Samsung and LG both demoed their upcoming OLED HDTV sets at CES 2012 earlier this year, and it’s a safe bet that we’ll see several OLED sets hitting the market before the year is up. What remains to be seen is how the entry of OLED TVs into the market will affect things.

What is OLED?

OLED screens combine the picture quality benefits of plasma with the space and power saving technology of LED. To better understand how an OLED screen works, let’s take a look at how traditional displays technology works.

TVs today use some sort of a backlight in order to illuminate an image on the screen. LCD screens have a CCFL (cold-cathode fluorescent lamp) in the edge of the display; edge-lit LED displays work similarly but use LED lights instead of the CCFLs. Backlit LED displays use a grid of LED lights directly behind the display, allowing it to adjust the brightness in specific sections. In a plasma display, ever pixel is made up of several champers of phosphorus gas that illuminates when charged; in other words, each pixel gives off its own light, with no need for a backlight, which is what allows for those deep blacks.

OLED displays work in the same sense as a plasma screen, in that each pixel is capable of emitting its own light. Alternatively, OLEDs are much more power-efficient and smaller than the plasma gas chambers needed for a plasma display. The end result is a super slim display with stunning color quality and perfect black levels that’s even energy efficient.

How Will OLEDs Affect Plasmas

Because the focus of new OLED displays will be picture quality, the high-end plasmas that videophiles flock to will be most affected. The most expensive plasma screens might see some price drops in order to compete with the superior OLED displays, but the entry and mid-range plasmas, like our current top-rated Panasonic TX-P VT30, should be fairly unaffected, at least for a year or two.

What about LED TVs?

Large LED TVs will also see some heavy competition from OLEDs since it’s expected that the first OLED sets to hit the market will be in the 55- to 70-inch range. Price will be the big deciding factor here. OLEDs will best traditional LED TVs in basically all categories, but they will be considerably more expensive. Samsung’s ES8000 series, Sony’s Bravia XBR series, and other “premium” models might see some considerable price drops when OLED TVs hit the market. Smaller, less feature-packed sets, like Sony’s KDL EX720 line, will be less affected.

And the LCD TVs?

LCD screens will remain the go-to flat panel TVs for anyone on a budget. It won’t be until a few years from now when OLED sets start challenging the prices of similarly sized LED TVs that we see the LCD sets start to fade from the market.

Conclusions about OLED TVs?

OLED TVs are a great advancement to HDTV technology, and they really will outperform any display currently on the market. If you’re in the market for a new TV today, is it work waiting for an OLED model to hit the market? Definitely! But only if you’re planning on spending upwards of $5,000 on something truly top-end.

Contrast Ratio

Manufacturers have invented the term “Dynamic Contrast Ratio.” Realistic contrast ratios are around 1,500:1, but dynamic contrasts state numbers like 1,000,000:1. The top rated PC monitor on alaTest right now, the Asus VG278H lists a 50,000,000:1 “Smart” Contrast Ratio. Samsung’s D8000 Series, the top rated HDTV lists 25,000,000:1

Ultimately, these numbers are completely meaningless. A display’s contrast ratio is a ratio between the brightest and darkest image the display can produce. Dynamic contrast cheats by turning off the display’s backlight when the screen’s image is entirely black, using that as the darkest value. In a real viewing scenario, the entire screen would never be black like that, so you would never see dynamic contrast in action.

Manufacturers have even started to omit true contrast ration specs entirely. Some don’t even use the word “Dynamic” when listing their misleading numbers.

Full backlit LED TVs that can turn off a portion of the screen’s backlight, making dynamic contrast slightly more applicable, but even that scenario rarely occurs in real life viewing. OLED displays are the only ones that can truly take advantage of this concept, but they don’t need dynamic contrast to do it. Unfortunately, OLED TVs are quite rare and expensive right now.

Refresh Rate and Response Times

Manufacturers have started advertising their TVs with “Effective Refresh Rates.” That’s to say, they’ve developed special algorithms that strobe the backlight in order to make a refresh rate of 120-240Hz (such as the Sony Bravia KDL-XBR9) look more like 960Hz – or so they claim.

