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CEA president Shapiro talks DTV transition

by Steven Kim posted Aug 8th 2009 at 8:46PM

CEA's Gary ShapiroWith the analog shutoff safely in the rear view mirror, CEA (Consumer Electronics Association) president Gary Shapiro took some time to talk about the move to our new digital airwaves (and also looked ahead to our 3D futures). All in all, some pretty interesting reading, but he makes a great point in chiding the broadcast industry -- by waiting until the last minute to get onboard the HD bandwagon, broadcasters missed out on what could have been positive market differentiation for their services versus cable and satellite. All's well that ends well, though, and we're just gad the plug got pulled on analog (with few casualties to boot), and we'd like the CEA president should know we celebrated the move.

[Via DailyWireless, image courtesy CEA]

CNET: TC-P50V10 is "Panasonic's best plasma yet"

by Richard Lawler posted Jun 9th 2009 at 12:56PM


As Pansonic's latest plasma HDTVs proceed down the review gauntlet, it appears CNET is the latest to be impressed by the TC-P50V10, between its slick design, smooth handling of 1080p/24 by way of its 96Hz image processing, deep black levels and good color reproduction. The 96Hz features plus more adjustable picture settings are some of the improvements the V10 offers over the G10, but is it enough to satisfy the Kuro faithful, or attract buyers away from LCD? It appears the reviewer was convinced, give it a read and see if you are.

CNET shoots down the Dolby ProLogic IIz in Onkyo's TX-SR607 receiver

by Steven Kim posted May 1st 2009 at 9:39AM

Onkyo TX-SR607 receiver
Onkyo's $599 TX-SR607 receiver made its way through CNET's auditioning room, and it sounds to us like it holds up Onkyo's tradition of delivering solid performance at entry-level prices. Even though the receiver got dinged for its big, boxy design (which we like, by the way), additional complaints about the unit running hot strikes us as a bit unfair. Given some breathing room, the Onkyo's audio performance stacked up favorably against a Denon 3808CI. At $599, we wouldn't come down too hard on the video upscaling performance; your display might do a fine job on that task anyways. Ah, but what about that new Dolby ProLogic IIz that's supposed to raise your roof? Well, it didn't seem to work for CNET at all -- on a variety of source material and even with boosted levels fed to the height speakers, the effect fell, well, flat. We'd suggest trying out DPL IIz before jumping into the multi-channel arms race.

CNET reviews Panasonic's 720p TC-P50X1 plasma

by Steven Kim posted Apr 28th 2009 at 1:08PM

Panasonic TC-P50X1 plasma TV
The reviews for Panasonic's lineup of 2009 plasmas keep rolling along, and CNET recently turned its attention to the 50-inch TC-P50X1 and the 1366x768 pixels in its non-NeoPDP panel. The lack of the "near infinite" NeoPDP contrast didn't keep the set delivering great black levels and brightness uniformity, and even delivering images that subjectively held up next to 1920x1080 pixel displays. Unfortunately the P50X1 suffered some color accuracy problems (boosted greens) and a persnickety series of faint gray lines running diagonally through the screen which sounds like exactly the sort of artifact that's hard to "un-see" once spotted. Still, if you are planning to sit a good 10-feet or so from a 50-inch display, you may not see the lines or the lack of full 1080p resolution and Panasonic won't make you pay for the extra pixels; hit the link for the full review and let your own peepers decide.

[Via DigitalHomeThoughts]

CNET doesn't get along with DISH's DTVPal DVR

by Steven Kim posted Mar 4th 2009 at 10:20PM

DISH Network DTVPal DVR
We had pretty much put the whole "DVR" versus "PVR" thing behind us, but CNET's review of DISH Network's DTVPal DVR had us flashing back to those old arguments. Even though CNET apparently scored a "good" unit that didn't show any glitches, there were plenty of shortcomings that seem unacceptable in today's day and age, even at the low $250 price. The lack of pretty a UI isn't shocking, the dual tuners and 250GB drive are just fine, and even the spotty guide data is more about your area than the DTVPal DVR itself. But being forced to set up recordings based on channel/time combos and a lack of wishlists is really a step backwards; and when recording conflicts are hard to resolve on top of that, it makes for a tough pill to swallow. DISH is working on solving the technical issues, so we're hoping that the DTVPal DVR's "sold out" status is being used for some retooling.

