Most savvy gadget shoppers know that extended warranties at places like Best Buy are the equivalent of lighting money on fire, but now HD Guru Gary Merson has done some investigating to show just how bad they are. Best Buy ’s sales pitch often differs from what you’ll encounter if you actually try to use your warranty. For example, they say you’ll get a new TV if yours needs to be repaired four times. In reality, they can toss you a refurb or rebuilt model. They also claim that they’ll give you a loaner TV, but that’s nowhere in the contract. The whole thing is worth a read, but here’s what to take away from it: avoid extended warranties at all costs. [ HD Guru via Consumerist ]

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Yeah, the 8500 series is Samsung’s first set of LED-backlit LCDs with local dimming this year and has the Yahoo widget engine for streaming video, but all I really care about is that awesome looking blue stick holding it up. I mean just look at it. It’s from the future or something . The obviously 1080p set is using white LEDs, along with local dimming, unlike say, Sony’s which use tri-color LEDs for better color. You can cue up the usual so-great-they’re-meaningless measurements you get with LEDs though: 7,000,000: 1 contrast ratio, 2ms, Auto Motion Plus frame interpolation, and an Ultra Clear Panel that “works to improve image clarity and brightness regardless of a room’s ambient lighting.” But it is only 1.6 inches thick. There are two models, the 46-inch class (45.9 inches) set for $3600, and the 55-inch class (54.6 inches) for $4500, both out in September. AMSUNG INTRODUCES STYLISH NEW LED HDTV THAT DELIVERS EXCELLENT PICTURE QUALITY, CONNECTIVITY AND INTERACTIVE FEATURES Joining Samsung’s Award-winning LED TV Line, 8500 Series Offers Consumers Supreme HD Experience RIDGEFIELD PARK, N.J. – July 30, 2009 – Samsung Electronics America, Inc., a market leader and award-winning innovator in consumer electronics, today unveiled the flagship model of its expanded LED HDTV lineup with the all-new 8500 Series. The new HDTVs combine the award-winning picture quality and thinness of Samsung’s previous LED HDTVs, with the latest networking and interactive features, to provide an ideal option to all TV connoisseurs. “For consumers who are looking for the ultimate HD centerpiece and high-level performance in their home theater, the Samsung 8500 Series delivers break-through quality and design,” said John Revie, senior vice president of Visual Display Marketing, Samsung Electronics America. “The 8500 Series underscores Samsung’s dedication to providing a full range of HDTVs that not only achieve the highest levels of picture quality, but also provide unique and immersive entertainment experiences through our Medi@2.0ä suite.” Samsung 8500 LED HDTV Series Pricing and Availability – Price: 46-inch class: $3,599.99 / 55-inch class: $4,499.99 – Availability: September 2009 Picture Quality and Control With Samsung’s innovative use of white LEDs as a backlight source, the 8500 Series is capable of a stunning 7,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio for extreme detail and image depth. Its Wide Color Enhancer Pro ensures that colors are consistently vibrant, while Samsung’s Ultra Clear Panel works to improve image clarity and brightness regardless of a room’s ambient lighting. The 8500 Series is also compliant with the latest Energy Star® v3.0 ratings, and includes an optimized energy savings mode that adjusts the backlight and picture quality, without sacrificing the overall viewing experience. Additionally, its “Natural” mode optimizes picture settings to model the brightness advantage of LCD displays and the cinema-like richness of plasma displays with any content. The 8500 Series incorporates an ultra-quick 2ms panel response time, combined with Samsung’s latest version of its Auto Motion Plusâ„¢ frame interpolation technology that has a true 240Hz refresh rate to significantly improve playback of fast-paced content. Going beyond the three standard Auto Motion Plusâ„¢ presets, users can also separately adjust the levels of judder and motion blur reduction for superior picture control. Connectivity and Content The new 8500 Series features Samsung’s Medi@2.0ä suite, allowing users to access content from more sources than ever before. The Internet@TV – Content Service, developed in association with Yahoo!, provides onscreen access to popular web-based content from Yahoo! (Flickr, Video, News, Weather, and Finance), USA Today (Sports), Twitter, YouTube, and others. The widgets-based interface and scrollbar are activated with the push of a button, and run along the bottom of the screen for easy browsing of the latest programs and content available. Even after purchase, consumers will be able to use a growing library of widgets, as the widget development kit is available for other content providers to develop new offerings. Samsung’s Medi@2.0ä suite provides wired and wireless DLNA compatibility to enjoy photos, music and videos from a networked PC right on the television. Pre-loaded photos, artwork, games, and recipes are also included for entertaining, and two USB 2.0 connections can be used for playing a plethora of video, photo, and audio files from portable devices, including external hard memory. Designed to Stand Out Measuring at just 1.6 inches deep and featuring Samsung’s Touch of Colorâ„¢ (ToCâ„¢) bezel, the 8500 Series provides consumers with style and flexibility in an HDTV. Additionally, both the 46-inch and 55-inch models come with a built-in tuner and an array of multimedia connections. Samsung’s innovative, ultra-slim wall-mount solution (sold separately) makes installation akin to hanging a picture frame, by reducing the gap between the TV and the wall to a mere 0.6 inches – a major improvement over traditional mounting systems. Samsung Electronics America’s press releases, video content and product images are available at www.samsung.com/newsroom.

