Flat-panel TVs to Black Friday: We're back!

If you've held off buying an LCD or plasma TV in hopes of lower prices this holiday season, it looks like your gambit is going to pay off. According to several analysts, LCD and plasma TV prices once again will be significantly lower this year compared to last. That's especially true for Black Friday, which kicks off the weekend after Thanksgiving, when you might encounter some never-before-seen deals. Among the reasons for the price drops are an oversupply of LCDs and competition between LCD and plasma in more screen sizes.

According to Austin, Texas-based market research firm DisplaySearch, LCD TV prices will drop 15 to 20 percent on average below last year’s prices, while plasma sets could sell for 20 to 25 percent less than at this time last year.

You’ll find even bigger bargains in certain size categories. For example, DisplaySearch predicts the average selling price of 40-inch and larger LCD sets could drop by 25 to 30 percent. As a result, the average price of a 52-inch 1080p set will drop from about $2,800 in the fourth quarter of 2007 to just under $2,000 by the end of 2008, while a 46- or 47-inch 1080p sets will fall from about $1,800 to just over $1,350. The average price for a 40- or 42-inch 1080p set will drop from nearly $1,400 at the end of last year to $991 this year. Those looking for a smaller set could also be in for some bargains, as DisplaySearch sees prices falling about 23 percent for 32-inch TVs, and 21 percent for 26-inch models.

Report from CEDIA: Next-gen TVs come into focus

What's the next big thing in the fast-changing HDTV market? I'm in Denver this week at a trade show called CEDIA (Custom Electronic Design & Installers Association) to find out. Much of the focus is on pricey gear that needs to be custom-installed by a dealer, but manufacturers usually give us a glimpse of key trends and new products likely to make their way into the mainstream next year.

Here are a few things I expect to see:

LCD's 120Hz technology jumps to 240Hz

In the LCD TV arena, 120Hz technology—which essentially doubles the TV's frame rate to help reduce motion blur—has become a popular new feature. I expect to see several leading manufacturers, including Sony and Samsung, showcase new TVs with 240Hz technology, presumably with the belief that if doubling the frame rate is great, quadrupling it will be spectacular.

Sony has said it will offer two 240Hz models—the 46-inch KDL-46W1 and 40-inch KDL-40W1 in Japan by the end of the year. Based on my conversion of the price in yens, those sets will sell for about $3,700 and $2,700, respectively, but there's no word yet on arrival here in the U.S. At a recent European trade show called IFA, Samsung showed a prototype set that won't arrive for a few more years.

LCD or plasma? What’s better for watching sports?

If you're buying a new flat-panel TV to watch the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing this month, you might be wrestling with what size and type to get.

We recommend at least a 40-inch or 42-inch set for a main TV used in an average-sized living room. You might want to go larger if you’ll be hosting a crowd or simply prefer a bigger screen. Many rooms can comfortably accommodate a 46- to 50-inch set, and spacious family rooms can handle a 50-plus-inch set.

Both LCD and plasma TVs come in all those sizes, so take your pick. Each has pros and cons. Plasma TVs are better than LCDs at displaying fast-moving images without blurring, a big plus if you watch a lot of sports.

Our video experts can clearly detect motion blur on most LCD sets with test patterns designed to pinpoint the problem, and you might see it when you watch soccer, basketball, and other sports where the cameraman does a lot of fast panning. Blurring is also evident when the camera focuses on a swinging tennis racket or a moving ball. You're less likely to see it on movies and TV shows where there is little camera motion. Some newer LCD models include 120 Hz technology, which essentially doubles the TV's frame rate to help improve motion-handling. We've seen a visible reduction in motion blur on those TVs.

The viewing angle is another major consideration. With most LCD TVs, the picture degrades to some extent if you sit off to the side or on the floor—a likely scenario if you have a bunch of people rooting on their favorite athletes. A few new LCD sets have addressed this problem—several Panasonic models we've tested for example, have a viewing angle that rivals a plasma set's—but most still have limitations.

Plasma sets are also better than LCD screens at displaying deep blacks, and they tend to have better contrast, which makes for rich, natural-looking images.

On the other hand, LCD TVs are generally a bit brighter than plasma, and their screens are less reflective, so many look better in bright rooms. Some plasma TVs can look a bit dim in bright lighting when set to the normal or standard mode, which we recommend for home use. You can switch to the vivid mode or raise the brightness control to compensate, but the picture quality might suffer.

Another issue with many plasmas is that the glass screens are subject to reflections and glare. If you have the lights on while watching dark scenes, you might see mirror-like reflections, though the anti-reflective coating on some new plasma sets can reduce glare.

Still, you can’t go too far wrong with either type as long as you buy one of the better sets. Our Ratings of LCD and plasma sets (available to subscribers) highlight specific models that make the most of each display technology, while minimizing the limitations.

—Eileen McCooey

Samsung adds new LCD, plasma HDTVs, plus Blu-ray HTIB

This week, Samsung offered a sneak preview of some of its flat-panel TV offerings that will hit stores shelves starting next month, including models with color accents (Touch of Color) on their frames, super-slim designs, and LED backlights. The company also showed a new home-theater-in-a-box system that incorporates a Blu-ray disc player.

A new high-end LCD line, the 950 series, features 1080p resolution, 120Hz technology (called Auto Motion Plus), and LED backlighting with local dimming. These sets have the ability to dim certain segments of the screen while others remain bright, which improves color, contrast, and black-level performance, and reduces power consumption, Samsung claims. The 46-inch LN46A950 ($3,200) and 55-inch LN55A950 ($4,200) will be available next month, and replace the LED-based 81-series models. The TVs come with a flash drive preloaded with HD-quality artwork, recipes, children's shows and games, and other digital content.