CNET tests out Gefen's EXT-WHDMI wireless HDMI extender

by Steven Kim posted Feb 2nd 2009 at 6:23PM


CNET took the Gefen EXT-WHDMI out for a spin, and came back with an overall good impression of the $800, Tzero-based solution for breaking free of HDMI cable runs (at least within a 30-foot radius). Once the automatic input switching was mastered and video sources were set to conform to the unit's 1080p/24 upper limit -- 1080p/60 is not supported -- the unit generally turned in respectable performance. Of course, comparisons to Sony's similarly priced DMX-WL1 were warranted, but neither unit scored a knockout blow. We'll let you hit the read link for the gory details, but rest assured that the Gefen unit didn't drop any frames or otherwise wreck the image quality. For the asking price, you'd expect nothing less, but there were some caveats -- we agree with CNET's bottom line of picking one up from a dealer with a good return policy in case it doesn't all work out for you; that $800 will buy extenders and a lot of cable, after all.

Denon's AVR-1909 AV receiver gets reviewed, not for the faint of heart

by Steven Kim posted Jan 23rd 2009 at 11:33AM

Denon AVR-1909 receiver
On the face of it, the Denon AVR-1909 receiver seems like a great unit for someone either HT beginners or casual users -- a reputable brand, rich feature set and modest $649 price put it high on the short list; good sound quality should cinch the deal. Not so fast, though -- the CNET gang ran the AVR-1909 through the gauntlet, and while the positives certainly came through (with sound quality besting the Onkyo TX-SR606), the setup and day-to-day use with the included remote left a lot to be desired. To be fair, the remote problem can be solved by using a third-party model, but the text-only black and white onscreen UI for setup is glaring in 2009. Obviously, trade-offs had to be made to hit the price point, and HT zealots like us can live with some setup difficulties for good sound, but more casual users might find this a hard pill to swallow. Hit the link for the gory details, and give this unit some hands-on time before committing.

CNET takes a shine to Vizio's java-flavored VOJ370F LCD TV

by Steven Kim posted Dec 23rd 2008 at 5:09PM

VIZIO VOJ370F LCD TV
Rack another one up for Vizio, the brand that keeps finding ways to resonate with consumers in its marketing move upstream. CNET put the java-toned VOJ370F model to the test and came away quite pleased, thank you very much. Sure, the 1080p pixel count is largely empty resolution, but a rich set of inputs both behind the panel and on the side, and image adjustments scored smileys from the editors. Best of all, the unit turned in good grayscale performance and the colors stayed accurate even when the backlight was turned down. To top it all off, the Vizio fared pretty well across the board in its cagematch with similar models from Panasonic, Hitachi and Sony. Hit the link for the details, or just go ahead and pick one of these up.

[Via TVSnob]

Sony's VPL-HW10 turns in solid performance on the CNET bench

by Steven Kim posted Nov 26th 2008 at 10:31AM

Sony VPL-HW10 SXRD projector
RPTVs with SXRD panels may have fallen from the Sony roadmap, but the tech still gets some love with the company's front projectors. We got our own hands on the VPL-HW10 model at CEDIA 2008, and it passed the styling test quite well, thanks. The lucky folks at CNET have put the unit to test, where it turned in a solid performance that holds up pretty well given the $3,500 price point. Sure, the unit isn't a retina-searing light canon and the grayscale calibration deviated from ideal in the red and green, but overall picture quality -- you know, what you'll appreciate when not watching test patterns -- stood up quite well. And if you're stickler for black level performance, it's hard to beat SXRD in a beamer.

[Via TVSnob]

Insignia NS-BRDVD Blu-ray deck gets reviewed -- it's no PS3

by Steven Kim posted Aug 19th 2008 at 5:36PM

Insignia NS-BRDVD
Send in the clones -- the Insignia NS-BRDVD is another dead ringer for the Funai NB500, which started showing up under its various monikers three months ago. The Best Buy house brand is taking a stab at igniting some excitement in the sub-$300 Blu-ray player market. But reading CNET's review, it sounds like it comes up a bit short. First the good news: the NS-BRDVD is a benjamin cheaper than the ubiquitous PS3, it does a good job with 1080p/24 content and even outputs Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA via bitstream (to a comparatively upscale receiver, we assume). But the unit was marred by lackluster 1080p/60 output. As we've seen, you can pay a lot more for a Profile 1.1 player, but we're with CNET on this one -- save up just a little more dough and spring for a PS3.

