0 What makes a good HDTV?

(Credit: CNET)

A TV is a big purchase, and we all want to get the best TV for our dollar. But what makes an HDTV the best? If you spend more, are you guaranteed a better TV? With all the jargon, marketing, and hype, what performance and features matter the most?

Well, I'm glad you asked.

There are three main factors that determine how "good" a TV is. "Good" is clearly subjective in this case, which is why weighting the importance of the following factors is up to you.

Picture quality

When I sold TVs, I'd ask what people were looking for in their potential purchase. It was really just for my own amusement, because without fail people would say, "Good picture quality."

When pressed, though, most people couldn't elaborate on what constituted picture quality in their view.

(Credit: Geoffrey Morrison)

Contrast ratio
One of the most visible aspects of picture quality is contrast ratio. This is the difference between the darkest a TV can be and the brightest.

A high contrast ratio gives the image dimensionality, makes it "pop." Everyone wants high contrast, but as I explained in another article, it's hard to judge what TVs have a good contrast ratio.

Color
Personally, I'm a fan of accurate color. At first glance, this seems like a given, but many people prefer slightly oversaturated colors. In fact, most TVs when taken out of the box present oversaturated colors. What's important to me, in finding our dream TV, is the ability to adjust the colors. Most new TVs have modes in which you can choose between oversaturated and reasonably accurate color. Samsung LCDs often have very accurate color, as do TVs certified by THX (at least in their THX mode). Most newer Panasonic plasmas have accurate color as well. Thankfully, almost all modern televisions have adjustable color temperature, so this isn't the factor it once was.

Scaling/deinterlacing
More and more, the scaling or upconverting performance of a TV is becoming irrelevant. Most new televisions are sent a 1080i signal, either from a Blu-ray player or a cable/satellite box. So the TV's performance in this regard doesn't matter. Almost all TVs deinterlace correctly these days, so this isn't much of an issue either.

One might class overall light output, or how bright a TV is, under the heading of picture quality, but I disagree. Bright TVs are great, but it's easy for a relatively "dim" TV to have vastly better picture quality than an extremely bright TV. An easy example of this is Pioneer's old Kuro plasmas compared with many of the new LED LCD TVs. Side by side, a Kuro would be lucky if it could produce one-third of the light of an LED LCD. Subjectively, if the two TVs were judged on their own for picture quality, the Kuro would win easily.

Features

Most modern TVs do at least a decent job of creating an image. Some, of course, do a better job than others, but it's rare to find a "bad" television. (At least, from the name brands. If you're buying an LCD out of the back of a white van, your mileage may vary.)

So it's features that are the biggest differences between TVs.

Netflix and other streaming services
Netflix has gotten huge in the last year, and rightly so. Tons of streaming content, all for a low monthly fee. The question is, do you need Netflix streaming to come with your TV? If your Blu-ray player doesn't have streaming built in, then sure, get it in your new TV. Trust me, you'll love it.

If you don't have a Blu-ray player, well, you should get one. They're crazy cheap, and offer better scaling than most TVs. Even some of the cheapest models (under $100) have built-in streaming. So if you're going to get a Blu-ray player, don't worry about whether your TV does streaming or not.

(Credit: Geoffrey Morrison)

3D
3D is a huge push right now, mostly due to the premiums it's possible to charge at the theater and for 3D TVs. I'm pretty apathetic about the whole thing, but if you're into it, go for it. The most important thing to realize about 3D is that it is just a feature. You don't have to use it.

Most high-end models happen to have the ability to show 3D. Because they're high-end, they also typically look the best as well. Personally, looking for the "best" TV, I'd end up looking at 3D models, even though the 3D aspect is irrelevant to me, because of how well they show 2D.

Light and lighting: The TV vs. your room
Here's where light output comes in. In finding the best TV, it's best to ignore hype and marketing and just ask yourself how you'll use the TV. In a dark room, or at night, plasma offers the best picture quality. Plasma TVs aren't "dim," but in a brightly lit room, they're not going to look as good as one of the new LED LCDs, which often have prodigious light output. For daytime viewing LCDs still edge out plasmas, despite the anti-reflective and anti-glare coatings.

