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VIZIO Connected TV & VIZIO Internet App platform demoed at CEDIA

by Richard Lawler posted Sep 12th 2009 at 9:09PM Featured Story


With VIZIO's first LED local dimming backlit HDTV just days away from debut and its first Connected TV nearing production, we were able to lay eyes and hands on the television and its funky QWERTY Bluetooth / IR combo remote. Check the pics and videos (including looks at VIZIO's smaller LED sets ready to hit shelves this fall) for a look at our walkthrough; in the demos at least, the VIZIO Internet Apps platform was speedy and easy to use, however our experience with widgets so far has given us more than enough reason to wait for a full retail rollout before making any final decisions. One tidbit for those not ready to invest a whole new TV? The next iteration of VIZIO's Blu-ray player should pack not only integrated Wi-Fi, but also the full VIA / widget experience.

Gallery: VIZIO Connected TV & VIZIO Internet Apps demo

Continue reading VIZIO Connected TV & VIZIO Internet App platform demoed at CEDIA

Blockbuster OnDemand en route to Samsung HDTVs, Blu-ray players, and home theater systems

by Ross Miller posted Jul 14th 2009 at 1:10AM

Questionable longevity or no, Blockbuster's taking some strides to get itself firmly into the video on demand business, and this latest announcement will go a long way with that. The company announced that it's integrating its OnDemand service into Samsung HDTVs, home theater systems, and Blu-ray players starting Fall 2009. Better still, those with LED HDTVs series 7000 or above, LCD / Plasmas series 650 or above, and select 2009 Blu-ray players / theater systems can get the service later via firmware update. It's still got a ways to go if it wants to catch up to Netflix, but every little bit helps, right?

Poll: Still interested in a connected HDTV?

by Richard Lawler posted May 24th 2009 at 12:00PM


Oh connected HDTV, you blew away the fans at CES just a few months ago, but it seems most still don't plan on buying one immediately. Looks like that feeling of putting a purchase off may be justified, with our hands-on finding performance on the latest Samsung model a bit laggy at the moment. So let us know, are you still intrigued by widget HDTVs?

Now that they're on sale, how do you feel about widget HDTVs?

Hands-on with Yahoo Widgets on a Samsung 7000 series HDTV

by Ben Drawbaugh posted May 21st 2009 at 12:44PM Featured Story


There's little doubt that Yahoo Widgets took the HDTV market by storm at CES, in fact by the end of the first day of the show, it was news if a manufacturer didn't announce the feature. Initially we didn't understand what all the fuss was about, but after spending some time with the Widgets, we started to see the light. Unfortunately something has changed in the past five months and now that we have it in our home to play with, it just doesn't seem the same. The one word we'd use to describe the difference is "laggy" -- check out the video after the break to see for yourself. The demos at CES were down right snappy, but even in our hard wired tests connected to the internet via a 20Mbps FiOS connection, the widgets loaded so slow we're not sure we'd actually even use 'em. To make matters worse, because most people don't have internet connections behind their HDTV, they're going to need some sort of WiFi adapter to make this work. The Samsung 7000 series HDTV we tested has an optional USB dongle that sells for $80, but we couldn't even get it to work despite the hour of our life we wasted on it.

Continue reading Hands-on with Yahoo Widgets on a Samsung 7000 series HDTV

Samsung's 46 and 55-inch B9000 HDTVs boasts widgets, wireless external media box

by Ross Miller posted Apr 21st 2009 at 7:36PM

With no picture to show for it, unfortunately (that's the 8 series, pictured), Samsung's gone ahead and announced the 46-inch and 55-inch B9000 HDTVs, which looks to be a follow-up to the A950 models from last year. According to flatpanelshd, the latest addition to the Touch of Color series include LED backlights with localized dimming, Medi@2.0 with YouTube / Yahoo! widgets, built-in USB port, DLNA functionality, built-in DVB-T and DVB-C tuners, and most interesting, a wireless connection to an external media box that's reportedly similar to Sony's ZX1 -- no word on whether or not that means it's using WHDI. As for the other details, including pricing and availability, you're gonna have to keep waiting, we're afraid.

Sony expands connected BRAVIA HDTV line with new W-Series

by Darren Murph posted Mar 2nd 2009 at 8:00PM


While these three weren't quite ready for CES, they're still being debuted in Las Vegas alongside Sony's new Blu-ray devices. The W-Series, as with the recently announced BRAVIA Z5100 and XBR9 models, is fully equipped with an Ethernet jack and a Yahoo!-powered widgets engine. Consumers who bite on the 52-inch KDL-52W5100, 46-inch KDL-46W5100 or 40-inch KDL-40W5100 can expect easy access to Amazon Video on Demand, YouTube, Sony Pictures content, etc. The new family also includes Sony's Motionflow 120Hz technology, DLNA compatibility, a USB port for loading up external media, BRAVIA Sync (HDMI-CEC), four HDMI inputs and the Xross Media Bar (XMB) interface. As expected, each one sports a 1080p panel, and while pricing details are still sorely missing, the trifecta should hit retailers later this Spring. Full release is after the break.

Continue reading Sony expands connected BRAVIA HDTV line with new W-Series





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