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When the lauded Pioneer Kuro plasmas went off-air in May, many mourned the loss of what was arguably one of the world’s best HDTVs. With the launch of the Panasonic TC-P54V10 plasma, however, a worthy successor has apparently emerged. This according to the guys at HDguru, who proclaimed the new $2,600 set was easily the “New King of HDTVs.” In some cases, they said, the Panasonic was able to best the Kuro. The V10 distinction carries with it the same NEO PDP panel as its cousins in the recently released G10 plasma line, but adds in a bevy of new software and hardware features, including three color modes, a thinner profile (1.1″ deep at top and 3.3″ middle), and a 96Hz refresh rate for 24Hz sources. The V10 line currently comes in 50 and 54-in. models, with larger 58 and 65-inchers due out in August. And lest you still remain on the fence about this HDTV, know that HDGuru changed their frickin review system from four to five hearts to accommodate all the wonderful new awesomeness provided by Panasonic in this pricey new HDTV. [ HDGuru ]

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Generally, I love LED LCDs. The UN46B7000 is Samsung’s set with 120Hz refresh and internet widgets. It’s not backlit, like the XBR8, but sidelit, and is as thin as two of your fingers. You should avoid buying this set. The Price: $3000 The Verdict: The problem is that this set dims the sidelights whenever the program material gets dark, and it does it in the most ungraceful way ever. Check out the menu that I popped on screen, merely to show you what happens to white material on screen when the backlight is dimmed to increase black level. See how everything white goes dark, too? So, if there’s a scene in a movie where there’s a moonlit night, the lighting in this set would crank everything down, including the moon itself. Backlit LED tvs can turn off individual lights to increase blacks, yet keep LEDs lit in the area around the on screen moon; this set idiotically turns everything off. (*Some other sets do this for energy savings, but there’s always a way to set the backlight to a consistent brightness level.) I didn’t even benchmark the set after this, as there was no need for me to measure other features when the set had such a glaring problem, which Samsung claims is not a bug. Oddly, many technical reviewers glossed over this fact, giving this set editor choice awards while brushing away the issue. My impressions of the rest of the set are here, however: • The TV’s colors are inflated like a lot of LCDs but the picture and motion handling are pretty damn comparable to any modern late model LCD. • There are no buttons on the set, so if you lose your remote, you’re fucked. • The TV is about 1.2 inches thick, and all the ports are tucked nicely away on the side. But because the case is so thin, the speakers sound terribly thin. Worse than on an old 22 inch TV I have in the back of the house. • The case’s translucent edges are among the best designed cases of any modern gadget, in my opinion. • The internet widgets and content take a long minute to boot up and include Flickr, twitter and weather apps. They aren’t worth the $150-$200 over the 6000 series which eliminate these extras. There’s a media streamer (which I didn’t test) recipes, simple video games, exercises, art and animated children’s songs, like this really freaky one about having the munchies. • Off axis viewing isn’t great, but isn’t bad. • If you have noise reduction on on this set, it will strip the grain from movies, practically, making everything look like it was shot on a cheap digital camcorder. Turn it off. • It’s worth repeating that this set is generally gorgeous. • Like all LED sets, they’re energy efficient. But again, there’s no localized dimming with this set, which is side, not backlit. The good news is that Samsung can fix this dimming issue by firmware. The bad news is that I haven’t heard they even believe its an issue yet. I’ve never been so irritated by such a beautiful TV and recommend you steer clear. A nice picture Super thin Dimming sidelight issues. Sounds thin Expensive

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It’s easy for those of us with HDTVs to forget that not everyone has them yet. And Epic’s Mark Rein’s stat that slightly over half of Gears of War 2 players played it on an SDTV really brings that home. If you’re wondering why Microsoft and Sony are going to drag this current generation of consoles out for as long as possible, look no further than this: Over half the users who played Gears of War 2 so far do not have HDTVs…My point is, of the systems that are out there now, the majority of them aren’t plugged into HDTVs. So there’s no way we’re ready for the PlayStation 4 or the Xbox Whatever. More than half. That’s a pretty wild statistic. And of course Microsoft and Sony won’t want to invest in a whole new console until everyone has an HDTV, because without that, there’s really not much more for them to upgrade. People need to upgrade themselves first. That being said, I’m still annoyed that the Wii is only in standard def. Sony and Microsoft may be catering to less than half of their user base with HD graphics, but at least they’re offering the best experience possible to their entire audience. [ Eurogamer via Kotaku ]

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Seeing it again and again and again but with no real progress ever , I always kinda knew Belkin’s FlyWire wireless HDMI box was doomed. Now it’s been officially shitcanned by Belkin. Which doesn’t sound great for wireless HDMI, actually. [ Cnet ]

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Mitsubishi HDTVs to Include Free Vudu HD Box and $50 of Movie Credits

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Verizon FiOS’s Widget Bazaar Opens Tonight: Twitter and Facebook on Your TV

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What’s the Deal With 240Hz HDTVs?

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Freeview Monday July 13, 2009 Freeview is something that I wish we had here in the United States. Maybe then we could watch dozens of TV channels without gouging our bank accounts each month.

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