When we chose the Vizio VP505VXT as one of three finalists for Best in Show among HDTVs at CES 2008, it was due to three letters on the TV's spec sheet: HQV." That well-known video processing brand made the 50-inch plasma pretty compelling on paper.

Now that we've had a chance to review the VP505XVT, it's not HQV that floats our boat: it's this plasma's great overall price-to-performance ratio. At a list price of $1500, it's a great value, and we expect that price to fall a couple hundred on the sales floor at Costco. It will have to, because competing, name-brand 50-inch 1080p plasmas like the Panasonic TH-50PZ85U, the Samsung PN50A550 and the LG 50PG30 are also in the same price ballpark.

In our tests the Vizio delivered excellent black levels--as good as anything from Panasonic and better than the other two--and while it didn't have the color accuracy of the Samsungs, it was still pretty good in that category. HQV processing held its own, but we wouldn't consider it a major reason to buy this TV. The Vizio just gets the basics right, and that's what it's all about.

Read the full review of the Vizio VP50XVT.

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Update: PaidContent had the story first.

The Alleyinsider reports this morning that after 26 years in circulation, Ziff Davis Publishing's PC Magazine will issue its last print edition in January 2009. Going forward, all of its publishing efforts ...

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Black Friday is still 11 days away, but for TV manufacturers looking to jump-start sluggish sales in the midst of a recession, it's already here--and will likely continue in spirit right through the holiday season.

Word of current and impending HDTV price drops is spreading rapidly. The HDGuru reports, for example, that Sony, Samsung, and Mitsubishi are rolling out MSRP reductions across the board, with some cuts as high as $500 on expensive models like the Sony KDL-52XBR6. Samsung is offering $200 off rear-projection models like the HL61A750, which was already a solid value to begin with. Looking for hot-selling prices last Friday, the Guru found deals like the 42-inch Panasonic TH-42PX80U plasma for $649 (although when we checked Monday it was back up to $729 online--still a great deal).

Looking for more? The latest Black Friday price watch (PDF) over at TWICE includes advertised price drops that range from 11 percent for the Sony KDL-46Z4100 to a drastic 33 percent for the LG 32LG30--one of the best deals we've seen so far at $549 at Best Buy. When we saw that price, we immediately added the LG to our Best cheap LCD TVs list.

We suspect even better bargains are yet to come. In past years, the best deals were available after Black Friday, in the weeks leading up to Christmas, especially on name-brand TVs.

The combination of the holiday season, nosediving economy and the impending DTV transition may be creating a perfect storm of low HDTV prices, but are people actually buying new TVs as a result? ...

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If you like your TVs like you like your, er, partners--slim, stylish and expensive--then you're a good candidate for the Hitachi UT37X902. At a mere 1.5 inches thick, this thinnest of all LCDs costs a bundle but looks better turned off than just about any TV we've ever reviewed.

It's no slouch when turned on either, with decent black levels and color accuracy for the 37-inch LCD breed, but (isn't there always a "but"?) we couldn't help but complain about one important aspect of its design. The UT37X902 is just a "monitor," meaning it has no built-in tuner and, more importantly, includes just two inputs: one HDMI and one analog VGA for PCs. That's fine if you just want to connect a cable or satellite box and forget it, but for other gear, you'll need additional inputs. That's where the optional AV Center, a $300 breakout box, comes in.

So how does the AV Center work? What other juicy details can we provide about the TV's picture quality? And is that 1.5-inch number really accurate?

Read the full review of the Hitachi UT37X902.

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Thanks to a new agreement with pizza giant Domino's, owners of TiVo set-top boxes can now order food from the chain directly through their televisions, and even track delivery time so they know just when the pizza guy will be showing up to bring them a ...

Originally posted at News - Digital Media

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