LAS VEGAS--Despite the increasing ubiquity of the 3D feature, we get plenty of e-mail from people interested in "non-3D" TVs, or TVs that couldn't support 3D. In 2012 such TVs will be even rarer, but one will be the Sony EX640 series.

This relatively bare-bones LED TV lacks most of the other fancy step-ups of the higher-end HX750, such as local dimming, Monolithic styling and Gorilla Glass, but it does keep the Internet extras. Unfortunately, you'll need to either connect an Ethernet cable to the TV or invest in Sony's dongle since the EX640 lacks … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Much like Samsung this year, the best LCD-based TV Sony announced at CES is a non-full-array model, relying on edge-lit LEDs to produce its picture.

That's the bad news for videophiles expecting a full-array follow-up to the excellent XBR-HX929. The good news for said videophiles? Judging from the picture quality of the NX720 from 2011, Sony knows how to eke great black levels and minimal blooming from an edge-lit configuration.

It's curious that Sony didn't name the HX850, a TV its press release identifies as a "flagship," with the traditional "XBR" moniker. … Read more

LAS VEGAS--If Samsung and LG have their way, CES 2012 will be forever known as the show of the dueling 55-inch OLED TVs.

Just like cross-peninsula rival LG, Samsung says it, too, will ship a 55-inch OLED TV to the U.S. market this year. Samsung confirmed it would aim for sometime in the second half of 2012, while LG narrowed its release date down to the third quarter.

Neither company divulged pricing, but I expect both 55-inch OLED TVs to retail for at least $7,999.

Even basic details on Samsung's TV, such as a model number, are … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Now that gesture you make to your TV might actually elicit a response from the boob tube itself.

Today at CES, Samsung has announced that certain of its high-end TVs will include new Smart Interaction technology, which allows control over the set by waving, shouting, or otherwise using gestures and voice.

Think of Smart Interaction as Microsoft's Kinect built into the TV, without the games. The feature depends on a camera and microphone sandwiched into the bezel along the top of the screen, powered by voice and gesture recognition software developed, the company told CNET, internally by Samsung … Read more

Update March 2, 2012: Company reps have told me only that the status, and indeed the model name and prospective features (eg local dimming) of this model, are now uncertain. For that reason I have removed it from the company lineup chart until I hear more.

LAS VEGAS--We love the picture quality improvements wrought by full-array local-dimming backlights, so color us excited that Sharp is migrating the technology down from its awesome Elite TVs to these new models.

The 945 series will offer that sweet backlight configuration in two screen sizes that will be familiar to fans of the Elite: … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Last year LG released only one TV with our favorite kind of LED backlight, but for 2012 it has announced three sizes, from 47 through 60 inches.

All three of the LG LM9600 series offer that rare full-array local dimming LED backlight, but only two--the 47- and 55-inchers--utilize the "Nano" structure found on the 2011 55LW9800, which allows for a thinner cabinet design. The non-Nano 60-incher will have a thicker cabinet, although all three will boast the company's new thin Cinema Screen bezel, measuring "less than 5mm" according to a company rep we spoke … Read more

LAS VEGAS--LG's pre-CES teaser release already confirmed the company's plans to ship a massive 84-inch 4K resolution LCD TV this year, but now we know when, and can speculate whether it will provide "lossless" passive 3D images.

The LG 84LM9600 will be the largest LCD confirmed for U.S. shipping this year, outdoing the 80-inch Sharp. LG has shown the screen size before but this is the first time it has promised a U.S. ship date: June or July of this year, according to the company rep we spoke to, price TBD.… Read more

LAS VEGAS--When it comes to black levels, perhaps the most important ingredient in picture quality, LG's plasma TVs certainly have some improving to do.

The flagship LG PZ950 series we reviewed last year trailed plasma heavyweights Panasonic and Samsung badly in this department, with grayish blacks that prevented it from scoring well in our evaluations. For 2012 an LG company rep tells CNET that the new models, thanks to upgraded phosphors and other improvements, boast black levels up to 40 percent deeper than last year's. If that's true, maybe LG with its historically excellent color accuracy will … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Apart from the Swiss Army knife that is LG's new Magic Motion remote, the company's next best trick is its thin-bezelled range of televisions under the banner Cinema Screen.

The LED-based TVs all offer bezels under 5mm in width. There's a war on, it's no longer whose TV is biggest, but who can get their frames thinnest for that nearly all-picture look. Samsung fired the first salvo last year and we loved it, giving the UND8000 a "10" in Design by virtue of its 0.2-inch bezel. It's no coincidence that LG'… Read more