Ian Morris

IXOS XHE228: Extra HDMI socket, no need for messy surgery

There are some things in life you can’t just go out and get more of. It’s wildly impractical to obtain a third eye or a second mouth, for example. More than two legs are generally frowned upon. It’s fortuitous, then, that televisions don’t conform to the same rules as us. Your TV doesn’t have enough …

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Cruel new BBC branding imposed on stars

Imagine you settled down to watch your favourite spy-themed drama series, but instead of watching on regular BBC One, you chose the advanced showing on BBC Three. As you might imagine, this means tolerating the usual vile, bright-pink on-screen logo. But it seems Auntie has decided to go down a different route with its logos now. Instead of using a …

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Philips 42PFL9803: Best LCD contrast ever?

The world has gone LED crazy — you can’t throw a light bulb without hitting something lit by LEDs these days. Your TV is no exception, with companies such as Samsung and Sony offering models with an LED backlight. Philips wants in on the diode action, so its Cineos PFL9803 Ambilight range features an LCD panel backlit by white LEDs, …

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Sagem DTR 64160: Pretty cheap, but not all that pretty

We have to admit, we haven’t been massive fans of Sagem PVRs in the past: a high price tag and tacky styling really didn’t endear them to us. But now the DTR 64160 has had an update and its price has fallen to just £99, and for that little we don’t mind so much if it looks like a bulldog …

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Pioneer 2008: Kuro to get cosy with LCD TVs

When it comes to plasma TVs, there is a murmur of agreement from TV geeks that it’s hard to find better than Pioneer. The problem for the company is that not everyone wants — or has room for — a massive plasma, which means it has problems making money out of the biggest segment of the market. Simply put, Pioneer …

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Pioneer KRL

When we first got our hands on the Kuro LCD from Pioneer at the company’s head office a few months ago, we were thrilled. Although there was some concern that a Kuro LCD could never be as impressive as the plasma range, we were still keen to see smaller TVs that could compete with Loewe and other premium manufacturers. The …

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Photos: Sony’s E4000 range of designer TVs get swanky launch

Last night Crave was invited to a swanky TV launch — we think there was some mistake, because they had mostly invited cool people and minor celebrities. Still, there were new TVs in the house, namely the Sony Bravia E4000 range. The E4000 is Sony’s new arty TV with a bezel that makes it look like it should be hanging …

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Toshiba Regza 42ZV555D: ‘World’s first’ upscaling TV

That’s right, you read the headline correctly: Toshiba just claimed to have created the first upscaling TVs, the Regza 42ZV555D and 46ZV555D LCDs. With such bold boasts flying around the Internet, we feel like making a few ourselves. Did you know we invented blogging? Or that without Crave, there would be no Moon? No, we didn’t think so, either. But …

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Toshiba XD

Although we applaud Toshiba‘s efforts to improve the quality of DVDs with its upscaling players, we couldn’t help but think the XD-E500, which we reviewed in September, was a little too expensive at £120 and didn’t do enough with the picture quality to justify giving your old player the heave-ho. Toshiba has just gone and added a whole Poundland’s worth …

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Philips Aurea 42PFL9903D: It’s illuminating

If you love Christmas lights and don’t see why they should be restricted to just one time of the year, the Philips Aurea II is the TV for you. It boasts enough coloured illumination to put Oxford Street to shame. The only disappointment: it costs more than a 50-inch Pioneer Kuro. Yes, that’s right, the 42PFL9903D has a list price …

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