CNET pans the GE 22730 digital converter box

by Steven Kim posted Apr 17th 2008 at 7:34AM

GE 22730 digital converter boxNo need to worry about how you're going to stack equipment on the curvy GE 22730 digital converter box -- it won't be staying in the system that long. At least, that's the recommendation from CNET. They were hard pressed to find anything to like about the unit, and even the eight-day EPG suffered from an unintuitive layout. Frankly, we're a little surprised that such a simple device could come up short in so many areas; the poor video quality and sub-par number of channels pulled in are especially glaring. We guess there's something to be said for Microtune's complaints, so even converter box coupon holders should do a little research before cashing in.

[Via TVSnob; Image courtesy CNET]

How much power does your HDTV use?

by Ben Drawbaugh posted Sep 27th 2007 at 9:38AM

Pioneer Plasma
CNET took 54 HDTVs and analyzed their power requirements to answer this question. The results are interesting, but not very surprising and include an estimated yearly expense for each. The yearly number is based on leaving your TV on for eight hours a day and sixteen hours in stand-by. While most technologies used similar amounts of power, there were some exceptions like the 65-inch Sharp LCD which uses almost 600 watts of power in their tests. This is more than any of the Plasmas which were around 500 watts for a similar size. In the end the size made the biggest difference and microdisplays overall used the least amount of power. As interesting as we find this, in the grand scheme of things it isn't a lot of money, even the most expensive TV only costs $19 a month to run.

[Via TVSnob.com]

CNET does '07 Spring HDTV preview

by Matt Burns posted Apr 3rd 2007 at 10:17AM

It's new HDTV time! Are you ready to ditch that embarrassingly old 720p, single HDMI-equipped HDTV and pick up one of these shiny new HDTVs. The crazy dudes over at CNET put together a handy-dandy cheat sheet to help you navigate all the new sets that should hit shelves sometime soon. The one we are most excited about you ask. Well, Hitachi's 1080i 50-inch with a MSRP of only $2500 is a heck of a bargain but if Panasonic is telling the truth about their everlasting-lamps in their new LCD RPTVs, that's the one. Eternal lamp, low price, big screen, and if the colors (and blacks) tuned in, they will have a winner on their hands.

UPDATE: Dead link now alive and kickin'

Sharp Aquos LC-46D62U 1080p LCD reviewed

by Richard Lawler posted Oct 25th 2006 at 11:05AM

1080p LCDs are taking over this fall, and CNET quickly grabbed Sharp's new Aquos LC-46D62U to review. They had a lot of good to say, particularly when it came to the advertised 10,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, saying that the screen reproduced a deeper level of black than any non-CRT screen they have ever tested, plasma and RPTVs included. From the glossy black frame to off-angle viewing, praise is in abundance. The D62 series was also noted for its Dot-by-Dot mode to enable pixel perfect mapping of 1080-line sources without overscan. The only negatives came in the areas of color accuracy, as well as the lack of a dedicated PC-input and merely average scaling of 480i sources. CNET also mentioned the reports of banding issues with the D62 series, but had no problems with their review unit. Still, for the price, resolution and plasma-fighting black levels, it doesn't seem to get much better than this.

Sony STR-DA5200ES receiver adopts PSP/PS3-style interface

by Richard Lawler posted Sep 7th 2006 at 1:05PM

Sony's upcoming high end home theater receiver, the STR-DA5200ES features HDMI connections, 7.1 audio, video upconversion and everything else you would expect, will share something borrowed from the PSP. No, it's not a UMD-slot, it's the crossbar-style menu that will also be in use on the Playstation 3. You'll be able to access the menu as an overlay while still playing HD video playing behind it, picture-in-picture, and possibly be able to set up your A/V system without an engineering degree. This might be a bigger revolution in home theater than the Nintendo Wii controller is to gaming, a truly user-friendly UI would be a rare boon for users with complex systems. They'll be showing off this and many other components at CEDIA next week, if they really do have an interface that anyone can use the next challenge will be keeping your family away from it so they don't mess it up.




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