Other new LCD TVs include the 850 and 860 series, the slimmest LCDs yet in the Samsung line, with a depth of just 1.9 inches. They also have narrower frames than previous models, so they take up less room in your media center. These 1080p sets have 120Hz technology and two USB 2.0 inputs. The main difference between the lines will be that 860-series models, which have blue rather than rose accents, will be sold exclusively through A/V specialty dealers, and are priced $100 higher. The 46-inch LN46A850 ($2,700) and 52-inch LN52A850 ($3,400), and comparable 860 sets will be available in September.

HDTV: Adjust the picture for best quality

When you turn on your new high-definition TV, it probably won't look as stunning as it did in the showroom. The default, out-of-the-box settings on most HDTVs are designed to create a super-bright, vividly colored image, but they're almost always a bad choice for use at home. Here in our labs, our engineers fine-tune each set before evaluating the picture. It's likely the TVs in our Ratings would have much lower scores if we didn't.

You don't need an engineering degree to get the most from your HDTV. The easiest way to adjust picture quality is to use one of the preset picture modes. (Press menu on the remote and find picture or video controls.) Most TVs are set to Vivid or Dynamic (names vary by brand), but we've found that modes like Natural, Cinema, or Pro generally provide the most pleasing, natural-looking picture. Play around with the choices and see which looks best. Finding the right mode might be all you need to do.

You can also adjust picture settings individually rather than using a preset mode. One simple method is to set the brightness, contrast, color, and tint controls to a middle or neutral position, then move them up and down until the image pleases you. Also, turn off sharpness, noise reduction, and image-enhancement. This approach generally results in a decent picture.

If you're more adventurous, try these seven steps to better picture quality. You'll find more detail in our article on tuning your TV.

HDTV Ratings: The best lower-cost high-def front projectors

Although I've been writing about front-projection video systems for almost a decade, and envying those who had them, only recently have high-def models come down enough in price for me to consider buying one. Also, moving from a one-bedroom apartment in New York City to a larger home in the suburbs allowed me to carve out a separate space dedicated to watching movies and listening to music.

Now that I've been living with my system—a 1080p DLP projector, 106-inch 16:9 screen, and 7.2-channel surround-sound system—for more than a month, I can say it was worth the wait. There's no home-entertainment experience that can compare to a movie presented in all its high-def glory on a very large screen, backed by a powerful surround-sound soundtrack. Even my primary 50-inch plasma TV (a far larger set than I ever imagined I'd have) can't deliver the same kind of visceral impact you can get from a front-projection system.

I can honestly say that I now generally prefer watching high-def movies at home to seeing them on the seemingly ever-shrinking screens in the multiplexes at the mall. (Plus a bottle of water doesn't cost me $4, and I don't have to endure 30 seconds of Abba's "Dancing Queen" while someone rummages through a bag for a cell phone.)

If you've been contemplating building your own truly big-screen home theater, the good news is that our just-posted Ratings of front-projection TVs (available to subscribers) echo my own experience. Front projectors continue to get more affordable, and better, every year.

(Need help deciding? Read our free "Is a projector right for you?" report for important buying guide information. If you'd rather stick with a conventional flat-panel HDTV, we've recently updated our Ratings of LCD TVs and Ratings of plasma TVs, too. Those Ratings are also available to online subscribers only. But read my other post, Ratings: The best LCD and plasma TVs, for a general overview. And see all our blog posts about plasma TVs and LCD TVs, for the latest news.)

HDTV Ratings: The best LCD and plasma TVs

We tested more than 60 HDTVs for our latest LCD TV Ratings and plasma TV Ratings (both online reports are available to ConsumerReports.org subscribers).  The good news: More HDTV models than ever before have very good or excellent picture quality. Such sets can do justice to the wide variety of high-def content now available to consumers.

We also just completed Ratings of high-def front projectors (also available to subscribers), which can deliver a truly theater-like experience in the home. (Check my other blog post, Ratings: The best lower-cost high-def front projectors, for a quick overview of the 14 front-projection HDTV sets we tested. And if you're a subscriber, you'll have access to our Recommended front projector HDTV models.)

In our latest review of flat-panel sets, among the top performers were models from brands such as LG Electronics, Panasonic, Pioneer, Samsung, Sharp, and Sony. Some modestly priced sets—including TVs from several of those brands, as well as Vizio and Insignia (Best Buy's house brand)—earned Best Buy designations.

Most of the 40-inch and larger LCD TVs in our Ratings are 1080p "Full HD" models that can display all the detail in high-def images. More LCD sets have 120 Hz technology, which doubles the TV's frame rate to help reduce motion blur—a traditional LCD drawback—during fast-moving scenes.

LCD TV reliability—Why Vizio isn't in our repair history

A reader recently asked us why Vizio, an up-and-coming brand that now ranks third in sales for LCD TV sets, is not included in our repair history for flat-panel TVs—especially since we've recommended a number of Vizio TVs for their combination of decent quality and low price. (Access to our brand repair history for LCD TVs and Recommendations of LCD TV models requires a subscription to ConsumerReports.org.)

Let me answer in a way that offers insight into the way Consumer Reports develops reliability information, a process that is as exacting as our lab tests and just as important to a buying decision.

All our repair histories reflect the real-life experiences of thousands of consumers who have purchased and used the products in question. Our current flat-panel TV repair history is based on 74,544 responses to our Annual Product Reliability survey from readers who bought new sets between 2004 and 2007.

