240hz

Is 240Hz worth waiting for?

Two of the most confusing letters thrown around in reference to LCD and TVs these days are "H" and "z." The confusion will just continue to mount this year, as numerous manufacturers announced 240Hz displays at CES, doubling the 120Hz spec in an attempt to lure buyers. But is it twice as nice?

Until proven otherwise, I'm saying no, 240Hz is not worth waiting for.

Before I get into why, it's probably worth writing a few sentences to sketch out what all these numbers mean. Standard LCD and plasma TVs refresh the screen 60 times per second, or 60Hz, which is plenty fast enough to eliminate flicker and create the illusion of motion from a series of still images. In fact, most sources sent to your display arrive at the nominal rate of 30 frames per second, and each frame is repeated once by the television to achieve 60 total fps.

The problem is that with LCD, some viewers can perceive motion blur in fast-moving objects on standard 60Hz models (motion blur like this isn't an issue with plasma or other display types, whether 60Hz or otherwise, because they use different methods to create the illusion of motion). To reduce blurring, most 120Hz LCD displays use interpolation--called MEMC for "motion estimation-motion compensation"--to create a new frame between each of the original frames, so there's one interpolated frame for every true frame. An interpolated frame is composed of the processor's best guess as to what should be there, based on the contents of each of the true frames. … Read more

CES post-show wrap-up: HDTV

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 more

Not all Samsung LCDs have LED backlighting

Samsung is clearly intending to make a big push with its LED-backlit LCDs, but the company did announce one new line of LCDs without LED. The Samsung LNB750 series uses standard CFL backlighting, but includes other cutting-edge features such as 240Hz refresh rate, a slim inch-thick design, and access to Samsung's new Internet@TV content. Here are the details.

Key features of the Samsung LNB750 series:

240Hz refresh rate Slim design, around an inch thick Ultra Clear antireflective screen Wide Color Enhancer Pro Internet@TV capable (Yahoo widgets) Built-in Ethernet Wi-Fi-ready, with purchase of additional adapter Energy Star 3.… Read more

Sony's Z-series of LCDs gets widgets, 240Hz

Sony has gone Yahoo "widget"-happy with its TV lineup for 2009, incorporating the Internet-enabled doodads into two of the series announced at CES.

Described as "Internet applications...that deliver real-time information" in the press release, widgets "expand and personalize the TV experience by adding on-screen applications that provide such real-time information as weather reports, stock ticker updates, financial news, Yahoo! Video, Flickr images, and additional content."

The three-model "Z-series," which consists of the 40-inch KDL-40Z5100, the 46-inch KDL-46Z5100, and the 52-inch KDL-46Z5100, will be available in the spring for yet-to-be-determined prices. … Read more

Sony XBR9 HDTVs up interactive ante with widgets

Sony's first 2009 series of XBR models, three letters that signify higher-end features and performance in the company's TV oeuvre, is equipped with "widgets" courtesy of Yahoo.

Described as "Internet applications...that deliver real-time information" in the press release, the widgets "expand and personalize the TV experience by adding onscreen applications that provide such real-time information as weather reports, stock ticker updates, financial news, Yahoo Video, Flickr images, and additional content."

The XBR9 series consists of four sizes: the 52-inch KDL-52XBR9, the 46-inch KDL-46XBR9, the 40-inch KDL-40XBR9, and the 32-inch KDL-32XBR9. Prices were not divulged, as usual, and availability details were limited to "spring." … Read more

Samsung UNB8000 LCDs put LED-backlighting and 240Hz in a one-inch frame

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 screen Internet@TV capable (Yahoo widgets) Built-in Ethernet Wi-Fi-ready, with purchase of additional adapter Energy Star 3.0 compatible

Pricing and availability of the Samsung UNB8000 series (estimated street prices):

46-inch UN46B8000 ($3,299, May) 55-inch UN55B8000 ($3,999, May)

Like the step-down … Read more

LG's 240Hz LCDs flash backlights really fast

Now that 240Hz technology is appearing in TVs from most major manufacturers at CES, LG is interested in touting its own version, a so-called scanning backlight that, according to the company, outperforms other 240Hz methods.

The four-model LH55 series, LG's baseline 240Hz models, includes the 37-inch 37LH55, the 42-inch 42LH55, the 47-inch 47LH55 and the 55-inch 55LH55. The 37-inch set is the smallest 240Hz model we've hard of so far. They will ship in March, although pricing wasn't announced.

Compared with standard 120Hz LCDs, 240Hz models supposedly deliver smoother images and even better motion blur reduction. We'… Read more

240Hz refresh rate makes its way to Toshiba LCDs

Now that LCD TVs with 120Hz refresh rates are becoming commonplace, manufacturers including Toshiba are implementing 240Hz to bolster claims of smoother images with improved blur reduction.

Toshiba's ZV650 series includes three screen sizes, the 42-inch 42ZV650, the 46-inch 46ZV650, and the 55-inch 55ZV650, and will be available in April (prices were not announced).

In describing its 240Hz models, the company called it a "240Hz effect" to be extra-careful. Compared to 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 uses the scanning backlight version of 240Hz, which turns the backlight on and off very rapidly. Sony and Samsung use a different version, 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.

Toshiba enters LED race with high-end LCDs

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.

Vizio enters 240Hz fray for less

Vizio is known for breaking price barriers, so it should come as no surprise that the company's 240Hz LCD TVs should be among the least expensive of their breed. We say "should" because at CES most other manufacturers don't announce pricing on their new models, but Vizio does.

The two models represent the 42- and 47-inch sizes in the company's step-up XVT series, models SV421XVT ($1,099 list) and SV471XVT ($1,399 list) respectively. Both will be available in the summer of 2009, and replace the current SV470XVT and SV420XVT at the same price points.… Read more