's big CES introduction: a $33,000 LCD HDTV

If you've got $33,000 earmarked for a new television, then Sony's main CES announcement might pique your interest. If you don't, you'll have to wait until the company's February show to hear anything official about the company's 2007 products. Eschewing CES for significant product news is nothing new for the company, but the price point of its new flagship HDTV still represents a certain kind of bravado. At least Sony knows how to capture headlines from the mainstream press.

The $33,000 KDL-70XBR3 (did I mention it costs $33,000?) happens to be … Read more

Updated Toshiba Regza LCD TVs on the way

Toshiba will deliver 13 new HDTVs in its Regza line of LCD flat-panel models in 2007, including some as large as 52 and 57 inches.

The company highlighted five updated technologies that it hopes will distinguish its Regza LCDs from the increasingly fierce competition in the flat-panel arena. Among them: PixelPure3G (14-bit video processing designed to eliminate banding artifacts and offer improved video noise reduction); DynaLight (dynamic backlight adjustment, designed to optimize contrast); ColorBurst (wider color gamut); ClearFrame (120Hz screen refresh rate, which is said to diminish motion blur without adding flicker or reducing brightness); and CE-Link (HDMI-based control codes … Read more

A TV designed to match your decor

If you're not thrilled with the trend toward sandwich-board TV stands, you might want to consider something like this recent addition to Sony's Bravia line of LCD sets. The new Esprit TAV-L1 is built with a sliding decorative panel that hides a 32-inch TV behind it, in a variety of designs to suit your decor. Sony says the Esprit, which is available only in Europe at present, "fused cutting-edge European interior trends with the best of Sony's exclusive sound and vision technology." We like Chip Chick's description a lot better: "A force to … Read more

Microtek to sell flat panel TVs

TVs galore this morning.

Microtek, known for its scanning and digital imaging technology, announced Wednesday that it was launching two television lines.

The Microtek line includes a 42-inch flat panel plasma television for $1,500 and a 50-inch version for $2,000. The Cineon line offers a 42-inch flat panel plasma for $1,600 and a 50-inch for $2,200.

On Friday, Microtek announced that it will be adding a 42-inch LCD HDTV to each of those new lines. The L42CX2A for $1,900 will be added to the Microtek line and the CL42HA for $2,000 will be added … Read more

Vizio's latest TV: 47 inches, $1,900

We told you so. Vizio had promised to come out with a 47-inch LCD television with the highest resolution (1080p) for under $2,000, and it has.

The $1,900 TV is the latest of Vizio's "Gallevia" line, as well as the latest salvo fired in its trench warfare with other relative newcomers in the flat TV business--namely Westinghouse, which has a competing product around the same price.

In a recent interview with News.com, Vizio CEO William Wang said, "We don't believe anyone can call $3,000 affordable" for a 1080p TV. For … Read more

Dell monitor leaked pre-CES

Like what you see? At least a few Dell employees (or several from marketing) are excited about the company's new 27-inch LCD wide-screen flat-panel LCD monitor. Someone spilled the news pre-CES.

The story making rounds in the blogosphere is that this leak was due to a misposted image on Dell's Web site. Kudos to Electronista for grabbing this one before it was taken down. Since the "accidental" leak, Dell has replaced the image with an image diagramming the 2007WFP Wide-Screen Black Flat Panel Monitor, its 20.1-inch version.

Couldn't find any pricing for you, but (… Read more

Samsung preps new, cheaper TVs

Only a day after fellow Craver Michael Kanellos noted that the little guys were driving much of digital TV market, one of the giants has decided to step in with a new tactic. Rather than just compete in the brutal price wars of recent months, Samsung will introduce a whole new line of thinner rear-projection TVs that The New York Times says will cost 30 percent less than the plasma screens on the market today.

Samsung, the second-highest seller of plasmas and LCD sets in North America, plans to make the new TVs in some of the largest mass-market sizes (… Read more