We received enough reader data to include nine brands of LCD TVs in our repair history chart (available to subscribers) and to mention two others anecdotally, but Vizio was not among them. Why not? In a nutshell—there weren't enough responses on this brand, and any conclusion we could draw from the limited data would have been premature and potentially misleading.

Vizio hits $600, $800 prices for 32- and 42-inch plasmas

In conjunction with retail partner Wal-Mart, Vizio—a company whose sets have typically fared well in our Ratings of plasma TVs (available to subscribers)—is now offering 32- and 42-inch 720p plasma models at prices of $600 and $800, respectively. The 32-inch screen size for plasma, popular in Asia, is new to the U.S. and will enable plasma to compete for the first time with smaller LCD models.

The company has also announced a new higher-performance series—called XVT—that will include both 1080p plasma and LCD models.

The VP422, the 42-inch model, is especially low-priced compared to 720p models from other well-known brands, which typically cost $1,000 or more. While there are no other 32-inch plasmas, the VP322's price compares favorably to 32-inch LCD models in our Ratings, which are typically priced at $800 or more. One exception: Vizio's own VW32L HDTV, which sells for the same $600.

Both models have 3 HDMI inputs, plus component video and RGB PC connections, and offer multiple color temperature settings and independent Red/Green/Blue adjustments.  The company claims that these latest models use new glass for improved brightness for use in brighter rooms. The TVs are now available in all 3,400 Wal-Mart retail locations.

Are you ready for green TV?

Flat-panel TVs, especially plasma TVs, consume a good deal of power—perhaps more than your fridge, as we found when we tested the power consumption of a range of TV types recently. But how much do you care about that?

We ask because some TV manufacturers, when they gather at events like the Consumer Electronics Show, say that energy consumption and other green considerations aren't yet a high-priority concern for a critical mass of consumers. And that, they say, makes them reluctant to compromise on attributes that are clear consumer priorities, like low prices and bright screens, in order to boost greenness.

Yet greener computers and monitors have entered the market. Why? In part because the federal government buys millions of those products every year and insists that 95 percent of them meet environmental standards set by EPEAT—the Electronics Product Environmental Assessment Tool. The standards stipulate that desktops, laptops, and monitors contain fewer toxins like lead and mercury, be Energy Star-qualified, and contain recyclable or reusable parts, among other criteria. Some of the greener models developed to meet EPEAT's stipulations are available to consumers, too; the program's website has a searchable list.

Currently, EPEAT standards are being considered for TVs. But since the Feds don't buy many TVs, the incentive to create the standards wouldn't be there the way it is for computers. Our advocacy colleagues at Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports, believe it will be key to have other big purchasers and retailers engage in the development of the standards.

Of course, the biggest driver in all of this is you, the consumer. Are greener TVs on your radar? Would you trade off other attributes, like screen size or price, to get a greener set? Tell us what you think.

Flat-Panel TVs in 2008: Fewer LCD brands, lesser price drops

If you've been putting off buying a flat-panel LCD TV with the hope of getting one for a dramatically lower price this year, it looks like you're out of luck. During the DisplaySearch Flat-Panel TV conference I'm attending in La Jolla, Calif., this week, panelists said they expect price declines in 2008 to be moderate, and some LCD models may actually be a bit more expensive.

There may also be fewer LCD brands to choose from, several panelists warned. Less familiar brands may be pushed off shelves as some better-known brands, including Sony and Vizio, continue to market models specifically for mass-market market retailers such as Wal-Mart.

In plasmas, the other major flat-panel technology, panelists predicted more and deeper price drops than for LCDs, though nothing to rival the declines of the past few years. In both plasma and LCDs, price drops will be greater for 1080p (so-called "full HD") models than for those with 720p resolution.

Both technologies will continue a growing overlap in screen sizes. In addition to a growing number of sub-40-inch plasmas, some 55-inch LCD models are expected. Ross Young, president of DisplaySearch, predicts we'll also see 46-inch plasmas emerge to compete with 46- and 47-inch LCD TVs.

Pioneer to stop making plasma TVs

Pioneer, one of the leading plasma TV manufacturers, confirmed recent rumors by releasing a statement acknowledging it would stop making its own plasma TV panels, and instead source them from other panel suppliers, most likely Panasonic (Matsushita).

Pioneer joins a growing list of companies that have exited the plasma manufacturing business. Many of them—including Sony, Mitsubishi, and Fujitsu—no longer sell plasma sets. Pioneer, however, will continue selling plasmas under its own label. It's not clear, though, how much of its touted Kuro plasma technology will make its way into the new sets, something the company said it was exploring. Many Pioneer models have been among the top performers in Consumer Reports' Ratings of plasma TVs.

The company will also start selling LCD TVs for the first time as a result of a previously announced deal with Sharp Electronics, which will supply the sets as part of an investment in Pioneer.

In the statement, Pioneer described its decision as a cost-cutting move that will allow the company to be more competitive in the plasma business and focus its internal resources on other product categories, such as home audio and video (including Blu-ray players) as well as mobile electronics, including in-dash car navigation systems.

"This move will allow us to transform our business model for displays from vertically integrated, capital-intensive operations to a leaner business model geared to making value-added product proposals," Pioneer said in a press release. Going forward, the company will source the components, then assemble the sets and sell them, and will continue R&D on technology to improve performance.

Rear-Projection HDTVs: More innovation, fewer choices?

