lcd/led

Here's a little secret: an LED TV is just an LCD TV with a fancy backlight.

While it usually provides a thinner design and improved energy efficiency, an LED backlight doesn't necessarily provide better picture quality. In fact, sometimes LED TVs perform worse than their non-LED cousins. But they never cost less.

With those facts in mind, here's a quintet of budget-friendly, LED-free TVs ranked in descending order of overall CNET rating. In other words, we like the ones at the top best.… Read more

Much like birds building nests, people seem to like shiny objects. The truism holds, apparently, for laptop and LCD TV screens as well. Samsung was among the first TV makers to popularize the shiny, glossy screen with its LNA650 series, and we complained about it, albeit to no avail. The company expanded its gloss-coated reach to encompass most of its LCD screens, and many other makers followed suit.

The sole picture-quality advantage of glossy screens we've observed, at least when done correctly, is that they can in some cases preserve black-level performance--dark areas stay darker--in bright rooms with overhead … Read more

I first published this post in June as a comparison between the two most high-end plasma TVs from Panasonic and Samsung, and now it includes a third, the Samsung PND7000. All three are superb examples of everything good about TV technology (except maybe energy efficiency), but if you have money to burn and want the best 2011 TV available today, you might be wondering which one wins.

First it's worth reiterating a couple of oft-made points. The best plasma TVs have generally performed better in CNET reviews than the best LED and LCD TVs (like Sony's XBR-HX929), mainly … Read more

Unless you have $22,000 or more to spend, the 70-inch Sharp LC-70LE732U is the biggest flat-panel TV you can buy today--the competition maxes out at 65 inches. Moreover, it's a pretty good deal by giant-TV standards, available for less than $3,000 at press time. Sure, rear-projection models offer more screen size for the buck, but judging from past testing, they can't match the picture quality or design of this Sharp. The fact that it's one of the most popular TVs on CNET this summer proves that huge TVs are gaining mainstream appeal.

Compared with the … Read more

The first so-called LED TVs were local-dimming models, where the LEDs behind the screen could be dimmed or brightened in different areas to correspond to darker or brighter areas of the picture. The result was excellent contrast, on a level no other LCD-based TV could muster. Since 2008 when these TVs debuted, they've remained uncommon and expensive while so-called edge-lit models have populated store shelves and living rooms with abandon.

The XBR-HX929, Sony's most expensive and, we're willing to guess, best-performing TV of 2011, is also the company's only local dimmer. It boasts that excellent contrast … Read more

A Silicon Valley company is promising to bring more color to LCDs.

Nanosys says it has developed a technology that helps deliver 50 percent more color than what's currently available on existing LCD panels. According to the company's site, "that means richer, more viscerally alive reds, a deeper palette of greens, and vivid blues."

Most importantly, the company says it can deliver better color with technology already being used in tablets, televisions, and other products.

Nanosys made headlines yesterday when blogger Robert Scoble gushed over the technology. He said that Nanosys CEO Jason Hartlove showed him … Read more

A TV is a big purchase, and we all want to get the best TV for our dollar. But what makes an HDTV the best? If you spend more, are you guaranteed a better TV? With all the jargon, marketing, and hype, what performance and features matter the most?

Well, I'm glad you asked. … Read more

The Samsung UND8000 LED-based LCD TV shows the company's considerable technological know-how brought to bear on a simple design goal: to make the "TV" itself disappear to as large an extent as possible when turned on, leaving nothing but the picture. Seen in person, the design is a spectacular success that will command attention and be worth the exceedingly high price to some buyers with cash to burn. And despite its compact dimensions the UND8000 also manages to squeeze in more features than just about any TV we've ever reviewed.

Other buyers, however, will have a … Read more

At CES, both Sharp and LG announced LCD TVs that hit the 70-inch milestone, and today Sharp has finalized pricing and availability on its beast. The former is $3,799 (list) and the latter is "now."

The 70-inch LC-70LE732U is being billed by Sharp as "the largest LCD television on the market," and until LG ships its 72-inch 72LZ9700, it is--at least as far as we and NPD know.

Your 3.8 grand will buy 2,088 square inches of screen, compared with a mere 1,801, 1,534, and 1,289 inches, respectively, for the … Read more