tvs

'Chuck' in 3D falls flat

NBC's Chuck aired in 3D Monday, and it left many viewers wanting to do exactly that with the paper 3D glasses: chuck them.

The overriding opinion of many people interviewed who tuned in to the 3D television event was disappointment.

"I thought it was a gimmick and did not add anything to the show," said Jamie Knapp of Columbus, Ohio. "The red/blue (glasses) did not look good and gave me a headache."

The 3D promotion was intended to raise awareness of 3D movies, specifically ones coming to theaters soon, like Monsters vs. Aliens from … Read more

CES 2009: Everything connected and mobile

LAS VEGAS--The undeniable winner coming out of CES 2009 is Palm. The smartphone maker took a giant step toward a much-needed comeback by announcing the Pre and accompanying mobile operating system, WebOS.

The Pre announcement garnered a ton of pre-show buzz, and dominated news coverage on the opening day of the event. But the Pre wasn't the only thing noteworthy about this year's gadget extravaganza here. High-definition televisions got Internet access and lost their wires, Netbooks and notebooks became harder to tell apart, and wireless products came in some surprising packages.

As the show comes to a close Saturday, here's a look back at some of the most important themes that emerged.

High-definition television makers are getting real CES is usually a competition among TV makers to see who can make the largest screen or thinnest set. While there was still an element of that here, the top-tier television manufacturers also competed another way: to find who could make the new HDTV most accessible to the mainstream consumer in a down economy.

Toshiba's Scott Ramirez put it best: Sure we could make a 150-inch TV. "But nobody buys those."… Read more

Northern Calif. households switched to digital TV early

Residents of the Redding and Chico areas of Northern California who had still been watching analog TV were moved to digital channels on Monday as the CBS, NBC, and Fox stations permanently switched to digital-only TV two months ahead of the national mandate.

Station executives said on Tuesday that the transition went well, except for those households that didn't have an analog-to-digital converter.

"We did a good job about getting the word out about converter boxes early," said Doug Holroyd, general manager of Fox KCVU, which serves as many as 12,000 households.

The station gave away … Read more

CNET News Daily Podcast: Dark forecast for LCD TV makers

Next year is shaping up to be a nightmare for LCD TV makers. CNET News consumer electronics reporter Erica Ogg drops in to talk about why. That, and the day's headlines, in Thursday's CNET News Daily Podcast.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

Today's stories:

Mozilla patches highly critical security flaws

Gates Foundation donates to health, connectivity

iPhone app navigates Obama inauguration

LCD TV revenues to dip for first time ever

Battery exec: Europe ahead of U.S. on electric cars

Factory for Chevy Volt engine on hold

Baylis wind-up MP3 player is no joke

LCD TV revenues to dip for first time ever

Next year is shaping up to be a nightmare for LCD TV makers.

Revenues for LCD TVs sold worldwide in 2009 are expected to fall 16 percent from 2008, to $64 billion, according to an update to DisplaySearch's Quarterly Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report, released Thursday. Next year will be "the most difficult year yet for the TV industry and supply chain," DisplaySearch writes in the report.

The culprits are rapidly declining prices of LCD TVs and lower shipments to retailers due to slackening demand. DisplaySearch expects 2009 LCD shipments to drop to 205.3 million … Read more

Premium LCD TV brands slash prices to compete for holiday shoppers

Black Friday retail results were a pleasant surprise for retailers this year, with sales inching up slightly from the same day last year. A big part of that was the heavy discounting designed to attract consumers.

TV makers were no exception. But the discounts on LCD TVs were heaviest from the premium names in the business--Sony, Samsung, Sharp, Philips, LG, and Toshiba.

That's according to market research firm iSuppli, which reported Thursday that the top brands cut slashed prices on their LCD TV models on average of 23 percent for the holiday shopping weekend beginning on the day after … Read more

Flat-panel TV shipments begin their decline

One of the hottest products in consumer electronics is finally cooling off.

A report released Tuesday confirms that flat-panel television shipments to retailers are beginning to tail off. Specifically, LCD and plasma TV shipment grew just 21 percent, and 20 percent, respectively year over year during the third quarter of 2008, according to DisplaySearch's Quarterly Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report.

That's by far the most meager growth for this category in the past two years. The previous six quarters' growth have all exceeded 41 percent compared to the previous year.

We're on the brink of a … Read more

Philips Aurea 42PFL9903D: It's illuminating

If you love Christmas lights and don't see why they should be restricted to just one time of the year, the Philips Aurea II is the TV for you. It boasts enough colored illumination to put Oxford Street to shame. The only disappointment: it costs more than a 50-inch Pioneer Kuro.

Yes, that's right, the 42PFL9903D has a list price of ?2,500, or $4,300. So, as you can imagine, this is going to need to be one awe-inspiring TV to justify such a hefty price tag. To be fair, we did really like the original Aurea, … Read more

Can gadget bargains be had before the holidays?

When Leslie Martinez walked into a Los Angeles-area Best Buy two weeks ago looking only for a 40-inch Sony Bravia LCD TV, she walked out with a heavily discounted Blu-ray Disc player, some Blu-ray movies, and half-priced HDTV accessories.

After seeing the TV she wanted at Costco, she turned to Best Buy to see if they could match the price. In the end, after a bit of negotiating with a salesman, the electronics retailer did much more than that.

"He made it almost impossible to walk away," Martinez said.

Retailers have offered bundled Blu-ray players with TVs before, … Read more