A refresh rate comes from a display’s ability to refresh the image on the screen so many times per second, while the response time is how long it takes a pixel to turn from black to white and back to black again.

The above image shows a 1/160^th of a second snapshot of a display advertized as having a 120Hz refresh rate and 8ms response time. You can make out 8 distinct refresh cycles trailing behind the squares. This means that the real response time is actually about 65ms. The discrepancy is because manufacturers do not take into account gray-to-gray response times.

Color Gamut

Color Gamut has become a popular advertising term, especially for computer monitors. Manufacturers are always trying to outdo each other with higher/wider color gamut; however, a higher color gamut won’t result in more accurate color. In fact, it will only over saturate the image.

Almost all image content is created from a standard color gamut, as shown within the white triangle above (computer displays use sRGB and HDTVs use Rec.709). You can think of a standard color gamut as a set of defined colors. By widening the color gamut of a display, you’re only adding colors that are never used (ie: colors outside the triangle). At the same time, widening the gamut also reduces color precision, unless you also increase bit depth.

*Note regarding Adobe RGB color gamut: Some displays advertise Adobe RGB color gamut. This is a wider range gamut than other standards, but it is only used in specialized fields, such as professional photography. Adobe RGB is a positive feature, but only for those specific purposes.

How to Choose a Display among this Dishonesty?

No display manufacturer is innocent of playing the numbers game, but that doesn’t mean that some displays aren’t better than others. The trick is finding out their real specs, and to do this, it’s best to read expert reviews where the specs are measured by the reviewers.

A thunderous surround sound experience is absolutely essential if you want to get the most out of your home theater system. It doesn’t matter how big your TV is, or how you pop your popcorn, without the right sound, you can never be fully immersed into your movies/games.  AV Receivers (or AVRs as they’re often called) are integral to premium surround sound, and we’ve got a crash course to help you purchase the right AVR.

Supported Formats

First and foremost, you’re going to want to rule out any AVRs that don’t support today’s most popular audio formats. Just about any modern AVR will support audio formats like DTS and Dolby Digital, but that’s not enough. Blu-ray movies now feature lossless audio tracks which require DTS-HD Master Audio or Dolby Digital TruHD. You’ll absolutely want to make sure any AVR you’re considering supports both of those. LPCM support can also be especially useful if you play your content from a PC of some sort.

Apart from audio formats, you’ll also want to make sure your AVR supports the right video formats. You’ll more than likely want to ensure it plays nice with 1080p sources. Even more useful, some AVRs even support upscaling SD and 720p sources to 1080p before sending it to your TV. Most AVRs today support 1080p (though a handful only support 1080i, so be careful). Lastly, if you have a 3D TV and you enjoy 3D videos, make sure you AVR supports 3D video signals.

Inputs and Outputs

Most AVRs have a handful of video inputs of various types (generally a few HDMI ports, some composite connectors, and a few component connections) and a single HDMI output. That single HDMI output connects to your TV. The rest of your home theater equipment connects to the AVR, so make sure it has enough inputs for all of your gear. 

Audio inputs are important too. The HDMI connections are able to carry 7.1 channel audio and HD video in the single cable, but other input types need other options. Optical inputs are ideal if HDMI isn’t an option (this is often used by music devices, some gaming systems, and most component sources). Composite sources will typically need the usual RCA connections, though some allow optical or coaxial audio. The key is to make sure any AVR you consider has room enough to connect all of your devices at once.

Channels and Features

Just about every modern AVR on the market today will meet all of the requirements above and can range anywhere from $200 to several thousand. The main difference in price comes from the number of audio channels they support and the extra features they include.

Most media features 5.1 channel sound (5 speakers and a subwoofer), but a 7.1 channel AVR is a wise choice for future upgrades. A 7.1ch AVR works fine with a 5.1ch setup. They’re about the same price anyway. Other options are 7.2 channels (7 speakers and 2 subwoofers), 9.1, and 9.2. These are generally much more expensive.

