3D HDTVs Now Available. But do you need one?

I hate when I get my coffee just right and then the waitress comes and adds more coffee. Worse yet, I hate when I get my entertainment system perfectly configured with all the latest and greatest components, and then a new technology is pushed. Enter 3D HDTVs. While many Americans are slowly starting to adapt to this new technology and enjoying brilliantly crisp 2D viewing experiences, the big manufacturers are making us feel the pains of buyers remorse with the pushing of the new best thing. 3D HDTVs promises another level of theatrical immersion by offering home viewers the 3D experience currently only available in theaters through the likes of some brilliant movie releases like Up, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, and the recently released Avatar.

The big players (Samsung, Sony, and Mitsubishi) have already thrown their hats into the ring and plan to release 3D TVs in the coming months. Now before you get your panties all in a bunch consider this; 3D technology requires 3D movies. Right now there are not a lot available to justify the added expense. You also need to wear special glasses to enjoy 3D content (cost per set: $150) which is never a lot of fun unless you are out at a theater, and to really appreciate 3D you have to watch the movie on a screen bigger than most people currently own.

Remember when you got your 5.1 digital surround sound system setup and then they rolled out 7.1? You probably felt like a jerk for jumping into the game to quick until you realized that to enjoy 7.1 studios needed to release disks that supported it. Check the back of any DVD or BlueRay disk sold and you will be hard pressed to find one that supports 7.1. In short, you are missing nothing by not having it since virtually nothing is released that supports it. I can’t help but think that 3D HDTV will suffer a similar fate, at least in the short term until the value proposition becomes more attractive.

Poll: When Do You Plan On Getting A 3D HDTV?

Samsung Announces 3D HDTV Pricing

Available in April, Samsung’s flagship 9000-series 3D HDTV will ship in two sizes—the 46-inch UN46C9000 will retail for a jaw-dropping $5,999.99, while the 55-inch UN55C9000 will be priced even higher, at $1,000 more. These 240-Hz sets include native 3D support; though even with the sky-high pricing, 3D glasses will be sold separately. The flagship models’ marquee feature is their sleek, ultra-slim design, though Samsung has yet to announce just how thin these sets really are. A 3-inch touch screen remote is also included in the box.

Samsung’s least expensive 3D-ready HDTV, the 46-inch LN46C750, offers standard CCFL backlighting, and will be available in May for $1,699.99.

HDTV – Why does my picture look so bad?

I just got my High Definition TV Installed. Why does my picture look so bad?
The reasons that might seem obvious to some are not at all evident to others. So here’s the general breakdown of what you need to really enjoy your high definition TV; because just having an HDTV does not mean you have good picture quality. In fact, for many a high definition tv brings a significant reduction in overall visual quality. For the laymen this can be confusing so here’s the skinny:

To enjoy high definition the following elements must be present:

1. HDTV Input Source
2. High Definition TV
3. High Definition Connections

If you are connecting this all through an entertainment system then you will need a High Def amplifier as well.

HDTV Input Source

You may or may not have noticed that your collection of DVDs looks like crap on your HDTV. I won’t get into the specifics of why this is other than to say HDTVs are capable of much higher resolutions than what is stored on a DVD. If you want to achieve the “looking through the window” clarity that you see in the store you will need to start watching Blue-Rays. The disks might look the same but its much larger storage capacity and protocol (i.e. encoding) allow it to feed your pixel hungry HDTV the information it needs to render crystal clear images.

If you subscribe to cable service, the same issues manifest itself here as well. Most cable and satellite dish companies broadcast a fraction of their programming in High Def. Those channels are also typically premium services so if you are not willing to pay for them expect a stretched/pixelated image on your shiny new screen. The words you should remember here are “Garbage In, Garbage Out”.

HDTV Input Source

It goes without saying that a High Definition TV is required to enjoy a High Def image. These TVs come in all shapes and sizes with a multitude of features. I will assume you have done your research and know which TV you want and why.

High Definition Connections

So you got your HDTV and you connected it with old-school composite video cables (You know the RCA type adapters with a yellow and red end on either side) and your picture looks like garbage. Do not adjust your television set. There is nothing wrong with it. You just connected it with the bare minimum supported by your TV. You are not going to get a high def signal across those wires even if your source signals are correct. The pipe is too small to handle all that data. What you need is a an HDMI cable. These cable have a single end on either side with multiple contact points, and are capable of transmitting all the signals required to properly reproduce the Input Source on your TV. You could also get away with Component Video Cables (these look like the old school Composite cables described above except they have five connectors on either end: Red, Green, Blue + 2 audio plugs) but if you want optimal quality you want to use an HDMI cable.

Samsung LN52B750 – 52″ of Sheer Beauty

So I recently picked up the best 1080P HDTV’s on the market today. The beautiful Samsung UN46B8500 46-Inch LED HDTV and boy it did not disappoint!

My quick Review:

Setup was very simple, the packing box has removable plastic clips that allow you to slide the whole cover off. No annoying heavy staples. You can save the whole box with the reusable clips for moving the TV in the future.

In terms of video quality, this TV is awesome. I can’t imagine how the picture could be much better. The color on this TV seems to be very accurate, although I am no spectrophotometer-wielding color expert. I like my white point a little bluer than most, so I started with the “Standard” setting and put the colorspace to “Native.” I backed off on he green a smidge because the bowl game grass looked too green. Skin tones look very good, awesome on some sources. If you like warmer whites you can change your colorspace to warm1 or warm2. I briefly considered professional calibration, but I am satisfied with the colors as they are set now.

With regard to the black colors, they are so deep that when watching a letterboxed video or a 4:3 video with black sidebars, the bevel is the exact same level of black. Depending on how you have your settings, the LEDs on the black part of the screen are totally off. I cannot see how the blacks could possibly be any deeper. Awesome!

With the right source, picture quality is amazing. I researched for months and visited numerous stores to narrow down my choices. If your TV is going in a bright room, this TV is likely the one for you.