Portable HDTV: Updates and Tragedies

Portable HDTV in general is a decent idea, but it never really caught on in the States for some reason. Maybe price, features, lack of channels, whatever the reason. It also seems to discourage companies from bringing newer HDTVs you can take with you stateside, needless to say.

so we’re left wishing for new offerings like the Panasonic DMP-HV100 and DMP-BV200, recently announced and ready to roll soon. Both are 10.1-inch HD sets that have 1024 x 600 resolutions (great for carrying along in the car with you) and, while either can tune DTV OTA, they can also connect wirelessly (with an WiFi dongle connected) to a Panasonic DVR and stream content to the screen.

The 200 model can also act as a sort of large PMP, playing back a variety of media formats from an SD card, so it has several uses, which we always like. No release date or prices announced, but sadly, for now no US release is planned. It’s sad indeed we may never see models like this in a US store, so let companies know if you want to see things like this here!

Cheap 1080p: Blu-Ray player selling for $70 at Target

We knew it would happen, and now it has: A Philips Blu-Ray player is now selling for under $70 at Target stores. That’s cheaper than some DVD players right now, and its a bargain for easy entry into the world of 1080p HD glory. Maybe pair it with one of these fine TVs?

For those 70 schillings you’ll be getting DivX support, a SDHC card reader, BD Live, and HDMI CEC convenience. While a quick search returns a group of mixed reviews (image quality is only ok), for $70 are you really going to complain too much? We didn’t think so.

It seems Blu-Ray is making inroads to becoming cheap enough for everyone to consider owning. And to think a year ago, players were still averaging around the $300 mark or so…makes you wonder how sane early adopters really are.

3D Shootout: Panasonic vs. Samsung, via Consumer Reports

Both Samsung and Panasonic started selling 3DTVs (as you may have heard if you have read this blog in the past two weeks or so, as we’ve covered it extensively) this week, and the reliable folks at Consumer Reports bought both and started testing them, comparing and contrasting the two companies offerings.

Initial impressions seem to confirm the overall feeling and tenor of other reviews we’ve covered in that Panasonic’s 3D has the edge in delivering the best HD 3D experience. Their words: “in the 3D mode, its (Panasonic’s 50-inch VT-20 series) lack of crosstalk and great black levels really made three-dimensional images pop.”

It seems plasma tends to deliver better overall experience with 3D related apps, due to its contrast and black levels, and we agree with the overall community in proclaiming (so far anyway) that Panny is the king of the hill with home 3D right now.

First Shot: 3D Blu-Ray disc to be released in April

Now we finally have the first of (hopefully) many, for those who have invested in this 3D trend: the very first HD Blu-Ray 3D disc will be released in April, it looks like.

Fox said in a statement last week that it will release Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs on 3D Blu-ray,  making it the first 3D release to be officially put onto shelves. Fox further said that the 3-D edition of Ice Age will be a free gift to anyone who buys the 50″ Panasonic 3D HDTV and 3-D Blu-ray player together, which retails for a combined price of $2,900, so some sort of two-digit free gift should be the least of what’s offered.

Fox did not announce any sort of price range for the 3D disc. Probably $30-40 would be about right; any more than that would definitely keep some away for awhile.

Prices: Samsung 3D HDTV MSRP list range from pretty good to crazy

Take a look at this graphic, and you’ll see two things: Samsung’s price list (MSRP anyway) for their new line of HDTVs, mostly 3D compatible. The other thing you’ll at the top is that $7K price tag, which is more than a little crazy.

What does that $7K buy you? Their top of the line, ultrathin 9000 series LED-lit LCD HDTV, with touchscreen, video displaying remote control and full 3D capability. That’s a lot of bang if you have extra in your budget, and you can watch content like this in style.

Also included in this lineup are a few new Plasma HDTV models, so it seems companies aren’t willing to discard the technology quite yet, a good sign for videophiles the world over indeed.

Most of these will be released in April/May of this year, and are in the $2K range or so, which isn’t terrible for a nice LED backlit 3D compatible TV, we’d say.

It’s (still) a 3D world: Sony announced new three-dimensional lineup

Yes, there will be quite a flood of 3D HDTV news over the coming days (Samsung and Panasonic both have announcements over the next couple of days) as companies scramble to jump onto the 3D train, for reasons we can’t really understand.

