Archive for category HDTV

Star Wars Blu-Ray Coming Fall 2011

Star Wars fans waiting for the movies to finally come to Blu-ray might not have to wait too much longer. The Digital Bits reports that a Lucasfilm rep at the 2010 comic con in Chicago said the company has been working on the Blu-ray versions of the disks, with one of the delays being the sheer amount of extras the company “keeps finding.” Via The Digital Bits:

Lucasfilm’s Steve Sansweet has reportedly confirmed, during a panel today at the C2E2 comic convention in Chicago, that the company is now working on a Blu-ray Disc box set of all six Star Wars films loaded with extras, for release “in the not too distant future.” We’re awaiting any kind of official statement from Lucasfilm – one MAY appear on Star Wars.com in the coming days. Nonetheless, MANY people who were in the panel began Tweeting reports of the news almost the moment the words left Sansweet’s mouth. IGN has also reported the news with an actual quote from Sansweet: “We have been at work for a couple of years working on – I won’t call it the Ultimate Set because we keep finding stuff – but, a very full set of all six movies on Blu-ray with lots of extra material. We’re finding all kinds of scenes from dailies that have never been seen before. Beyond all of those things that you know about… there are some real treasures.” There is no other official information at this time, but we’ll post additional details when and if they come in.

Sears Black Friday 2009 HDTV Deals

Sears Black Friday HDTVs Logo

Sears Black Friday ad for 2009 has been released early, and here’s a look at their HDTV deals for this year. Scans of the ad can be found here: 1, 2, 3, 4. Deals are good for Friday, November 27, from 4am-Noon.

Sony KDL HDTV for Black Friday

Our Picks for the Best Bargains:

  • Zenith Z42PO2 42-inch Plasma $499.99 *
  • Samsung PN42B400 42-inch Plasma HDTV $549.99
  • Panasonic 42″ Class Plasma HDTV $649.99 *
  • Samsung LN40B500 40-inch 1080p LCD HDTV $599.99 *
  • Samsung LN46B500 46″ 1080P LCD HDTV $899.99 *
  • Samsung PN50B430 50-inch Plasma HDTV $699.99 *
  • Samsung PN50B530 50-inch Plasma HDTV $899.99
  • Sony KDL-46S504 46-inch 1080p LCD HDTV $854.99 *

Rest of the Deals:

  • AOC 32-inch Full HD LCD TV $379.99
  • LG 55LH40 55-inch LCD HDTV $1499.99
  • Panasonic TC-P54G10 54-inch Plasma HDTV $1499.99
  • Proscan 40LC45Q 40-inch LCD HDTV $539.99 *
  • Samsung LN22B350 22-inch LCD HDTV $249.99 *
  • Samsung UN40B6000 40-inch LED HDTV $1399.99
  • Samsung 46″ Class LCD HDTV (Model LN46B650) $1309.99 *
  • Samsung 46″ LED HDTV (Model UN46B6000) $1599.99
  • Samsung 55″ LED HDTV (Model UN55B6000) $2469.99
  • Sharp 19″ Class LCD HDTV (Model LC19SB27UT) $179.99 *
  • Sony 32″ Class LCD HDTV (Model KDL-32L504) $379.99 *
  • Sony KDL40S504 40-inch 1080p LCD HDTV $664.99 *
  • Sony 46″ LCD HDTV (Model KDL46V5100) $1239.99
  • Sony 52″ LCD HDTV (Model KDL52V5100) $1599.99
  • Toshiba 40RV525U/R 40″ 1080P Class LCD HDTV $589.99 *
  • VIZIO 32″ ECO HDTV (Model VO320E) $349.99

* indicates a doorbuster deal (only good for early morning hours).

Gladiator Blu-Ray Available on September 1, 2009

Gladiator starring Russel Crowe is getting a special two-disc Blu-Ray treatment, with a release date of September 1, 2009. Amazon has it available for preorder for $27 (regular $49.99). The discs will feature both the original and an extended version of the film along with separate audio commentaries for each version. List of extras below:

