tvs

BERLIN--LG rolled out its recently announced "borderless" TVs here at IFA on Thursday for all the cameras.

They were introduced in North America at the end of July. By "borderless" they essentially mean it's an HDTV without any noticeable bezel. Using an injection compressed molding and special laminating process, the TV does have a bezel, but it's very small, is flush with the TV, and has no space between it and the screen. It's just like the "edge-to-edge" glass concept on Apple's MacBook Pro, but much larger.

See our previous … Read more

Nobody, least of all Sony, ever said it would be easy to start cranking out OLED TVs. It doesn't help matters to be in a financial crunch.

So it should come as little surprise that according to a report in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal (subscriber access only), losses in Sony's TV division are driving the electronics giant to put a hold on future OLEDs TVs.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the Journal says that new OLED (organic light-emitting diode) production would compound the poor performance at Sony's TV division--which looks likely to lose money again … Read more

In the midst of the global recession, at least one company's business is booming.

LG Electronics reported on Wednesday record-high quarterly earnings of $1.15 trillion Korean won ($920 million), a leap of 62 percent over the year-ago quarter.

Global sales for the quarter that ended June 30 shot up 13.8 percent to 14.5 trillion won ($11.63 billion).

The net profit surpassed expectations of analysts polled by Dow Jones, who had forecast around 743 billion won. Earnings also enjoyed a strong rebound from the first quarter when LG took a loss of 197.6 billion won.… Read more

The maker of the CinemaNow video service says it wants to start adding 3D movies to its repertoire.

Sonic Solutions is working with Nvidia, Samsung, and Mitsubishi to start delivering video in a variety of 3D formats to PCs and some 3D-capable TVs. Whenever it does become available--which is not clear yet because Sonic isn't ready to discuss which hardware partners it's working with--the movies will be delivered via the same method as the company's CinemaNow service.

The technology, however, is still new. It will only work with devices with graphics processors optimized for 3D, which mostly means it will work on PCs with 3D-capable monitors. Some Samusng and Mitsubishi TVs that are 3D-enabled might also work. In all cases, you'll still need plastic 3D glasses.

Though Sonic Solutions actually sees Blu-ray as the best way of delivering 3D content, there are several issues holding that up: the technology has not been agreed upon by all the parties that subscribe to that standard. In the meantime, Sonic says its video service will be a great way to fill the gap, since there are a growing number of 3D movies in the theater.

"We see an opportunity to bridge that time gap," said Michael DiMaria, vice president of product management for CinemaNow. "Ultimately, we believe Blu-ray will be the dominant format for the distribution of 3D content. In the meantime, there's plenty of content available and several ways to display it." … Read more

If you're following the fortunes of OLED, this little tidbit from LG CEO Kwon Young Soo that appeared on OLED-Display.net should be of interest.

"We plan to produce 32-inch OLED panels for TVs in 2012," he said, adding: "The commercial success of OLEDs hinges on how it shows its superiority compared to LCD technologies."

Both Samsung and Sony suggested they'd be selling a 32-inch OLED sets by the end of this year or by mid 2010 at the latest. And that may still happen, but the sets would be so prohibitively expensive that … Read more

Flat-panel TVs are no longer playthings of the rich. In fact, dirt-cheap models can be had in every screen size and from numerous diverse makers. Here's a guide to finding your way through the budget HDTV morass.

Bargain brands vs. name brands Value brands like Vizio and Westinghouse, along with even lesser-known names like Dynex and Haier, compete head-to-head against the Sonys and Panasonics of the world. You can get a great deal with an off-brand, although you should still do your research. When considering a bargain brand it's always worthwhile to see how much you're actually … Read more

Updated at 12:10 p.m. PT with comments from co-chair of the working group.

A consortium of manufacturers and retailers is working on an environmental rating for TVs that goes beyond just power consumption to include everything from packaging to amount of toxic material used.

The standard, tentatively called EPEAT-for-TV, is spearheaded by the Green Electronics Coalition and is being worked on through the IEEE Standards Association.

The arrival of energy-hungry flat-screen TVs has some consumers looking more closely at the electricity consumption of their electronics. (See CNET's energy-efficient guide for TVs here.)

The EPEAT-for-TV rating will define … Read more

I get letters about this all the time.

They usually go something like this: "I'm no audiophile, but can you explain why all of the new, slim, pretty, thin HDTV's sound so bad? I bought a 46-inch Samsung LN46A850 for its great picture, but when I got it home, the sound was tinny. So I bought a sound bar but it had its own issues and I don't want to use multiple remotes. Any ideas?"

The problem is mostly caused by just how skinny these TVs are: There's no room for decent speakers. More than that, I'm sorry to say that sound quality isn't a priority for TV manufacturers, and they know that most buyers accept "good enough" sound. So there's no real demand from consumers to get better sound from TVs. And I guess the manufacturers assume anyone who really cares will spring for a better sound system.

My advice: Check out Zvox speakers; I've reviewed many over the years for CNET. The best bang for the buck model is the 315. It sounds great for $199, and since you can hook it up to the TV's audio outputs, you won't need to use a separate remote (that's also true for some other manufacturers' soundbars).

Consider the 315 only if your TV has a headphone jack--or if its audio output jacks can be set to "variable." Then you'll be able to control the 315's volume with your TV's remote (the 315 doesn't have its own remote).

To learn more about the 315 check out my CNET review.… Read more

The rough seas of the consumer electronics business has caused yet another smaller boat to capsize. Soyo, the maker of Honeywell TVs, has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.

The news was first reported by the HDGuru.com blog. An SEC filing from earlier this week states that the company shut down operations on May 5, and filed for Chapter 7. Chapter 7 means the company is planning on liquidating its remaining assets, with no plans to reorganize under a new repayment plant to creditors, as a Chapter 11 filing would allow. The company could not be reached for comment. … Read more