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Sharp's LC-D85U series of LCDs feature a 120Hz refresh rate and a variable backlight to help save energy.

(Credit: Sharp)

Today at CEDIA, Sharp announced two new lines of flat-panel LCD HDTVs, one with a special energy-saver function and another with the company's first iteration of true 120Hz processing. Full details are available after the jump.... Read more

LG's new Scarlet models boast 1.8-inch thin panels, but otherwise they're the same as the older versions.

(Credit: LG)

Like most HDTV manufacturers, LG has chosen the fall to introduce the higher-end models in its HDTV lineup. Three models of more-expensive LG LCD TVs were announced Thursday, including two ultrathin screens and a model with an LED backlight.

Sony's KDL-XBR8 series LCDs feature LED backlights.

(Credit: Sony)

This spring Sony released its mainstream Bravia LCD models, namely the 15-odd HDTVs announced at CES, and we've already reviewed two of them: the 32-inch KDL-32M4000 and the 46-inch KDL-46W4100. Today the company follows up by announcing the bulk of its high-end XBR-branded sets, which will be more expensive and offer a few key step-up features when they hit stores this fall. The main addition of note is an LED backlight, which is finally trickling down from the company's 2005 Qualia model and the $30K KDL-70XBR3. Below you'll find information on all of the new XBR-branded Bravia sets, from least to most expensive, and before you ask, no, Sony hasn't announced pricing. ... Read more

Pioneer PDP-5020FD

(Credit: Pioneer)

Pioneer's long-awaited announcement regarding its 2008 Kuro-branded plasmas, the successors to our favorite TV of 2007, the PDP-5080HD, includes a total of six new models. The company is claiming that the 2008 HDTVs produce "five times deeper" black levels than the 2007s, and during a side-by-side demo that included both 2007 and 2008 models, the new display certainly appeared a bit darker in the blackest areas--although it couldn't muster the essentially absolute black we saw demonstrated at CES and during our review of Sony's OLED TV. We have recently reviewed the 50-inch model, and while it did impress us with its extremely deep black levels, find out why it still didn't make the cut for our editor's choice award this year. Here's a rundown of the company's new line. ... Read more

Panasonic's flagship 850U series adds IPTV capability.

(Credit: Panasonic)

(Updated 08-28-2008) Panasonic's plasma HDTV lineup for 2008 includes five total series, each with multiple screen sizes but identical features within the series. In case you're wondering, we have reviewed four models so far, the TH-46PZ85U, TH-42PX80U, TH-50PZ800U and TH-50PZ850U. Most models detailed below are available now, although the larger 58- and 65-inch models in the 800U and 850U series (the other series max out at 50 inches) will ship in September. ... Read more

Yamaha's $1,000 RX-V863 comes with HD Radio and three HDMI inputs, but it still feels underfeatured for the price.

(Credit: Yamaha)

Yamaha has announced five new receivers for 2008, ranging from the budget $230 RX-V363 to the $1,000 RX-V863, which features HD Radio and three HDMI inputs. As is usual, Yamaha's receivers certainly don't impress from the spec sheet, as they offer fewer features than Sony's new budget receivers and even last year's Onkyo receivers. On the other hand, Yamaha loyalists are quick to chime in that spec sheets aren't everything, and that Yamaha offers more refined sound at these price points. We can't comment on that until we have get them in for review, but with that in mind, let's check out specs.

Yamaha RX-V363

(Credit: Yamaha)

Key features of the Yamaha RX-V363:

• 5.1 channels, 100 watts per channel
• Two HDMI inputs, 1080p-compatible
... Read more

When Onkyo released the budget TX-SR605 AV receiver last year, it rocked the industry with its low price and high-end features such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS-Master Audio decoding. Other manufacturers pretty much had to stay on the sidelines as TX-SR605s flew off the shelf, but it looks as if Sony is ready to fight back with its new line of budget AV receivers. The company's 2008 line of AV receivers includes four new affordably priced models--the STR-DG520, STR-DG720, STR-DG820 and STR-DG920--and they look pretty good from the spec sheet. Here are the details:

The STR-DG520

(Credit: Sony)

Key features of the Sony STR-DG520:

• 5.1 channels, 100 watts of power
• Two HDMI inputs
• Supports 1080p pass-through at 60 and 24 frames per second
• Available in March for about $200

The STR-DG720

(Credit: Sony)

Step-up features on the STR-DG720:

• 7.1 channels, 105 watts of power
• Three HDMI inputs
... Read more

All those speaker binding posts are needed to accommodate the RX-Z11's 11.2-channel output.

(Credit: Yamaha)

A few days ago, Yamaha announced three new AV receivers: the RX-V1800, the RX-V3800, and the flagship RX-Z11--which is an 11.2-channel receiver. We'll get into the details on each of the new models, but overall they share many of the same new features we've been seeing on models from Onkyo, Denon, and Sony, such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio support, several HDMI 1.3a ports, and extensive video upconversion options. Both the RX-V3800 and the RX-Z11 also feature a graphical user interface (GUI), following the trend started by Sony with the STR-DA5200ES and now followed by Denon.