  • Audio Commentary: Two separate commentaries accompany the original theatrical version and extended version of the film.
  • The Scrolls of Knowledge: The original trivia track has been newly enhanced with focus points allowing viewers to access a series of new behind-the-scenes featurettes exploring key scenes and how they relate to the historical accuracy depicted in the film. The extended version of the film also includes a deleted scene marker.
  • Visions From Elysium: Topic Marker-Viewers can tag moments of interest throughout either version of the film, allowing them to create “shopping lists” of topics to learn more about. Thanks to the Blu-ray player’s memory, the topics will automatically be loaded when Disc 2 is inserted, giving viewers immediate access to featurettes and galleries of interest.
  • Strength And Honor: Creating The World of Gladiator-The definitive documentary on the origin, production and impact of the Oscar-winning classic. The documentary includes an all-new Enhanced Viewing Mode allowing viewers access to additional interviews and behind-the-scenes material.
  • The Making of Gladiator: HBO First Look special.
  • Gladiator Games: The Roman Bloodsport-Learning Channel special.
  • Hans Zimmer: Scoring Gladiator-An exploration of the rousing soundtrack.
  • My Gladiator Journal: Personal diary of the young actor who played Lucius.
  • Image & Design: Featurettes and galleries covering the production design, storyboards, costumes and more.
  • Abandoned Sequences & Deleted Scenes
  • VFX Explorations: Germania & Rome-Shot deconstruction with the visual effects artists.


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Insignia NS-2BRDVD Blu-ray Player Reviewed

CNET recently took a look at the Insignia NS-2BRDVD Blu-ray player and gave it a rating of 5.8 out of 10 (2.5 out of 4 stars). The Insignia is a bargain Profile 1.1 player with a starting price under $200. A firmware upgrade coming in March 2009 will make it a Profile 2.0 player.

Although the CNET review summary states that the NS-2BRDVD delivered a solid 1080p HD picture, in fact, it failed most of their image-quality testing. For instance, the player could not depict all the resolution of a text pattern provided by Silicon Optix’s HQV Blu-ray test suite. It also performed poorly in two other picture-quality tests.

Some other characteristics CNET did not like were poor DVD playback quality, slow Blu-ray disc loading, and lack of onboard decodng for Dolby TrueHD DTS-HD.

Links

CNET review of the Insignia NS-2BRDVD

What Is the Optimal Viewing Distance From Your HDTV?


Click to enlarge.

If you’re unfamiliar with the term optimal viewing distance, essentially it means a distance from your television at which your eyes best observe the details offered by the resolution of your television. Each resolution (480, 720, and 1080) has its own optimal distance, but there can be other factors involved in how well you view detail, such as the quality of your eyesight.

A classic article on the subject is Carton Bale’s “1080p Does Matter – Here’s When (Screen Size vs. Viewing Distance vs. Resolution).” To help people understand optimal viewing distance, Bale created a chart (seen at the top of this article). Discussing the difference between 720p and 1080p at normal viewing distances, Bale reaches the conclusion:

If you are a videophile with a properly setup viewing room, you should definitely be able to notice the resolution enhancement that 1080p brings. However, if you are an average consumer with a plasma on the far wall of your family room, you are not likely to be sitting close enough to notice any advantage.

The 720p vs 1080p question is becoming a moot point, as production of 720p HDTVs has all but halted in favor of 1080p. But it may be interesting to know whether you are sitting too far away from your HDTV to take advantage of all that HDTV has to offer.

Review of Samsung LN46A650 46-inch 120Hz LCD

CNET recently took a look at the Samsung LN46A650 (edit: the 52-inch version, which has the same hardware inside), a 46-inch 120Hz 1080p LCD. They gave the set their coveted Editors’ Choice award and assigned a rating of 8.0 out of 10 (or 4 out of 5 stars).

They liked the set’s excellent black levels, highly accurate color reproduction, and the 120Hz dejudder processing. They also like the set’s novel ability to display weather, news, and stock market info on-screen, and that it is relatively energy effecient compared to similar LCDs.

They didn’t like the expensive price tag and the red-tinged frame around the front panel. They also noted that screen relfects light when there’s bright lighting in the room. They also discovered artificats when dejudder modes were used.


Links

CNET review of the Samsung LN46A650.

Samsung’s Official Site for the LN46A650

Sony Bravia KDL-46V5100 46-inch 120Hz LCD Now Available

The Sony Bravia KDL-46V5100 has arrived a little early and is now available for order on Sony’s official website. The price is $1,899.99.

The KDL-46V5100 is a 120Hz 1080p LCD that weighs in at a slim 56.2 lb. It has 4 HDMI inputs, 2 composite inputs, 2 component inputs, 5 analog audio inputs, and 1 optical audio out.

