As the most expensive horse in Samsung's stable of edge-lit LED-based LCD TVs, which the company calls "LED TVs" in most of its marketing materials, the UNB8000 series is differentiated from its cheaper herd mates by the addition of 240Hz processing.
If you're wondering whether that feature is worth the cash, wonder no more: in our opinion, it's not. Other than the extra hertz, Samsung's edge-lit sets share most of the same picture quality characteristics, including deep black levels, mostly accurate color, and some uniformity problems that might have something to do with its ultrathin panels. In the plus column, however, the UNB8000's picture is still pretty dang good--especially after a firmware update--and the styling of these Samsung sets just can't be beaten.
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LG announced two new series of LCD HDTVs last night, expanding its already diverse LCD offerings with a new 240Hz LCD line, SL80 series, and a new LED-backlit LCD line, SL90 series. Both lines have a striking completely flat bezel, and the SL80 series measures just 1.8 inches thick at its thinnest point. The SL90 series will be of particular interest to videophiles, considering that LG's other LED-backlit LCDs, the LH90 series, scored well in our recent review. Full details haven't been released yet for the SL90 series, but here are the specs we have so far:
Key features of the LG SL80 series:
- 1920x1080 (1080p) native resolution
- 150,000:1 quoted contrast ratio
- TruMotion 240Hz processing
- Picture Wizard
- Four HDMI inputs
- One USB input
- One PC input
- 42-inch 42SL80: $1,600 | 47-inch 47SL80: $1,900 | 55-inch 55SL80: $2,800
- Available in August
Key features of the LG SL90 series:
- 1,920x1,080 (1080p) native resolution
- LED-backlit
- 3,000,000:1 quoted contrast ratio
- TruMotion 120Hz processing
- Picture Wizard
- 42-inch 42SL90 | 47-inch 47SL90 | No pricing announced yet
- Available later this year
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We've reviewed a few edge-lit LED-backlit LCDs from Samsung this year, but what home theater fans have really been waiting for is an update to last year's Samsung LN46A950, which uses local-dimming LED technology. The wait is over: Samsung announced on Thursday its flagship line of LED-backlit LCDs, the UNB8500 series, which uses local-dimming like last year's 950 series. Considering that we wrote last year's 950 series was "the peak of flat-panel LCD TV performance and picture quality," these will be highly anticipated TVs--but you'll pay a pretty penny for their state of the art, with prices starting at $3,600 for the 46-inch model. Let's check out the specs.
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The LED-backlit VF551XVT by Vizio is now delayed and more expensive than when first announced.
(Credit: Vizio)According to information from a lineup sheet first posted on engadgetHD, and confirmed by a Vizio spokesman, the company's highly anticipated VF551XVT, previously scheduled for release this month, will be delayed until September.
The 55-inch HDTV is also going to be $200 more expensive. That new price is likely to provide differentiation between the VF551XVT (now $2,199, up from $1,999) and the current VF550XVT (still $1,999), which we reviewed earlier this year and will remain in the company's lineup.
When it finally arrives, we expect the VF551XVT to handily outperform its less-expensive 55-inch brother. That's because it uses local-dimming LED backlight technology, which on other so-equipped LCDs delivers significantly improved black-level performance. The Vizio was one of three of our nominees for Best of CES in the TV category, thanks to its extremely low price, at least for an LED-backlit display.
The $200 price hike likely won't faze the anticipation LCD lovers awaiting the VF551XVT's release, but the delay could mean that impatient buyers shopping for models in that size range lose patience and pull the trigger on another set, like the 54-inch Panasonic TC-P54G10 plasma.
The company also announced other new models, including an Eco-friendly lineup and a couple of 240Hz replacements for the SV0XVT series. We'll have full details after Vizio's June 23 press event, but in the meantime engadgetHD covers the essentials.
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Is plasma dead yet? Not if Panasonic can help it.
(Credit: Panasonic)The television category is a perennial CES staple and this year was no different. For some reason nobody showed a TV bigger than Panasonic's 150-inch plasma from last year (have we maxed out in flat-panel screen size?), but most of the other trends I discussed in the preview were borne out in the show's extensive announcements. Here's my take on what CES 2009 bodes for HDTV this year.
Plasma ain't dead yet.
I get more than my share of e-mails, and have seen plenty of blog comments and forum posts that are quick to claim the demise of plasma at the hands of LCD. Judging from CES announcements by companies that comprise the "big three" of plasma--Panasonic, LG and Samsung--those big glass flat panels have a brighter future than Detroit, at least.
