Let's say you've had your HDTV for a few years now. Let's say you can't stop reading new TV reviews. Let's say you find excuses to stop at Best Buy to stare at the wall.
OK, you want a new TV. No problem. But do you need a new TV? Are the current models really that much better than what you have?
Let's take a look.… Read more
With all the incessant hoopla about the new iPad, the one comparison that keeps popping up is that its 2,048x1,536-pixel resolution is "greater than an HDTV!" or "1 million more pixels than your TV!"
Not only is this irrelevant and a senseless comparison, but it has no bearing on the future of HDTVs, as some have implied.
Here's why.… Read more
Updated March 7 with more information and new videos.
Just two months ago at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Samsung--along with all of its competitors--talked up its new line of of 2012 TVs. As is always the case at CES, the new product info was long on hype and short on details. That changed today, when Samsung began filling it a lot of the blanks.
No, the company didn't say a word about its "Super OLED" TV, and we don't expect to hear anything more on that until at least midsummer.
Samsung did release … Read more
In response to complaints and a class action lawsuit over failing TVs caused by bum capacitors, Samsung has promised to provide benefits to owners of a select group of its TVs.
The benefits include extension of a warranty for 18 months after March 2, 2012, a "free service visit" to determine if your TV has the issue, and refunds for related expenses and/or payments via debit card or cash. They apply to all U.S. consumers, not just residents of Oklahoma where the lawsuit was filed.
The TVs covered by the proposed settlement include LCD, plasma, and DLP models made before December 31, 2008. The settlement does not cover Samsung TVs manufactured after that date.
Click through to Samsung's dedicated Web site at www.samsung.com/us/capacitorsettlement/ for the full details, to view the affected TVs or to download a claim form.
CNET Reader Dadar asks:
Are the "lifespan" claims by manufacturers proper? I've read numbers ranging from 50,000 hours to 100,000 hours, often with plasma TVs at the higher end of that scale compared to LED and CCFL LCDs.
I would have thought, being solid-state devices, light emitting diodes would have had a greater lifespan than their fluorescent counterparts. Hearsay also puts plasma at the bottom, but numbers I've found show the opposite? Are any of these true?
All claims by manufacturers should be taken with a grain of salt, but you pose an excellent question.… Read more
Updated February 16, 8:45 a.m. ET
A couple of weeks ago a colleague at CNET walked into my office and told me his TV had died.
It was a Samsung LCD from 2008, and according to my colleague--let's call him "Bill" since he said he'd rather not be identified in this story--a quick Google search revealed hundreds of other Samsung TV owners with the same problem. Here's the 2010 story Bill found that "started the whole thing" for him.
Bill told me the TV simply wouldn't turn on despite repeated … Read more
CNET Chris D. asks:
I have a CRT HD TV that is 5 and a half years old (one of the last ones they made). In terms of picture quality, it still looks better than any of the LED, LCD, or plasma sets I've seen. Am I right? I watch a lot of 4:3 TV. I'm concerned that if I upgrade I'll be forced to have a distorted 4:3 image (i.e., through "stretch" or "zoom" etc.). Is this still the case? Thanks for any reply.Normally I don't answer "should I upgrade" questions, but who can resist a good CRT bashing?… Read more
Interesting question.… Read more
Here's nearly all of the information I've been able to get from CES and since regarding the shiny new TVs of 2012.
I know it's not every TV; minor brands aren't represented, and lack of information from some manufacturers (namely Samsung) prevents me from capturing a few midrange and entry-level models. But as of press time I'm confident that the chart above contains the most comprehensive, current information on forthcoming 2012 models available anywhere.
Panasonic is still serious about plasma, but in 2012 it will release more (and bigger) LCDs than ever, including one with passive 3D--complete with cheap glasses.
As usual CES provided a full look at the company's 2012 TV hardware plans and we covered them extensively in blog and video form, but the table below attempts to coalesce those plans in the most "scannable, glanceable" view possible. All of it came from the company's official CES press releases, although a few of the Notes were the result of follow-up conversations I had with company reps.
You won'… Read more
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