Sony has revealed pricing and shipping information for its new televisions and related accessories in Japan, including 3D TVs, glasses, and even (gasp!) 2-D traditional HDTVs that will arrive on store shelves quite soon. There will be 40″-60″ models, ranging from $3,200 to $6,400 USD. You can pair them with this player, for maximum coolness.

So now we’ll have 3 companies producing 3D HDTV models, and an as yet undetermined market for people to buy new TVs (and active shutter glasses) to fully support 3D. It’s a real gamble in our book, but who knows. It could pay off…one day.

Promo Shot: The Samsung 3D HDTV gets its 15 minutes at the Oscars

If you’re sick of the coverage we’ve been giving 3D HDTVs of late, then you may want to skip this post.

The iPad ad was in annoyingly heavy rotation during the Academy Awards telecast, but if you looked closely (or even not so closely), you could barely get through a commercial break without seeing the Samsung ad for its new 3D LED HDTV’s. It was shown at least a dozen times, and we’re sure if people didn’t know about HD and 3D before, they sure do now. We reported this one being on sale a bit ago.

To be honest, we’re still in a wait and see stance with HD and 3D and how popular it will really become, but it seems companies are willing to throw some money behind it, which could be a sign of trends to come.

If you somehow missed it, you can see it here: Link

They’re Coming: Latest Blu-Ray players begin invading retail stores

Are you someone that always gets the very latest and greatest of the electronics stuff? Then you’re probably the sort that would want to know that the latest versions of Blu-Ray players from LG, Samsung and Panasonic have begun showing up in stores now, and their features are most speed and internet connectability.

Once again, Best Buy is in the middle of the chaos, with many of the new models showing up on their shelves first. These models include:  the BD590, BD570 and BD550 from LG, the DMP-BD85 and DMP-BD65 from Panasonic, and the BD-C6500 from Samsung (Sammy plans on more down the road, admittedly). The specs, features and play speed are top-notch (they’re finally getting it right after a few generations now), and the prices are as low as they’ve been yet.

See here for more details regarding the models: Link

Released: Sony’s 3D Blu-Ray players sent into the wild

Sony’s latest Blu-ray players have been sold on the internet for a few months now,  but they’ve invaded stores at the retail level now, spotted on the shelf at a Best Buy store. Whether this matters for the 3D format in the long term remains to be seen. There’s already a 3D HDTV available for sale from Samsung, so a natural pair is now created.

A check on the Best Buy website shows the BDP-S470 and BDP-S570 available at many stores, so they’ve easily accessible at most any BB store out there.

We know they are capable of a Full HDTV 3D experience and are plenty speedy in terms of loading/access times (a big jump over many incarnations of BR players) but a few readers have already written in on various blogs and noted that the DLNA access mentioned isn’t available yet, and may require a future firmware update, always a good thing to do with new technology, we must say.

OLED Update: LG to release 15″ model to limited stores in May

Critics at CES and other spots have raved about the prief looks they’ve had at LG’s upcoming OLED HDTV models, and perhaps it’s time for all of the drooling, envy and hoping to come to an end: it’s coming. Soon. Now that the Sony OLED is dead, this will take its place, no doubt.

The deep-pocketed among us humans won’t have to wait much longer to sate the need for an astounding 10,000,000:1 contrast ratio and 0.001ms response time (yes, that is not a typo).

LG has officially announced it’ll be releasing it’s 15-inch OLED panel into spots in Europe this May (with mid-summer availability projected in the US). As expected, it won’t be cheap: $2,725 USD in Austria, with around that much projected on US shores. Cutting edge ain’t cheap, as many who live there know already.

Skype Your Life: New Samsung models to release with Skype access

Panasonic and LG announced Skype-enabled TVs, but they won’t be the only ones featuring the popular teleconferencing service; Samsung also is getting into the act soon as well. Now that they’re finished with all of their legal affairs, it’s time to celebrate.

Samsung has announced its new 7000 and 8000 series HDTV sets will also include access, so you can “call” anyone with Skype right on your TV, which is always awesome. It seems HDTVs are becoming vehicles for delivering other services as well.

Using the embedded Samsung Apps service, it looks like it works with the new HD video processing webcams just like the other models do, so users can log in to or create an account, and then make video calls away from the PC.

