dlp

DLP vs LCD vs LCoS: Projector tech pros and cons

Projectors are awesome. Ultrahuge screen, reasonably low price. We've reviewed a few here recently that were fantastic. There are three different technologies projectors use to create an image: DLP, LCD, and LCoS (as shown in the image above).

What's the best? Let's compare.… Read more

How the humble light projector supercharges your tech

With the flick of a switch and a flash of green light, a network of veins springs to the fore, mapped out just below the surface of the skin. This is no medical lab -- it's a darkened suite inside San Francisco's designer Clift Hotel -- but I already see how the recent sting of a donation nurse thumping the inside of both elbows in search of a vein could, and should, be a nervy, time-consuming thing of the past.

The VeinViewer Flex isn't new. In fact, the first generation of VeinViewer debuted in 2006. But its use of infrared light to illuminate a hidden network within the body is seldom appreciated outside of medical circles.

Light, it turns out, and the projectors that channel it, can do quite a bit.… Read more

RIP, rear-projection TV

Rear-projection TV is dead, and there's little reason to think the technology will pull a Lazarus anytime soon.

On Monday Mitsubishi confirmed it has already ceased production of its last RPTVs, and told Twice.com that inventory is almost gone.

"The decision to exit the category was based on lack of profitability in the big-screen TV business," according to Max Wasinger, executive VP at Mitsubishi Electric Video Sales America. "MEVSA will honor all product warranties. Consumer relations will continue to support consumers and dealers' product service related needs." He added that there are no plans … Read more

When should I upgrade my projector?

The other day I wrote an article titled "When should I upgrade my HDTV?" The general thought was that TV performance, while not exactly hitting a plateau, had slowed enough that TVs even a few years old perform pretty close to the new models.

In the world of front projection, though, it's an entirely different story. The level of performance you can get for very little money is incredible. What were once considered "budget level" projectors now easily outperform $10,000+ models from just a few years ago.

Time to upgrade? Perhaps.… Read more

Sim2 debuts world's first LED-lit 3D DLP projector

The new Sim2 M.150 is the first DLP home theater projector to substitute the traditional lamp with LEDs as a light source. Its Super PureLED technology, utilizing high-power RGB Phlatlight LED modules, delivers the following unique propositions:

A maintenance-free light source, which lasts up to 30,000 hours with less than 5 percent drop in luminance. Auto-calibration to ensure accurate colors and brightness consistency. Negligible rainbow artifact since no color wheel is required with red, green and blue (RGB) LEDs. High 100,000:1 dynamic contrast and 1,000 lumens brightness.

The Sim2 active-shutter 3D goggles also tout an … Read more

Samsung settlement warrants older TVs with faulty capacitors

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.

… Read more

Samsung power defect causes some TVs to fail, and a class-action suit follows

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

Projectors vs. TVs: Giant-screen pros and cons

Editors' note: This post was updated March 12, 2013.

Despite reviewing TVs for a living, I don't actually own a TV. The last TV I bought was a 27-inch CRT, in the summer of 2000.

Instead, I do all my TV and movie watching on a 102-inch screen. It's epic. And a projector doesn't have to cost a lot of money, nor is it difficult to set up.

The pros and cons of projection (and why you really, really want it), after the jump.… Read more

Contrast ratio (or how every TV manufacturer lies to you)

Contrast ratio is the most important aspect of a TV's performance. More than any other single metric, a set's contrast ratio will be the most noticeable difference between two TVs.

That is, if you could juxtapose them. Which you can't. Or if you could compare their claimed specs. Which you can't.

Understanding what contrast ratio is and how to judge it will help you determine the best TV for your dollar. But it's a lot harder than it sounds.

In its simplest form, contrast ratio is the difference between the brightest image a TV can create and the darkest. In another way: white/black=contrast ratio. If a TV can output 45 foot-lamberts with a white screen and 0.010 ft-L with a black screen, it's said to have a contrast ratio of 4,500:1.

Unfortunately, it gets more complex from there. … Read more