New Ratings of LCD and plasma TVs

Just in time for holiday shoppers heading out on Black Friday: our new Ratings of LCD TVs and plasma TVs, with reviews and test results for more than 100 TVs.

Our testers found TVs offering great performance at bargain prices, including 55-inch LCD TVs selling for $1,500 to $2,000, 46-inch LCDs for about $1,000, and 42-inchers for less than $700. There are also TV deals on the plasma side. We recommend a number of 54-inch to 60-inch TVs selling in the $1,500 to $2,000 range, several 50-inch models for less than $1,000, and 42-inchers for $700 or less. (Ratings and full reviews available to subscribers. Any visitor, subscriber or not, can get TV specs and other information by using our Price & Shop tool.)

Among the recommended TVs are models from bigger names such as JVC, LG, Panasonic, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, and Toshiba, as well as brands such as Insignia, Sanyo, and Vizio.

Many of the LCD sets have 120Hz or 240Hz refresh rates, which we have found to reduce motion blur in many instances. There are also a growing number of Internet-enabled LCD and plasma TVs that can directly access online content, including streaming movies services from providers such as Amazon Video On Demand, Blockbuster On Demand, Netflix and Vudu. More than a third of the sets 37 inches and larger in our Ratings are Internet-capable models.

New digital camera Ratings include a projection model and a full-frame SLR

Sony's full-frame Alpha A850 digital SLR, now in our digital camera Ratings. (Click to enlarge.)

Sixteen percent of consumers we recently polled said they were interested in buying a point-and-shoot or SLR digital camera during the Thanksgiving weekend. If you're one of them, here's good news: We've just updated our comprehensive digital camera Ratings (available to subscribers) to include some of the season's newest cameras.

Here are some intriguing new models:

Full-frame SLRs. It's the first time we've included an SLR in our Ratings that has a large, full-frame sensor. Sony's 24.6-megapixel Alpha A850, introduced late this past summer, is the first full-frame SLR priced at $2000 or less. Full-frame models have been available at much higher prices for many years. This price breakthrough is one of the reasons we're including the A850 in our Ratings. Why the big deal over full-frame sensors? Among other things, they tend to handle a wider variety of lighting situations more accurately, while limiting the amount of visual noise that can distort and degrade an image.

Nikon's projecting point-and-shoot. As we've written in previous posts, Nikon's Coolpix S1000pj is the first point-and-shoot that can project images and video clips onto a wall or any surface. Our Ratings tell you how well it performed as a digital camera.

Fujifilm's EXR superzoom. Fujifilm got a lot of buzz earlier this year when it introduced a subcompact, the FinePix F200EXR, which included a very flexible sensor that adapts to the subject you're shooting. In fact, it will automatically set the camera in one of three modes: high sensitivity and low noise; wide dynamic range; and high resolution. Now the company has put this technology into a superzoom, the FinePix F70EXR. To see how this model and those above did in our tests, check our new Ratings.—Terry Sullivan

New Blu-ray player Ratings: Movie-streaming grows, prices to plummet?

Vizio’s VBR100 Blu-ray player will be $100 on Black Friday.

If you’re on the hunt for a high-def Blu-ray player to go with your new flat-panel HDTV, here’s some good news: Our latest Blu-ray player Ratings, available to ConsumerReports.org subscribers, show that prices continue to fall, even as more players add BD-Live, a feature that can provide access to Internet-based content, including streaming movies from several online services.

In fact, the Ratings include several full-featured models that cost $200 or less, as well as more-basic models (without the BD-Live feature) for as little as $130. We expect prices to fall even more sharply as we near Black Friday weekend, the traditional kickoff for holiday-season buying. For example, Best Buy recently offered a BD-Live Insignia-brand player for $100, and Vizio just announced it will drop the price of its VBR100 model—a tested BD-Live model included in our Ratings, now regularly priced at $150 to $180—to just $100 at Costco and Costco.com on Black Friday, at least while supplies last. And the company is throwing in an HDMI cable to boot.

All BD-Live models can access extra content, such as out-takes, deleted scenes or even games, from a movie studio’s servers. In and of itself, this feature is less than compelling, in our view. But many of these Internet-enabled models, from companies such as LG, Panasonic, and Samsung, also offer what we believe is a more engaging extra: the ability to instantly stream movies from services such as Amazon Video On Demand, Netflix, and Vudu.

New LCD, plasma TV Ratings: Lower prices, more models with Internet access

Panasonic’s Z1-series TV, just over an inch thick, is the skinniest plasma we’ve seen.(Click to enlarge.)

We just posted our latest LCD and plasma HDTV Ratings, which contain more than 100 tested models, among the most ever. We continue to see many models with excellent picture quality, and a growing number with the ability to directly access online content, including streaming movies services from providers such as Amazon Video On Demand, Blockbuster On Demand, Netflix and Vudu.