There's a deepening paradox about rear-projection TVs (RPTVs), those video giants with screens that run upwards of 70 inches in size. On the one hand, based on our Ratings of RPTVs (available to ConsumerReports.org subscribers), sets have continued to get better. And as we learned at the Consumer Electronics Show this month, there's still quite a bit of innovation in the category. Mitsubishi and Samsung have been experimenting with alternative backlighting sources for these sets—Samsung already with a growing number of LED-based sets (such as the HL-T6187S rear-projection TV set seen at right), and Mitsubishi poised to launch the first laser-lit rear-projection sets later this year. In addition, both companies have been offering fairly impressive 3D demos when their sets are used with optional 3D glasses and stereoscopic content.

But those pluses aren't enough for most consumers, who can now get a thinner plasma or LCD set of comparable size to an RPTV set at a comparable price. As a result, RPTV sales continue to dwindle; Toshiba, for one, now estimates the total rear-projection market at a paltry 650,000 units, out of an overall digital TV market of more than 23 million sets.

Little wonder, then, that the number of manufacturers making rear-projection sets continues to decline. Sony and Toshiba recently defected from the rear-projection TV market, and, based on what we saw at CES this month, there's a strong likelihood that by this summer, there will only be two major rear-projection players left: Samsung and Mitsubishi. Neither JVC nor Panasonic, traditionally strong RPTV players, showed new rear-projection models at the show and a JVC executive this week confirmed that no new sets are on the horizon this year. That leads us to believe these companies will announce their exits from the RPTV market sometime in the coming months.

The slimming of the market means that both LCoS (the technology used by JVC, which markets it as D-ILA) and rear-projection LCD (the format used by Panasonic) would essentially disappear from the market. That would leave DLP as the only remaining rear-projection technology. (LCD and LCoS continue to remain important technologies in the front-projector TV market, however.)

For consumers, the decline of RPTV will mean fewer model to choose from if a projection set does make sense for your needs. (See our buying advice on rear-projection TVs to determine if an RTPV is right for you.) It might also provide good deals on really big sets, as Samsung and Mitsubishi duke it out for the remaining RPTV buyers. We'll continue to monitor the rear-projection business, including testing the likes of those laser-lit Mitsubishis later in the year. But it appears that the handwriting is already on the wall: it's only a matter of time before RPTVs follow in the path of CRT sets and become a historical footnote in the evolution of TV displays.

—James K. Willcox

Super Bowl: Getting a big screen for the big game

There's still time to get a new high-definition TV delivered and set up before Super Bowl Sunday, but the countdown clock is ticking.

Best Buy and Circuit City, two of the biggest players in the TV business, promise they'll have your new set up and running by kickoff as long as you seal the deal by Jan. 26 or Jan. 30, respectively. Online giant Amazon.com has a cut-off date of Jan. 26. P.C. Richard & Sons, a regional chain in the Northeast, takes the prize for last-minute specials, giving procrastinators up to noon on game day to buy a set in a New York or New Jersey store. That's the big picture—with all these deals, there are restrictions and caveats, as spelled out below.

Sears doesn't specifically guarantee delivery by Feb. 3, but a random check of various models on the company's web site showed that we could have some TVs delivered before game day, depending on zip code. That doesn't include setup; you'd have to call Sears to see when you could get an appointment in your area.

Of course, if you're willing and able to haul your big-screen set home from the store and set it up yourself, you have more time and more options. You can order a set online and pick it up at a local store with Best Buy, Circuit City, Sears, and Wal-mart, or you can head over to a nearby Target or a Costco warehouse for a cash-and-carry transaction.

Don't forget that you'll need high-def TV service in place to enjoy the game in all its big-screen splendor. For cable, satellite, or phone-company fiber-optic service, that means a high-def receiver and service package. If you don't already have such a setup, call your provider ASAP to get the ball rolling. Depending on the company, you can pick up the equipment at a local outlet or have it shipped or delivered. For free off-air broadcasts, all you need is a UHF/VHF antenna hooked up to your new TV (all new sets have the required digital tuner). That's assuming you're in a location where you can pull in signals, without tall buildings, trees, or mountains obstructing transmission.

Then there's the actual setup—putting all the plugs in all the right places. If you've paid for installation, which might run you $100 to $150 for a basic setup, the retailer's crew will hook everything up and make sure you have a high-def picture coming in. Doing it yourself isn't that hard, though. You plug the incoming cable into the HD receiver, then use an HDMI cable, or component-video and audio cables, to connect the receiver to the TV. Tune in an HD channel, and you should be good to go. You should also check the TV's settings to make sure you're getting a full-screen picture with optimal image quality.

One final tip: Hang onto your receipts and check prices for a month or two after your purchase. Many retailers offer a 30-day or 60-day price guarantee, and you can collect the difference if your set is sold at a lower price either at the store itself or at a competitor during that period.

Check out Consumer Reports' Guide to Super Bowl Sunday for more HDTV shopping advice, including access to our Ratings of HDTVs and for tips on throwing a great Super Bowl party.

Now, it's on to the players.

Sony XEL-1: Our first impressions of OLED TV

The first OLED TV to hit the stores is stunning but expensive

[Jan. 18, 2008 UPDATE: We've produced a video report that highlights the features of the Sony XEL-1 OLED TV. If you have Flash software installed, you can view the video here (clicking the link launches a new browser window) or in the video player embedded below. —Ed.]

Remember the first time you saw a plasma TV, the first television without a big caboose behind the screen? You were probably wondering, "Where’s the rest of the set?" You might have the same reaction when you see the new Sony XEL-1. (Click on the image at right for a closer look.)

