TV Articles

LAS VEGAS--One could argue that Blu-ray players have been misnamed for years. Yes, they play your Blu-rays, but they're even more about their embedded Smart TV suites that serve up streaming video and music.

That's the angle Toshiba is taking, rolling our four new devices curiously called "Media Box with Blu-ray Disc player capabilities." That's more awkward than it needs to be, but it's hard not to like Toshiba reversing the importance of Blu-ray and streaming capabilities.

The specific features are broken down in the chart to the right. Miracast is supported by all … Read more

LAS VEGAS--All eyes will be on Samsung during the company's press conference at the 2013 International CES. The event kicks off at 2 p.m. PT (5 p.m. ET) on Monday, and CNET will be there to cover it live. We'll have a live video stream, along with a live blog chock full of news and analysis, as it happens.

You can tune in to the blog and video stream here:

Samsung is expected to show plenty of TVs and home theater products. The company late … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Portable speakers are one of the simplest ways to amplify your tunes, but there are a surprising number of different standards for a simple product type, among Bluetooth, DLNA, NFC, and AirPlay. There's one easy way around the problem: support them all.

LG is debuting six portable and docking speakers at CES 2013, offering a wide range of compatibility with different wireless audio standards. The high-end ND8630 dock supports nearly everything: AirPlay, DLNA, NFC, Blueooth, dual dock (for Lightning-equipped iOS devices and some Android devices), and a minijack input. The battery-powered NP6630 is nearly as well-equipped, except it … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Home theater evokes wall-shaking action films, but in the real world sometimes you can't watch your Blu-rays like you're actually at the movies.

The two higher-end models in LG's new 2013 Blu-ray lineup, the BP530 and BP730, have an interesting feature called "private sound mode" designed for those moments when you can't crank your system. Using an app on your smartphone, private sound mode lets you listen to the audio from your Blu-ray player, creating essentially a DIY wireless headphone solution. And while that may not exactly be a "breakout" feature, … Read more

The consumer electronics world will be focused on Panasonic during its press conference at the 2013 International CES. The event begins at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. ET) on Monday, January 7, and CNET will be there covering it live. We'll have a live video stream and a blog filled with news, photos, and analysis, as it happens.

You can tune in to the blog and video stream here:

When it comes to TVs, Sharp's latest mantra has been "bigger is better." We'll see how big they can get at the company's CES 2013 press conference. The event starts at 9 a.m. PT on Monday, January 7, and CNET will be there to cover it live. We have a live video stream, along with a live blog of news and analysis, as it happens.

You can tune in to the blog and video stream here:

Sharp went big last year at CES, … Read more

LAS VEGAS--You can get Netflix on your TV, gaming console, Blu-ray player, smartphone, laptop, tablet, AV receiver, and now, finally, you can get Netflix in a sound bar, too.

LG is rolling out four new sound bars at CES 2013, including the NB3730A, which has built-in Wi-Fi and a limited suite of streaming-media services including Netflix, YouTube, Amazon, Hulu Plus, Vudu, and Pandora. That's the first sound bar I've seen with streaming-media capabilities, but I'd be surprised if people were willing to pay much extra for the functionality, especially with the superior Roku LT available for just $… Read more

Samsung's obsession with tubes started with last year's CES darling, the DA-E750, and now the company is adding vacuum tube amplifiers to home theater systems and even sound bars.

The newly announced Samsung HW-F750 is dubbed the "world's first sound bar with a vacuum tube amp," which is technically true: like last year's models, it has a tube preamplifier paired with a digital amplifier. In any event, the difference is largely academic, as I didn't find that the DA-E750's tubes added a distinctively analog sound, although it was a good-sounding tabletop system.… Read more

It's hard to breathe new life into the stale Blu-ray category at CES 2013, but Samsung is giving it its best shot with the BD-F7500.

The Samsung BD-F7500 is the newly announced flagship Blu-ray player, including the company's new "S-Recommendation" feature, which suggests content based on what you watch. The BD-F7500's step-up features are rounded out by its 7.1 analog outputs and its ability to upscale content to 4K resolution.

Like most Samsung Blu-ray players these days, it has built-in Wi-Fi and access to Samsung's Smart Hub suite of streaming-media services. More importantly, … Read more