Here are some other key trends we found among the models listed in our latest Ratings:

Prices continue to fall. While a few flagship models, loaded with bells and whistles, from the major brands still command significantly higher prices—take, for example, Panasonic’s $5,500 ultra-thin 54-inch plasma set—prices on mainstream models continued to decline. Our "Best Buy" models now include a 55-inch Toshiba LCD for $1,800, 42-inch LCDs from Insignia and LG for just $700, and 50- and 42-inch plasma sets from Panasonic at $900 and $700, respectively. And we expect prices to fall even further as we approach the all-important Black Friday kick-off to the holiday selling season.

More TVs can stream content, especially movies. While access to Internet content, especially streaming movies, was once limited to flagship models, most of the major brands have rolled out mainstream sets with this capability, and several companies now offer a choice of more than one streaming-movie provider. More than a third of the sets 37 inches and larger in our Ratings are Internet-capable models.

Extra Extra: Consumer Reports Electronics Buying Guide is on sale

(Click to enlarge.)

It may be a tad early to start your holiday shopping, but there’s a good chance you’ve at least been thinking about it. Maybe you’ve had a big-ticket gift—like a new TV or home theater—in mind for a while now, but are putting off the purchase till November or December. If it’s sales you’re waiting for, you probably know what you want and how much you’re willing to pay. On the other hand, you might just a teeny bit leery of throwing so much cash at something you know very little about. Which is better: a plasma or LCD TV? Should you upgrade to a Blu-ray player or stick with standard-def DVDs?

If you find yourself in need of expert advice, consider the newest edition of the Consumer Reports Electronics Buying Guide. Inside you’ll find a wealth of information on everything from televisions and computers to smart phones, GPS units, and much more. For each product, the Consumer Reports editors walk you through the basics, explaining what’s available, which features matter, brand profiles, and offering tried-and-true shopping tips.

In addition to product information, the guide offers advice on how to shop smarter, including:

• Netting the best deals online, and protecting yourself when you shop on the Web


• When to repair and when to replace a broken item


• How to haggle effectively


• Finding the best electronics retailer based on our comprehensive annual survey


• How to save—and what to be wary of—with refurbished or open-box products on store shelves


• Where to get free office software, free computer security programs, and more useful freeware

New Camcorder Ratings: One standard-def model stands out

The Canon FS200, now in our Ratings.
[Photo: Courtesy of Canon]

We've just added several models to our camcorder Ratings (available to subscribers), including four HD models and three SD models. Of the newly introduced models, we found one, the Canon FS200, $330, which stood out among the many SD models. If you don't want to shell out enough for an HD model but still want better quality than pocket camcorders offer, the FS200 may be a good choice.

For starters, it's moderately priced. You can find other well-rated miniDV tape or DVD format camcorders that are cheaper, but the FS200 was one of the few SD models offering very good image quality, decent audio and image stabilizer in a flash-memory model, which makes it light and compact. It's also one of the few SD models with a microphone input and headphone output.

You can check out how well all the latest models fared in our Ratings.—Terry Sullivan

New Blu-ray player Ratings: Lower prices, more features

LG BD390 Blu-ray player. (Click to enlarge.)
[PHOTO: Consumer Reports]

In our largest test of Blu-ray players so far, we found that satisfying picture quality has become almost a given, while features and price vary considerably. You can pay as little as $160 for a recommended model or as much as $500, depending on the capabilities, bells and whistles you’re willing to pay for. Portability commands top dollar. The first portable Blu-ray player we’ve tested, the Panasonic DMP-B15, is priced at $700.

Our latest Blu-ray player Ratings (available to subscribers) include 27 models that have a few features in common. All have BonusView, a picture-in-picture feature that lets you view additional content in a smaller window while a movie is playing, and all can upconvert standard DVDs to quasi-HD resolutions.

Only a handful of the players, mostly priced at $300 and up, have BD-Live, a feature that allows the player to access directors’ commentaries, deleted scenes, games, and more from the movie studio’s servers. Other models are BD-Live-ready. These players, all priced at $200 and up, have the required Ethernet connection, but need additional memory (typically a 1GB USB flash drive, which costs $10 to $15) for the BD-Live feature to work.

Another feature showing up on some of the higher-priced models is the ability to stream movies from online services such as Netflix and Amazon Video On Demand, or receive music streams from Internet radio stations such as Pandora. And more players now have USB ports or SD card slots, so you can play digital photos, music and even videos on your TV. One model, a Panasonic, has a built-in VHS player, a space-saving option for those who still watch tapes. Again, you’re not likely to find these features on the lowest-priced players.

We expect prices to drop over the next several months, especially during November’s Black Friday shopping period. Rumors suggest we’ll see the first $100 model. So keep checking back here for updates. —James K. Willcox

New Ratings: Digital cameras, including more values than ever

The Kodak EasyShare C160, one of our newly rated point-and-shoots. (Click to enlarge.)
[PHOTO: Consumer Reports]

We've just added eight new models to our Ratings of point-and-shoot digital cameras (available to subscribers). The resulting selection has a record 92 models, including three CR Best Buys.

