TVs

Sharp has announced that the 70-inch LC-70UD1 is the first Ultra HD screen to receive THX certification. It will be released in mid-August and will retail for $7,999.

The TV features a 4k/UHD resolution of 3,840x2,160 pixels and includes a dual-core processor to upscale existing sources.

The Sharp includes a relatively thin metal bezel and a bottom grille featuring a six-speaker sound system with a dual subwoofer.

Onboard are four HDMI inputs -- which the company says accept a native 4K signal, despite there not being any yet -- in addition to an SD card reader … Read more

Recently, CNET started measuring input lag. This is the amount of time it takes for a TV or projector to produce an image. In the worse case, excessive input lag can cause lip sync issues. In most cases, it can lead to worse performance with certain games.

Since the article hit, there's been a surge of people ridiculing certain displays as "unacceptable" due to their input lag issues.

Hang on -- unacceptable? Just how important is input lag, anyway?… Read more

Samsung said the OLED-based KN55F9500 55-inch would be available this year, and it's making good on the promise.

A report by Korea's Yonhap News Agency says the television will arrive in Korea next week.

A report at HD Guru says the news agency quoted a price of $8,780 USD (10 million won). A Samsung representative also told Guru that the U.S. version of the TV would arrive in the second half of this year. CNET contacted Samsung and we'll update this post if we get additional confirmation. Update: Samsung got back to us, but didn'… Read more

Both Samsung and LG, two of the biggest players in the burgeoning world of organic light-emitting diode televisions, have announced (or depending on where you live, are selling) curved OLED screens to go along with traditional "flat" OLED screens.

Curved screens have been used in theaters for decades, and more recently in some high-end home theaters, too. In a TV though, it's nothing more than a gimmick.

Here's why.… Read more

Recently we took a poll where we asked "What's stopping you from getting a plasma?" A majority of voters rebuked my premise, picking "I love my plasma." The other responses were fairly evenly split among the choices.

However, there was a surprisingly common reason given in the comments that baffled me, and it's so bizarre it's clearly worth debunking, or at least shining the light on the facts.

So how much do TVs weigh?… Read more

Today's HDTVs are packed with Smart TV suites, fancy picture processing, and other extras that add functionality and/or affect picture quality. For a serious gamer, none of that matters compared to the responsiveness of the TV, and often the extras just get in the way.

The culprit is input lag. That's the term for the delay, in milliseconds, between a TV receiving a signal and the results of that signal appearing on the screen. Those milliseconds are irrelevant for TV shows and movies, and they don't even matter for most games -- the majority of gamers probably wouldn't even notice if their TV was laggy. But if you're an attentive, skilled gamer, especially one who plays "twitch" games like Call of Duty, Halo, or fighting games, especially in online multiplayer environments, input lag can mean the difference between virtual life and death.

CNET just started testing for input lag, and so far we've corralled a handful of 2013 TVs. Here are five of our favorites so far, in ascending order of lag in Game mode -- or the least laggy picture mode, if Game isn't an option. For reference, we grade under 40ms of lag as Good, 40 to 70 as Average, and more than 70 as Poor.

… Read more

If you look at CNET's lists of best TVs this year, or any recent year, chances are good there's a plasma TV made by Panasonic at the top. That's because they consistently offer excellent picture quality for the price.

Sure, Samsung's plasmas also do very well, and for that matter we've lauded a number of LED LCD TVs by Vizio, Sharp, Sony, and others. We've also given plenty of flat-out bad reviews to Panasonic's LCD TVs, and even to the cheapest Panasonic plasma last year (this year's version, the X60, just started shipping). But no combination of brand and technology has done as well in our reviews over the last few years as Panasonic's plasmas.

So if you're thin-slicing the hopelessly confusing and BS-riddled TV market in search of your next set, you could do worse than simply asking yourself the question in this article's headline. The breakdown below, arranged in ascending order of price (prices current as of press time), should help with the answer. … Read more

ESPN has confirmed it will cease broadcasting its 3D channel at the end of the year and will focus on new technologies such as 4K.

Rather than making an official announcement, the first news came in the form of a tweet from an ESPN employee this morning.

ESPN 3D was great at home but due to low adoption of 3D to home, we are discontinuing to focus on other products for fans and affiliates

ESPN has since confirmed to CNET the service will cease by the end of the year.… Read more

Last year Panasonic introduced intrusive advertising in the form of pop-up banner ads on its Smart TVs, and unfortunately the company has decided to continue the practice this year.

But that's not the only potentially annoying thing about the new interface. When you first turn it on the TV also defaults to a new Home screen filled with apps you'll mostly never use, like a calendar. Your actual TV show is relegated to an inset window until you actively select and expand it.

Banner ads are the way of life for Web sites and many apps, as advertising … Read more