Bear in mind: those HD cameras compatible with this service could run as high as $200, so be wary of this when you invest in this set for that purpose. Like the 3D, there’s an extra cost attached – for now anyway.

On Sale: Samsung’s First Full 3D HDTV

Well it appears the 3rd dimension in HD is ready to take off, as the first new 3D entry from Samsung into the marketplace has now been released, at least on Amazon.

Samsung’s first Full HD 3D set is now shipping Stateside, and is available to purveyors of cutting edge TV everywhere. Panasonic has already done their work on this with Plasma, now an LED unit is out.

Amazon is showing a pair of 55-inch UN55C7000 TVs with 3D 240Hz motion technology with a hefty $3,299.99 price tag and free delivery too (nice of them to throw that in at least).

Bear in mind: it’ll be another $150 or so for the shutter glasses to fully switch from 2D to 3D mode view wise, which is a little annoying given this thing’s price tag. It’s a very nice HDTV even without the 3D, but make no mistake: that is this thing’s main selling point.

Love and Appreciation: B and O 55″ marvel collects review and glowing praise

Now you know we always appreciate 55″ of 1080p goodness from anyone and it would draw attention on this blog no matter what, but when coupled with a LED-backlit display, 6ms response time, a 4,000:1 static and completely native contrast ratio (not dynamic), and includes an integrated Blu-ray player too, and includes some of the most cool design bits in any TV ever, well attention isn’t the word. Perhaps admiration is a better word. We’ve covered these units before, but never has a TV set a reviewer to drooling like this that we’ve heard of.

The BeoVision 7-55 from Bang & Olufsen was reviewed at Flatpanels HD recently and they simply glowed over it. The motorized stand and the Blu-ray player which opens by waving a hand in front of it (yes, that’s true), finishing by describing the execution as “truly beautiful.”

Picture quality had words like “extraordinary” and “fantastic” being used, so it didn’t scrimp on actual quality as well. The only thing holding us back: the $18,700 MSRP, which would make even the biggest fan of HDTV sweat a bit.

The review is here: Link

Look, No Bezels: LG launches “Skinny Frame” Plasma HDTV line

Who says Plasma as a HDTV technology is dead? Panasonic isn’t saying, and apparently, neither is LG. They’re launching a new small bezel line of Plasmas with good stats that will be debuting soon.

They’ll appear first in their home market of Korea and will be called “Skinny Frame,” a reference to the tiny 25mm border around the panels — which honestly isn’t super thin these days. You can grab them in 50″ and 60″ flavors, and both include super fast 600Hz refresh rates, contrast adjustment based on lighting, and the ability to play photos and videos from a thumb USB drive too.

Very nice features all, but the price tags aren’t the cheapest either: 1,700,000 and 3,800,000 won ($1,150 and $3,325 USD respectively). Eventually we imagine these making their way to the states and other shores as they evolve.

The Age of Dimensions is Here: Samsung begins releasing 3D HDTV lineup

Yes, we know you’ve been waiting, and now they’re here: this year’s 3D HDTV lineup from Samsung are available for for you to eagerly grab up at some internet retailers right now, and we’re greeting this news with a mixture of anticipation and wary skepticism.

The edge-lit LED and 1.1-inch thin C7000 lineup will come in 40- 46- and 55″ monster sizes, and will offer more in features than simply 3D, reportedly. Those include the availability of Samsung Apps, Internet@TV, support for Skype,  media streaming, and it’ll even adjust res and picture based on the source of your content, from a Blu-Ray all the way down to a Flash drive.

And the price won’t totally send you to the poorhouse, in a nice surprise. The UN46C7000 (scheduled to be released April 16) has a preorder sticker of $2,599 to be slapped on it, which isn’t horribly bad. The 40″ will go for $1,999 and the 55″ will run you $3,299. Bear in mind, they won’t come with the 3D shutter glasses necessary to view the 3D content.

