Philips' Android-based GoGear Connect PMP now available for pre-order

Time is slipping away for it to meet its promised September debut, but Philip's Android-based GoGear Connect handheld / PMP is now available for pre-order from at least one online retailer (J&R). It'll run you $170 for the 8GB model and an even $200 for 16GB (both a slight discount off the list price), each of which come equipped with a 3.2-inch display, WiFi connectivity, built-in speakers, a microSD card slot for additional storage, and Android 2.3 with access to Android Market. Unfortunately, there's still no indication of an exact ship date, but we're guessing you won't have to wait too much longer if you decide to take the plunge.

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LG Optimus LTE (LU6200) spotted again

The LG Optimus LTE (LG LU6200) seems to be LG’s worst kept secret, as the phone has been surfacing like nobody’s business over the past week. Some new pictures have surfaced of the phone have surfaced again, and this time you get a clearer look at the phone’s hardware. This one sports chrome stylings as opposed to the all black version we’ve seen previously (unless the previous pictures showed black trim due to poor lighting), which makes it look a little iPhone-ish (which could be a good or bad thing depending on your taste). Hopefully it doesn’t draw the wrath of Apple and its lawyers.

Other than the new images, no new details have been revealed. It’s going to be running Android 2.3.5 on a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, it will feature a 4.5″ AH-IPS LCD with 720p HD resolution, and will have LTE connectivity. Sounds like a phone we don’t mind having and hopefully it makes its way over to this side of the world.

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Sony offers 'adjustment' for NEX-5N camera to reduce clicking sound while recording video

Looks like we weren't the only one afflicted by the Sony NEX-5N camera's annoying click problem. In case you missed it, the camera displayed the annoying tendency of producing an audible click loud enough to ruin any 1080/60p video if it was moved suddenly while shooting. Tonight Sony updated its support site to promise a "performance improvement" available to all owners under the camera's warranty that it claims reduces the sound. At the moment we don't have any more information on what's causing the sound or what the improvement entails, but owners can dial 888-868-7392 to get their units upgraded.

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Rogue toilet takes out Norfolk server

The IT support chaps and chapesses among you doubtless have a few entertaining war stories regarding preposterous causes of system outages, and we'd like to offer you this fine Friday the tale of the cantankerous crapper and the company server.

Reader Stuart Drabble wrote to explain that in his almost 15 years of IT support, he'd "heard many horror stories which have caused servers to go down", but had never encountered an IT-busting toilet.

Earlier this week, Stuart's server monitoring software indicated that a client's box situated in a cabin in rural Norfolk had fallen over.

He rang to see what was going on, and was told that someone flushing the toilet had tripped the power to the entire building. Stuart wisely decided not to get his hands dirty, and left the matter to a plumbing SWAT team who eventually discovered that a pump in the company's cesspit was popping the fuses whenever anyone flushed the bog.

Cue a waste system purge in the hope that dislodging any stubborn solids in the pipework might solve the problem, although Stuart reported that it seemed likely someone might have to enter the merdurinous hellhole to confront the pump face-to-face.

Well, since we know you lot are sitting around today twiddling your thumbs while thirstily awaiting the arrival of pub-o'clock, why not put your time to constructive use and suggest alternative headlines for this improbable compooter* tale?

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Samsung will be 'more aggressive' in its patent battle with Apple

KOREAN ELECTRONICS FIRM Samsung has revealed that it plans to become "more aggressive" in its legal battle with rival Apple.

Apple sued Samsung in April, claiming it "slavishly" copied the designs for its Iphone and Ipad ranges. A number of subsequent lawsuits and complaints with trade organisations led to Samsung's Galaxy Tab being delayed in Australia and banned in Germany.

"We'll be pursuing our rights for this in a more aggressive way from now on," said Lee Younghee, head of global marketing for mobile communications at Samsung, in an interview with the Associated Press.

It is not exactly clear in what way Samsung will become more aggressive in these legal disputes, but likely it will involve a slew of new lawsuits, competition probes, and a stronger overall campaign to protect its product range, which has come under serious fire from Apple.

Younghee added that Apple was "free-riding" on Samsung's wireless communication technologies, suggested that it will launch another series of patent lawsuits against the company.

Of course, Samsung has engaged Apple head on pretty much from the start of the disputes. Within a week of Apple's initial lawsuit it countersued Apple over 10 patents, and the companies have been tit-for-tat suing each other ever since. Adding more lawsuits to the mix might not resolve things any faster, but a win in one region for Samsung could secure it a deal with Apple in another.

However, it's clear that so far Apple has been winning its cases, particularly in terms of the European market. Samsung will be aware of how this looks to the general public, so the intimation is that it has not been firing its heavy artillery so far, but will do so in the future.

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Cortex-M4 set to become ARM's power core

The M4 is an important watershed architecture for Cortex-based microcontroller suppliers because of the DSP capability.

To date Freescale and NXP announced microcontrollers based on the Cortex-M4 processor core, which adds a DSP block to ARM’s popular Cortex-M3.

Now Cortex-M series heavyweight, STMicroelectronics has introduced its first microcontroller based on the ARM Cortex-M4 processor core.

With its STM32 series ST has one of the most popular Cortex-M based microcontrollers which are used in metering, point of sales and building security systems.

