New TVs.

[Bobby]

For a while now I have wanted to get one of the USB media player boxes such as the WD or Patriot units. But a secondary problem is that I am out of HDMI inputs on the TV (only 2) and would also need to get an HDMI switch box. So about $200+ expense.

I just installed a new Samsung "6" series TV for a neighbor. It has 4 HDMI, but also a USB input for flash drive or hard drive, and it looks like it does play a lot of stuff. I looked quickly through the video input specs, and it looked like it would play anything I would want to do in HD. I am going to run up a test and try it.

But the question is: Why get two external boxes and spend $200+ when I can get a newer and better TV and get it built-in?

BTW, very nice set. LCD/LED. Really great blacks (they advertise 3,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio) nice wide viewing angles and looked terrific even in high ambient light. It also does have a lot of Internet features, but I didn't get a chance to look into that yet.

[Ken Jarstad]

There is another interesting development. HDTVs with wifi built in.
http://www.wirelesshd.org/
http://business-video.tmcnet.com/topics/business-video/articles/72417-vizio-demonstrates-portable-hdtv-with-celenos-wi-fi.htm
I always wondered about those add on media players - some of them have a wireless adapter available to plug into the usb port. Seems like wifi was an afterthought. Most people, even the few that wired their homes for Ethernet cabling, never thought about Ethernet to the TV. So wifi on the HDTV should be standard, right?

[Bobby]

Yes, WiFi should be standard, like on my Roku box for Netflix.

But if the TV has an Ethernet jack you can get a wireless "bridge" that will do the job. A bridge is the opposite of a wireless router or access point. The access point "receives" (although of course it is bidirectional) from the LAN wiring and "sends" radio waves. A bridge "receives" radio waves and "sends" Ethernet. So you could put a bridge by the TV and then connect its Ethernet cable to the TV.

[Ken Jarstad]

Build - it - in! (cheaper, too)

[Dave McElderry]

Bobby, you can pretty well ignore the contrast ratio specs from the manufacturers. That number is nearly meaningless because there's no standard, and there are quite a few different ways to express CR. Here's a paragraph I stole from About.com:

Also, don't get seduced by Contrast Ratio marketing hype. When checking contrast ratio numbers, look for Native, Static, or ANSI contrast, not Dynamic or Full On/Full Off contrast. ANSI contrast represents the difference between black and white when both are on the screen at the same time. Dynamic or Full ON/OFF contrast only measures black by itself and white by itself.

That's not to say that the TV you're interested in doesn't have a very good CR, though. In fact, it probably is excellent. They've come a long way with black levels in the past few years. The LCDs (even the LED backlight ones) still can't match the plasmas for black levels, but if you're using them in a higher ambient light situation they will look better than the plasma. Put a properly adjusted plasma in a dark room and it will win hands down.

[Bobby]

Oh, I agree. I am a Plasma man all the way!

[moviemaker]

speaking of new tv's here is an upcoming tv tech, it is lpd technology,check out the link

http://newsblaze.com/story/201001120626 ... story.html