David Katzmaier

How to ban the banner ads from Panasonic Smart TVs

When I reviewed the Panasonic TC-PVT50 series, I was annoyed to see that the latest software update caused a banner ad to appear for a few seconds whenever I turned on the TV. It disappeared quickly and only popped up upon power-on, but it was still obnoxious. The first thing I wondered was whether I …

Read More »

Sorta universal active

Panasonic TY-ER3D4MU ($55 each) The Panasonic TY-ER3D4MUs are universal glasses compatible with the Full HD 3D standard and offer decent build quality and appreciably better picture quality than cheap glasses. Read the full review. Xpand X104 YOUniversal ($90 each for large blue/black version with RF dongle) For the narrow niche of viewers who need active 3D glasses that work with …

Read More »

LG’s $10,000 OLED: Hands

Big-screen OLED TV technology has taken years to come to market, and LG’s 55EM9600 won CNET’s Best of CES award in January, so among technology enthusiasts, it’s safe to classify anticipation for the 4mm-thin television as “high.” CNET’s Asia’s TV reviewer Philip Wong got the opportunity to spend some hands-on time with an early version of the set yesterday in …

Read More »

Panasonic VT50 wins Value Electronics 2012 TV picture quality shootout

Electronics retailer Value Electronics held its first 2012 flat-panel TV picture quality shootouts last weekend. The event was won by the Panasonic TC-P65VT50. Panasonic’s best plasma TV for 2012 beat out five other contenders. In descending order of average score (see the scorecard below), they were the Samsung PN64E8000 plasma, the Sharp Elite PRO-60X5FD LCD, the Samsung UNES8000 LCD, the …

Read More »

I want my dumb TV

The Panasonic TH-PHD8UK, cerca 2005, was dumb as a bag of hammers. When it comes to smart TVs, manufacturers are basically charging money for nuthin.’ Or to put it in less dire terms, the smart TV suites included in today’s TVs offer little value. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy Netflix, Amazon Instant, and HBO Go as much as …

Read More »

Samsung Smart Interaction: Hands

At CES this year one of the most interesting announcements involved Samsung’s Smart Interaction, a new feature on its 2012 TVs that utilizes a built-in camera and microphone to enable you to control the boob tube just by speaking and/or gesturing to it. I’ve spent the last few days doing just that, much to the amusement of my co-workers, and …

Read More »

TV and movies on new iPad look better, but not by much

When I directly compared the screens of old iPad 2 and the new iPad, I immediately noticed the improvement in resolution in text and some graphics, like the Apps icons. Being a TV reviewer, however, I was curious to see if there was any major improvement when watching movies and TV shows. I spent a few hours this weekend looking …

Read More »

Samsung 2012 TVs get pricing and release dates (hands

Updated March 7 with more information and new videos. Just two months ago at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Samsung–along with all of its competitors–talked up its new line of of 2012 TVs. As is always the case at CES, the new product info was long on hype and short on details. That changed today, when Samsung began …

Read More »

My DIY Cable Card install was simple

Remember Cable Card? It’s still around, quietly allowing owners of TiVos and Home Theater PCs, via devices like the HDHomeRun Prime, to get the full complement of cable TV programming without having to use the company-issued DVR or cable box. At CNET we’ve tested a few Cable Card products, including TiVos and the now-defunct Moxi DVR. The latter product was …

Read More »

Panasonic TVs will be good listeners

Soon LG and Samsung won’t be the only TV makers to offer the ability to control your TV by talking to it. Yesterday Nuance Communications announced that its Dragon TV voice control platform would be shipping with some Panasonic TVs in Europe this year. Plans for a US introduction were not announced, and a Panasonic representative I spoke to didn’t …

Read More »