Now the Cortex-M4 based STM32 F4 MCUs with their single-cycle DSP instructions will be aimed at digital signal control applications such as high-end motor control, medical equipment and security.

There is pin-to-pin and software compatibility with the existing STM32 F2 parts.

The key to the Cortex-M4 core is its built-in integer DSP, and an optional floating point unit.

As a result it is effectively a digital signal controller aimed at applications in audio, motor control, industrial automation and automotive.

Its instruction set is a superset of the Cortex-M3’s.

When not executing DSP or floating point instructions, the M4 has a similar performance to the M3. Differences start to show once the DSP instructions are invoked.

Power consumption is predicted to be less than 40µW/MHz, with MP3 decode consuming 0.5mW.

Rather than use the Cortex-M4 core, Texas Instruments has opted to integrate its own higher performance C28x DSP core with an ARM Cortex-M3 core.

The Concerto F28M35x microcontroller series, announced in the summer, features a real-time control subsystem based on TI’s C28x core with floating point.

The communications subsystem is based on Cortex-M3 and there are peripherals such as Ethernet, USB On-The-Go, dual CAN, and multiple serial communication ports.

Performance can be tailored to different applications with options for 150/75MHz, 100/100MHz or 60/60MHz on the C28x and Cortex-M3 cores, respectively

Freescale Semiconductor’s Kinetis family of controllers is based on ARM’s Cortex M4 processor core.

M4 is a higher performance version of the Cortex-M3.

NXP Semiconductors also has a dual-core microcontroller which is its first asymmetrical dual-core device integrating ARM Cortex-M4 and Cortex-M0 processors.

It is essentially a programmable DSP device with the Cortex-M4 providing the DSP horse power and the Cortex-M0 providing house-keeping and peripheral control .

“The LPC4000 is not just another Cortex-M4. We’re introducing multi-core processing to microcontroller and DSP applications,” said a spokesman for microcontrollers at NXP Semiconductors.

According to NXP, the combination of the DSP performance with configurable peripherals will make the devices suitable for applications such as motor control, power management and embedded audio.

TI has already integrated the M4 in a 28nm system-on-chip device with four ARM processors on-chip.

The latest generation OMAP 5 mobile applications processor integrates two Cortex-A15 MPCores running at 2GHz and two Cortex-M4 processors.

The new chip has x3 the processing power of the previous OMAP 4 device. “There is nearly 60% average power reduction,” said TI.

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Sansa MP3 player widely compatible, screen now fits album art

SanDisk's Sansa Clip Zip MP3 player is the latest addition to the company's popular portable music player line and is packed with what seems to be endless features.

Music fans will like that it's compatible with just about every format available and is displayed on a 1.1-inch LCD screen - 83 percent bigger than previous models and now large enough to display album art.

The Clip Zip measures just 2.25 by 1.42 by 0.58 inches and, like previous Sansa players, features the old-school option (and my morning dog walking favorite) of an FM radio with presets for your favorite stations.

The new player comes in 4GB (storage for approximately 1,000 songs) and 8GB (2,000 songs) models but also offers a great feature of unlimited expandability with a microSDHC card slot.

Cards up to 32GB can be used to store about 8,000 more songs on each card (not included).

The portable player features a clip to attach to yourself for use with just about any activity and also includes a stopwatch.

The features also include a built-in microphone for voice recordings and a built-in battery with a life of up to 15 hours.

Details: www.SanDisk.com 4GB - $49.99, 8GB - $69.99, available in black, blue, gray, orange, purple and white

I've tried several apps to turn my iPad into a universal remote control but never really liked any of my options until trying the Beacon from Griffin Technology.

Before even trying out the device I liked the concept of not having to attach anything to the iPad.

Instead, you connect via Bluetooth to a hockey puck-sized base you must locate somewhere near the entertainment system you want to control.

Since it's Bluetooth, first power it up with the 4-AA batteries (included) and then press down on the top of the unit to put it in pairing mode to connect it to your device.

To work the Beacon you need to download the Dijit app (free) from the Apple App Store for your iPhone or iPad.

From there everyone will be a little different, since you must enter your ZIP code and the satellite or cable provider you have so guides can be downloaded.

My first setup was a basic one to control only a TV and satellite box. The app walks you through the setup in a simple manner, asking questions about what devices you have and what you are trying to have the device control and do.

Then I took it to task to setup a more complex surround-sound system, TV and DVD player. It took a little more time but channels were soon changing.

For me, the critical steps of controlling the volume and setting the DVR were also done with ease.

A recent update to app allows a one-click option to share videos on Facebook or Twitter.

Details: www.GriffinTechnology.com $79.99

With Facebook pretty much controlling everything in the world these days, a new book in the Dummy series; Facebook Marketing All-in-One for Dummies is now available.

The book is in the typical easy, user-friendly manner the series is known for and takes you through the necessary steps of marketing yourself and or a business with the number one online marketing site.

Regardless of what many think, Facebook is not just about letting the world know where you're eating or what you're doing.

Instructions include how to advertise and market within Facebook itself and how to attract the right people to what you are trying to offer or sell.

The book guides you through the easy steps in establishing and creating a business with a game plan instead of the traditional profile of a personal page.