It also comes with Sony’s unimpressive Motionflow technology, integrated speakers, and HD tuner.

Link

Sony Bravia KDL-46V5100 at Sony.com.

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The Best HDTV Review Websites

When you’re going to drop some big bucks on an HDTV, you want to know what you’re getting into. And if you’re like me, you’re going to thoroughly research your purchase before you plunk down the money. A quick Google search will show that it can be hard to find good HDTV reviews. Below is a list of some websites and other resources that provide reviews and other information for HDTVs.

CNET.com

CNET HDTV Reviews

CNET is one of the best places to look for HDTV reviews. Its main strength is the sheer number of professional HDTV reviews. Their reviews are thorough, covering almost every important feature measurable for an HDTV. Its site is searchable and has numerous tools for listing and and sorting HDTVs by review rating, price, size, LCD, Plasma, manufacturer, and other categories.

Some drawbacks are that its database is so large, it can be somewhat daunting to sift through the data. The reviews can be filled with technical jargon that can be hard for the average consumer to understand.

One tip for using CNET is to scan the most recent reviews first. Viewing reviews of the newest HDTVs will give you an idea of what the latest bells and whistles for HDTVs are. To view CNET’s lastest HDTV reviews listed by review date, click here.

Link:

CNET HDTV Reviews

AVS Forums

AVS Forums

Another great HDTV resource is the AVS Forum. The AVS stands for Audio Visual Science, and the forums cover just about everything home-theater related. The great thing about the forum is that it’s filled with firsthand accounts from HDTV owners, including reviews of their sets. A thread on a popular HDTV can literally have thousands of posts.

What I like most about AVS Forum is that it’s the best place to get answers for unique or unusual questions you have about a particular set. You can use the built-in search feature or post your question on the board to get answers.

However, the forum can be filled with biased reviews, as people who have just dropped a lot of money on their HDTV tend to exaggerate the quality of their set. It can be tough to get a neutral, comparative point of view from reviewers.

Still, AVS Forum is an active mass of information and opinions from real consumers on the world of HDTV and home theater gathered together in one spot.

Link:

AVS Forum

Consumer Reports

ConsumerReports.org

Cosumer Reports is a great resource of professional HDTV reviews, but unfortunately, their information is not free. To access their site, it costs $5.95 for one month, $26.00 for a year, or $19.00 for subscribers of the magazine. Consumer Reports does a good job of describing HDTVs in easy-to-understand terms and comparing different sets to one another. They also point out HDTVs that are good values, that is, sets that give you the most for the buck.

Link:

ConsumerReports.org

What is Sony Bravia Theater Sync?

Bravia Theatre Sync, when combined with a select number of Bravia televisions and other Sony audio and video products, makes devices work in unison when you want to perform a specific action. With “One Touch Play”, operations that took several steps have been reduced to one. For example, press the PLAY button on the remote, watch the audio and/or the video component(s) turn on, then the BRAVIA television will turn on and switch to the correct video input.

Vizio Announces Some Black Friday Deals

Vizio Logo Black Friday Deal and Lower Prices

Vizio has announced lower prices for some of their HDTVs including a few Black Friday deals. Here are the details:

Vizio’s Costco Black Friday Deal

Vizio VW37L 1080i LCD HDTV at Costco

The Vizio 37-inch VW37L 1080i LCD HDTV will be on sale for $499.99 at Costco for Black Friday weekend (11/28-11/30) while supplies last. The VW37L has 2 HDMI connections, 5500:1 dynamic contrast ratio, and weighs 55 lb. LCD Buying Guide has a review up of the VW37L, rating it a 78.5 out of 100, which appears to be a pretty average rating for their site.

Link to official Vizio VW37L page.
Link to our review of buying an HDTV at Costco.

Other Vizio Deals

Vizio 32-inch VP322 720p Plasma HDTV $437.00 at Walmart effective Wednesday. It’s a new everyday low price, so no rush.

Vizio 42-inch VS420 1080p LCD HDTV $698.00 at Sam’s Club locations nationwide while supplies last for the Holidays. Pretty sweet deal also.

Vizio 32-inch VOJ32LF 1080p LCD HDTV $559.99 (yawn) at Sears nationwide through Sunday, 11/30/08.

Link:

Official Vizio press release.