Yamaha RX-V1800 ($1,300)

Yamaha RX-V1800

(Credit: Yamaha)

The RX-V1800 is the least expensive of Yamaha's high-end receivers. It boasts many of the features you want to see in this price range, including four HDMI inputs, onboard Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding and multiroom functionality. It compares favorably with Denon's AVR-3808CI, which offers a similar feature set for $1,600. Sony's excellent STR-DA5300ES ups the ante to six HDMI inputs, but costs $1,700.

Key features

• 7.1 receiver, 130 watts per channel
• 4 HDMI 1.3a inputs, with HDMI upconversion
• Onboard decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio
• XM-ready
• Multiroom functionality for three zones

Yamaha RX-V3800 ($1,700)

The rear panel of the RX-V3800

(Credit: Yamaha)

The RX-V3800 offers a few step-ups over the RX-V1800, with the most notable upgrade being an Ethernet port, which enables playback of MP3, WMA, and WAV files from up to four networked PCs. The RX-V3800 also features a graphical user interface, which should make it easier to find your digital audio files, as well as accomplish tasks like input naming. Sony's STR-DA5300ES offers both an impressive GUI and six HDMI inputs, but it lacks any network audio capabilities. Denon's AVR-3808CI has both a GUI and network audio features and is $100 less. The Onkyo TX-SR875 is also a competitor at this price range, offering a similar feature set plus HQV video-processing, which should deliver excellent image quality on upconverted analog sources.

Key features

• 7.1 receiver, 140 watts per channel
• 4 HDMI 1.3a inputs, with HDMI upconversion
• Onboard decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio
• Graphical user interface
• Ethernet jack with the ability to play MP3, WMA, and WAV files from up to four PCs, plus Internet radio
• XM-ready
• Multiroom functionality for three zones

Yamaha RX-Z11 ($5,500, November 2007)

Yamaha RX-Z11

(Credit: Yamaha)

The RX-Z11 is Yamaha's flagship receiver and is an 11.2-channel receiver. The logical question with an 11.2-channel receiver is, of course, is there any 11.2-channel audio to play? Not that we're aware of, but the RX-Z11 is designed mainly to matrix existing 5.1 and 7.1 soundtracks into 11.2-channel soundtracks. What that means is that the RX-Z11 has built-in sound processing that is able to mix existing soundtracks to play over 11 speakers and two subwoofers, similar to what Dolby Pro Logic processing does to play stereo audio over 5.1 systems. To be clear, there are not 11 discrete channels.

The RX-Z11 also offers several other upgrades, such five HDMI inputs and two outputs--the dual outputs could be useful for home theaters that have both a projector and a standard HDTV in the same room. There are also two USB ports capable of reading USB mass storage devices, including hard drives up to 2 terabytes. The RX-Z11 also includes a built-in HD radio tuner, and multiroom support for four zones (if you opt to scale down to a 7.1 setup and use some of the speaker outputs for multiroom instead.) In the ultra high-end tier, Denon offers the AVR-5308CI ($5,200), which has built-in HQV Realta processing and is one of the few receivers capable of upscaling video signals received via the HDMI inputs.

Key features

• 11.2 channel receiver, 140 watts per channel for 7 channels, 50 watts per channel for additional 4 channels
• 5 HDMI 1.3a inputs, with HDMI upconversion; 2 HDMI outputs
• Onboard decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio
• Ethernet jack with the ability to play MP3, WMA, and WAV files from up to four PCs, plus Internet radio
• 2 USB ports capable of reading USB Mass storage devices, including FAT32-formatted hard drives up to 2 terabytes
• XM-ready
• HD radio tuner
• Multiroom functionality for four zones, with component video output for the second zone.

Samsung FP-T94 series

(Credit: Samsung)

CNET selected Samsung's wireless plasma as the best HDTV product of CES 2007 because a) it represented the first of its kind that we'd seen anywhere, and b) "wireless [anything new]" is always cool.

Now the company has confirmed it's shipping a pair of the wire-free panels, in 50- and 58-inch screen sizes, this November. The FP-T94 series improves upon the 1080p resolution FP-T84 series by moving the forest of connections--three HDMI jacks, two component-video inputs, and so on--from the back of the TV to the back of a separate wireless base station. As a result, the only wire dangling from the panel itself is the power cord. This arrangement could potentially save hundreds of dollars in installation fees for people who want to wall-mount their HDTVs, because not having to run interconnects through the wall makes such installations much simpler.

Based on what Samsung told us at CES, the panel and the base station communicate using the 802.11n wireless standard at speeds up to 150Mbps--plenty for 1080p video, for example. The company is currently claiming a range of 200 feet, down from the 300-foot range they touted at CES, but still respectable. Aside from wireless connectivity, the FP-T94W series has the same specs as the wired FP-T84 series, which allows an easy estimation of the "price of wireless." The wireless models cost $600 more than their cable-bound counterparts. ... Read more