Linking an existing business page to a Facebook page is simple and news feeds can be created to go in both directions and connected to your Twitter account.

The book has endless ideas and with the number of startup businesses these days, it's certainly become a must read.

Details: www.wiley.com $21

Just about any portable electronic device can be charged on the Joy Factory Zip Touch-n-go Multi-Charging Station and all at once.

The oblong-shaped charger has what amounts to 16 ports on top, which are called specifically "dimpled spots" on a recent press release.

Each port can accept a ZipTail connector cable for charging a single device.

The short cables have magnetic chargers on the end, which connect to the charger and the connection needed for charging your particular device on the other end.

Included with the charger are three connectors; one Mini USB and two Micro USBs. Additional connectors for other devices are available on the company website for $12.95 each.

As stated by the company, which I found to be true, is it's very convenient to answer a call while your phone is charging since the ZipTail charging cable pops off with ease.

I only have one-cell phone but I did take out a few older models to confirm the company's claim of being able to charge three at the same time.

According to the company this depends on the power transformer on the devices.

At this time a ZipTail is not available for the Apple 30-in connector charger.

A company official stated, "The Joy Factory is currently in the MFi approval process on the 30-pin ZipTail chargers and hopes to see them hit the market in the coming months."

A wall adapter is included with a microUSB cable to power the charger.

Details: www.thejoyfactory.com $79.95

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Sceptre X425BV-FHD 42-inch HDTV launches for $599 SRP

Sceptre has already introduced another 40-inch screen full HDTV this month. The company today has announced the launch of a new HDTV that has a slightly larger 42-inch screen called the X425BV-FHD. The new set is one of the more popular sizes since it will fit in most rooms and offers a larger image. The screen has a native 1080p resolution and has a lot more features as well.


It has four HDMI inputs allowing you to hook up multiple components without running out of space. The screen has integrated ATSC/NTSC/Clear QAM tuners inside. The response time is 8ms for the screen so the image should be clear and lag free. The brightness for the panel is rated at 400 cd/m2. The screen also has a 60Hz refresh rate and SRS TruSurround XT sound.
The internal speakers are 10W x 2 and the set has a 7-band EQ. Other features include a USB 2.0 port for playing audio through the TV speakers and viewing photos, a swiveling base, and a 50,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio. The MSRP for the set is $599, but it is on Walmart.com for under $370 making it impressively cheap.

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Samsung PS51D550 Plasma 3D TV Review

Samsung’s Plasma TVs just seem to be going from strength to strength. In view of this, we were eager to check out the Korean manufacturer’s entry-level 1080p Plasma TV for 2011, the PS51D550. A gander at the spec sheets reveals that when compared to the company’s more expensive Plasma Display Panels (PDPs), the D550 is missing the “Smart TV” internet-connected features, the ultra-slim design, and the satellite connectivity. You still get 4 HDMI inputs, the aforementioned 1080p panel, and surprisingly at this price point, 3D capability. Let’s see if we have a big-screen bargain on our hands here…

mportant Notice: Our Samsung PS51D550 review sample (supplied by Simply Electricals) was delivered to us with a bug whereby the [Digital Noise Filter] setting would operate on its highest setting, even when the menu reported it as being “Off”. This often caused a substantial loss of detail with Blu-ray Discs scanned from film, and other high quality HD sources. We reported this problem to Samsung when we noticed it on the company’s other models, but it is particularly damaging on the PS51D550 due to the fact that as a less expensive model, its noise reduction processing (when enabled) is of lower quality. Fortunately, Samsung has since fixed this issue with a firmware update. This review discusses the Samsung PS51D550 running firmware version 1024 which is, the most recent at the time of writing. The corrected firmware is available as a download from Samsung’s web site or via the TV’s own setup menus if it is connected to a home network.

Please ensure you are running the latest firmware (version 1024 or higher) by checking in the Menu > Support > Contact Samsung > Software Version screen, as the improvement in picture quality is dramatic.

Design

The PS51D550 is more simply styled than more expensive models, although like everything Samsung has put out in recent years, the aesthetics of this HDTV are nothing to sniff at. The 51-inch panel is framed by a glossy black bezel which has a rounded border, made of glass-like acrylic. It’s tastefully done and really shouldn’t offend anyone’s design sensibilities.

It’s not as slim as some of Samsung’s higher-up Plasma models, which is what we expected as this price point, so people looking for an HDTV to mount close to their wall might want to go slightly higher-up to the D6900 series (which we’ll be reviewing shortly).

Connections

The Samsung PS51D550 features 4 HDMI inputs, an aerial input to feed the Freeview HD tuner, a shared Composite/Component input (how’s that for two polar opposites of video quality?), a single SCART terminal, and an analogue RGB input for use with computers. There’s also a LAN socket for connecting the TV to a router, although as a cheaper model, the 51D550 doesn’t really have much in the way of internet features. There is no built-in wireless capability on this display, although a Samsung wireless dongle can still be attached to a USB input at additional cost.

Rear: 4 x HDMI, VGA, Component, SCART, aerial, ethernet & audio outs

One thing we noticed was that the PS51D550′s supplied power cable is unusually short. This is going to pose a problem for users wall-mounting the plasma. In fact, even when we reviewed the TV with its table-top stand, we had difficulty in finding a socket to plug it into for this reason.