That said, a plasma is still plenty watchable during the day, and an LCD (with an adjustable backlight, anyway) will still work fine in a dark room or at night.

Price

Tally up what you've picked as important for your future TV. For me, I've focused on a TV with a decent contrast ratio, accurate (or adjustable) color, possibly streaming, possibly 3D, and probably a plasma, as I do most of my TV watching at night.

Finding a TV that matches all of your criteria is only half the battle, of course. The other half is the price. Price has a pretty direct relationship to the one thing we haven't talked about:

Size
Small TVs are cheap, big TVs are expensive. That much is generally true. There are plenty of guides that tell you what size TV you should get, but to be honest, I've yet to hear of anyone who actually follows them. Most people buy a TV in the 42-inch to 50-inch range because they think it looks right, and because it's affordable.

The truth is, you can go much bigger if you want. I sit 10 feet from a 102-inch screen, and it's epic. You don't need to go that big, but you can if you want to.

It's a tough call between a good TV that's big, and a great TV that's small. I'd generally err on the side of larger, but really this is something that's best judged on a case-by-case basis.

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0 Google declares war on content farms

Google has announced a major algorithmic change to its search engine, subtle in nature and perhaps unnoticeable to many users, but one that should dramatically improve the quality of Google's search results.

With this move, Google is targeting content farms — a common name for low quality sites whose main goal is to attract search traffic by piling up (mostly) useless content, usually by producing large amounts of low-quality text or by copying it from websites with original content.

Google did not go into details of the change, which should impact 11.8% of Google's queries (currently only in the U.S., with plans to roll it out elsewhere over time), but it does say that it will affect the ranking of many sites on the web.

"This update is designed to reduce rankings for low-quality sites — sites which are low-value add for users, copy content from other websites or sites that are just not very useful. At the same time, it will provide better rankings for high-quality sites — sites with original content and information such as research, in-depth reports, thoughtful analysis and so on," explain Googlers Amit Singhal and Matt Cutts in a blog post.

While the change will surely have many website owners up in arms (complaining that their website was unfairly ranked lower than before (we're sure that in some cases they will be right), it's a very welcome one.

The popularity of Google's search engine is still second to none, but Google has been plagued by black hat SEO practices and content farms for a while now, with the complaints from users slowly mounting over time. If Google manages to put an end to content farms or at least significantly reduce their influence in search results, it will be an important step in regaining the trust of its millions of users.

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0 Consumer Reports knocks Verizon iPhone antenna

Call it Antennagate: The Sequel.

Consumer Reports claims the Verizon iPhone 4 "has a problem that could cause the phone to drop calls, or be unable to place calls, in weak signal conditions." Engineers at the respected magazine reached the conclusion based on lab tests.

It's all similar to the antenna issues a rash of consumers complained about when the AT&t iPhone 4 came out last summer. In July, Consumer Reports labs were able to duplicate the "death grip" problem, which can occur when your fingers cover up a gap on the lower left hand side of the phone's outer case.

During the AT&T controversy, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said only a tiny percentage of users had complained about or saw the issue but Apple still gave away free $29 rubber bumpers for a period, which eliminated the issue.

REVIEW: Verizon iPhone v AT&T iPhone

Apple has no plans to give away bumpers or cases this time around and wouldn't comment directly on Consumer Reports' findings. But spokesperson Natalie Kerris said that "iPhone 4 has a great antenna that allows it to have an amazingly thin design, great battery life and reception. We designed the iPhone 4 external antenna to work great on Verizon's CDMA/EVDO network."

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0 Intel's first-generation Light Peak I/O technology arrives, called Thunderbolt

Intel has announced the official release of its Thunderbolt technology, the first iteration of its much-awaited Light Peak. The new I/O technology is meant to become a unified interface that might one day replace the many interface protocols in use in the world today, everything from FireWire to SATA, HDMI to USB.

