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WOW, great questions today and lots of them. Thanks! I'm off to rehearse for CNET Live at 1 pm PT at CNETTV.com, call in at 888 900 CNET and maybe I can answer a few more of these on the show. B.C.
I have about $1000 to spend on a notebook. With the recent decrease in price of the Mac book, I have been taking a Mac into consideration. Should I go and spend the $1000 on a great Windows notebook or grab a Macbook?
with this one: 888 900 CNET, starts at 1 p.m. PT, at CNETTV.com
I hear there's a new replacement for CableCard ("Tru2Way", I believe), that should be coming out in coming months. Can you explain what's so great about it, and should I wait for a TV that supports it?
fresh on CNET News:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10067672-1.html
This year, the "new feature" was 120hz; what will they be promoting in the upcoming year ? E.g., what are we likely to miss is we buy before CES ?
a lot of talk about deeper, richer color levels is bouncing around. So is 3D, which I am skeptical of. And I always look for breakthroughs in HD projector prices.
So I'll just submit this. Cooley you are the cooleyoes~ Keep up the good job guys and remember we all appreciate your fine work =)
Have a wonderful day to all of you =)
For a 40-50" LCD TV that has all the inputs required which brand is the best or branding doesn't matter at all? Which last longer and better picture?
you can go easy on the brand concerns. They all are good for about the same 60k hours these days. And remember about 12 factories make all 70+ brands of panels!
My brother moved to Westchester NY and has comcast cable. The cable guy said the compoant cables would work better than HDMI. I said otherwise and he tried the HDMI and he (my brother) said the componant looked better. Can that be true. He hooked it up to a Sammy a650.
sometimes fights between source and display. It's part of content rights management from some sources and cable boxes. So, yes, component may look better than a throttled HDMI that has had that done to it to inhibit analog dub piracy.
In my soon-to-be home theater, I'm considering a "hybrid" route: namely, getting a smaller LCD for day-to-day viewing (and for the kids to use for gaming), and a separate front projector and drop-down screen when we want the whole movie theater experience. One thing that's preventing me from making the jump to a front projector, though, is the outrageous cost of replacement bulbs; they always seem to be in the $200-$500 range. With LCD backlighting (and Audi headlights) now going LED, why can't projector manufacturers change over to LED's? Are there any LED front projectors on the horizon?
as well. I'm not sure LED lights have the same power as a filament of some kind. I bet those Audi LED headlights are damned expensive due to a lot of optical fousing in the bulb itself to put the light together.
Hi Brian,
I just recently bought a samsung 6 series 50" plasma. My question is, what is the difference between a middle of the road LCD and a high end, to the regular consumer?
Typically a matter of inputs, refresh rate, and possible a better panel, but's that a hard one to put your finger on.
Just what exactly does having the 120Hz feature do for an HDTV? I heard it makes games look better? Do you see a real difference? The price difference on Amazon for Samsungs with and without this feature is pretty substantial ($500).
is good for fast action (games or movies) especially since it couples with 1080p and for movies on DVD that were originally shot on film since it allows an even division of frames from original film to HDTV.
I mostly want to watch pre-recorded media (regular DVDs and Blu-Ray) in the most spectacular way possible (great picture, great sound), with 4-5 people, and play an occasional WII game once in a while. I do not have cable and don't want to watch broadcast TV. My budget is about $5000 for a 52-inch tv and Blu-ray player. What are the absolute best options out there for that price range ?
I'm constantly hearing commercials how Comcast has tons more HD channels than Directv. I've also heard that Comcast lowers the quality on their HD signals to do this. Is this true?
since bandwidth is finite for a given head end and community infrastructure (until major investments are made in same.)
Got my hdmi cables from monoprice.com and all specs are met.. deep color. 3 foot cable for less than 5 bucks. Is it all in the marketing? Returned the monsters..
on cables. Huge. It's right up there with protective paint finishes when you buy a new car and extended warranties on just about everything!