Operation

The D550 PDP doesn’t feature the newly styled 2011 Samsung menus, but rather the 2010 variant with a font change. That’s fine by us, since they are easy to navigate, and fairly quick to use (although we’d appreciate being able to turn off the transition animations to make things even quicker).

[Picture] menu

The Samsung PS51D550 features all of the basic video controls you’d expect, but lacks the advanced three-axis Colour Management menus present on some more expensive HDTVs from the TV maker, and also features a traditional 2-point Greyscale calibration control rather than the more precise 10-point variant. Neither of these are necessarily problems, unless the PS51D550′s out-of-the-box picture accuracy is lacking (previous Samsung Plasmas have had this problem and have needed adjustment, so, fingers crossed that isn’t the case here). We’ll find out if this is a big oversight in the next section, when we measure and then adjust the D550 plasma for the best possible picture.

2D Calibration

Note: Our Samsung PS51D550 review sample was calibrated using Calman Professional, the industry-leading video calibration software.

2D Mode Greyscale

After we let the 51D550 “break in” for a few hours (with Plasma TVs, the overall tint to the image can change most when new), we changed the picture mode to “Movie” and the [Colour Temperature] to “Warm2″, since these settings usually give the most accurate starting point. We displayed some Greyscale test patterns and used our calibration meter to see how pure they were:

Pre-calibration RGB tracking and delta errors (dEs)

This is a good pre-calibrated result, with the overall Greyscale shades being produced by the Samsung PS51D550 review unit being slightly green-deficient overall. We noticed also that the HDTV ships with its [Contrast] control set too high, which results in pure white tones appearing blue-tinted. We reduced this as part of the calibration process to achieve better neutrality.

Post-calibration RGB tracking and dEs in [Movie] mode

After calibration, we were left with high quality Greyscale tracking. It was difficult to keep the brighter parts of the image free of tints, but fortunately, errors in brighter areas are generally easier to ignore, anyway. A slight excess of red in the dark 10% region was the only (fairly minor) complaint we had left. Higher-end models will be able to avoid this slight inaccuracy with their 10-point White Balance calibration tool.

Gamma curve in [Movie] mode	Corresponding gamma tracking

We were surprised by how accurate the Samsung PS51D550′s Gamma tracking measured, since this is an area where (affordable) Plasmas typically lag behind LCDs. Panasonic’s comparable ST30 entry-level 3D Plasma television presented less accurate brightness distribution compared to this Samsung, during the same measurements. Linear gamma tracking means that the TV will be able to show a smooth, steady gradation from the darkest to the brightest tones in the image, resulting in a subtly more realistic picture. It’s also worth pointing out that the TV’s [Gamma] control can be adjusted in several steps to give a richer or brighter picture; we left it at its default “0″ setting to achieve the above result (2.2).

2D Mode Colour

The Samsung PS51D550 features just two [Colour Space] options: “Auto” and “Native”. “Auto” is the best of the two, with the latter option over-saturating Green (and by extension, Cyan) a little more. The “Auto” mode isn’t perfect, but given the value for money on offer here, we don’t think these small hue and saturation errors will trouble too many people.
We did make minor adjustments to the [Colour] and [Hue] controls to achieve the following results:

Post-calibration CIE chart with reference to HD Rec.709

Post-calibration colour luminance (coloured bars = targets; black bars = measured values)

3D Calibration

As an entry level model, the PS51D550 doesn’t come supplied with any 3D active-shutter eyewear, but we used a pair of the Samsung SSG-3100 glasses we had to hand to assess this 3DTV’s extra-dimensional capabilities (and also to calibrate it using our Klein K-10 meter).
Like all 2011 Samsung TVs, we were glad to see that the D550 plasma features discrete picture settings for both the 2D and 3D modes. This means that when you start watching 3D content, the TV switches to a different picture mode (which we can optimise for 3D) automatically, and then switches back when you return to 2D. This is good user interface design.
We pulled out our disc of 3D test patterns, and with the 3D glasses turned on and attached to our meter, we measured Greyscale neutrality:

3D Mode Greyscale

3D Pre-calibration RGB tracking and delta errors (dEs)

Greyscale tracking looked promising in the early stages of measurement, but as we progressed through the different brightness levels, we soon saw the PS51D550 adding far too much blue to brighter shades. Perhaps this is a deliberate ploy on Samsung’s part to make the image seem superficially brighter? The glasses themselves add a cold blue tint to the image, so we knew that we would have to increase the amount of red to compensate during calibration.

3D Post-calibration RGB tracking and dEs in [Movie] mode

We managed to make a tremendous improvement to the 3-dimensional image neutrality by compensating for the 3D glasses’ own colour tint. We were stuck with a mysterious excess of red in the 30% and 40% stimulus levels, but we were happy to tolerate this remaining limitation given how overly blue the image was before we calibrated the 3D TV.

3D Mode Colour

Colour was acceptable in the third dimension, although the green primary was oversaturated compared to the Rec.709 HDTV standard. This isn’t an area that greatly concerns us at present, since there is so little 3D content – and so much of it is animated. That’s not to say that animated films don’t deserve accurate representation (we’re sure the artists who work hard on them wouldn’t be happy if we took that attitude!), but simply to say that we don’t expect the same level of realism from them.