This 11-inch widescreen television is wafer-thin, just 1/8th of an inch deep, a fraction of the depth of even the slimmest LCD or plasma sets. (Click on the image below, left,for a closer look at the XEL-1's thinness.) The XEL-1 uses a new panel technology called OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode), which offers stunning picture quality. The catch is the steep price: $2,500 for this small screen, which is half the size of some computer displays.

If the slim, stylish display panel, which comes mounted to a sleek-looking stand, isn’t enough to get your attention, its picture quality surely will. This TV gets high marks on all fronts, with picture quality that is simply amazing. It displays the deepest blacks we've seen, better than even the best plasma or CRT sets we've tested. At the same time, images are bright, with high contrast, yielding a picture that looks great in both a bright or darkened room. On dark scenes containing black areas, no light is visible from this panel, even when viewed in a dark room. Colors look accurate and are richly saturated.

While the display's native resolution maxes out at 960x540 (about one-quarter the resolution of 1080p HD, but better than DVD resolution), we saw very impressive detail from typical HD programming. That's because the screen is so small that there are still enough pixels per square inch to render satisfying detail. DVDs also looked terrific. This TV can accept image format resolutions from 480i up to 1080p. The less-than-HD resolution will not leave you wanting for detail in this screen size, and if you have a high-quality HD video source, this little TV will deliver.

In addition, it has a virtually unlimited viewing angle, so there's no problem with off-center viewing, as there is with most LCD sets. Sound is also quite good, better than you might expect given the small size of the set.

It's not perfect, though. The $2,500 price tag is extremely steep, considering the tiny screen size. But prices for OLED screens should drop over time as they did for LCD and plasma TVs, which were far more costly a few years back than they are today.

Also, given its smallish 11-inch screen, this TV is not suitable as a primary set; it's best used for very up-close viewing, say on a kitchen counter while you're preparing dinner or on a desk as you're working (though you need to take care not to scratch the specially coated screen). Models with larger screens are in the works; at CES, Sony showed a prototype of a 27-inch model, and Samsung had a 31-inch prototype, but didn’t have information about when they might be available, or for how much.

The lack of analog inputs could also be an issue. Although this TV has two HDMI inputs and an antenna jack (and NTSC, QAM and ATSC tuners that will allow it to receive free over-the-air analog and digital broadcasts, plus analog and digital cable signals), it has no component-video, S-video or composite-video inputs, which you'll still find on many DVD players and cable and satellite receivers). That could limit the use of the TV with some older components.

We'll be taking a closer look at the XEL-1 over the next few days and we'll report what we find on ConsumerReports.org soon. Bookmark this post or the Electronics section of the ConsumerReports.org website to find the link to our upcoming free online video report on the XEL-1 OLED TV.

But if you're in the market for a top-performing, small widescreen TV, be sure to put this Sony at the top of your list—provided, of course, that money is no object. With its steep price of $2,500, this little 11-incher costs more than many of our top-rated big-screen plasma and LCD sets. All things considered, if Sony's new OLED TV is any example of what this new technology can deliver, we can't wait to see more.

—Claudio Ciacci, Senior Project Leader

[Jan. 14, 2008 UPDATE: We neglected to mention that the Sony XEL-1 also has a QAM (digital cable TV) tuner built-in and that this report was prepared by Claudio Ciacci, one of Consumer Reports' experts in TV technology and testing. —Ed.]

OLED Explained
Back to top

Organic Light-Emitting Diode, or OLED, is a very thin display technology that combines some of the best elements of plasma and LCD TVs. Like LCD, OLED is very thin—much thinner than even the slimmest LCDs. And like plasma, OLED is an emissive technology—its organic materials give off light—so no bulky backlight is required. The brightness of the light depends on the amount of current supplied to it. When the light is off, these screens can display absolute black, better than any other current TV technology. They are also extremely bright, with a wider range of colors than current flat-panel sets. And OLED sets have an incredibly fast response time, so motion blur is not a problem, as it can be with LCD sets. They're also more energy efficient than current TV technologies.

However, there are also some disadvantages. One is that OLED's organic materials can have a limited lifetime, shorter than that of other display technologies. Another is that the screens can be vulnerable to damage. But perhaps the biggest drawback is that they're currently very expensive to manufacture, particularly in larger screen sizes. At present, there are no larger-sized screens commercially available, and the price of even an 11-inch model is higher than many 50-inch flat-panel TVs.

CES 2008: Green gains, but only so far…

This year's Consumer Electronics Show proclaimed itself the world's first carbon-neutral trade event, proudly detailing how it required suppliers of everything from displays to disposable plates to choose environmentally benign options. This was also the greenest CES ever in terms of what participants were shown and invited to discuss.

But a greenfest it wasn't. At best, environmental issues rose from the near-invisibility of past shows to a scattered presence on the show floor, with the occasional green or brown sign carrying a corporate pledge or strategy. The conference program featured a day of modestly attended panel discussions on environmental issues, in the farthest reaches of the Las Vegas Convention Center's cavernous South Hall. A few other green-themed sessions dotted the calendar.

I attended as many of those events as I could and chatted afterwards with some of the panelists, who included manufacturers, mostly from big companies such as HP, Sony, and Panasonic, and regulators but not environmentalists (organizers say they tried without success to get environmental groups to participate).