While Apple's MacBook Pro notebooks, the first devices with Thunderbolt built-in, are already available, no other devices have yet been released. Lacie, Seagate, and other memory and storage brands have announced thei support however, and we should see their first devices by the second half of 2011. Let us take a look at some of the features that Intel's Thunderbolt will bring to the PC table:

Rapid transfer rates - Intel's Thunderbolt is a dual-channel I/O technology that can be said to use features of both conventional PCI Express (PCIe) and DisplayPort protocols. This allows it to offer theoretical peak bi-directional transfer speeds of up to 10 Gbps, more than twice the speed of USB 3.0, which has a theoritical peak of 4.8 Gbps.

Metal, not light - While Light Peak was known as an unconventional optic-based I/O technology, Intel has decided to make Thunderbolt, Light Peak's first iteration, using copper-wiring as the transfer medium. There were many reasons for this, and not the least of which would be the need for the entire ecosystem of Light Peak supporting devices to support a more complicated and expensive optical interface. Optic-based solution would not be able to provide power via the cable either, limiting Light Peak's USB replacement ambitions. Nevertheless, Intel has managed to hit their self-assigned targets for Light Peak, making Thunderbolt capable of 10 Gbps regardless of its copper-based heritage. Withn the next decade, Intel says Thunderbolt or Light Peak technology would be capable of speeds nearing 100 Gbps, using optical solutions, or at least, optical cabling.

Port cannibalization - Intel has designed Thunderbolt to work over PCIe and DisplayPort transmission protocols, and, would require a special port to be able to use both channels efficiently. In the new MacBook Pro, the Thunderbolt port is suspiciously similar to a Mini DisplayPort interface, leading one to believe that any DisplayPort cable or adapter would work on it as well.

Optical transceiver - While this technology will need to be perfected further before Intel's theoretical 100 Gbps transfer speeds, Intel's use of miniaturization on the optical transceiver helped the company create Thunderbolt, converting electricity into light and back in a mechanism the size of a small coin. The transceiver comprises two Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (VCSELs) lasers and photon detectors. The width of the fiber-optic cabling is just 125 microns wide.

Protocol coherence - Intel uses a controller chip to manage the complicated protocol-switching capabilities required to allow myriad protocols to run over a single cable and port. This leads to the emergence of a universal port in time, and in the meanwhile, give cost and space savings in the form of cables and ports.

Sufficient cable length - While the current copper-based implentation will suffer marginally compared to the final, optical solution, it is still larger than the maximum lengths of USB cables. In the future of Light Peak and Thunderbolt however, pure optical cables could measure up to 100 metres.

Check out a short video below of an Intel Thunderbolt MacBook Pro setup that is transmitting four 1080p HD streams simultaneously. For more information about the technology, visit Intel's Thunderbolt page.

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0 Sony Ericsson has tools and vision to become dominant Android player

After a less than perfect start to its Android efforts, Sony Ericsson has hit the ground running in the new year. The company already has introduced four new smartphones since January and CEO Bert Nordberg told at Mobile World Congress that Sony Ericsson is aiming to be the No. 1 Android player in the world.

That's a lofty goal for any company, but especially for Sony Ericsson. Can it really put the Xperia X10 and its software problems behind it and start anew? And, more importantly, what are the tools it needs to claim that top spot?

Given what I've seen so far this year, Sony Ericsson could go on to great things. And it all starts with standout devices like the new Xperia Play and a larger U.S. market penetration.

Software

Sony Ericsson first put the Android industry on notice when it showed up at CES with the Xperia Arc. Here was a company that was no longer content with putting out powerful smartphones that were incapable of running the latest apps and games. Instead, it was ready to mix cutting-edge hardware with the latest in Android software.

Just consider that aside from the Nexus S, the Xperia Arc was the first handset from a major manufacturer to run Android 2.3 Gingerbread. That was a welcome change from the Xperia X10, which debuted on AT&T with Android 1.6 even though Froyo was available. The company also continued its Gingerbread embrace with not only the Xperia Play, but also the Neo and the Xperia Pro.