3D Post-calibration CIE chart with reference to HD Rec.709

3D Post-calibration colour luminance (coloured bars = targets; black bars = measured values)

Benchmark Test Results

Dead pixels	One purple in top-right; one sometimes black in top-centre
Screen uniformity	Perfect
Overscanning on HDMI	0% with aspect ratio set to “Screen Fit”
Blacker than black	Passed
Calibrated black level in cd/m2 (black screen)	0.06 (24p Cinema Smooth); 0.04 (60hz); 0.066 (50hz)
Calibrated black level in cd/m2 (ANSI)	0.07 (24p Cinema Smooth); 0.057 (60hz); 0.074 (50hz)
Black level retention	No instability noted
Primary chromaticity	Very Good
Scaling	Poor (576i), Average (576p)
Video mode deinterlacing	Very effective jaggies reduction
Film mode deinterlacing	Passed 2-2 PAL and 3-2 NTSC tests
Viewing angle	Perfect (Plasma)
Motion resolution	900
Digital noise reduction	Present, optional, see note at beginning of review
Sharpness	Defeatable edge enhancement
Luma/Chroma bandwidth (2D Blu-ray)	Full Luma, Chroma horizontally blurred
Image retention	Yes, but fades quickly
Posterization	Very small “hardened” edges during fast motion
Phosphor trails	Very mild
1080p/24 capability	No judder in 2D or 3D
Input lag	16ms on HDMI1 input set to “PC”, 31ms otherwise
Full 4:4:4 reproduction (PC)	Yes, on HDMI1 input set to “PC” or “DVI PC” only

Power Consumption

Default [Standard] mode (2D)	212 watts
Default [Standard] mode (3D)	284 watts
Calibrated [Movie] mode (2D)	212 watts
Calibrated [Movie] mode (3D)	288 watts
Standby	1 watt

Measurements taken with full 50% grey screen.

Picture Performance

Black Level

When we viewed the Samsung PS51D550 in a darkened room, we could tell that the darkness of its blacks wasn’t up to the market-leading standards of the Panasonic Plasma TVs, although we weren’t really troubled by the image on offer. In other words, the black level quality was adequate, although not class-leading. Imagine our delight when we used our Klein K-10 meter to get the hard data on the PS51D550′s black level quality, and found that it performed almost identically to Samsung’s top-end Plasma TV for 2011, the D8000. The PS51D8000 did manage to retain black levels during the mixed white/black ANSI checkerboard test, however, although the differences are negligible in real world usage.
As usual for Samsung Plasmas, the depth of the blacks depends on the type of content you are watching, with the darkest blacks coming from US (and Korea)-centric 60hz signals, and the worst coming from European-standard 50hz (24p Blu-ray content sits right in the middle). The reason for this is to avoid flicker. 60hz is high enough to be output by the screen at 60hz, whereas 50hz output would produce too much flicker, so is output at 100hz, with each frame from the source being flashed up on the screen twice before the panel begins drawing the next frame. Likewise, 24hz film content would be intolerable if it were output at 24hz, so the PS51D550 outputs these signals at a higher rate. With Samsung’s Plasma design, the higher the refresh rate, the lighter the blacks.
As a film lover, I’m personally most concerned about the black level in the 24p mode, since this is the frame rate delivered by a Blu-ray player. The 0.06 cd/m² blacks with 24p film content didn’t really disappoint. 0.06 cd/m² is similar to the black levels put out by some current-generation LCD displays (although Samsung’s LCD TVs are managing 0.03-0.04 cd/m²). However, we feel that any lingering greyness in the blacks put out by a Plasma television draw less attention to themselves than on LCDs, due to the fact that the darkness is more consistent across the entire screen. With LCD, the blacks almost always appear brighter at some screen locations, especially near the edges, and they change depending on the viewer’s sitting location.
With 60hz material (such as modern console games, and any non-24p film content coming from the US), blacks were a respectable 0.04 cd/m², just slightly (but not noticeably) higher than those put out by Panasonic’s comparably priced and specced ST30 plasma range. For European 50hz content, blacks measured at 0.066 cd/m². To the human eye, this won’t really look any different to the 0.060 cd/m² put out by the 24p mode.
All in all, we were happy with this level of performance (it’s also a big step up on last year’s Samsung Plasmas). Who knows – maybe next year they’ll be at Panasonic levels?

Motion Resolution

We clocked the PS51D550′s motion resolution somewhere in the region of 900 lines, making it high enough to not be an issue. We did occasionally spot some slight red phosphor trailing in test sequences and on the edges of the details in the chart.
Unlike competing Plasma televisions from Panasonic, we almost never noticed posterisation (contouring) during movement, as is typical for Samsung’s Plasmas. High-motion video content did reveal some “hardened” edges if we looked closely, but these artefacts were minor and did not display with unwanted colour tints.

