HDTV

After repeated attempts to get CableCard up and running with Time Warner in Brooklyn failed to produce a signal, we decided to shift our CableCard operations to CNET's northern outpost in Concord, NH. We sent back Velocity Micro its CineMagix Grand Theater for some fine-tuning, and it then turned around and sent the system up here.

New Hampshire is Comcast territory. I called Comcast and scheduled an installation last week. The technician had done a handful of installations on CableCard-equipped TVs and DVRs, but this was the first time he had seen a CableCard-equipped PC. After complimenting me on … Read more

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

(Update 11-14-07) Since this post first published, we have reviewed the 46-inch model from each series described below. For complete details check out the full reviews of the Samsung LN-T4671F and the Samsung LN-T4681F . For further information on the company's less-expensive lineup of flat-panel LCD HDTVs, check out our roundup.

Samsung LN-T71F series

The big step-up feature for this series is a 120Hz refresh rate, which is said to cut down on the motion blur sometimes seen by sharp-eyed viewers in fast-moving scenes -- although in our tests of 60Hz LCDs, motion blur hasn't been an issue. Samsung'… Read more

At CNET, we've been publishing information about HDTV power consumption for a year and a half in our Quick Guide, which currently lists the results of our tests of more than 50 televisions. Until now, this data has been restricted to the Guide, but it really belongs in each individual HDTV review. That's why we're pleased to announce the "Juice box," a new chart that summarizes the television's power consumption and scores it against other models.

You can check out an example here. Clicking the phrase "Juice box" takes you to an … Read more

In a move that could usher in a whole new era of enjoyment for the visually impaired, Sony has officially announced that it will be incorporating Audio Description (AD) (a system already included in some set-top boxes) into all of its new Sony Bravia HDTVs.

Andreas Ditter, vice president of Sony TV Operations Europe, explained the new Sony focus in a recent interview. He explained that, "We are all used to seeing and using subtitles on TV, but what many people don't know is that the technology exists to make a similarly useful service available for the 30 … Read more

We've reviewed three models from Sharp's 2007 flat-panel LCD lineup lineup so far this year: the LC-52D92U, the LC-32GP1U, and the LC-32D43U. If those model numbers don't mean much to you, don't worry. We'll take you through the company's extensive 2007 LCD lineup from least to most expensive, and when we don't have actual reviews we'll provide our take on step-up features and how the models relate to one another.

Sharp LC-D42U series

Sharp LC-D43U series

The main 2007 entry-level series of Sharp's widescreen flat-panel LCD lineup--we'll ignore the company'… Read more

We've reviewed three models from Samsung's 2007 flat-panel LCD lineup so far this year: the LN-T4665F, the LN-T4661F and the LN-T3253H. If those model numbers don't mean much to you, don't worry. We'll take you through the company's 2007 LCD lineup from least- to most-expensive, and when we don't have actual reviews we'll provide our take on step-up features and how the models relate to one another. Update 07-12-2007: Samsung has announced two additional series of LCD TVs for 2007, detailed here.

Samsung LN-T42H series

This is Samsung's entry-level LCD series. … Read more

Sony has a total of three series of SXRD-based rear-projection televisions for 2007, which works out to eight total models. We can't review all of those sets, but we can give you an idea of how they stack up against one another, and the differences between the baseline versus the step-up models. This info only covers the company's SXRD-based rear-projection HDTVs; Sony also produces a less-expensive line of LCD-based RPTVs, detailed here. For more info on rear-projection technologies, including how SXRD and LCD stack up against DLP, check out our guide.

Sony KDS-A2020 series

This is Sony'… Read more

Updated 09-27-07 Sony is a leader in flat-panel LCD TVs, and in 2007 the company has four series of models that offer increasingly more features and different styling for, as usual, increasingly more money. We can't review them all, but we have reviewed two models so far: the KDL-46S3000 and the KDL-46XBR4, both 46-inch flat-panel LCDs, and we expect the reviews of those models to give a you a good idea about other screen sizes in the same series. Read on for details.

KDL-S3000 series

This is Sony's entry-level flat-panel LCD series, and the only series that is … Read more