CES - Televisions

Samsung goes green with the UNB6000 series of LED-backlight LCDs

Last year Philips won our best of CES award with the Eco TV, and in 2009 other companies are following suit with their own green TVs. The Samsung UNB6000 series of Samsung LCDs is "eco-friendly", with the company claiming 40% or more energy savings over traditional LCDs. The sets also put a focus on energy usage by including a power indicator menu and an optimized energy savings mode, which dynamically adjusts settings to conserve power. We can't say we're fans of dynamic adjustments for image quality, but those that value energy savings over performance might prefer … Read more

Samsung's step-down LED-backlit LCDs feature Yahoo widgets, 120Hz

The A950 series was Samsung's only LED-backlit LCDs in 2008, but the company is serving up several LED-backlit lines in 2009. The UNB7000 is the step-down from the top-of-the-line UNB8000 series, but includes nearly all the same features except 240Hz refresh rate. Here are the details.

Key features of the Samsung UNB7000 series:

120Hz response time Slim design, around an inch thick LED-backlit Ultra Clear antireflective screen Internet@TV capable (Yahoo widgets) Built-in Ethernet Wi-Fi-ready, with purchase of additional adapter Energy Star 3.0 compatible

Pricing and availability of the Samsung UNB7000 series (estimated street prices):

40-inch UN46B7000 ($2,… Read more

Samsung UNB8000 LCDs put LED-backlighting and 240Hz in a one-inch frame

Samsung has put a big emphasis on LED-backlighting on this year's LCDs, and the UNB8000 series are the most souped-up models the company has at CES 2009. Here's a quick rundown of the feature set.

Key features of the Samsung UNB8000 series:

240Hz response time Slim design, about an inch thick LED-backlit Ultra Clear antireflective screen Internet@TV capable (Yahoo widgets) Built-in Ethernet Wi-Fi-ready, with purchase of additional adapter Energy Star 3.0 compatible

Pricing and availability of the Samsung UNB8000 series (estimated street prices):

46-inch UN46B8000 ($3,299, May) 55-inch UN55B8000 ($3,999, May)

Like the step-down … Read more

LG's 240Hz LCDs flash backlights really fast

Now that 240Hz technology is appearing in TVs from most major manufacturers at CES, LG is interested in touting its own version, a so-called scanning backlight that, according to the company, outperforms other 240Hz methods.

The four-model LH55 series, LG's baseline 240Hz models, includes the 37-inch 37LH55, the 42-inch 42LH55, the 47-inch 47LH55 and the 55-inch 55LH55. The 37-inch set is the smallest 240Hz model we've hard of so far. They will ship in March, although pricing wasn't announced.

Compared with standard 120Hz LCDs, 240Hz models supposedly deliver smoother images and even better motion blur reduction. We'… Read more

240Hz refresh rate makes its way to Toshiba LCDs

Now that LCD TVs with 120Hz refresh rates are becoming commonplace, manufacturers including Toshiba are implementing 240Hz to bolster claims of smoother images with improved blur reduction.

Toshiba's ZV650 series includes three screen sizes, the 42-inch 42ZV650, the 46-inch 46ZV650, and the 55-inch 55ZV650, and will be available in April (prices were not announced).

In describing its 240Hz models, the company called it a "240Hz effect" to be extra-careful. Compared to 120Hz models, the company claims that 240Hz delivers smoother images with less blurring--although if our review of the Sony KDL-52XBR7 is any indication, the difference will be difficult to discern.

Like LG and Vizio, Toshiba uses the scanning backlight version of 240Hz, which turns the backlight on and off very rapidly. Sony and Samsung use a different version, which interpolates three extra frames for every true frame. We doubt many viewers will be able to tell the difference, but we'll wait till we can compare the two 240Hz methods.

Sharp's E67U LCD line sticks to the basics

CES may be the place to make a big splash with new technology, but it's also a place for manufacturers to announce their standard product lines. Sharp's LC-E67U line of LCDs doesn't offer up anything surprising, although it's worth noting the generous four HDMI inputs. Here are the details.

Key features of the Sharp LC-E67U series:

Advanced Super View antireflective screen Four HDMI inputs Two component video inputs Energy Star 3.0 compliant Vyper Drive gaming mode 32- and 40-inch screen sizes

While most of these features are pretty standard, Advanced Super View (ASV) is a … Read more

Toshiba enters LED race with high-end LCDs

Samsung, Sony, LG, and Vizio offer or will offer HDTVs with LED backlights, the most effective picture quality improvement available for LCD TVs, and now Toshiba will too.

The SV670 series includes two screen sizes, the 46-inch 46SV670U and the 55-inch 55SV670U, and will be available in June (prices were not announced).

The company was quick to stipulate that the sets' LEDs employ "local dimming" technology, which can dim and turn off sections of the backlight while leaving others bright as needed. Other LED models with local dimming we've reviewed in the past, from Samsung and Sony, delivered deeper black levels and better overall picture quality than standard LCD TVs.

As with many other higher-end models announced at CES this year, the SV670 series also boasts 240Hz refresh rates--although we appreciated that the company called it a "240Hz effect" to be extra careful. Compared with 120Hz models, the company claims that 240Hz delivers smoother images with less blurring--although if our review of the Sony KDL-52XBR7 is any indication, the difference will be difficult to discern.

Like LG and Vizio, Toshiba's 240Hz sets use the scanning backlight version of 240Hz, which turns the backlight on and off very rapidly. Sony and Samsung use a different version of 240Hz, which interpolates three extra frames for every true frame. We doubt many viewers will be able to tell the difference, but we'll wait till we can compare the two 240Hz methods.

LG clips wires on high-end LCD lineup

Today LG announced a series of LCD TVs with wireless capability, where external components connect to a separate module that sends the signals over-the-air to the TV.

"Wireless" HDTV has been tried before but it has never seemed to take off. The LH85 series, which consists of the 47-inch 47LH85 and the 55-inch 55LH85, aims to change that trend. LG promises uncompressed delivery of 1080p content without wires, courtesy of a proprietary 60GHz radio and multielement antenna array.

Aside from the wireless capability, other features include a 120Hz refresh rate (not the 240Hz rate seen on many other … Read more

Sharp LC-BD80U LCDs have built-in Blu-ray

Blu-ray may still be a niche product, but it's a sure sign that the technology is going mainstream is that it's being built into TVs. Sharp has announced a full line of LCDs with integrated Blu-ray players, the LC-BD80U series, which is a new product category for CES 2009. While the initial details are scarce on the features of the built-in Blu-ray player, there are at least some specs available for the LCDs.

Key features of the Sharp LC-BD80U series:

Advanced Super View antireflective screen 120Hz refresh rate, with dejudder processing Four HDMI inputs (three on the LC-32BD60U … Read more

Toshiba Regza XV645 series touts Resolution+ technology

Toshiba has announced the XV645 series, which is the entry-level to the company's Regza line of LCDs. One of the major step-ups of this series over Toshiba's other LCDs is that it offers the Resolution+ technology. Resolution+ is the next generation of Toshiba's SRT technology, which was featured in the company's LCDs last year. These are the details Toshiba released:

Key features of the Toshiba Regza XV645 Series:

Resolution+ super resolution technology 120Hz refresh rate with dejudder Autoview (automatically adjusts settings based on incoming signals) Three HDMI inputs PC input

40-, 46- and 52-inch screen sizes … Read more