Features and hardware

Looking forward, I also see Sony Ericsson staying relevant with leading features. The company already has begun demonstrating calls and video over 4G LTE and should now be in the advanced stages of testing. Without nailing down a time frame, CTO Jan Uddenfeldt has said the company expects to have commercial deployment "pretty soon." Though 4G technology is still new, it's good that Sony Ericsson isn't waiting to join the club.

Sony Ericsson should emerge as a dominant hardware player as well. Indeed, the Xperia Arc's hardware was stunning and the Neo and Pro are equally eye-catching. The company has a long history of putting out great displays in particular.

Carriers play a role

Sony Ericsson will need all the help it can get from U.S. carriers if it hopes to beat out Motorola and the other hardware manufacturers. Fortunately, things are off to a good start considering the Xperia Play will be offered through Verizon Wireless. And that's not an exclusive deal, as Uddenfeldt indicated that AT&T and other U.S. carriers may ultimately see the phone.

This trend of releasing one device across multiple carriers has worked thus far for Samsung and LG, so I expect Sony Ericsson to follow their lead. Simply offering more smartphones in the United States would help the company reach its planned world domination, but its market share is climbing even now. For example, though the Xperia X10 barely made it to AT&T, Sony Ericsson managed to scrape together 14 percent of the Android market share worldwide. Imagine if it were to release two or three phones across multiple carriers.

Beyond smartphones

Tablets have quickly become a key segment of the mobile industry, but Sony Ericsson has yet to focus on this market publicly. Behind the scenes, however, it's rumored to be hard at work on at least one device, the S1. According to information recently obtained by Engadget, the company is prepping a 9.4-inch Honeycomb tablet with dual-core processors and a custom user experience.

This tablet has been confirmed to feature the same PlayStation certification that the Xperia Play has, indicating it may double as a full-on gaming tablet. Although we may not see this until the second half of the year, I get the sense that Sony Ericsson is trying to expand its reach by incorporating as many signature services (Bravia, Vaio, PlayStation, Qriocity) as possible. If this happens its smartphones and tablets will truly be able to integrate with many other products in ways that the competition could only hope for.

With feature phones still outnumbering smartphones, there is plenty of time and opportunity for new names at the top of the Android heap. Samsung, Motorola, and LG have have been making phones for years, but companies like Dell, Acer, and Toshiba have established lines of Android smartphones and tablets. And in that same time, Sony has been making every type of electronics and personal tech device imaginable. Perhaps 2011 will see a perfect storm of convergence for the company.

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0 BlackBerry App World beats Android and Nokia; Is the Apple App Store unstoppable?

IHS reports state that while Apple is still wiping the floor with the rest of the mobile market in application market sales, BlackBerry is in second place overtaking both Android and Nokia.

While the battle for younger users is between the iPhone and BlackBerry handsets, these figures show that iPhone users buy and download the most applications. Though BlackBerry users in a far away second place downloading even more applications as they become available.

In short, while it does not show a direct correlation between Apple and BlackBerry users and application sales through their respective application stores, it does show Apple’s dominance in the market.

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0 Google Nexus One and Nexus S lead-devices get Android 2.3.3 update

Ever since Google launched the Google Nexus S with Samsung back in December, people have been wondering when and if Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) would come to the Eclair lead device, Google Nexus One. Google’s latest announcement is a pregnant answer to this question – bearing an over-the-air Android 2.3.3 update.

This will be third official port for the Nexus One, the original Google-commissioned HTC-manufactured Android lead device – from Éclair to Froyo, and now Gingerbread (Android 2.3.3). Google Nexus S owners, who already enjoyed Gingerbread on board, will get benefits in the form of upgraded Near Field Communication (NFC) chipset features. It is also probable the update prepares the two phones for the upcoming Eric Schmidt-mentioned Android 2.4 update - a operating system meant for both tablets and phones, incorporating features of Honeycomb and Gingerbread - that's expected to be called Ice Cream Sandwich.

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