Samsung UN55B7000 Review
The Samsung UN55B7000
LED-based HDTVs are excellent choices because of their increased energy efficiency and brighter screens, and the Samsung UN55B7000 is a perfect example. With an eye-catching design, innovative edge-lit technology, amazing picture quality and other impressive features, it is no wonder the UN55B7000 is being touted one of Samsung’s best. Read more
Toshiba Regza 55ZV650U Review
The Toshiba Regza 55ZV650U
In spite of their many good points, like screen brightness and energy efficiency, motion resolution remains a weak area for LCD sets, particularly since the pixels remain lit between frames. The Toshiba Regza 55ZV650U, however, takes care of motion blur with its 240Hz effect at little extra cost.
Panasonic Viera TC-P65S1 Review
The Panasonic Viera TC-P65S1
The Neo PDP panel is one of Panasonic’s latest innovations, which cuts down energy consumption in half. increases brightness and helps to create eye-popping black levels. You can find it on high-end Viera models or more affordable ones like the Panasonic Viera TC-P65S1, which has many other great things to offer.
Samsung UN55B8000 Review
The Samsung UN55B8000
The sleek, edge-lit LED-based Samsung UN55B8000 is one of the most expensive HDTVs in Samsung’s roster. It tries to live up to its price, though, with amazing picture quality and a bunch of innovative features which are sure to leave you gaping. Read more
Toshiba Regza 55SV670U
The Toshiba Regza 55SV670U
LED HDTVs have become increasingly popular this year, stealing the spotlight from conventional LCD sets. After all, they are highly energy efficient, long-lasting and produce even deeper black levels. They can be very expensive, too, though, which is why the Toshiba Regza 55SV670U, at a price of as low as $1869, is well worth considering.
Panasonic Viera TC-P65V10 Review
The Panasonic Viera TC-P65V10
With their outstanding picture and sound quality, HDTVs easily transform watching movies at home on a Saturday night into an amazing theatre-like experience. This is especially true for the Panasonic Viera TC-P65V10, which boasts of 24p Cinematic Playback, a THX display and Digital Cinema Color, among many other excellent features.
Philips Wireless HDTV Link Now On Sale in US
Still worrying about how to organize or hide all your HDTV cables? Here’s a simpler solution - get the Philips Wireless HDTV Link, which is now available in the US via sites like Amazon.com, Dell.com and Costco.com for about $799.
The Philips Wireless HDTV Link, announced at the IFA Berlin 2009 earlier this year, comes with a range of up to 75 feet or roughly 20 meters, allowing viewers to keep their cables and other HDTV accessories, like Blu-ray players, DVD players, game consoles and satellite receivers, far from the screen to give it a cleaner and more stylish look.
The sleek black box comes with two HDMI inputs and two component video connections. Best of all, it can transmit full 1080p signal with no loss of quality. This is because the signal is not compressed, making it just as good as it would if it were running through an HDMI cable to the back of the HDTV.
Indeed, the Philips Wireless HDTV Link is a handy bit of equipment, especially for consumers who want to mount their HDTV sets on the wall.
Sony also offers its own similar device - the Bravia Wireless Module - which offers four HDMI inputs and one component video at about $500, although its range goes only up to 65 feet.
The Philips Wireless HDTV Link is expected to be widely available at retail stores later this year.
The New Dell Inspiron Zino HD - A Must-Have for HDTV Owners?
One of the great things about having an HDTV is that it can be connected to a computer and to a network. Recently, Dell has released its newest computer - the Inspiron Zino HD, with a Blu-Ray player, a dedicated graphics processor and HDMI ports, making it fit exactly for this purpose.
The best part about the Dell Inspiron Zino HD is that it is very compact - just 8″ by 8″ - and it even comes in seven colors and three different designs, so it’s sure to look attractive beside your stylish HDTV.
Other features of this new Dell computer include 3GB of RAM, which can be upgraded to as much as 8GB, an AMD Athlon processor, either an ATI Radeon HD3200 or ATI Radeon HD4330 graphics card, a four-in-one media card reader and a 1TB SATA hard drive, which gives you more than enough space for all your media files. It even delivers HD audio.
The basic package starts at $229 and includes a Windows Vista operating system but you can opt for a more expensive package with Windows 7 Home Premium or Windows 7 Professional.
While these do not make it a must-have for HDTV owners, the Dell Inspiron Zino HD is certainly a great HDTV accessory. Still, it faces serious competition in the Sony PlayStation 3, which, although lacking document processing capabilities, offers great games, online videos, enough storage and can also play Blu-ray videos for about $300.
LG ‘Borderless’ HDTVs Land in the UK
Last September, LG Electronics unveiled its ‘borderless’ LED-lit HDTVs - the LG SL9000 and SL8000 series. Now, they are available in the UK for roughly £900 to £1200.
