lcd

Big week, or at least big gadgets and gear, on the CNET Labscast. Forget about tiny 13-inch ultrabooks, now these slim laptops are moving into 14- and 15-inch territory, and we've got a couple of examples to pass around the room. Then Ty talks up his latest acquisition, a massive 80-inch Sharp LCD TV. It's awesome for sports (or "sport" as Ty puts it), but you can't make an 80-inch LCD for $5,000 without cutting a few corners.

But before all that, we've got the new iPad 3 (yes, that's what we're calling it), and a very eye-opening comparison of text blown up on both that and the iPad 2--be warned, it's the kind of thing you can't un-see.

… Read more

With all the incessant hoopla about the new iPad, the one comparison that keeps popping up is that its 2,048x1,536-pixel resolution is "greater than an HDTV!" or "1 million more pixels than your TV!"

Not only is this irrelevant and a senseless comparison, but it has no bearing on the future of HDTVs, as some have implied.

Here's why.… Read more

We're able to peel CNET television Editor Ty Pendlebury's eyes away from the Sharp 80-inch smart TV he's reviewing right now to sit down with us for a show about language translation apps, overused QR codes, Batman impersonators, and more.… Read more

Sound-quality advances in headphone design show no sign of slowing down, and even old names like Philips and Sony are getting serious about making great-sounding headphones. Sadly, those brands aren't attempting to make anything that could be compared with the world's best, like the JH-3A headphone/amplifier system, from JH Audio.

That company's founder and designer, Jerry Harvey, started building in-ear monitors for rock bands in 1995. He counts Lady Gaga, Alicia Keys, Aerosmith, Foreigner, and Linkin Park as customers. Harvey is currently with the Van Halen tour--the band uses his 'phones onstage--and Harvey uses their feedback to improve his designs.

The JH-3A is an amplifier/in-ear headphone system, with analog and digital inputs with up to 24-bit resolution and 96kHz sampling rates. I've used portable headphone amplifiers before, and they can sound great with all types of headphones, but the JH-3A takes in-ear headphone performance to another level.… Read more

In response to complaints and a class action lawsuit over failing TVs caused by bum capacitors, Samsung has promised to provide benefits to owners of a select group of its TVs.

The benefits include extension of a warranty for 18 months after March 2, 2012, a "free service visit" to determine if your TV has the issue, and refunds for related expenses and/or payments via debit card or cash. They apply to all U.S. consumers, not just residents of Oklahoma where the lawsuit was filed.

The TVs covered by the proposed settlement include LCD, plasma, and DLP models made before December 31, 2008. The settlement does not cover Samsung TVs manufactured after that date.

Click through to Samsung's dedicated Web site at www.samsung.com/us/capacitorsettlement/ for the full details, to view the affected TVs or to download a claim form.

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CNET Reader Dadar asks:

Are the "lifespan" claims by manufacturers proper? I've read numbers ranging from 50,000 hours to 100,000 hours, often with plasma TVs at the higher end of that scale compared to LED and CCFL LCDs.

I would have thought, being solid-state devices, light emitting diodes would have had a greater lifespan than their fluorescent counterparts. Hearsay also puts plasma at the bottom, but numbers I've found show the opposite? Are any of these true?

All claims by manufacturers should be taken with a grain of salt, but you pose an excellent question.… Read more

Samsung Electronics, the world's largest maker of flat-screen TVs, expects to spin off its money-losing LCD unit as a new corporation after the company's board of directors approved the plan today.

The new entity, which will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung, will be called Samsung Display Company and switch the company's focus from LCD panels to OLED panels. The spinoff, which still requires shareholder approval, is expected to launch April 1 and make it more competitive in the face of falling demand.

"Currently, the display market is undergoing rapid changes with OLED panels … Read more

Updated February 16, 8:45 a.m. ET

A couple of weeks ago a colleague at CNET walked into my office and told me his TV had died.

It was a Samsung LCD from 2008, and according to my colleague--let's call him "Bill" since he said he'd rather not be identified in this story--a quick Google search revealed hundreds of other Samsung TV owners with the same problem. Here's the 2010 story Bill found that "started the whole thing" for him.

Bill told me the TV simply wouldn't turn on despite repeated … Read more

Samsung might be a leading TV maker, but its LCD business is quickly becoming a thorn in its side.

Speaking to Reuters today, Samsung said that it's considering all options with its LCD flat-panel business, but declined to confirm that it has made any decisions. One rumor suggests Samsung is thinking about spinning off its LCD business, but the company would not comment on that.

"Samsung is looking into various options to improve the competitiveness of LCD business, but no decision has been made yet," a Samsung spokeswoman told CNET in an e-mailed statement.

Samsung's LCD … Read more