TVs

The Consumer Electronics Association has decided on a name for 4K resolution: Ultra HD. I guess this leaves room for future resolution increases, with names like Uber Ultra HD (UUHD), Super Ultra Definition (SUD), and, of course, Fantastic Ultra Brilliant Amazing Resolution (FUBAR).

But 4K is still largely just an increase in resolution, which is only one aspect of picture quality, and not the most important.

Here are three things more important than an increase in resolution.… Read more

Even after two articles, and a tremendous number of page hits, there still seems to be lots of questions about HDMI cables. I credit this to the complexity of the topic and the mountain of misinformation out there, rather than any particular failing of the writing on my part. Judge as you see fit.

But the fact is, a recent reposting of my original article lit off a bevy of new questions. Instead of expanding on that already bloated article, I figured a new one would be a better idea.

On to 3D, 1.3/1.4, getting physical, and more...… Read more

The one major streaming service heretofore absent from Samsung's TVs, Amazon Instant, is now available.

Today Samsung announced that the popular video service is available for immediate, free download to all 2012 Samsung Smart TVs. The Amazon Instant catalog includes more than 140,000 movies and commercial-free TV shows at a la carte pricing. The app on Samsung TVs also allows access to the more than 30,000 titles available for free to Prime members.

A Samsung rep told CNET that the app will not be made available to 2011 Samsung Smart TVs at this time, but couldn't … Read more

You know how big a TV you want, but you just can't decide which one. Here are a few suggestions.

The list below collects the highest-rated TVs we've reviewed so far this year, starting at 32 inches and going up to 70. CNET's TV ratings incorporate Value, so these aren't necessarily the hands-down best in picture quality--click here if you want those. I intentionally kept Sharp's 80-inch behemoth off the list since we didn't really like it much. The smallest TV we've rated this year, the 26-inch Samsung UN26EH4000, doesn't deserve a spot either since our hands-on review was of its 32-inch series mate, and we never compared other 26-inchers.

The rest of these sets fall between that range, and appear in ascending order of screen size. We also threw in a runner-up--the second-highest rated TV available for sale in each size range--for people who don't like door number one. Speaking of door number one, it's the Panasonic ST50 for anyone who wants a TV from 50 to 65 inches.

We also updated this list since initial publication, subbing in the still-available HX850 for the discontinued Vizio M3D470KD.

… Read more

Sony has announced that it will keep the 4K name for the successor to 1080p, despite the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) deciding on the new Ultra High Definition tag.

Sony's new name for the technology will be 4K Ultra HD and follows the CEA's announcement yesterday that resolutions of 3,840 pixels horizontally and at least 2,160 would be called simply Ultra HD.

A Sony spokeswoman has contacted CNET and said the company "lauds the CEA's efforts to come up with a common language" but the company wanted to make the name more clear.… Read more

The display format formerly known as 4K will now be called "Ultra High Definition" in the home, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) announced in California today.

The CEA said it chose Ultra HD to denote that it has a higher resolution than the existing 1,920x1,080 pixels of full high definition.

To qualify as Ultra HD, a display needs to have a resolution of at least 3,840 pixels horizontally and at least 2,160 pixels vertically, the CEA said. Additionally, the product will require at least one 4K-capable digital input and display 4K content natively without … Read more

You might not have the privilege of being able to pay something like $10,000 for a shiny new OLED TV this year after all.

According to DisplaySearch, a display industry analysis firm, problems with manufacturing will keep both LG and Samsung from releasing their 55-inch OLED TVs in 2012.

"Samsung and LG recently scrapped their plans to mass-produce 55-inch OLED televisions this year as the companies are having serious difficulties in improving manufacturing yield," said an unnamed DisplaySearch official in The Korea Times earlier today.

"Samsung and LG planned to start selling OLED TVs at major … Read more

In the past week, CNET has reviewed three separate media devices, each costing $300, and one of them was a television. And guess what: the TV wasn't terrible.

The three products were the TCL L40FHDP60 ($309), the 3M Streaming Projector ($299), and the Apple iPod Touch ($299). Seeing them all together got me thinking: which one of these would I actually buy if I had the money? Is there something else I'd rather do with my $300?

Until we find out whether the Apple iPad Mini exists, I cast the net out a bit farther and two other … Read more

One undeniable trend in TVs is bigger screens for less money, and 2012's crop of LCD and plasma models goes bigger than ever.

For example, I reviewed a 60-inch Smart LED TV from Vizio that clocked in right beneath the magic $1,000 barrier, and its picture was better than that of many spendier LED sets. Even better is the same-size, same-price U50 plasma from Panasonic that trades smarts for improved picture quality. Meanwhile, one of the most popular TVs around is LG's own 60-inch, $999 PA6500 plasma, and while it can't beat either of those in a picture quality race, it's still a pretty good deal.

Below you'll find in-depth reviews of all three of these TVs, as well as two other sub-$1,000 sets that also qualify as "very good" values in my book (a 7 or higher in the Value subcategory) and still make the "big-screen" cut -- larger than 50 inches in this case. I've arranged them in descending order of overall CNET rating.

… Read more