Other features that have an effect on price are things like network connectivity for DLNA support, iPod and USB ports, integrated WiFi for multiroom audio, and FM or Satellite radio inputs. Of course component quality has a large impact on price as well, but our thousands of expert reviews can help you sort that out. Also, the more features an AVR has, the more complicated it can be, so they use GUI Setup Menus to help; however, some GUIs can be much worse than others. Our User Reviews can help you there.

Sony Bravia XBR HX929

If price is no object and you want the best, look no further than the Bravia XBR series. The XBR-HX929 features a 240Hz refresh rate (though comparable to 960Hz thanks to Sony’s Motionflow XR 960), which is crucial for high-action footage, such as when watching sports. It also includes Sony’s latest in X-Reality PRO Engine as well as Motionflow, both allowing for much smoother motion on screen. When you top that off with advanced LED backlight control, 3D-compatibility, and of course WiFi and Web Apps, the XBR-HX929 not only gives you a killer sports viewing experience, but also makes for a great TV once the game is over.

Samsung UN LED 6000 Series

Currently among the top rated HDTVs on alaTest, Samsung’s LED UN 6000 series TVs make an excellent choice (and are considerably more affordable than the XBR line Sony offers). The 6000 series includes Samsung’s very own Clear Motion Engine, similar to Motionflow, which gives you a viewing experience similar to that of a 480Hz screen. It also includes just about every feature the HX929 has, minus the advanced LED backlight and a small handful of others.

Vizio XVT-3SV Series

When it comes to getting the most for your money, Vizio is almost always the brand of choice. The XVT-3SV offers many of the same features as Sony’s XBR line, such as localized LED backlight control, built-in WiFi, and Web Apps, yet with all of these advanced features, it’s actually even more affordable than Samsung’s UN 6000 series. Unlike the other two, though, the XVT-3SV does not feature any sort of active motion engine; however, its 240Hz refresh still does a good job keeping up with the action.

Samsung UN LED 8000 Series

Much like the 6000 series, the LED UN 8000 series is very highly rated. In fact, it currently holds the top spot on our HDTV charts. The 8000 series is on par with Sony’s XBR offerings in terms of price and features. It features a more advanced version of the Clear Motion Engine, resulting in a refresh rate comparable to 960Hz, just like the XBR series. It also has localized LED backlight control, though due to its Edge-lit design, it is not quite as effective as Sony’s approach. Where the 8000 series lacks in picture quality, it makes up in unique features, such as wireless syncing with many Samsung devices (ie: smartphones, cameras, and camcorders).

Smartphones

There were more smartphones than you could shake a stick at this year, and a few really stood out, like Fujitsu’s quad-core Tegra 3 prototype featuring a 4.6-inch 720p display and 4G LTE connectivity, and Nokia’s newly announced Lumia 900 which is a Windows Phone that might shake up the competition.

What really stood out to us, though, was Lenovo’s K800. While Lenovo is best known for their high-end ThinkPad laptops, they’re really entering the smartphone market with a bang. The K800 is the very first Intel based Android phone, utilizing Intel’s brand new Medfield Z2460 mobile processor, a 1.6GHz processing behemoth, and possibly the fastest smartphone processor to date.

Tablets

Tegra 3 tablets were rampant at CES, from Acer’s latest IconiaTab and Pantec’s waterproof Element to the Asus 7-inch MeMO and Samsung Galaxy Note (which is technically a 5.3-inch smartphone). Out of all of the choices, the one we absolutely couldn’t overlook was the Transformer Prime TF700T.

The TF700T is just like the original Transformer Prime in shape, size, and even most of its components, making it compatible with the same keyboard dock; however, it has a few key improvements over the original Prime. Most noticeably, it has a full 1920×1080 HD display which is absolutely stunning. It wasn’t the only 1080p quad-core tablet at CES, but the Transformer’s great track record speaks for itself.

Laptops

Laptops are always popular at CES, and this year was no exception. AMD in particular had a very impressive booth showcasing its upcoming Radeon HD 7000M series graphics capabilities, which for the budget-aware mobile gamer, will almost definitely be the way to go once they hit the market.