3D Material

The Samsung PS51D550 passed all our 3D tests with flying colours. Unlike the company’s comparable LCD TV models, the D550 displays all three frame rates (24, 50 and 60) without any judder or stutter in 3D. It also reproduces all 1080 lines of the 3D image, which is something that Panasonic Plasmas don’t do this year – not even the top-end VT30 model. The 3D experience presented by Samsung’s Plasma panels appears to be remarkably consistent from the entry-level models up to the high-end.
During subjective viewing, we were happy to see almost no crosstalk present. If we ramped up the 3D depth settings to exaggerate the 3D effect, it became visible, but this is to be expected. Our only real criticisms of the PS51D550 operating in 3D mode were the darkening of the picture, and the rougher gradation (with a higher amount of dither noise in the picture) when compared to 2D. The same goes for other manufacturer’s Plasma-based 3D TVs, too. Although things are much improved on the first generation 3D Plasmas, the fact still remains that 2D images have the edge for overall quality, and ultimately, looks.

Standard Definition

Standard-def handling was a mixed bag on the Samsung PS51D550. The quality of the scaling (that’s the actual resizing step) with our European-standard PAL (576i) test chart was the worst we’ve seen from an HDTV in years, with horizontal details appearing hugely blurred, with ringing around edges. Vertical detail fared a little better. The test chart represents an idealised scenario, however, and a lot of SD content in the real world is so soft that the TV’s limitation might not really be noticeable.
When we output the same test chart in Progressive mode (576p), it was more tolerable, but still below our expectations. This will be of consequence to owners of standard-def games consoles such as the Nintendo Wii (or anything from the previous generation). We imagine it’s less of an issue for DVD, since most of us have an upscaling DVD (or Blu-ray) player now (remember that the TV’s standard def handling capabilities only matter when standard-def is input to it – when played through a Blu-ray player, DVDs are “seen” by the TV as High Definition). Interestingly, this poor scaling did not really show itself with standard def channels accessed via the PS51D550′s own digital TV tuner… perhaps the fact that most SD TV channels are blurry to begin with simply disguised the limitation.
Interestingly, the D550 plasma had no trouble at all locking onto the PAL 2-2 film cadence, which is something that higher-end Samsung HDTVs have been tripped up by lately. This meant that films transferred to the European standard-def TV system played back without any annoying flickering/loss of resolution in detailed areas. Its handling of diagonal interpolation – in other words, concealing jaggedness in interlaced standard-def images – was also good, meaning that jagged lines on diagonal edges (the markings on a football pitch, for example) will be kept to a minimum.
In other words, the PS51D550′s SD performance was overall acceptable, if a little bit blurred.

High Definition

When we first received the PS51D550, we were upset at the quality presented during Blu-ray viewing. Although some edges in the image still appeared sharp, fine details were being smudged out, and the overall clarity of the picture was reduced. We soon found out that this was due to the [Digital Noise Filter], which was chomping through film grain and other high frequency textures in the picture and giving the whole film a slight “watercolour painting” look.
We found out that the culprit was a bug which we reported to Samsung with their LCD televisions some months ago; where the [Digital Noise Filter] setting would actually be stuck at its highest level, despite the TV’s menus reporting it as being Off. We could actually get all the picture detail back by turning the filter on to “Low” and then to “Off” again – but we had to do this every single time we selected the input that our player was connected to.

Fortunately, the bug has been solved with the latest firmware update. We upgraded to this by downloading the file from Samsung’s web site and feeding it to the TV on a USB drive, and were delighted to see that after a few minutes, our freshly updated PS51D550 was playing back high-quality film material from Blu-ray without skipping a beat (or a pixel, for that matter). Unlike higher-up Samsung displays, “Off” with the D550 plasma actually does mean “Off”, probably because the TV we reviewed used the MStar processor and doesn’t have access to the more advanced noise reduction which Samsung are so eager to enable on TVs which use their own chip. With the 51D550 as we reviewed it, there is no unwanted noise reduction, allowing all of the clarity, texture and detail from high quality film scans to come through on the Samsung PS51D550. Excellent!
With that out of the way, we were only left with the many other positives of the Samsung PS51D550′s images. The black levels aren’t class-leading (that award currently goes to Panasonic), but the HDTV produces a brighter image with enough positives of its own. Greyscale tracking and colour reproduction were both of a high standard, presenting films without too much in the way of unwanted tints. Motion was handled perfectly when we set the [Film Mode] setting to “Cinema Smooth” (it can be left “Off” to reproduce films at 60hz, which results in judder, but slightly deeper blacks). Unlike older Samsung Plasmas, 50hz material was also trouble-free.
The Samsung PS51D550′s panel driving method appears a little noisier than that of Panasonic’s Plasmas, but it’s cleaner than Pioneer’s were, and perhaps because of the additional slight noise in the picture, false contouring (an artefact related to Plasma TVs which causes high motion areas to appear as separated stripes rather than a smooth, continuous tone) is kept to a bare minimum.
Automatic brightness limiting, a drawback of Plasma display technology, was visible with some content (we should point out that this isn’t specific to HD). A fully white screen will appear dimmer than on an LCD display. Supposedly, this is to decrease load on the power supply. The effects of it are not really visible with most content, but adverts (for example) with fully white screens will sometimes reveal some brightness fluctuation.
The last plasma-specific thing to note is image retention. Samsung’s PDPs have improved in this regard in recent years, but they are still behind Panasonic’s. After watching a 4:3 film, or after watching the BBC News channel, for example, we were usually left with some faint residual images (either of side-borders, or the BBC News channel logo) hanging around. These cleared up very quickly, though, and we don’t think it’s too big an issue. First time PDP owners might be terrified that these residual images are permanent damage, but rest assured, every case of image persistence we came across cleared up quickly.
One last thing to mention for completeness: during one point of a film we used to test the PS51D550, we saw a subtle flicker in the image (which lasted for only a few frames) which occurred each time we played the scene – but only in the “Cinema Smooth” output mode. It was very minor and we only noticed it once.
Bottom line: we were very, very happy with the 2D HD image quality with this plasma television.