Panasonic, by far the biggest and most-committed of the group, bragged about its newest plasma factory (No. 5) coming online, and showed its largest plasma lineup ever, with five new series and a new 54-inch screen size. I'm really excited to review the company's new "NEO PDP" panels, the first of which, members of the S1 series, will ship in March. They boast significantly improved black-level performance and contrast ratios, according to the company, yet manage to cut power consumption in half. If the latter claim proves true, LCD will lose perhaps its biggest arrow in the antiplasma quiver (at least among consumers who care about the planet and are savvy enough to ignore the nonissues).
Absent any announcements by Pioneer (which will come in late spring, most likely), Panasonic's G10 series is probably the surest bet for Editors' Choice of any TV I saw at the show. That's why I awarded it Best of CES in the TV category. In case you're wondering, however, all of the Neo PDP panels, including the least-expensive S1, share the same basic picture-quality specs....
Read the full post at CNET's CES 2009 blog.
Home theater is Samsung's game at this year's CES. Though the company did announce the new P3 touch-screen MP3 player, an inch-thick plasma TV, feature-packed Blu-ray home theater systems, and backlit LCD TVs dominated the show.
Samsung unveils P3 touch-screen MP3 player
Photos: Hands-on with the Samsung P3 player
Samsung's slick HT-BD7200 Blu-ray home theater system
Samsung's funky Blu-ray and DVD players
Samsung's PN-B850 series of plasmas get down to an inch thick ...
Read the full post at CNET's CES 2009 blog.
Samsung goes green with the UNB6000 series of LED-backlight LCDs
Last year Philips won our best of CES award with the Eco TV, and in 2009 other companies are following suit with their own green TVs. The Samsung UNB6000 series of Samsung LCDs is "eco-friendly", with the company claiming 40% or more energy savings over traditional LCDs. The sets also put a focus on energy usage by including a power indicator menu and an optimized energy savings mode, which dynamically ...
Read the full post at CNET's CES 2009 blog.
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Samsung's step-down LED-backlit LCDs feature Yahoo widgets, 120Hz
The A950 series was Samsung's only LED-backlit LCDs in 2008, but the company is serving up several LED-backlit lines in 2009. The UNB7000 is the step-down from the top-of-the-line UNB8000 series, but includes nearly all the same features except 240Hz refresh rate. Here are the details.
Key features of the Samsung UNB7000 series:
- 120Hz response time
- Slim design, around an inch thick
- LED-backlit
- Ultra Clear antireflective screen
- Internet@TV
Read the full post at CNET's CES 2009 blog.
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Samsung UNB8000 LCDs put LED-backlighting and 240Hz in a one-inch frame
Samsung's UNB8000 series doubles its fun with a 240Hz refresh rate.
Samsung has put a big emphasis on LED-backlighting on this year's LCDs, and the UNB8000 series are the most souped-up models the company has at CES 2009. Here's a quick rundown of the feature set.
Key features of the Samsung UNB8000 series:
- 240Hz response time
- Slim design, about an inch thick
- LED-backlit
- Ultra Clear antireflective
Read the full post at CNET's CES 2009 blog.
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The Toshiba SV670 series is the company's first to incorporate LED backlighting.
(Credit: Toshiba)Samsung, Sony, LG, and Vizio offer or will offer HDTVs with LED backlights, the most effective picture quality improvement available for LCD TVs, and now Toshiba will too.
The SV670 series includes two screen sizes, the 46-inch 46SV670U and the 55-inch 55SV670U, and will be available in June (prices were not announced).
The company was quick to stipulate that the sets' LEDs employ "local dimming" technology, which can dim and turn off sections of the backlight while leaving others bright as needed. Other LED models with local dimming we've reviewed in the past, from Samsung and Sony, delivered deeper black levels and better overall picture quality than standard LCD TVs.
As with many other higher-end models announced at CES this year, the SV670 series also boasts 240Hz refresh rates--although we appreciated that the company called it a "240Hz effect" to be extra careful. Compared with 120Hz models, the company claims that 240Hz delivers smoother images with less blurring--although if our review of the Sony KDL-52XBR7 is any indication, the difference will be difficult to discern.
Like LG and Vizio, Toshiba's 240Hz sets use the scanning backlight version of 240Hz, which turns the backlight on and off very rapidly. Sony and Samsung use a different version of 240Hz, which interpolates three extra frames for every true frame. We doubt many viewers will be able to tell the difference, but we'll wait till we can compare the two 240Hz methods.
...
Read the full post at CNET's CES 2009 blog.
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