But when it comes to feats of both performance and battery life, Samsung’s latest Gamer Series 7 notebook takes the cake. It will come with Nvidia’s yet to be released GTX 675M graphics core, which is expected to shatter current mobile gaming performance records. On top of that, it also features a dial that allows you to switch between the high-performance Nvidia GPU when you need it and the battery-saving integrated Intel HD graphics core when you don’t.

HDTVs

We saw no clear winner when it came to HDTVs this year. Instead, we saw three amazing models, all featuring some amazing technology that we can’t wait to see reach the consumer market. OLED TVs are definitely going to catch some attention over the next year. Both Samsung and LG demoed 55-inch OLED displays that would take your breath away. LG’s demo unit was only 4mm thick, despite looking better than any display we’ve seen before.

Sony was also turning some heads with its own 55-inch prototype. While Sony didn’t choose to go with OLEDs in which each pixel is its own light emitter, it did take a similar approach which it’s calling “Crystal LED.” Essentially, each pixel has its own individual LED backlight behind it. This creates the same effect as OLEDs, but with a greater potential range for color.

Cameras

There were a lot of interesting and impressive cameras at CES this year. In terms of specs, the Nikon D4 certainly holds its own, but Polaroid definitely wins points for innovation, showing the world’s first “Smart Camera,” the SC1630.

The SC1630 takes the guts of your typical point-and-shoot camera (3x optical zoom lens, 16MP sensor, etc) and pairs them with the smartphone based Android operating system. The result is a wonderful compact digital camera with Wifi, Bluethooth, and even the Android Marketplace at its disposal.

Smartphones and Tablets

Over the past couple of years, smartphones have been seeing explosive progress in everything from performance to functionality. At the start of every year, someone makes the claim that it will be the “Year of the Smartphone.” Well, it looks like we’ll be going on the third “Year of the Smartphone” in a row this year, and I, for one, am not disappointed.

Intel Enters the Race

Intel has been talking about developing smartphone processors for a while, but now it’s official. In the second quarter of this year, Lenovo will be launching the very first Intel powered Android phone, the K800. While not quite as power efficient as the traditional ARM processors, Intel’s Medfield chip, now known as the Atom Z2460, will offer a new level of performance in smartphones, tablets, and ultrabooks. It will definitely be interesting to see how it compares to Nvidia’s ARM-based Tegra 3.

Nvidia and Tegra 3

Tegra 3, the first quad-core processor to be found stuffed inside a tablet (the Transformer Prime) has been on the market since December, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t make an appearance at CES. Not only were there several Tegra 3 tablets from manufacturers like Toshiba, Asus, and Acer, but Fujitsu stole the show by displaying the first Tegra 3 smartphone. And in case you were curious about Tegra 3’s performance, a Tegra 3 tablet was shown playing Skyrim on an HDTV. So yes, current generation console performance has officially been achieved in the mobile sector.

Tons of New Smartphones

Just about everyone had a new smartphone to announce at CES this year. Samsung announced its Galaxy Note (as well as the Galaxy S II HD for T-Mobile); Sony came out with the Xperia S; Motorola had the Droid 4 and new RAZR MAXX (claiming 21 hours of talk time); and Nokia showed us the Lumia 710, as Windows Phone that might actually compete with the iPhone and Android for once. And that’s just to name a few of the big players’ announcements.

HDTVs and Entertainment

Apart from all of the fancy gadgetry, CES has always been a staging ground for home entertainment breakthroughs. HDTVs specifically, as well as other home appliances, have always been popular topics.

HDTVs

For the last year or two, HDTVs at CES were all about 3D. That phase is finally starting to die down (I personally say “Good riddance”), and the TV sector is transitioning onto the next big thing: OLED. LG wowed the audience with a magnificent 55-inch OLED TV that had some of the most vivid colors, deepest blacks, and sharpest image ever. Plus it was only 4mm thick!

There were of course plenty of other products on display, including Dish’s new wireless satellite receiver boxes, some fun remote controlled surveillance equipment, and a ton of talk about a new wave of GoogleTV devices.

Video Games

Even though video game-related stuff is more of an E3 thing, there was plenty to go around at CES. For starters, the Wii U got some demo time, strutting its upgraded graphics and tablet-like controller. The PlayStation Vita also got some valuable face time, with Sony announcing a planned launch date of February 22^nd.