Here are some of the promising developments I heard:

Energy Star designations will improve and expand. As we'll report more fully in a few weeks, when our annual TV feature-content posts to ConsumerReports.org, a flat-panel TV can easily consume $50 or more of power a year, possibly as much or more than your fridge. Many plasmas and LCD sets now bear Energy Star labels, but the current requirements reflect only power consumption in the standby mode—which is many times less than sets consume during the eight or so hours in which they're on in an average home. Energy Star's administrator, Katharine Kaplan, says a new TV standard will be finalized next month that reflects power when the set is on. She also said that standards would be similarly upgraded for printers and some other gear in 2008.

CES 2008: Puzzling Products

I've been at this longer than most product evaluators—and WAY longer than most bloggers—so when I see a new product, I look past the flashy demos and colorful brochures, and ask some fundamental questions: Does this product improve upon, or at least match, what has gone before? Does it fill a need—real or perceived—in its intended market? Does it have the potential to enhance one's quality of life? Is it good value for the money? Does it fulfill its claims? Is it environmentally friendly?

As we browse the tumult of hundreds of small companies' booths at CES, we have to quickly filter out those of interest, which I do by categorizing the featured products in about a second or two. If the process takes longer, it's often because my eye falls on something puzzling, usually because one of my fundamental questions pops out. Here are a few of the products and ideas I saw here at CES, that I struggle with trying to figure out "what were they thinking?" I don't mention brands, because in most cases, there is more than one manufacturer producing something similar. Go figure…

Mirrored TV screens. I first saw this in a superstore in London, where traditional home décor and electronics clash. Now it's in the U.S. Put your flat-screen TV behind a one-way (half-silvered) mirror, and it disappears when it's shut off. But when the TV is on, that mirror still reflects light-colored objects—walls, clothing, furniture—negating efforts by the TV maker to design a nice, high-contrast image with deep blacks. More, the silvered glass blocks much of the light, making the image dim. (Click on the image at right for a closer look at what I saw on while walking the CES exhibit floors.) You could watch in the dark, but if you're willing to do that, you might as well use a front-projection TV, which would also solve the problem of the screen being visible.

Wide-screen digital photo frames. Nearly all digital cameras take pictures with a "standard" aspect ratio, usually 4:3 or 3:2, nearly matching traditional film and photo shapes, as well as picture frames. So, why are so many of the new digital photo frames we're seeing have screens shaped more like HDTV's 16:9 aspect ratio? Set to use the whole screen, they chop off bit of the top and bottom of each photo. Set to show the whole photo, they have black bars on the sides. (If you have Flash software installed, you can view our recent online video review of new digital picture frames for good examples of this, as well as the "mirror effect" described above.) Vertical photos have even larger black bars and are smaller than they would be on a 4:3 screen of the same area.

Inch-diameter speaker cables made of exotic materials. If your speakers were hundreds of feet away from your sound system, heavy cables (click on image at right for a closer look) would make sense, as the resistance of thin wire causes power loss and can affect the sound. But, for home use, anything short of a 50-foot cable run needs only the thinner 14- to 16-gauge cable that sells for about 50 cents a foot at your local Radio Shack.

Proprietary protocols instead of standards. Standards for wireless connectivity—such as Wi-Fi and WiMax for mobile networking, HomePlug for power-line networks, and Insteon and Z-Wave for home controls—are developed for two main reasons. First, standards ensure that products from different manufacturers can be made to work with each other. Second, they help ensure that a standards-based device doesn't interfere with another standards-based device that may be operating nearby. Some manufacturers violate standards to gain a small edge in performance over competitors, but that edge usually only applies when working with other products from the same manufacturer, and often disappears in real world situations anyway.

10,000-watt subwoofer amplifiers for cars. Sorry, but I just had to include this one. Call me a curmudgeon, but a product that violates every one of my fundamental issues just begs mentioning.

—Dean Gallea, Senior Program Leader

CES 2008: Life in the third dimension

Though it's a challenge to identify significant trends in the hardware at this year's CES, there's one that has been creeping up on us for a few years and could break through as the "next big thing"—if the industry gets it right. It's 3-D TV.

Digital TVs have gotten big, bright and sharp enough, by anyone's measure. But, though sales have been anything but flat, the picture on the screen still is. Movie and game producers would like to change that, and bring the enveloping visual experience you might have seen in a 3-D IMAX film into your living room.

Presented well, as in a few of the CES demonstrations we've watched, 3-D can be strikingly effective in drawing you closer to the action, adding realism and depth to scenes, especially ones portraying movement towards or away from the viewer. The degree of 3-D's enhancement to video is much like the move from monophonic sound to stereo was in the 1950's, at least in this viewer's experience.

The "magic" needed for 3-D is simply to have a slightly different view of the content presented to your left and right eyes, just as you see in real life. The technology is actually waiting, in some new TVs from big makers like Samsung and Mitsubishi, labeled "3D-Ready." These DLP or plasma TVs can show successive images fast enough to allow alternating right-eye and left-eye views while keeping the motion smooth. (LCD TVs are currently unable to switch images quickly enough for this kind of 3-D.)

Two more devices need to be added on to a 3D-Ready TV to complete the picture. First, you need special glasses that can rapidly switch each lens from clear to opaque in sync with the TV images. Second, you need a special DVD player—or game console, or PC adapter—that can feed the 3-D content to the TV. We expect to see the home-theater and gaming industries trickle out add-on systems—perhaps later this year—that will enable 3-D viewing.

Of course, you'll need to have the content itself. Some movies already "in the can," both animated ones like Polar Express and live-action ones like Beowulf, were produced in 3-D versions. These movies will probably be released on 3-D-enabled Blu-Ray discs.

