Sony’s XBR line of HDTVs produces some of the best TVs on the market, and it looks like they’re already planning the next wave of high-end flat-panels. Information on nine upcoming models, including two XBR TVs, leaked along with a possible screenshot of the upcoming XBR TV. If you really like quality displays, prepare for a serious case of the “gotta-have-it” fever. The leak confirms that Sony is developing the XBR11, which will be a W-LED Backlit LCD TV, and the XBR12, an advanced LED RGB Backlit LCD. LED-backlighting boosts the contrast and color gamut of LCD TVs and makes them more power efficient. The difference between the two kinds of LED-backlighting in...

On Nov. 18 the California Energy Commission is scheduled to vote on a proposal that would require retailers by 2011 to limit sales of TV sets to those that consume about a third less power than they do today. Since the public hearing on Oct. 3, industry groups have turned up the volume in opposition to the new guidelines. If passed, the best value in home theater HDTVs will disappear from California shelves and, some analysts figure, will ultimately cut consumer choices across the country. The Consumer Electronics Association says the current CEC proposal would ban the sale in California of 100 percent of plasma sets larger than 60 inches and 25 percent of all today's large screen...

OLED TVs haven’t proved to be very promising for consumers, despite being billed as the next big thing in HDTVs. Currently, Sony sells an OLED TV but it’s only 11 inches, and most manufacturers don’t have plans to build anything bigger than 20 inches in the near future. However, LG obviously feels more optimistic about consumer-grade OLED TVs. The company has announced we can expect 40-inch OLED TVs as soon as 2012. Given what we’ve heard about the progression of OLED technology, this is a big improvement over the old timeline. OLED TVs have been far too expensive to compete with LCD or plasma in larger sizes, but the manufacturing process is making great strides...

Are we to this time of year already? The first big news about the upcoming Black Friday sales has appeared, and it’s good news for those looking to buy a cheap HDTV. The Sears ad [PDF] shows a wide variety of LCD TVs at some pretty attractive prices. Just don’t get too excited, you’ve got a few weeks yet before you bust down any doors. Some of the most attractive deals include a 40-inch Samsung HDTV, 1080p resolution, for just $599. A similar deal on a 40-inch Sony goes for $665, which is not bad at all. If you don’t want the high-end brands, Zenith has a 42-inch LCD TV for $499 and Proscan (don’t worry, no one else has heard of that brand either) is...

The thing about renting a movie from the store is that you actually have to get up off the couch. Samsung knows what a chore that is and wants to make it possible to get your movies without movie more than a finger. Hmm, I’m feeling lethargic already. Now you can get Blockbuster and Amazon video downloads straight through your Samsung HDTV or Blu-ray player. The Blockbuster OnDemand service is now available on a large portion of Samsung HDTVs, although the movies aren’t in high def, so don’t expect it to look great. For most of those TVs, all you need is a firmware update. However, if you get the Internet@TV version (basically any HDTV Series 650 or above, or Series...

Your decision should be fairly easy from here; you’ve one of two ways to go: LCD or plasma.  Let’s take a look at their histories to better understand these technologies.Plasma televisions came to market prior to LCD, thus “plasma” became the word to define a thin, wall-mountable television.  Although all plasmas are flat-panels, not all flat-panel TVs are plasmas.  LCD is the other type of flat-panel display and has since caught up to plasma and maintained a strong hold on market share.LCD televisions are lighter, cheaper, use less power, and do not suffer from “burn in,” where a static image displayed too long on the screen would...