Here's more on the trends embodied in this updated selection of point-and-shoots:

More values, especially in low-priced cameras. In the past, it was all-but-impossible to find a subcompact point-and-shoot in our Ratings that costs $100 or less and offered both very good image quality and fine performance in other respects, including a speedy response when its shutter is pressed. The new Ratings offers at least two such models.

Even-greater smarts. More cameras include enhancements that do some of the work for you. Every rated model now offers some type of face detection, and the unique twists on that capability continue to grow. One example: A number of Canon cameras have a Face Detection Self Timer that counts the faces in a crowd then waits for an addition—presumably you—before snapping the shutter.

Other cameras we'll test soon boast other smart features, including the ability to autofocus on your pets or to memorize up to 20 faces and adjust focus and exposure to those faces in a crowd that you've designated as most important to you.

Zoom ranges increase. Manufacturers continue to find ways to increase magnification without adding as much weight or bulk as was once the case. More than half the subcompacts in our Ratings have a lens that offers more than 3x optical zoom. Two models—the Nikon Coolpix S630 and the Olympus Stylus 1010—have a 7x optical zoom lens. And some superzooms have as much as 26x optical zoom—a power that would once have required a lens longer than any point-and-shoot case could accommodate. —Terry Sullivan

New Computer Ratings: Get a deal before Windows 7

Our updated computer Ratings include the Toshiba Satellite M505-S4940, above. (Click to enlarge.)
[PHOTO: Consumer Reports]

The last few Vista computers before Windows 7 launches are still available. So if you want a deal on a new computer and don’t mind doing your own upgrade later, now is the time to buy.

Before you make any purchase, check Microsoft's Web site to see what manufacturers are offering in the way of upgrades. Remember that when you upgrade to Windows 7, you’ll have to get the version comparable to the version of Vista on your computer. So if you’re buying a Vista machine now, and you get it with Vista Home Premium, you’ll be upgrading to Windows 7 Home Premium later.

We updated our Ratings with several new laptops and desktops. Take a look at the Ratings and you’ll see that there are lots of fully loaded computers available, both laptops of all sizes and desktops—and they’re inexpensive.

For example, you can get a laptop for as little as or less than it costs to buy a netbook. Even 13-inch laptops are experiencing price drops; we found one to recommend for $800, and that’s with close to 7 hours of battery life and a 500GB hard drive.

For desktop buyers, we’re recommending, among others, a quad-core system with 8GB of memory, a 640GB hard drive, and one GB of video memory for less than $700. Or you can go the opposite way and really save with a sub-$500 system that has a 500GB hard drive and 4GB of memory. Not too shabby.

Unlike with other desktops, all-in-one computers remain more expensive. Watch out for net-tops, which are all-in-ones that use the Atom processor commonly found in netbooks. Net-tops cost only about $500, but in this case you get what you pay for—the three we tested performed poorly.

Netbooks, meanwhile, are getting bigger. We’re seeing more 12-inch models available. They’ve got an advantage when it comes to ergonomics because they’re larger. But they might also cost more and weigh more, while performance isn’t any better than smaller netbooks. —Donna Tapellini

New Ratings: Home-theater-in-a-box (HTIB) systems

This 2.1-channel Samsung Blu-ray HTIB package targets those without room for a full multichannel system. (Click to enlarge.)
[PHOTO: Courtesy of Samsung]

We’ve just posted Home Theater Ratings (available to ConsumerReports.org subscribers) for 15 new home-theater-in-a box systems, which include models without a built-in player, those with an integrated Blu-ray player, and models that have a DVD player. Most are 5.1- or 7.1-channel systems equipped with either five or seven acoustically matched speakers, plus a powered subwoofer. One model, a Samsung, is a 2.1-channel system designed for those who don’t have the room or desire for a full multichannel set-up.

Prices for these systems vary widely—the least expensive system we tested, a 5.1-channel system from RCA, costs $160, and Blu-ray models from both LG and Samsung are priced at $700. And price isn’t the best indicator of performance, we found.

You’ll have to choose carefully when buying a system to get the best combination of sound and video quality. For Blu-ray models, high-definition 1080p picture quality was uniformly excellent when playing Blu-ray discs, and most also did a good job upconverting standard DVDs; upconverted 1080p picture quality, however varied among systems with DVD players. But the biggest differentiator among systems was sound quality, which ranged from very good to disappointing.

More models have features such as an option for adding wireless rear speakers, iPod docks that let you play songs or videos through your entertainment system, and auto-calibration feature that can automatically set appropriate speaker volume levels. Some Blu-ray models are able to stream movies instantly from online services, such as Amazon Video On Demand and Netflix.

You’ll find more detailed information on the systems we rated than in previous tests. We’re already getting some new models in for testing, so check back here soon for information about when those results will be posted. —James K. Willcox