Consider this 2-deals-in-1. Not only do your get a low profile antenna for under 30 bucks, but once installed (no roof climbing required) you’ll be enjoying free HD content from your local broadcasters (assuming you’re near some towers).

A while back we discussed the benefits of over-the-air HDTV (did I mention it’s free?) and just yesterday we offered 10 antennas that’ll get ‘er done.

Today we sweeten the package with a great price on Jenson’s TV-931 Low Profile UHF Amplified Antenna that not only looks nice, but is also a really cheap way to test the HD waters if you haven’t already.

Sony on Tuesday served an increasingly green-conscious audience today by releasing the BRAVIA JE1, the first model in a new series. The lone 32-inch LCD set in the line uses just two-thirds the power of a similar screen by using more efficient fluorescent backlights and more efficient screen filters: by generating more light and allowing more existing light to go through, the JE1 can use fewer lighting tubes to achieve the same effect as a normal HDTV. Sony claims the overall gains are enough to use 70 percent less power through one year.

The manufacturing of the set itself is also more efficient and sees the new BRAVIA use leftover plastic, styrofoam, and optical film; the same materials can be recycled from the HDTV once its useful lifespan is over, according to Sony.

Maybe you can make a difference with a remote control in one hand while laying on your couch. Philips has a new line of Eco friendly HDTVs that feature a cleaner parts and a dimmer feature to let your LCD panel use less energy.

Can there be any more grievous a platitude than saving the world through consumer goods? Flat panel big-screen HDTV has long been a symbol of material wealth - along with that Caddy Escalade used to run across town to pick up groceries.

Sharp's biggest announcement at InfoComm isn't the plethora of new projectors and LCD monitors. No, dear friends, it's the proclamation that its 108-inch LB-1085 1080p display will soon be available right here in the US of A. Sharp's smart enough to not let out a US price just yet, but our handy Japanese currency conversion calculation puts it somewhere around $100,000. Chump change, right?

VIA: engadget.com

Our review partner Digital Trends tested the very affordable Vizio VO32L LCD HDTV and published a review.

Quote from the review: "When it comes to HDTVs, bigger and more expensive means a higher profile in the press and a much greater techno-lust factor.
Everyone would love to own a 60-inch Pioneer Kuro plasma set but who has $7K to buy one? Enter the real “meat and potatoes” of HDTV Land, sets like the 32-inch Vizio VO32L, one of the current best sellers. This 720P LCD HDTV has a list price of $649 USD and is readily available online or the local Costco and other warehouse clubs for around $599 USD."

Not like Team Xtender hasn't been offering something similar to this for well over a year now, but hey, nothing wrong with a bit of delayed competition. XCM has just made clear that it will soon be selling the 1080p Mega-Cool VGA box, which takes any component input and shoots it back out via VGA. The box supports PC resolutions up to UXGA (1,600 x 1,200 at 75Hz) or HDTV (up to 1,920 x 1,080). Plug-and-play, NTSC / PAL support and USB power are all included -- you just provide the ins and outs. Mum's the current word on pricing / availability, but we're hearing that e-tailer Total Console will be offering it soon.

Monster Cable announced today it will offer a wireless transmitter for HDTV signals that will connect a home theater's TV set with a digital signal box or DVD player. The wireless system is comprised of a receiver that plugs into the HDTV's HDMI port along with a transmitter unit that will hook up with the signal source. Called Monster Digital Express HD, the set-up will also upscale non-HD signals to HD resolution.

The system is able to transmit a video signal up to 30 feet away using the ultra-wideband (UWB) technology from Sigma Designs. Earlier this year, Westinghouse showed off an LCD TV with built-in UWB technology for wireless HDTV streaming as well. Other companies are developing similar technologies, that are either faster (WirelessHD) or less costly though less reliable (Wi-Fi) than UWB.

AOC are a brand more traditionally associated with computer monitors, but all that playing with LCD panels seems to have given them a taste for frivolity and their latest display is more home entertainment than home office. A 22-inch high-definition TV, the AOC 2230Fh combines HDMI, DVI and VGA inputs for the best of work and play. It’s no terrible compromise, either; a 20,000:1 contrast ratio and 2ms response time is highly respectable.

There are a few other nice touches: the shiny, faceted casing has the same finish front and back, meaning the rear of the display - usually a whole lot more dreary than the bezel is - isn’t something you’d mind having on display. Integrated stereo speakers lurk almost invisibly, and for ease of use the OSD setup can either be controlled directly from the 2230Fh’s buttons or remotely, via a supplied software app.

It’s not exactly the biggest high-definition screen we’ve seen, but then neither is the price. AOC say the 2230Fh should be available now, with a MRSP of $299.99.

Sony has always been a go-to brand for people who don't mind paying more for HDTVs, or just about anything else for that matter, and the company's least-expensive 2008 32-inch HDTV, the KDL-32M4000, exemplifies the trend.
art.sony.bravia.cnet.jpg

This little set costs a couple of hundred dollars more than no-name LCDs, and generally a hundred more than competing name-brand sets such as the Samsung LN32A450 and the Sharp LC-32D44U.

For your extra cash, you'll get great design and, yes, very good picture quality for the smaller HDTV category, but we don't think, for most people, that going Sony at this size is worth the price.

If you're still watching movies on your junky old DVD player and wondering why they look so rotten on your big, fancy HDTV, here's the answer: Old DVD players don't produce enough pixels to take advantage of that high-resolution screen. Does that mean you have to junk your movie library and step up to Blu-ray? Not necessarily.

Instead, consider a stop-gap solution like the JVC XV-N650B, an upconverting DVD you can grab for just 30 bucks. Without getting overly technical about it, upconverting means the player scales the low-resolution DVD video so it looks better on HDTVs. Not Blu-ray-quality, mind you, but a marked improvement. I've tested a few upconverting players with various HDTVs, and always came away impressed with the results.