CES 2012 continues through Friday, so stick around and we’ll keep you informed of all the cool gadgets and technology that are headed our way this year.

Laptops and Desktop PCs

If you’re getting a new computer for someone (or if someone you know has a big surprise waiting for him this Christmas), there are plenty of useful – and sometimes necessary – peripherals you might want to get them as well. Desktop PCs, in particular, are pretty useless without a monitor and a pair of speakers. A mouse and keyboard are more likely to come bundled, but they could be especially useful for anyone getting a new laptop.

Slightly less necessary, but still practical, gifts are options, too. A USB flash drive or external hard drive can be useful for transferring files from an old computer to the new one. And software is always handy, too – from Microsoft Office to the latest PC games. A few other things to remember are power cords, surge protectors, and Ethernet cables.

HDTVs and Blu-Ray Players

Each year, more and more households make the switch to HD. A quality HDMI cable is an absolute necessity that many HDTVs don’t include, and most Blu-Ray and other HD devices prefer to bundle poor quality cables. A mounting bracket makes a great gift, too; although, make sure it’s compatible with the TV (and that the recipient plans on mounting it in the first place). And remember, and HDTV isn’t much good without any HD content. Blu-Ray movies will go great with that Blu-Ray player.

Gaming Consoles

Both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 make use of HDMI connections, but neither typically come bundled with an HDMI cable. The Wii technically isn’t HD compatible out of the box, but there are HD adapters available. Extra controllers are always important to consider (and of course their batteries and chargers) no matter which console you’re getting. There are plenty of other console accessories, too, like headsets, memory cards, and specialized controllers. Don’t forget to include a few games.

Smartphones and Tablets

Smartphones and tablets usually come with everything you need right out of the box, but there’s a lot that is easy to overlook. Most states now have laws against driving while using your phone without a hands-free device. A Bluetooth headset makes an excellent companion gift to a smartphone. Headphones do, too, since the bundled ear buds generally aren’t of the best quality. Vehicle mounting kits can also be useful, especially with all of the GPS features smartphones have these days.

For use as multimedia, tablets and smartphones often need a special HDMI cord in order to connect to an HDTV. Other adapters and battery chargers can be practical gifts, too. The same goes for micro SD cards, for the mobile devices that support them.

Dell XPS 15

Laptops are always popular gifts, and the Dell XPS 15 is one place where you can’t go wrong. It may not be the fastest laptop on the market, nor the cheapest, but its style, reliability, and balanced performance makes it a great buy. And today, you can get $100 off and a free Canon ELPH 100 HS digital camera if you order from Dell online and use this coupon code: 932N$0ZCCHWZB9.

Sony DSC-HX9V and Nikon Coolpix P300

Speaking of digital cameras, the Sony HX9V and Nikon P300 are both excellent cameras that can be found on sale today at Amazon.com. These two cameras have been among out top ranked ever since they were released. The P300 is a little more on the affordable side, and the HX9V offers a few more features for those who like a bit more manual control.

Smartphones

Smartphones are on sale today as well, and this includes the latest and greatest phones that have been recently released, such as the acclaimed Galaxy S II. The iPhone 4S has also gone on sale at various places, but finding it is a bit tough since it tends to sell out rather quickly. Both phones make excellent gifts, and with many retailers and carriers (such as Verizon Wireless), the return window extends into January, just in case something goes wrong with the device.

LG 47LW5300

If you ever wanted to get on the 3D TV train, now is your chance. Dell is offering an amazing deal on the LG LW5300 at $430 off, plus free shipping. Considering that it’s a 47-inch LED flat panel, the price is pretty amazing as is, but throw in a 120Hz refresh rate AND 3D PLUS a Blu-Ray Player, and you’ve got yourself a killer deal.

This is just a tiny portion of the deals that are out there today and will continue through the weekend. If there is an item you have your eye on, look it up on alaTest. Our price search updates in real time, so there’s a good chance we’ll catch the best sale price for you. Go ahead, give it a try.