TV Shop » LG TV and Home Theater

Deals, Returned: Thursday Edition --

We present the return of our great, almost famous HDTV deals, and without further ado, let’s kick it off with a great deal:

Walmart – How about a great deal on a Vizio 42″ E420VL 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV for $548 – free in-store pickup included (option is $20 for shipping). With a 120Hz refresh rate, 100,000:1 contrast ratio, and 3 HDMI inputs, tough to beat this one!

BuyDig.com – You know we love LG: how about a 55LV5500 55″ 120Hz LED HDTV for $1619 and $30 off with our special coupon code “BUYDIG30” = $1589 – and with free shipping? How can we do it?

Thanks for joining us and have fun!

Here They Come: Chunk of LG and Sony 3D HDTV units get prices --

This is the typical time of year when activity with new unit releases start to pick up greatly, and this year is no exception it appears. Sony and LG have jumped into the arena with lots of upcoming release news, and they mostly involve new 3D HDTV units, something we have mixed feelings about, but their basic specs sound pretty good too.

CES’s premium 3DTV crop is preparing to ship out, with Sony’s HX929, HX820 and HX720 series of LED LCD screens and LG’s Infinia PZ750 plasmas now priced at Amazon for pre-order and they look really good.

3D-Display-info.com reports that Sony’s local dimming Bravia TVs start at $2,099 for a 46-inch HX720 with the famous Gorilla Glass we’ve written about, all the way up to $3,799 for the monster 55″ XBR-55HX929 with a LED backlight. Quite drool-worthy.

Meanwhile, the 50″ LG PZ750 with built-in Smart TV tech starts out at a decent $1,599, while a gigantor 60″ version of the same set will go for $2,100 or so (also reasonable). Watch for these to appear for purchase quite soon.

Best Seller this week: LG 32″ 32LD350 HDTV --

LG has a sterling reputation with us at SS, and now comes a major sales courtesy of Amazon on a very nice 32″ unit perfect for any bedroom or spare room in the house: how’s a nice 32″ unit for $309? That’s 31% off the normal list price, and its currently the number 1 HDTV seller on the site for a very good reason.

We’ve seen some interesting patterns among the top sellers of late. Mostly LG and Samsung (the former title holder for Amazon top seller) have jockeyed for the top position on the popular merchant destination on the web, and its only this week that finally LG has claimed the crown for top seller.

Here’s the link to the site to check out the sale, grab it while its hot!

3rd and 4th Place: Sony and LG respectively, LCD sales --

You know the market is pretty topsy-turvy when Vizio is so dominant with LCD HDTV sales, and a company like LG is in 4th place (and very far behind indeed). Curious is the word we’d use.

Now we know the raw reasoning behind this number: Vizio is prominently featured at Wal-Marts across the country, and their prices are pretty tough to beat. Never mind their pure stats with contrast ratio, etc are inferior to Sony and LG. Marketing and decent technologies have combined with low prices to make a juggernaut the other companies cannot ignore.

Raw numbers: Vizio captured a 27.6 percent market share, shipping roughly 2.9 million units in the US last year, a huge number. Samsung was second (kind of a surprise) with a 20.6 percent market share, shipping about 2.1 million sets total. Sony was third with 10.1 percent market share while LG was fourth with 9.4 percent.

Price Slash: $169 top line LG Blu-Ray player? --

It seems even the high-end Blu-Ray players are getting a generous price reduction, meaning nothing but good news for the future of HD and the BR media format, moving it closer to eclipsing DVD as the home format of choice.

Amazon.com is now selling the LG BD 570 Blu-ray player, which comes with wireless video and audio streaming built in, for only $169. That’s 25% off the retail price, and its got very good ratings from users as well. Not a surprise, given the high ratings we’ve given many LG products in years past.

We assume this item will be gone quickly, so follow the link above to grab it up while its still in stock (which it was last we checked).

