CES - Televisions

LAS VEGAS--Officially, the Consumer Electronics show runs for four days. But the real action happens before the show, as the world's consumer electronics companies line up to tout their latest and greatest gadgets, products, and apps via a marathon of press conferences--every hour, on the hour.

This year was no exception: 2011's "day zero" yielded a data dump of unprecedented proportions from the industry's biggest names. We're still sorting through it all ourselves, but here's a photo overview--with relevant links to earlier stories--to help put it all into perspective. Among the recurring themes … Read more

Update Feb 4, 2011: Pricing and availability have been revealed along with preliminary word that THX certification also applies to 3D mode.

LAS VEGAS--THX Display certification has been one of the saving graces of higher-end Panasonic plasma TVs over the last few years, making up for the relatively inaccurate color and sparse picture settings available in other modes. Among the company's lineup of 2011 plasmas, THX is available starting on the GT30 series.

According to a trustworthy leak a THX picture setting is available in 3D as well as 2D modes, much like the PX950 series.. In any case … Read more

Update Feb 4, 2011: Pricing and availability have been revealed.

LAS VEGAS--Today at its press conference Panasonic announced what amounts to a modest number of TV series, and the one placed solidly in the middle is the TC-PST30. Given its excellent feature set, however, this it might hit the value sweet spot.

According to Panasonic's press material, the only thing the ST30 is missing compared with the step-up GT30 is THX certification. Otherwise, both get the "short-throw phosphors" and "Infinite Black panel," which makes us believe that the two might share very similar picture quality. … Read more

LAS VEGAS--If you've never engaged in a VoIP to your friend or loved one in real time on a 50-inch display, your luck could change two ways. First, Skype is extending its lineup of Skype-enabled TVs to include the Sony Bravia and Vizio Via. Those will show up later in 2011.

If buying an HDTV isn't your style, Skype has also announced deals with Panasonic and Sony to include Skype on select Blu-ray players. You'll still need a Webcam for this approach, but as we briefly saw in a Samsung press conference earlier today, Skype has a … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Panasonic's press conferences aren't known to be all that scintillating, but the good news this year is that the Japanese electronics giant kept things relatively short.

As expected, we got to hear about second-generation 3D TVs and, as usual, several new digital-imaging and home theater-products were announced, many of them featuring some 3D angle.

Perhaps most interesting was the company's decision to rename its Viera Cast streaming media platform Viera Connect. The rechristening was part of a concerted effort of the company to build out its smart TV platform. One of the demos included Gameloft CEO … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Last year we and our readers were pretty excited to hear about the Sony XBR-HX909, which was the company's first television to include our favorite kind of LED backlight--full array with local dimming--since the excellent KDL-XBR8 from 2008. In our full review the HX909 did a lot of things right, including production of some of the deepest black levels we've seen on any TV, but in the end a couple of flaws kept it out of the top ranks.

For 2011 Sony's flagship television, the XBR-HX929, offers a similar LED backlight and a few improvements. … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Among the oodles of new HDTVs Sony announced for 2011, the KDL-HX820 will be the second-most expensive after the flagship XBR-HX929 models.

The main difference between the two series of LED-based LCD TVs is their backlighting schemes. While the XBR gets full-array local dimming, the step-down HX820 delivers local dmming from an edge-lit configuration--an arrangement we haven't liked as much in the past. On the other hand, edge-lit LEDs are generally slimmer than their full-array brethren.

The main differences between the HX820 and the step-down NX720 are processing related. the HX820 includes the higher-end X-Reality PRO Engine and … Read more

LAS VEGAS--One of our favorite aspects of Sony's 2010 televisions like the KDL-NX800 series was their Monolithic styling, which to our eye seemed reminiscent of the eponymous black slab from the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey." The company has kept at it in 2011, building the look into a number of its higher-end sets, including the KDL-NX720 series described here.

New for this year the company is using Corning's Gorilla Glass, the same break-resistant material used on numerous smartphone and PC screens, for its Monolithic TV screens. They should be perfect for shrugging off damage from … Read more

RCA is back in the portable TV business with a new line of Mobile DTV products that it will release later this year.

In case you don't know what Mobile DTV is, it's a new mobile digital broadcast standard that's designed to allow you to get TV on the go--even in a moving vehicle. The free service has already been rolled out in some test markets and will expand to other regions this year. A handful of standalone Mobile DTV-enabled devices are currently available and certain noteboook computers, tablets, and smartphones are expected to have Mobile DTV … Read more