3D Hits: Acer releases 23.6″ LCD HDTV in 3D (We’re all out of D’s)

3D is definitely a driving force in HDTV marketing techniques right at the moment, as many HD makers are scrambling to come up with new 3D technologies for the medium. You already have read here what some market experts think of 3D and its future. We don’t totally understand the forces at work here, but if you’re a new adopter that has to have everything…

Acer just released its GD235HZ 120Hz LCD, specially designed for working with NVIDIA’s 3D Vision active-shutter glasses system, also recently released. The 23.6″ widescreen HD display sells for $399 USD, and it’ll be pretty cool for 3D gaming and 3D Blu-ray movies that will begin entering the market shortly.

Now of course there are some caveats to this: The NVIDIA 3D Vision kit sells separately for $199, and you need a compatible NVIDIA card to view the 3D content properly as well, so it isn’t an inexpensive investment to say the least. Buy hey, immersion has its price, and for now its around $700 USD or so.

Drooling (Sort Of): Mistubishi to introduce 149″ OLED TV?

Yes, you read that headline correctly: Mitsubishi has been preparing a monstrous 149″ OLED TV for display at ISE 2010, which starts next week. Now there are a few rather glaring caveats to this unit.

First of all, its based off a modular design, where you can “snap” OLED blocks together, which is good and bad. The bad side of this is that resolution is fairly low at 1,088 x 640, which means these units would be good for digital signage and that’s about it really, but in theory, these could grow as large as you like. And what an impact this would make on prospective customers!

Not to mention, this could have definite impact on the consumer industry at one point, due to the fact that we feel OLED is the future of HD, and any development in its direction is a good thing in the long run.

First On The Train: Samsung 3D HDTVs first in production

We’ve written quite a bit about HDTV, 3D and the upside and doubts we’ve held about how popular it’ll become in the long run, but it appears a company is taking a gamble and producing a 3D HDTV in mass amounts – Samsung. According to published reports, they’re launching big-time production on a new line of 3D HDTV models in just a few days.

No concrete info on details like sizes, dates, prices, that sort of thing — but here’s what we’ve heard and suspect: the line will consist of 40-, 46- and 55-inch LCD models with their crispy new 3D 240Hz motion technology to support 3D images and movies, and 3D blu-ray discs are already being produced.

Even with 2D imagery, the new quicker response time should make any TV viewing better, but at the same time, will you run out and buy a new TV to support home tech that’s really in its infancy? We aren’t too sure either. We’ll update you as we hear more.

Niche HDTV Fashion: Bang and Olufsen releases larger, gourmet version of 46″ HDTV

Bang & Olufsen is a high-end audio/video company who we’ve covered a few times on SS, and now they’re releasing a 46″ version of their BeoVision10, a 40″ model with similar feature set. Bigger as always better (usually) in the HDTV world, we always say.

It won’t come cheap, as you might expect from a fancy gourmet brand name, but it’ll make a statement, no doubt, with its brushed aluminum frame, 200Hz refresh, and LED backlight, along with great, bangin’ sound built-in. We’d compare this type of TV favorably with this Sony model feature wise.

Here’s a eye-opener though: the 40-incher cost just under $10,000 when it was released, so decide for yourself what the (unannounced as of yet) price will be. Probably $12-14K we’d guess. It’ll hit “selected markets” sometime in April (in Europe at first, most likely), according to the company’s reports and rumors circulating around.

Bravia Overload: Sony to launch new line of LCDs

Sony has been pretty active the last few weeks with developments, and now Sony is announcing a large new line of HDTV Bravia TVs of the LCD ilk, with all shapes and sizes entering the fray, including smaller sizes and (gulp) exterior colors.

Low end is the EX300, with 22, 26, and 32-inchers models with 1,366 x 768 reses, and are available in white, pink, brown, and black. Announced price ranges (in Japan first, mind you) will be ¥70,000 – ¥90,000 ($770 – $990 USD), which fits in with their typical price points.

The EX500 is the middle ground, and will sport a ¥130,000 ($1,400 USD) price tag, and will be a 40″, 120Hz, 1080p model, while the bigger and fancier EX700 units range from 32 to 52 big-time inches and will cost you between ¥120,000 ($1,300 USD) and a rather swollen ¥300,000 ($3,300 USD). These models do give you extra goodies like LED backlighting, thinness (an ultra-slim 22mm), and network features, which means YouTube streaming, plus widgets too.

These are expected to splash down in Japanese waters around February 25, and across the pond eventually as well. You know you want a pink one, admit it.

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