In 2010, Sony will be joining the 3D HDTV trend with its top-end Bravia XBR-LX900 series.
These new sets, which range in size from 22 to 60 inches, include new “monolithic” styling (remember the beginning of 2001: A Space Odyssey?) and the special shutter-style 3D glasses. You will feel ready to go into orbit with these sets.
For more information on the XBR-LX900 click here, and to see other recent models click here: Sony Bravia Series
HDTV manufacturer Samsung is planning for a huge increase in production for their LED HDTV sets, possibly ushering in the demise of the traditional fluorescent backlit LCD screens. They are estimating a five-fold increase in their production, which should keep them ahead of the expected increase in competition.
Read more here.
The HDTV sets in Sony’s Bravia series have long been considered the best LCD displays available, regardless of price. For those of us willing to spend $1000 to $2500, it has been nearly impossible to beat the Bravia in picture quality, even with the higher-end plasma displays.
In 2009, Sony continues to offer some of the top sets on the market. The main new developments for 2009 are in the V, Z and XBR9 series.
Here’s a quick run-down on the differences:
For more details on Sony’s line of current and recent Bravia models, visit the Sony HDTV page at Flathdtv.net.
Many new, or prospective, HDTV owners are surprised when they learn that high definition TV can be broadcast through thin air. Surely, a high speed cable or expensive DVD player is required?
And they are even more surprised when they learn that the high-tech HD signal can be picked up with perfect clarity with their trusty old rabbit ears antenna! So, as you can see, the answer to the question in this blog post title is: an “HDTV antenna” = a “TV antenna”.
The only detail that determines which antennas will work with an HDTV is the fact that antennas are built with tuners, which convert the signal into sound and pictures for the TV. The tuner must be digital, not analog, since all HDTV sets these days are digital.
If you have spent much time searching for the perfect HDTV, you have undoubtedly come across an item called an “HDTV monitor”. It looks like an HDTV, functions like an HDTV, probably even smells like an HDTV… but it’s a little different. What gives?
It’s simple: an HDTV monitor is an HDTV without the tuner. The tuner, of course, is the gizmo that interprets the signal from an antenna or cable, and converts it into moving pictures.
Since there is no built-in tuner in HDTV monitors, they tend to be cheaper and can be a good option for those of us who have no use for broadcast television. Monitors work perfectly fine for watching DVD movies, playing computer games, hooking up to a home computer, or any other “self-contained” application. And if you buy a monitor but then decide you actually do want to watch broadcast TV, you can always hook up an external HDTV tuner
One of the biggest rip-offs in the world of HDTV equipment is the HDMI cable. This is because, although HDMI cables do the very important job of transmitting high quality video to your HDTV display, they are quite cheap, and somehow it seems easy for salespeople to talk customers into paying a lot of money for them.
This is a frequent topic of discussion on HDTV forums, and the basic argument goes like this: since HDMI cables transmit a digital rather than analog signal, the signal either gets through, or it doesn’t. As long as the cable meets a certain minimum level of integrity, there is no logic in spending twice as much and expecting twice the picture quality.
This was not true back when everything was analog, though– higher quality cables produced a noticeably better picture, and tended to be much more expensive. People who are used to this logic and have not researched the new digital gear can, unfortunately, be talked into paying too much.
As an example of the futility of paying $50 or even $100 for a set of HDMI cables, have a look at this highly rated cable that normally sells for $20, but has been marked down to fifty cents, at the time of this writing:
Most of us are familiar with LED (light emitting diode) lights- they are those tiny lightbulbs that are found practically everywhere, in all sorts of electronic gadgets, flashlights, even traffic lights. And, over the past few years, they have been invading the world of HDTV. But what is an LED HDTV? Is it an array of thousands of tiny lightbulbs?
The answer is yes– and no. There do exist TV screens built out of LED lightbulbs, but since they can’t be made as small as the pixels on a home TV screen, they are used exclusively in giant-size displays, like you would see at sports arenas. One of these screens would not only be terrifyingly huge in your house, it would look awful at any distance closer than 30 feet.
The sets that are often referred to as LED HDTV are more properly called “LED-backlit LCD television sets”, because the LEDs are just providing a highly efficient source of light for the image, and are not actually creating the image themselves. So, an LED HDTV is essentially an LCD HDTV that uses LEDs to provide the main source of light, rather than the fluorescent lamps that are commonly used. There are many benefits to doing it this way, including:
Currently, the leaders in LED HDTV technology are Samsung, Sharp, Sony and LG. Here are a few of the most popular models at Amazon.com: Popular LED HDTV sets