Console Gaming

We weren’t expecting the PS51D550 to do wonderfully or woefully when it came to gaming, because most of Samsung’s plasmas have managed respectable, but not leading amounts of responsiveness lately. The 51D550 exceeded our expectations with an exceptionally speedy 16ms, but we had to use the “PC” input label (accessed by pressing Source > HDMI1/DVI > Tools > Edit Name > PC) to achieve this speed. We’re also not sure if it will enable with all sources, although it did with our Xbox 360 Elite feeding the panel. (This also results in full uncompressed colour being displayed in the 4:4:4 format, for those of you who are both hardcore gamers and hardcore videophiles). Remember that this trick only works on the HDMI1 input, so gamers should give their favourite system priority when connecting.
Without this trick, the Samsung PS51D550 still managed a respectable, but slightly game-altering 31ms of input lag.

Conclusion

It’s a winner. After upgrading the firmware to eradicate the rogue noise reduction system, we were absolutely delighted with the detail, clarity, texture, and overall image put out by this affordable big-screen Plasma TV. It can also deliver a remarkably speedy gaming experience. While it’s not without flaws, we think that given these strengths and a bargain price tag, the Samsung PS51D550 deserves a “Highly Recommended” rating.

The PS51D550′s most direct competitor is the Panasonic TX-P50ST30, which now costs around £160 more and does have some advantages over this cheaper Samsung, including a superior (and consistent) black level: Panasonic’s 3D plasma goes as dark as 0.03 cd/m² in all modes, compared to the D550′s 0.04, 0.06, or 0.07 (depending on the video format). The ST30 also has a superior light rejecting screen coating, allowing it to produce a richer picture even when ambient light is present in the room, and slightly better colour accuracy, resulting in picture reproduction which is that bit closer to what was intended by the filmmakers and colourists. However, not one of these categories is actually bad on the PS51D550 – it’s just that they’re slightly better on the Panasonic. (Keep in mind that when we reviewed the rival ST30, we gave it a “Recommended” – rather than “Highly Recommended” – rating due to its high price at launch, which has now fallen.)

However, the Samsung PS51D550 has several advantages of its own, on top of its less expensive price. For a start, it portrays slightly cleaner motion (with less false contouring during high-speed content like televised sports), has more accurate gamma tracking for a subtly more realistic image, can produce a brighter picture, and displays all 1080 lines of the full HD 3D signal with not a drop of detail appearing blurred or jagged. For the minority of users who will be calibrating the 3DTV in 3D mode, it also has separate control over 3D Greyscale (White Balance), which Panasonic’s ST30 does not (in fact, that plasma can only be calibrated in 2D in a hidden service menu). There’s also the extra inch of screen size, if you’re counting.

These strengths, coupled with the lower price, mean that the Samsung PS51D550 is a tempting alternative and a worthy competitor in a marketplace which is dominated by Panasonic. Comparisons aside, it’s also a very nice HDTV in its own right, especially at the price we reviewed it at. Samsung, please keep improving your Plasma products like this – we can’t wait to see what you do with this display technology next year!

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Sony Bravia 46HX820 LED HDTV Review: Great Quality, Slightly Pricey

The 46-inch 1080p Sony Bravia 46HX820 is one of the most attractive HDTVs I've ever seen. This ultrathin, ultraslick LED LCD television delivers excellent picture quality, good simulated surround sound, active-shutter 3D, and a wealth of Internet options. Plus, it's practically a work of art.

Design and Peripherals

Sony outdid itself in designing the Bravia 46HX820. The set's very thin black bezel almost disappears when the machine is turned off, thanks to a glass screen that extends to the bezel's edges. The LG Infinia 50PZ950 has a similar "bezel-less" design, but Sony's set pulls it off much more successfully because the turned-off screen is just as black as the bezel that surrounds it. At the bottom of the screen, a small Sony logo subtly lights up for a moment when you turn the TV on or off. The Bravia logo (located in the upper left corner) does cheapens the look just slightly.

A member of Sony's edge-lit HX820 series, the Bravia 46HX820 measures just over 1 inch thick and weighs approximately 37 pounds, two characteristics that make it easily to mount on a wall. In case you prefer a more traditional set-up, the TV also comes with a black, rectangular, brushed- aluminum swivel stand that can turn 20 degrees to either side. The stand also tilts up 6 degrees.

Sony moved all of the set's buttons and ports to locations behind the screen, so as not to disrupt the visual style. The physical buttons--including power, input, home, channel up/down, volume up/down, and an Energy Saving switch--are on the right side.