Don’t be confused by the term ‘borderless’, though, since this doesn’t really mean an HDTV without a bezel, or pictures that go from one edge of the screen to the other. Rather, these HDTVs use the Injection Compression technology, which creates an uninterrupted surface, with no space between the sleek, glossy frame and the screen intself.
In spite of this, both the SL9000 and the SL8000 have striking designs, with the former measuring just roughly 29mm at most and both sporting invisible speakers.
Both also carry excellent features, such as Bluetooth and HD DivX compatibility, edge-mounted LED lighting, Intelligent Sensor for reduced energy consumption and four HDMI inputs, although no ethernet port or interactive widgets are provided.
The SL9000 has a contrast ratio of 3,000,000:1, much higher than the SL8000’s 150,000:1. However, the SL8000 has a better refresh rate of 200Hz compared to the 100Hz of the SL9000.
Surprisingly enough, the cheaper SL8000 offers more outstanding images, with deeper, natural-looking blacks, excellent shadow detail and generally accurate, vibrant colors overall.
LG also plans to release its first OLED HDTV this November in Korea, which will be available in the UK by 2010.
2009 US Black Friday HDTV Deals Revealed
This November 27, major retailers in the U.S. are slashing the prices of their items - clothes, toys, appliances and electronics, including HDTV sets.
Target, for example, is selling the 37-inch Panasonic Viera TC-L37S1 1080p LCD HDTV at only $575 as opposed to its original price of nearly $850 while the Apex 40-inch 1080p LCD HDTV sells for $449 and the 32-inch Westinghouse LTV-32w6 sells for $246 only.
Kmart, on the other hand, offers the 32-inch Sony KDL-32L504 720p LCD HDTV for $379.99, the 32-inch Sylvania 720p LCD HDTV for $349.99, the 26-inch Element Widescreen HDTV for $249.99 and a 42-inch Panasonic Viera Plasma HDTV for $549.99.
Rivals Best Buy and Walmart are even having pre-Black Friday HDTV deals, with Walmart selling a 42-inch Sharp LC42SB45UT 1080p LCD HDTV for $498 and Best Buy offering a 42-inch Panasonic Viera Plasma HDTV for $498.99.
The best HDTV deals this Black Friday, though, can be found at Sears, as follows:
- AOC 32″ Full HD LCD TV - $379.99
- LG 55″ LCD HDTV (Model 55LH40) - $1499.99
- Panasonic 42″ Class Plasma HDTV - $649.99
- Panasonic 54″ Plasma HDTV (Model #TC-P54G10) - $1499.99
- Proscan 40″ Class LCD HDTV (Model #40LC45Q) - $539.99
- Samsung 22″ Class LCD HDTV (Model #LN22B350) - $249.99
- Samsung 40″ Class 1080p LCD HDTV (Model #LN40B500) - $599.99
- Samsung 40″ LED HDTV UN40B6000 - $1399.99
- Samsung 42″ Plasma HDTV PN42B400 - $549.99
- Samsung 46″ 1080P Class LCD HDTV (Model LN46B500) - $899.99
- Samsung 46″ Class LCD HDTV (Model LN46B650) - $1309.99
- Samsung 46″ LED HDTV (Model UN46B6000) - $1599.99
- Samsung 50″ Class Plasma HDTV (Model PN50B430) - $699.99
- Samsung 50″ Plasma HDTV (Model PN50B530) - $899.99
- Samsung 52″ LN52B530 LCD HDTV - $1299.99
- Samsung 55″ LED HDTV (Model UN55B6000) - $2469.99
- Sharp 19″ Class LCD HDTV (Model LC19SB27UT) - $179.99
- Sony 32″ Class LCD HDTV (Model KDL-32L504) - $379.99
- Sony 40″ Class LCD HDTV (Model KDL40S504) - $664.99
- Sony 46″ Class LCD HDTV (Model KDL-46S504) - $854.99
- Sony 46″ LCD HDTV (Model KDL46V5100) - $1239.99
- Sony 52″ LCD HDTV (Model KDL52V5100) - $1599.99
- Sylvania 37″ LC370SS9 LCD HDTV - $399.99
- Toshiba 40″ 1080P Class LCD HDTV (Model 40RV525U/R) - $589.99
- VIZIO 32″ ECO HDTV (Model VO320E) - $349.99
- Zenith 42″ Class Plasma HDTV (Model #Z42PO2) - $499.99
Most of these deals are also available online while some are exclusive only at the store. Sears stores will open at 4 AM on November 27, Target and Best Buy will open at 5 AM, and Kmart will be open at six. Walmart will be open 24 hours to prevent stampedes, which led to the death of one of its employees last year.
Black Friday is the term given to the Friday after Thanksgiving and is considered the unofficial start of the Christmas season in the United States.