And, most games produced today, for either computers or game consoles, are easily adapted for 3-D presentation. In fact, there are already several technologies being applied to computer displays that can present game graphics in 3-D. (Our upcoming tests of displays will include one of these.) Each of these technologies has its limitations, and it remains to be "seen" which ones prove to be practical and effective enough to catch on.

—Dean Gallea, Senior Program Leader

CES 2008: The news from JVC, Westinghouse and Vizio

JVC gets thin, Westinghouse goes wireless, Vizio heads uptown

Announcements by JVC, Westinghouse, and Vizio underscore a few of the key TV trends we've been seeing here at CES: thinner sets, wireless connectivity, and higher-end features moving into the mainstream.

JVC entered the "we are the thinnest LCD TV in the world" contest with a new thin-line series of LCD TVs that measure just 1.5 inches across the top of the cabinet and under 3 inches at the panel's center. (Click on image at right for a closer look.) The 42-inch LT-42SL89 and the 46-inch LT-46SL89, both 1080p models, also have a very thin bezel. They weigh less than conventional LCDs (under 27 pounds for the 42-incher) and consume less power, the company said. The slim design was enabled by JVC's development of a new space-saving backlight and chassis.

Westinghouse hit CES with the news that it was partnering with a company called Pulse-Link to deliver what it called "the world’s first fully integrated" wireless HDTV. The LCD uses ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless technology, called Wireless HDMI, to send audio and HD-quality video signals from a source component, such as a DVD player or cable or satellite box, to the TV.

The set, which will initially be released as a commercial product, reflects the growing trend of wireless-enabled TVs we're seeing here at the show. The key advantage is that once a TV is untethered from its source components, it can be mounted anywhere in a room without having to worry about cabling (except for the power cord).

Vizio showed seven new plasma models, including well-priced 50- and 60-inch 1080p sets. The company says the 50-inch set, the VP504F, is the first plasma to incorporate the Silicon Optix high-performance HQV Reon video processor. The chip will also be used in the 60-inch model (VP605F). These new 1080p sets, which have four HDMI 1.3 inputs, come with a 6-foot HDMI cable. They will be available in June with estimated selling prices of $1,699 and $2,899, respectively.

Vizio also announced a new VP series of 720p plasma sets, including the 32-inch VP322 ($689), 42-inch VP422 ($999), 42-inch VP423 ($999), and 50-inch VP503 ($1,399). The two 42-inch models are similar, but one will be sold in mass merchants such as Wal-Mart, while the other will be available in warehouse clubs and electronics chains. The company also reintroduced its all-in-one 720p "Jive" VP500 TV, plus a new Jive model, the VP501, which has 1080p resolution. The Jive sets are 50-inch plasma models that include a full Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound system. The VP500 is priced at $1,800, but final pricing for the 1080p model hasn't yet been set.

—James K. Willcox

Flat-panel TVs take center stage

Like a fashion model married to a rich mobster, TVs this year promise to be thin, stylish, and connected. At least that's the conclusion after the first day's press conferences at the Consumer Electronics Show here in Las Vegas.

Flat panels are getting thinner, with several companies here at the show vying for the bragging rights to the thinnest TV (making a micrometer an unexpectedly in-demand item among some journalists). The width of the bezels surrounding the screen is shrinking as well, enabling larger screens to fit into smaller spaces. Meanwhile, manufacturers are striving to differentiate their TVs with superior sound, a challenge given the ever-decreasing amount of cabinet real estate to house speakers.

There's also a heightened focus on design, with several companies using highly stylized cabinet designs, unique trim accents, and splashes of colors, perhaps in acknowledgment that TVs are morphing into lifestyle products. It will be interesting to see if the now-standard high-gloss piano black gives way to something more daring in the coming year.

But perhaps the most notable TV trend so far at the show is the growing number of TVs with some form of connectivity, either to the Internet or to other devices in the home. Some manufacturers are looking to deliver this content wirelessly, via several competing standards, while others are turning to wired technologies such as home AC power lines to send and receive audio and video throughout the home. We expect to see even more of these types of TVs this fall, when manufacturers refresh their lineups.

Higher-performance features such as 1080p resolution and 120 Hz technology in LCDs are migrating from pricey step-up models to more mainstream sets. In LCD, 1080p resolution is making its way into sets as small as 32 inches, although it's arguable what the real benefit will be to the average consumer (game players notwithstanding).

Here's a quick overview of some of the highlights from the first day's press conferences. We'll providing regular updates about the various announcements made throughout the show this week.

HDTVs: Best Black Friday Specials

To help you get the best TV at the best price the day after Thanksgiving, we've scoured countless Black Friday circulars, websites, and online forums to find the best deals available.

You may want to begin your shopping before Friday if you have time. As we've noted, a number of retailers have already jump-started Black Friday with pre-holiday specials—like a $99 price for Toshiba’s HD-A2 HD DV, an offer that was immediately matched by Best Buy, and Sears' $770 price on a 42-inch Hitachi "1080" (1280x1080) plasma (model P42H401). Other such deals may crop up before the doors open on Friday; check retailers' websites.

Without further ado, here are our best Black Friday deals on HDTVs. We list only brands that have had one or more recommended models in our Ratings over the past year, though untested models, of course, may differ. In some cases, as noted, we've tested the model, and comment on its performance. (Note: Our test results and comments on those models are accessible only to ConsumerReports.org subscribers. Click here to subscribe and get instant access to that detailed information, as well as to our latest LCD TV Ratings, plasma TVs Ratings, rear-projection TV Ratings and Ratings for front projectors.)