The 46HX820's ports are located on the left side of the screen, and all of them run parallel to the screen to preserve the screen's ultrathin profile. Though parallel ports are convenient for wall mounting, they can be difficult to access (especially when they face downward). On the port panel facing to the left, you'll find two USB ports, two HDMI ports, a headphone jack, an optical audio-out, a PC connection, and a PC/HDMI 4 audio-in. The downward-facing panel has two more HDMI ports, a video/component-in, a cable/antenna hookup, and an ethernet port.

The Bravia's backlit remote looks and feels like other Sony remotes we've seen, which means, unfortunately, that it's blocky, heavy, and a bit uncomfortable to use. The remote is flat and shiny on the back, with a power button, but the front is concave. I can only assume that Sony adopted this design so that users can lay the remote face-down (without inadvertently pressing any of the buttons on the face) and enjoy its attractive, minimalist look. This may be visually appealing, but it's kind of clunky to use.

Most of the remote's dedicated buttons are located near its top, while numbers, channel up/down, and volume up/down buttons are on the bottom. The dedicated buttons include various input buttons; multimedia controls; and shortcuts to Netflix, Widgets, Internet Video, and Qriocity. In the center of the remote is a directional pad surrounded by navigational buttons--Sync Menu, Display, Options, Home, Return, and Guide. You also get four programmable buttons, each one a different color.

Internet-Connected TV, Basic Setup, and Onscreen Menus

The Bravia 46HX820 comes preloaded with Sony's video- and music-streaming service, Qriocity, as well as with various Internet widgets and apps. The app selection includes Amazon On Demand, Hulu Plus, Netflix, NHL Vault, Pandora, Skype (though you'll need your own camera/mic), Slacker, and YouTube. Widgets connect to eBay, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, Weather, Yahoo Widgets, and some weird thing from Cracked.com called the Daily Puppy (it shows you a picture of a puppy).

Sony also supplies a Web browser for connecting directly to the Internet. The browser looks excellent and uses the available screen real-estate to the fullest, but it's extremely tedious to work with. Sony uses number-pad typing for entering in text--a method that seems slow at first, but quickly becomes pretty easy. If you'd prefer to use a QWERTY keyboard, you can download Sony's free Media Remote App for iOS/Android.

Initial setup for the TV is nice and thorough, covering not the regular options (language, viewing environment, country, date/time, and channel scanning), but speaker optimization, wireless or wired network setup, and automatic downloading of firmware updates.

Sony's user interface is slick and easy to use. The onscreen menus look good: Transitions are smooth and easy to navigate, and they don't obstruct your current content. The menus are a bit too numerous (why are there three menus for Internet content?), but they are generally easy to get around in. Pressing the Options button on your remote brings up a different menu, depending on the content you're currently viewing: If you're looking at a Web page, the menu lets you choose favorites or enter a URL; if you're watching a YouTube video, it allows rating or favoriting the video; if you're watching 3D media you can adjust the 3D settings.

If you want to adjust picture and audio settings, press the dedicated Home button on your remote. In the Home menu you'll find all sorts of settings: Preferences, Sound, Picture/Display, Product Support, Network, Channels & Inputs, and an i-Manual (Interactive Manual). In the Sound menu you can adjust audio and turn off keytones and startup sounds; and in the Picture/Display menu you can adjust backlight, brightness, color, hue, temperature, and sharpness, as well as advanced settings such as gamma and white balance. The i-Manual is an excellent addition-- easy to navigate, very thorough, and easy to understand.

Testing

The Bravia 46HX820 performed very well in our jury testing. One reviewer commented that our 720p Wheel of Fortune clip appeared to have fewer artifacts than we usually see in that clip. The set also did a nice job in our DVD upconversion tests of Phantom of the Opera, which other impressive sets haven't handled so well. And the 46HX820 performed well in our horizontal and diagonal panning tests, though the picture on the screen looked a little too bright in our still-life image comparison test.

This 3D-ready HDTV ships with two pairs of active-shutter glasses--a nice touch, considering how expensive active-shutter glasses typically are. In our tests, 3D images showed excellent depth, but motion-heavy scenes were sometimes jarring and a little nauseating. The shutter glasses were a bit heavy, too.

Sony lets you adjust 3D settings while you watch 3D content. The 3D menu includes options for turning the 3D on or off, adjusting the depth (between -2 and 2), adjusting the brightness of the glasses, and turning on "simulated 3D." Simulated 3D involves attempting to transform regular 2D content into pseudo-3D. It sort of works--basically the entire picture ends up looking a little recessed, but there's no depth within the picture.

The Bravia 46HX820's audio quality is extremely good. The sound system consists of three rear-facing 10-watt speakers in a 2.1 configuration. The maximum volume is quite loud, sound has depth, and the virtual surround sound option replicates real surround sound effectively.

Conclusion

Sony's Bravia 46HX820 is a gorgeous 46-inch HDTV with superb picture quality, great sound quality, and plenty of Internet-connected options. The primary selling point of this set is obviously the design--as I said earlier, it's one of the sexiest HDTVs I've ever seen--but it does have some drawbacks: fewer (and less accessible) ports than other TVs, potentially confusing menus, and a big and clunky remote. But if you're looking for some HDTV eye-candy, this set definitely qualifies.

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