edge-lit led

LAS VEGAS--Much like Samsung this year, the best LCD-based TV Sony announced at CES is a non-full-array model, relying on edge-lit LEDs to produce its picture.

That's the bad news for videophiles expecting a full-array follow-up to the excellent XBR-HX929. The good news for said videophiles? Judging from the picture quality of the NX720 from 2011, Sony knows how to eke great black levels and minimal blooming from an edge-lit configuration.

It's curious that Sony didn't name the HX850, a TV its press release identifies as a "flagship," with the traditional "XBR" moniker. … Read more

There's a lot to like about the KDL-NX720 series. Sony's least expensive TV with that lovely Monolithic styling, it still costs a mint but will reward investors with some of the best 2D images we've seen on any LCD with an edge-lit LED backlight. And despite lacking an app store and Vudu, Sony's Internet selection is chock-a-block with video from sources both mainstream and otherwise. As long as you don't care about its picture quality in 3D, the Sony KDL-NX720 series competes well against the best edge-lit LED TVs on the market.

Read the full review of the Sony KDL-NX720 series.… Read more

If you thought all LED TVs were created equal, you're underestimating the power of confusion as a marketing tool. In their continuing efforts to compete against the picture quality advantages of plasma-based flat-panel TVs, makers of LCDs TVs have introduced numerous new technologies. The most successful in our opinion is full-array LED backlighting with local dimming. When you see the words "LED TV" in an ad, it definitely refers to an LCD TV with an LED backlight, but what type of LED backlight and how it's configured make all the difference.

In the article linked below … Read more

The 65-inch Vizio XVT3D650SV ($3,699 list) is the first TV in the U.S. to ship with "passive" 3D capability. Unlike the other mainstream 3D TVs of 2010, which use "active" glasses that cost around $100 each, this big Vizio comes with four pair of cheap polarized glasses, the same kind used by most 3D theaters. We've already taken an in-depth look at how the XVT3D650SV's 3D compares with an active 3D model, so we'll keep it brief here: while the Vizio has its advantages, we still liked the picture quality of … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Among the oodles of new HDTVs Sony announced for 2011, the KDL-HX820 will be the second-most expensive after the flagship XBR-HX929 models.

The main difference between the two series of LED-based LCD TVs is their backlighting schemes. While the XBR gets full-array local dimming, the step-down HX820 delivers local dmming from an edge-lit configuration--an arrangement we haven't liked as much in the past. On the other hand, edge-lit LEDs are generally slimmer than their full-array brethren.

The main differences between the HX820 and the step-down NX720 are processing related. the HX820 includes the higher-end X-Reality PRO Engine and … Read more

LAS VEGAS--One of our favorite aspects of Sony's 2010 televisions like the KDL-NX800 series was their Monolithic styling, which to our eye seemed reminiscent of the eponymous black slab from the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey." The company has kept at it in 2011, building the look into a number of its higher-end sets, including the KDL-NX720 series described here.

New for this year the company is using Corning's Gorilla Glass, the same break-resistant material used on numerous smartphone and PC screens, for its Monolithic TV screens. They should be perfect for shrugging off damage from … Read more

Update August 16, 2011 We won't be reviewing this TV, but we did review the LG LW5600 series. The two are extremely similar except that the LW6500 has a 240Hz refresh rate--a difference we don't expect to have much impact on picture quality. For more, check out the full review of the LD LW5600 series.

After Vizio, LG is the second TV maker at CES to announce a lineup of TVs equipped with so-called passive 3D compatibility. Passive 3D differs from the active variety found on nearly all current 3D TVs in a number of ways, including the … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Today LG announced a pair of TV series featuring passive 3D capability, including the 240Hz LW6500 series and the 120Hz LW5600 models described here.

The less-expensive 5600 sets come in two screen sizes, 47- and 55-inches, making them larger than many of the passive 3D models announced by Vizio yesterday, including the XVT3D5 series, which has models as small as 32 inches.

Passive 3D, which is used in most U.S. theaters, is said by proponents to reduce crosstalk (an artifact that appears as a double image) and be more comfortable than active over long viewing sessions. For their … Read more

Until now the only quasi-real Toshiba 3D TV we'd heard about was the ridiculously expensive, "ultrapremium," mainframe-equivalent-in-a-flat-panel Cell TV. Today the company announced that the first 3D model to actually go on sale in the U.S. would be the slightly less ridiculous, but still expensive, WX800 series.

When the WX800 arrives in late September Toshiba will be the sixth TV maker, after Samsung, Panasonic, Mitsubishi, Sony and LG, to allow its 2010 TV viewers the ability to see into the third dimension.

Like those makers Toshiba will require you to buy a pair of its glasses (model FTP-AG01U, $169 list) for each viewer who wants to see the 3D effect--nope, this isn't the company's rumored glasses-free 3D TV.

The WX800 comes in two sizes: the 46-inch 46WX800 ($2,599 list) and the 55-inch 55WX800 ($3,299). Both LCDs sport an edge-lit LED backlight, not our favorite kind, that lacks the dimming found on some competitors. They're superthin at 1.2 inches deep, however, and have a look as sleek as we expect from a modern high-end TV.

Toshiba does attempt to differentiate itself from the pack by including its "3D Resolution+" processing, said to improve 3D picture quality by reducing crosstalk, a common artifact we've seen on other 3D models, in particular LCDs (although our past experiences with 2D Resolution+ have not been life-changing). Unlike the Cell TV, as well as select models from Samsung, Sony, Panasonic and LG, the WX800 does not have 2D-to-3D conversion.… Read more