Do you really expected the Pro-111 to be 3500 or less by xmas?
to make it under a $3,500 price point perhaps. I can't predict the timing, but the direction is only down on HDTV's and I can already find one for $3,788 (+ shipping and maybe tax)
when will there be a standalone blue ray player just as good or better than PS3 on the market, oh yeah, and for under $300, or integrated in a HTITB.
and one I would prefer to answer after CES January 8-11!
Wilblue tintl the Samsung series being carrying a new line of Touch of Color? I know they have the red and blue tint but will they be releasing any other colors?
what the color paletter road map is for TOC sets. Get some body striping tape from the auto paint jobber in your area!
Reposting this for Michael Kanellos:
I should know this, but plasma or LCD, is there any diffference any more? Prices seem more aggro on plasma these days. We unplugged the TV several months ago, but getting itchy
is very tight these days. Basic concepts:
- Plasma is a better value if you are buying a TV over 42"
- Plasma looks a little richer to my eye (and many others) thanks to generally better black levels.
- Plasma tends to weigh a lot more and use a lot more power, though Plasma makers are all over that last one with a major R&D push to "green" their sets.
Hey there. I just bought a Samsung HtiB (HT-AS720ST). I was hoping the get support for the newest audio decoding, TrueHD and DTS HD through the HDMI inputs, say from a PS3. My receiver comes with 7 analog inputs for this reason, but with the PS3 being, arguably, the best Blu Ray player, I'd rather use it than buy a standalone Blu Ray player. The HDMI ports are version 1.3. Is there any reason that they wouldn't be able to accept audio that the PS3 has already decoded through HDMI?
... I haven't worked up a system quite like that but my understanding is that HDMI 1.3 shuold absolutely pass TrueHD/DT HD.
I plan on picking up an hdtv soon, but i'm still battling the question of "LCD or Plasma"? Money aside, i'm looking at 42inch tv's and mainly do dvd and tv watching, with some casual gaming (xbox 360). Which HDTV would be best for me?
usually has a slight edge in subjective picture quality among consumers I view with. It looks a little more saturated a "film" than LCD, all things being equal. BUT, you mention 42" which is sort of a wobbler. There are so many strong LCD choices in that size and it's no longer Plasma's main game, I would suggest you look hard at better LCD's as well.
I know there are a lot of open source free firmware updates for Linksys and netgear routers. I can't find any for my WBR-2310 RangeBooster G Router. Are there any open source firmware updates for my WBR-2310 router?
in this chat -- call CNET Live at 1 pm PT today for router chat (888 900 CNET) but I will tell you to look into Tomato Router: http://www.polarcloud.com/tomato
Are the days of worrying about burn-in finally over? Or is it still an issue with current models?
though you can still create burn in on any TV with a bright enough and long enough hold of one particular image. But I seldom hear people complain about if if they have a TV bought in the last 1-2 years.
Over the air HDTV appears better than Dishnetwork. HD Example ABC news HD. Why?
I suspect Dish is taking the signal and compressing it before putting it on the bird. Over the air you probably are getting a nice fat signal from your local ABC affil.
In your opinion what is the best priced, lcd tv out at this time with the best picture quality and features? Would you buy now, or wait until the summer of 2009? Im sure there is some new "features" of technology that is coming out.
and best new features are often -- usually -- mutually exclusive. But you gotta' love a Samsung.
Hi Brian, I'm looking for a new 50-52inch LCD or Plasma TV, my budget is 3,500. What would you say is the best TV for that amount or lower (cheaper is always better but the best TV is most important)? I was expecting to get the Pioneer 5020, but then the cnet review wasn't great on the color. While the panosonic plasma seems to have issues with the 24fps mode. I was also interested in the samsung led lcd until the review said the off angle viewing was bad. Is there one in that price range you like the best?
and find a Pioneer Kuro 111 for $3,500. With this economy, you should be able to find it sooner or later. We love it.
With the Samsung TOC series, there are two types of screens. The gloss and the matte. Which do you prefer, and why?
because it's so much more forgiving of glare and I seldom have a bunch of people over to watch TV. But I think a polished screen offers better off-angle viewing since it creates less diffusion of the picture off-angle. Again, this will vary a lot by each model of TV. This is one of those reasons it pays to at least shop TV's in person, whether you buy online or not..