LCD HDTVs

• Olevia 32-inch LCD (no model listed) for $420 at Kmart
• Vizio 32-inch LCD (VXLHDTV32) for $599 at Sears
• Olevia 37-inch LCD (537H) for $600 (a tested model, image above, that we recommend) at CompUSA
• Olevia 37-inch LCD (237T) for $549 at Target
• Vizio 37-inch LCD (unspecified model) for $600 at BJ's
• Sharp 42-inch 720p LCD (LC-42D43U, a larger sibling to a 37-inch Sharp that performed decently in our tests) for $800 at Circuit City
• Olevia 42-inch LCD (242T) for $700 at MicroCenter and BJ's (unspecified model)
• Sharp 46-inch 1080p LCD (LC-46D64U) for $1,300 at Circuit City
• Sony 46-inch Bravia LCD TV for $1,500 at Sears. LCD sets from Sony have consistently been among the best performers in our tests.
• Olevia 47-inch 1080p LCD for $1,000 at BJ's
• Westinghouse 47-inch 1080p LCD TV (TX-47F430S, a tested model with very good picture quality) for $1,300 at Best Buy
• LG 47-inch 1080p LCD TV (47LC7DF) for $1,500 at CompUSA
• Vizio 52-inch LCD TV (unnamed model) at Sam’s Club for $1,889
• Sharp 52-inch 1080p LCD (LC-52D64U) for $2,200 at Circuit City

Plasma HDTVs

We saw a lot of deals on Panasonic models. Though we have not tested all of the sets on special, models from this brand have consistently been among the best in our tests.

• Panasonic TH-42PE7U 42-inch 720p plasma for $900 at Best Buy
• Panasonic 42-inch TH-42PX75U 720p plasma (its 50-inch sibling was a CR Best Buy) for $1,000 at CircuitCity
• Panasonic 50-inch 720p plasma (unspecified model) for $1,200 at MicroCenter.
• Panasonic 720p 58-inch plasma (unspecified model) $500 off at Costco

Other good deals in plasmas:

• LG 42-inch 720p plasma (42PC5D, a CR recommended model) for $900 at Sears
• Philips 50-inch 720p plasma (unspecified model) for at Wal-Mart for $1,398
• Samsung 50-inch 720p plasma (HP-T5044) for $1,300 at CompUSA ($100 cheaper than Best Buy, Circuit City, or Sears)
• Vizio 50-inch 720p plasma (unnamed model) for $1,000 at Costco

Rear-projection HDTVs

• Mitsubishi 65-inch 1080p DLP rear-projection HDTV (WD-65733, a follow-up to a discontinued model) for $1,500 at Best Buy

It's likely that many retailers will follow Black Friday promotions with still more sales. If you don't get the deal you're looking for, keep checking our Electronics Blog, ConsumerReports.org site and others for new deals, additional promotional events, and online specials as we get closer to Christmas. And next year, it will likely pay to start checking for Black Friday bargains two weeks before the actual holiday.

—James K. Willcox

Wal-Mart Black Friday Ads Lack Last Year’s Fireworks

After weeks of speculation, Wal-Mart unveiled its Black Friday ad early this morning, and while it isn’t short on great buys—including, for example, a sub-$800 42-inch 1080p LCD and a sub-$1,400 50-inch 720p plasma—it seemed to lack the punch of last year’s promotion, which triggered severe price drops on a highly rated Panasonic 42-inch plasma HDTV.

This year, TV promotions are centered largely on models from Polaroid, a secondary brand whose models haven’t done particularly well in CR’s HDTV Ratings. For example, as part of a Friday-only, 5:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. doorbuster sale, Wal-Mart is offering a 42-inch 1080p Polaroid LCD TV for $798, while a 32-inch 720p Polaroid LCD TV is priced at $448. Other TV deals good only during that time include a $448 26-inch Polaroid LCD TV/DVD combo, and a $198 Emerson LCD TV.

For those looking a set from a major brand, Wal-Mart has a 50-inch Philips 720p plasma for $1,397, a $1,196 46-inch 720p LCD model from RCA, a 37-inch Sanyo LCD TV for $847, and a 32-inch Samsung LCD set for $796. While we don’t know the specific models, Samsung has consistently been one of the top-rated LCD brands, and Philips’ plasma models have typically been very good. LCD models from RCA and Sanyo haven’t done quite as well, although both have been solid performers that are often good values.

Other electronics sale items include:

• a $198 Panasonic DVD camcorder
• a $145 Magnavox DVD recorder
• a $30 Magnavox upconverting DVD player
• a $50 8-inch portable DVD player from an unspecified brand
• a $129 Garmin StreetPilot c330 portable GPS
• a $199 8.1-megapixel Nikon Coolpix S51 digital camera
• a $149 Polaroid 8-megapixel camera and 6-inch digital photo frame bundle
• a $50 8-inch digital photo frame from Venturer
• a $119 HP digital camera (5megapixel) and printer bundle
• a $398 Compaq Presario desktop PC with 1GB of memory and a 17-inch monitor
• and a choice of either a 15.4-inch AMD Turion-powered notebook PC or an Athlon-powered desktop PC with a 19-inch widescreen monitor—both from Dell—for $598.

In addition to these advertised specials, Wal-Mart says it will have “secret” in-store specials for both Friday and Saturday, which will be revealed on the walmart.com website on Thanksgiving day. The chain’s Black Friday specials are good only while supplies last, and a disclaimer mentions that brands could vary by store.

—James K. Willcox