Consumer Reports tests the Sony XEL-1 OLED TV
by Steven Kim 
posted Apr 25th 2008 at 10:31AM
Consumer Reports posts
Consumer Reports' take on HD DVD / Blu-ray players: it's a tie
by Darren Murph posted Nov 18th 2007 at 6:10PM
We've taken a look at a number of Consumer Reports' views in the past, but the latest critiques give format fanboys (hardly) any ammunition to use against their respective rivals. Reportedly, CR evaluated Pioneer's DBP-94HD and Toshiba's HD-XA2, and while we were anxious to see which unit "proved" superior, the fact is that both units garnered an impressive 91-percent rating. Granted, the publication did review a total of nine high-definition players from each camp, but the general feeling was that all of them provided "excellent HD picture quality with high-def discs." In the end, we were told that both sides had their pros and cons; for Blu-ray, it's the wider array of players from various manufacturers, while HD DVD maintains the lead on price. Truth be told, we're not terribly shocked to see both camps getting a fair amount of praise, and while we know there's lots of you out there holding out for one to win the proverbial race, it sounds like we could be waiting a bit longer for the finish line to be crossed.[Image courtesy of ConsumerReports]
Bargain HDTV shopping this holiday season
by Ben Drawbaugh posted Oct 19th 2007 at 9:51AM
Despite what we say, many people wait till the holiday season to buy and HDTV -- more specifically Black Friday. There are a few strategies that work, and Consumer Reports' Electronics Blog has a couple of pointers for this holiday season. While the theme to finding a bargain seems to 720p, they really seem to believe Plasmas might offer the better bargain. In fact, DisplaySearch believes you'll be able to find a 42-inch 720p Plasma for as low as $599 on Black Friday, which seems pretty crazy. This is not to say that there won't be any great deals on LCD TVs, but just like that normal debate goes, it's really about size since there aren't many Plasmas under 42-inches. No matter what you end up picking up, you can rest assured that although you missed another entire year of HD, you most certainly saved yourself some money.Panasonic's TH-50PZ700U plasma becomes 'best ever tested'
by Darren Murph posted Oct 2nd 2007 at 10:17AM
Consumer Reports tackles the transition
by Ben Drawbaugh posted Jun 15th 2007 at 12:59PM
A big part of a successful transition to digital TV is educating the average TV viewer; and while we do our best to help out the enthusiast, the burden to inform the rest of America falls on newspapers, and magazines like Consumer Reports. In their attempt to let people know the facts, we'd say they did a pretty good job, -- much better than some of their other HD articles -- but we wished they'd mentioned the benefits at the beginning instead of the end; after all just about everyone is getting an upgrade.
