plasma

LG's 60-inch THX plasma brings accurate color

Judging from our two previous reviews of THX Display Certified HDTVs, the Panasonic TH-50PX800U and the LG 50PG60, the certification gets at least one thing right: primary and secondary color accuracy. Our recent review of LG's best 60-inch plasma, the 60PG60, finds that those color points are still dang accurate, regardless of size.

The 60-inch LG performed almost the same as its 50-inch brother, and we expect similarities between the 50-inch Panasonic and its 58-inch bro, due to grace our labs soon, according to the company's representatives. We still think LG has some work to do though, especially in the black-level department, but that doesn't stop the 60-inch monster from producing one of the best huge-screen images we've tested this year.

Read the full review of the LG 60PG60… Read more

The Digital Home Video: Hands-on with the Panasonic TH-50PZ77u

Welcome to hands-on Friday! Today I went hands-on with my HDTV -- the Panasonic TH-50PZ77u. You'll notice that the title screen adds a '0' at the end of the name. Whoops!

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HDTV makers turn to budget stores, larger screens

LOS ANGELES--There are a lot of bad economic winds swirling, but the high-definition television industry doesn't appear to be moved.

Here at DisplaySearch's HDTV Conference, there is far less handwringing than in past years, when manufacturers complained about rapidly falling prices, the sudden appearance of too many brands, and consumer confusion.

Instead, far more confident industry leaders led a discussion Tuesday that revolved around how to make gentle adjustments to keep the HDTV sales machine in top condition. In North America, shipments are still increasing 17 percent year over year, according to DisplaySearch data. And this is despite … Read more

LG 50PG30: 1080p plasma for less

When we first checked out LG's entry-level 50-inch plasma with 1080p resolution, model 50PG30, we thought it looked pretty good, especially for less than $2,000. The classy gloss-black styling and long list of features, including plenty of picture controls, boded well for this model's chances on paper. We'd also had positive experiences with two other 50-inch LG plasmas we reviewed earlier, the THX-certified 50PG60 and the entry-level 50PG20, a 720p display that's enough of a bargain to occupy second place on our Best budget HDTVs list.

In person, however, the 50PG30 was a bit less impressive. Our main gripe has to do with color accuracy; despite a plethora of adjustments, including a full color management system that allows tweaking of primary and secondary colors, we couldn't get color to look quite right. Just-average black levels didn't help, and while video processing was solid, it couldn't make up the gap between the LG and other entry-level 1080p plasmas.

For the complete scoop check out our full review of the LG 50PG30.… Read more

Counting blurry lines: Should CNET test for motion resolution on HDTVs?

In the course of testing for HDTV reviews here at CNET, I always compare displays directly against one another side-by-side using both normal program material--typically Blu-ray movies, HDTV, and standard-definition material--and test patterns from special discs. I'm always on the lookout for new test patterns, so earlier this summer when I spoke with another TV reviewer, Gary Merson of hdguru.com, about his tests for motion resolution, he was kind enough to pass along a Blu-ray Disc called "FPD Benchmark Software for Professional." It contains a variety of test patterns, most of which I've seen and used before, with one notable exception. A suite of patterns and program material is devoted to testing and demonstrating motion resolution, and I'm considering incorporating it into CNET's regular HDTV tests.… Read more

Samsung's 50-inch plasma is red all over

Trust us when we say that Samsung makes waaaaay too many different varieties of flat-panel televisions for one self-respecting reviewer to keep up with. Case in point is the PN50A650, a red-tinted 50-inch plasma released in May that we're just getting to now. Call us slackers, but having already reviewed the PN50A550, which is basically the same but with a black frame in place of the 650's red, we felt that base was already covered. But the 650 surprised us with a somewhat better anti-reflective screen than we saw on the 550. More details are available if you … Read more

Panasonic puts plasma TVs on a diet

We had inklings that thin was in for the HDTV business this year after CES, but the sets being shown off at IFA in Berlin this week confirm it.

Panasonic showed off the 50-inch version at CES in January, but brought out 58-inch and 65-inch versions of the startlingly thin TVs at IFA at the Berlin trade show Thursday.

Unsurprisingly, Panasonic is saying that the sets are not as heavy as normal plasma TVs. Plus, the prototypes are being made with WirelessHD inside, which means fewer pesky wires. Keep in mind, this is not a real TV. It's just … Read more

Plasma TV on the rebound?

It appears the TV industry's self-prescribed medicine of pushing smaller flat-panel sets is working.

The second-quarter check-up is in, and the industry is in far better health than a year ago. DisplaySearch's Quarterly Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report was released Thursday, and worldwide TV shipments increased 11 percent from the same period in 2007, but just 3 percent from first quarter of 2008.

Still, the news is encouraging to an industry that was wringing its hands back in March over running out of places to sell its rapidly maturing, but still-pricey sets.

Around that same time, some … Read more

Samsung's showcase in San Fran

Samsung Electronics, an arm of the giant Korean company (second only to General Electric in annual revenue among conglomerates), held a press event in San Francisco last week to show off its products for the coming holiday season.

I'd been looking for an excuse to go up to the city, so off I went-- taking Caltrain rather than driving. Conveniently, the Samsung event was just a few blocks from the train station in San Francisco.

New Samsung Series 7 plasmas add digital media capabilities and limited networking

Not content to expand only its LCD line-up, Samsung unveiled some new plasma TVs as well. As with the step-down Series 6 models, the Series 7 plasmas utilize the company's increasingly ubiquitous Touch of Color bezels (in this case, rose red accents), and feature the same digital media playback functionality and InfoLink online data access found on the Series 7 LCD models. Full details follow. … Read more