The televisions of CES 2013 are the sharpest, brightest, slimmest, biggest, and smartest TVs tech companies have ever shown — but they're also the priciest. With last year's 4K (four times the pixels of a 1080p display) screens now being called UHD — short for Ultra HD — TVs, display resolution is front and center as a key feature, which is unfortunately out of the everyday consumer's budget. Take a look at many of the TVs announced so far at CES, and stay tuned for more to come.
Get a new TV for the holidays? Buy one for yourself during the post-Christmas shopping bonanzas, or are planning for a purchase soon? If you've never owned an HD set before, I have some tips for you that may help you get set up, keep your set in good health, and give you a heads up on common mistakes that will save you some heartache down the line.
While many of you may have gone HD a while ago, I was content with my old, boxy TV for years. But thanks to a great Black Friday deal, I finally decided to upgrade. However, since I've never owned an HDTV before, I know that my TV upgrade saga isn't over.
There are a few things that I'll be buying to round out my viewing pleasure. While I'm not going for the ultimate home theater experience, I do have some necessities, including the ability to stream and watch content from my computer and keep everything hassle-free. Are you a new HDTV owner as well? Read my list of essentials after the break.
The Super Bowl is just days away, but you still have plenty of time to prep your pad for the festivities. Want to know how to make the most of your at-home Super Bowl party with friends and family alike? Well then, just keep reading through this slideshow.
Despite the newly released Apple TV's impressive improvements and easy-to-use interface, you don't need to limit yourself to renting flicks, or even wait for Google's new system to launch. If you don't mind a bit more work, and like having all of your content available on your nice, big HD screen, I can tell you how to set up a kick-ass home theater system using a Mac Mini, and a free software download called Plex. Follow along in this handy how-to and prepare to be entertained when you read more.
Hold on to your hats, nerds — a company called Roundtable Concepts is launching their own line of Marvel-branded LCD and LED HDTVs that will arrive styled in classic Marvel comic book characters like Iron Man, The Hulk, Captain America, Fantastic Four, and more. Ranging in sizes from 22" to 46", these TV sets will have your choice of superhero embellished on the bottom corners of the set, but it's when you power it on that all the magic happens — an image of your character (and their name) will flash across the screen for about 8 seconds.
Find out more (including the price!) after the break.
I relied heavily on Skype to contact family and friends when I spent a few weeks in Japan last year, and even though I thought the video and voice quality were pretty fly I guess there's always room for improvement. Skype announced yesterday that the newest version of their software would bring HD-quality VoIP calls to your PC and will also be partnering with LG and Panasonic to bring the high quality calls to Skype-embedded Internet-compatible TVs later this year.
In addition, Skype will be producing a line of high def webcams for your TV set so you can make the HD calls right from your living room — no PC required. The FV Touchcam N1 ($70 - $100) will ship in February, and the FreeTalk HD Pro ($120) will hit the virtual Skype shelves in March.
Before you drop all that money on a 46-inch flat panel HDTV you found on sale, maybe you should make sure there's enough room in your studio apartment for that bad boy. What, you think that just because it's flat you can fit it anywhere? As fun as it may seem to turn your apartment into a full-fledged movie theater, you should know that there are optimal viewing distances that you should adhere to. The general rule of thumb is to place your TV at a distance of three times the height of your screen (3 x H) away from your sofa.
For example, if you're buying a TV that has a screen height of 30 inches, you should sit approximately 90 inches or 7 feet away to view your picture in all its splendor. Just a little something to keep in mind before you buy that new LCD!
Some of us have been waiting for this moment for quite some time. Black Friday had some decent HDTV Deals, but amidst this economic crisis, the prices on high-definition TVs haven't dropped as previously expected. Well CrunchGear just spotted some sweet HDTV sales at Target, which kick off this Sunday. Fair enough, who really wants an HDTV that's only 19-inches, but let's be honest, the Philips 42-inch 1080p LCD HDTV for only $698 is speaking my language.