Big Target: LG and Samsung want to sell 15 million 3D HDTVs this year --

Yes, we’ve frequently spoke about the limitations and low expectations of the 3D HDTV format, but LG and Samsung (two companies we appreciate and admire) plan on trying to aim on selling 15 million combined HD 3D units this year, if a recent projection report is accurate. Here’s more scoop for your reading pleasure:

Here’s one way to solve a chicken-and-egg dilemma: crank out 15 million chickens. That’s seem to be the plan for Samsung and LG, anyway — Samsung plans to sell 10 million 3D TVs this year, up five times from the two million it sold last year, while LG plans to sell some 5 million. Now, it’s unclear whether this increase in sales will come as a result of consumer demand for 3D or simply because almost all new TVs will be 3D-capable, but we’re hoping that pesky 3D content problem will get a lot better once more people can actually view it — assuming anyone actually wants to wear the glasses, that is.

We really like LG, but given the sales of 3D over the holidays (read: poor), we aren’t optimistic about their projections.

3D Gamble: LG betting big time on 3D HDTV with new units --

LG is taking a huge gambit: betting that 3D HDTV will hit it big as the experience evolves and prices go down. We’re usually big LG fans, but this move we aren’t too sure of really in the long run.

The flat-panel company announced at the most recent CES that it was separating from other TV makers to implement its own FPR technology for 3DTVs and now they’ve started shipping in Korea, starting with the LW5700 pictured here. Here’s a quick breakdown of the technology, and it could mean a bit of a new approach for the 3D medium at home.

Their new approach involves putting a special film over the LCD screen (sorry, no plasmas, Panny fans) which allows users to grab up their cheap “flicker free” passive 3D glasses and not the much more expensive active shutter 3D glasses. This could cut the cost of owning a 3D TV quite a bit.

LG’s gambit will migrate to the US in mid-March or so, and we’ll see how well it does. No prices or details released as of yet.

Legal Battles VII: LG vs Sony? --

It appears LG is on the warpath a bit, and now they’re going after Sony according to recent reports (after Sony filed its own case). Accusations include patent infringement regarding the Bravia and the PS3, so this one will be duked out with a lot at stake. Read on:

Late last year, Sony smacked LG with claims of patent infringement, and now the Korean company is swinging back with complaints of its own. LG reportedly filed two claims with the ITC on February 4th, accusing Sony devices — including Bravia and PlayStation 3 — of stepping on eight separate LG patents. We knew something like this couldn’t be far behind Sony’s ITC filing and accompanying federal court case, and we’re equally unmoved to hear LG is firing back with its very own civil suit, recently filed in California. Last year we saw patent infringement suits spread like meningitis in a college dorm, and if this dispute is any sign, we can expect to see more of the same in 2011.

Lawsuits ar becoming the norm in the HDTV industry unfortunately, but hey, in the long run, innovation and competition is what makes better tech and prices for all of us.

Big Game, Big TV: Consumer Reports picks the top 5 HDTVs for Super Bowl viewing --

Consumer Reports is well-respected for their in-depth articles on a variety of topics, including HDTV units. They’ve released their top selections for Super Bowl viewing fun, including a Sony, a Panasonic, and an LG.

We agree with the list for the most part, and notice two of the five units are Plasma technology, proving that Plasma units aren’t quite as dead as previously thought. The Sony we think is priced a bit on the high side for the screen real estate you get, but the picture is excellent, according to numerous reviews, and of course you all know of our respect for everything LG in the HD department.

Here’s the link to the article itself, and happy Super Bowl TV hunting to all of you, dear readers.

OLED News: LG aiming to start making panels by 2013? --

All of you know LG is sorta king of the hill in the OLED charge of late, and now word from up high is that LG is swearing they’ll be ready to make a move in the OLED arena in the next few years, mass producing large OLED panels for the open market.

More info and pic courtesy of Engadget:

LG has plucked our heart strings once again by announcing on its Q4 earnings call that its mass production of large OLED panels will ramp up at the end of 2013. In other words, the schedule it laid out a little less than a year ago to triple OLED production via a $226 million facility expansion is still on track — which is pretty amazing given that other OLED schedules we’ve seen have been 90 percent fantasy and 10 percent hype. On the same call, vice president of LG Display Jung Ho also took the opportunity to share the company’s goal of becoming the market leader in OLED TV. Considering LG has already announced plans to release a 31-inch 3D OLED set in the US and Europe this year with a 55-inch prototype following in 2012 — it seems Samsung may now have a real fight on its hands for OLED dominance that it can’t dance its way out of. No matter who wins, though, the possibility of ultra-thin TVs gracing our walls is definitely getting brighter.

We love the heat on this technology and that companies are recognizing people want something new and fresh in the HDTV world.