Hey! First off, I loev your reviews (esp car tech) and thanks for all of your informative work! I am looking for a smaller flat panel television for my apartment (around 32") and I was wondering what do you recommend? Also, can I get away with getting a 720p television for that size, or do you recommend getting a 1080p? Thanks in advance for your help!
I really recommend going with one of the 2nd tier brands. I have a 32" Magnavox that was one of the great tech buys I've ever made. It's a 720p with a built in DVD player. Bingo. Smaller HDTV's have a much easier chore than big ones, so you can really do well with a 2nd tier set at a great price. Hint: Shop the non-electronics stores for these, like office supply places. You might find a crazy deal.
What's the best stage for upscaling to take place - in the player or the display? (And who does it best?)
that I think depends as much on the scaler as where it's integrated. There's something elegant about the scaler being built into the TV so it can be innately designed to work with that screen and its supporting electronics. On the other hand, upscaling DVD decks are so attractive and affordable these days...
I am planning on picking up an HDTV mostly for my XBox360 and DVD watching. I'll probably keep my regular SD cable package. Does SD look really bad on an HDTV? Are there any particular models that do SD better than others?
SD usually looks horrendous on HDTV. Moving to digital cable might make an improvement (I've seen it do so but can't technically explain why.) I also find that higher end HDTV's are better at presenting and SD picture, but in all cases make sure you set your HDTV to show the incoming SD signal in true aspect ratio. It will be a small picture that leaves a lot of screen black, but at least the pixels won't be tortured into a jaggy mess.
Iam very much interested in buying the Samsung HL67A750 rear projection HDTV after the favorable reviews given to its smaller sibling. I have though until this point been unable to find a stand big enough to accomodate this absolutely amazing gigantic HDTV. Any ideas as to where I can go (online or otherwise) to rectify this?
That's really all you're looking for. There's not too specific about a RPTV stand, other than being the right footprint and height -- make sure it elevates your TV so the midline of the screen is at seated eye level.
I just picked up a HDTV and ordered my HDMI cables online for 7 bucks. The store lowest price was 30 with some hitting 99 bucks. The 7 buck cable looked fine, works without any fuss.
Is this just "what the market will bear?"
Remember, digital signals are in many ways much more forgiving -- they are 1's and 0's that either get through or not. Analog signals are much dicier as they have all kinds of waveform nuance you need to convey over the cable. That's where high end cables might make more sense -- within reason.
Brian, what's your take on the High End HDMI cables (Monster brand, etc) vs the cheap <$20 versions.
Hah! I use $10 HDMI cables and I can't see a difference. Now, mind you I'm not one to spend a weekend running and HD test disc and geeking out to that degree. But for normal HD signal transfer, the cheapies work well for me. Tom Merritt swears by bluejeanscable.com. I just root around Amazon.
My TV has died, and I'm interested in buying the Samsung LN46A650. Should I order one now or would it be better to tough it out until the holidays?
waiting through the holidays. By the retailers will know how bad sales actually were and the new models will be rolling out for debut at CES in January. For an even better deal, wait until the day after the Super Bowl. That's the next real trough in HDTV sales, seasonally speaking.
I am looking at the Samsung LN52A750 HDTV. I love the picture quality and details that display on this. I know one of the strong features on LCD tv;s are the 120 hertz mode. I have recently read a review where someone complained that the picture looked terrible when this was enabled will playing a Blu-ray movie. If this is new big feature is there a reason why it would look bad?
Thanks
Kris
...shouldn't harm the picture, at least not in any of the tests that I know of from our NY labs. There is always the poss. that some sort of HDMI conflict is going on. HDMI is sometimes too smart for its own good.
First HDTV and Blu-ray *recorder* combo:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10066773-1.html
CNET Live coming up at 1p PT today, You can call in with your HDTV questions and get me on the live show also. Phones open at 12:30 pm PT: 888 900 CNET (2638)
Sounds interesting!