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Archive for December, 2008

Vizio’s ‘Java’ LCD brews accurate colors

Posted by David Katzmaier on December 19th, 2008

The Vizio VOJ370F 37-inch LCD outperformed its competitors color accuracy.

(Credit: CNET)

Subtle dark brown coloring and a not-so-subtle reflective gold strip along the bottom of the frame earn the Vizio VOJ370F the title "Java" in the company's LCD lineup, while excellent color earns it a high score among the less-expensive LCDs we've reviewed this year.

The 37-inch display boasts 1080p resolution--useless at this small screen size unless you want to use it as a big PC monitor--and plenty of picture adjustments. The most important are custom color temperature controls that let us tweak it to within an inch of grayscale perfection--no small feat for a small-screened LCD.

Want the full scoop, ground fine enough for espresso?

Read the full review of the Vizio VOJ370F

...

Panasonic’s LCD can’t measure up to its plasmas

Posted by David Katzmaier on December 18th, 2008

Panasonic's 37-inch LCD turns out to be an average performer.

(Credit: CNET)

We've always given relatively high marks to Panasonic's plasma TVs, but the company's least-expensive entrant in the 37-inch LCD arena this year, model TC-37LZ85, didn't quite measure up.

The main problem was this medium-screened LCD's less-accurate grayscale, which tinged the picture reddish even in its most-accurate color temperature preset. Compared with the 37-inch Vizio and Hitachi TVs we reviewed earlier, the TC-37LZ85 just didn't look as natural, especially in skin tones.

In other areas of performance, particularly black level and screen uniformity, the nonplasma performed quite well for an LCD. But compared with the company's least-expensive 42-inch plasma, model TH-42PX80U, the Panasonic LCD couldn't hold a candle in those areas. It's also worth mentioning that the company's 42-inch plasma actually costs a bit less than the 37-inch LCD. Granted one had 1080p resolution and the other doesn't, but at these screen sizes that doesn't matter for most viewers.

Read the full review of the Panasonic TC-37LZ85....

Toshiba’s LCD can’t make HD wine from SD water

Posted by David Katzmaier on December 16th, 2008

We review the Toshiba 46XV545U.

(Credit: CNET)

The difference between HDTV and standard-definition TV is pretty drastic, and there's not much any device--television, DVD player, or cable box--can do to make standard-definition look like high-definition. But don't tell Toshiba.

The 46XV545U, a 46-inch LCD TV, represents one of the company's latest attempts to persuade buyers that with the right video processing, "all your DVDs and TV channels will be displayed in near High Definition picture quality." If you believe that, I have a burning five-dollar bill I'll sell you for a grand. Every company touts their upconversion technology, but Toshiba's "SRT Super Upconversion" blares its trumpets louder than anything we've heard.

In our tests, SRT basically added artificial sharpness, aka edge enhancement, to standard-definition images. You may like the look (we didn't), but you won't confuse it with HD. Without SRT, the television's standard-definition looked a good deal softer than other TVs in our comparison, for what it's worth.

It is worth mentioning that, as with all other standard-definition processing, SRT is irrelevant if you use an external source that does the conversion itself. Such sources can include upconverting DVD or Blu-ray players, or cable box or satellite boxes set to convert everything to HD.

But enough about standard-definition video processing; how does this HDTV perform otherwise? Click through to find out.

Read the full review of the Toshiba 46XV545U...

Viewsonic’s 1080p TV for your kitchen

Posted by Joshua Goldman on December 15th, 2008

(Credit: Viewsonic)

This certainly isn't the first time we've seen a monitor with identity issues, but Viewsonic at least gets current HDTV marketing strategies correct by making the VT2430 24-inch LCD monitor HDTV full HD with a 1080p resolution.

Along with the VT2430's 1,920x1,080 resolution ...

Holiday season reminder: Buy cheap HDMI cables

Posted by Matthew Moskovciak on December 10th, 2008

In the bustle of holiday shopping, it's easy to be persuaded by the salesperson at your local retailer that you need to buy a $50 HDMI cable to make your new gear work. They might say the expensive cable "supports faster speeds," "has better video quality," or that "cheap ...