long-term

You asked for it, now you got it. After a few delays I've updated the results from my ongoing long-term testing of five 2011 plasma TVs by adding a sixth and publishing a new round of numbers.

One of the models tested has now accumulated nearly 3,000 hours of "on" time, equivalent to about a year and a half of normal TV watching, and a couple of others are also well into their second simulated year. New for this round I've also included measurements of the LG 50PZ950, the only 2011 LG plasma I've … Read more

Update January 19, 2012: See the latest test results here.

After a year in the lifespans of five 2011 plasma TVs that I've subjected to new long-term tests, all have shown some fluctuation in black level, light output, and color, and in some cases those changes are significant.

A few changes have been for the better, others can be fixed in calibration, and overall none is a "deal breaker" that radically changes my initial opinions of these TVs--all of which scored an 8 (Excellent) or 9 (Outstanding) in the Performance section of the reviews.

Before you read on, know that I aged these TVs in a controlled albeit accelerated process, leaving them on for basically six days a week for up to four months, so far. The charts below encompass a bit more than a year of normal use, assuming the average daily "on" time rate of 5.2 hours. When reading the charts, keep in mind that not all of the TVs have been aged for the same amount of time. See below for more details.… Read more

Apple's latest developer builds for iOS 5 contain a snippet of code that mentions LTE, according to enthusiast site MacRumors, prompting speculation that the company may be testing 4G internally.

Peeking into the iOS 5 firmware for a couple of developer builds, MacRumors found a property list (.plist file) that points to LTE, or Long Term Evolution. Uncovered only in builds for the GSM iPhone 4 and CDMA iPad 2, the LTE.plist file was found to be related to an application that Apple uses for field testing.

The apparent discovery follows reports from Boy Genius Report a week … Read more

The battle between LTE and WiMax for 4G dominance may soon be over with LTE declared the champ, according to a report out today from IHS iSuppli.

Though WiMax still enjoys a slight edge for now, adoption of LTE (long-term evolution) will surpass that of its 4G rival sometime next year. By 2014, the number of LTE subscribers will hit 303.1 million versus only 33.4 million for WiMax, said IHS.

"With WiMAX enjoying a two- to three-year head start in next-generation network deployments, it presently enjoys a major advantage in market share in the 4G segment," … Read more

CHICAGO - Two of the most popular next generation wireless technologies are close to getting their official 4G moniker from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

The ITU, which is an agency within the United Nations, is the International standards body that officially designates wireless technologies as 1G, 2G, 3G and now 4G. This week at a meeting in China the group took a step closer to making the technologies LTE or Long Term Evolution and WiMax official 4G standards.

Specifically, the ITU voted that LTE-Advanced technology, meets the criteria it uses to classify the technology as 4G. The ITU also … Read more

The most recent results of measurements taken by CNET confirm that after a few hundred days of on time, the company's 2010 plasma TVs do lose some of their ability to produce a deep shade of black, which is a major factor in picture quality. Even after the loss, however, both can still achieve comparatively deep black levels, and according to Panasonic that shouldn't change significantly after an initial period.

We've been testing two 2010 models, the TC-P50VT25 and the TC-P50G20, since we received the review samples from Panasonic earlier this year, and until now we haven't measured any increase in the brightness of "black" (known as MLL, or Minimum Luminance Level).

However, after being run for what amounts a small fraction of their expected lifespans, each TV has shown an MLL increase. "Black" on the VT25 went from 0.004 to 0.007 footlamberts (ftl) after 1,543 total hours (the equivalent of 297 days at the average daily rate of 5.2 hours), while the G20 increased from 0.007 to 0.012 after 2,411 total hours (464 days).

This behavior was expected, and explained by Panasonic as a normal part of its plasma TVs' operation when we first documented it with 2009 models. The company previously said in a statement that its 2010 plasmas would incorporate a "more gradual change in black levels over time" than the 2009 models.

Response from Panasonic This time around we were able to get much more specific information from Panasonic on the aging process. We spoke to Bill Schindler, a consultant and former vice president for the company, who told us that our 2010 review samples were operating within specification and, what's more, shouldn't change much more over the rest of their lifespans.… Read more

MetroPCS Communications opened its second 4G LTE market today, this one in the Dallas-Forth Worth area.

The new service follows the carrier's initial 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) launch in Las Vegas last week. As in Vegas, the Dallas-Forth Worth service will offer prepaid monthly plans starting at $55, which include unlimited talk, text, and data, and require no contract.

But Dallas-Forth Worth customers will also get a few additional features. MetroStudio, available through the $60 monthly plan, will offer downloads and ringtones as well as video content from NBC Universal and other providers, MetroPCS said. A new combined … Read more

A lot has changed since we gave the Panasonic TC-PV10 series our Editors' Choice award last year. The most relevant development to the review you're reading now can be summed up with the eminently Google-able phrase "Panasonic black levels." The short story? Testing revealed that 2009 Panasonic plasmas lose their excellent black-level performance--the crucial capability to produce as dark a shade of black as possible--over less than a year of typical use. They become, literally, grayer, and lose the very edge that made them stand above the pack in the first place. As a result we lowered … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Sprint Nextel and Clearwire executives admitted Wednesday that they could follow the rest of the worldwide wireless network and adopt LTE for future network upgrades.

Spring Nextel CEO Dan Hesse and Clearwire CEO Bill Morrow sat down separately and talked to CTIA CEO Steve Largent during the keynote session on the second day of the CTIA trade show here.

In 2008, Sprint and Clearwire combined spectrum and formed a partnership to build a nationwide network using a technology called WiMax. During the keynote conversations, Largent asked each executive about his company's decision to use WiMax over other technologies, … Read more