Get your TV (and other devices) football-ready. Also - Great smartphone games to get ready for 'the big game

CNET - With the annual Big Game coming up, now's the time to make sure your TV is set up perfectly. Here are CNET's best tips for making sure your living room is ready for some football.

The NFL championship game is around the corner, and if you're planning to park yourself in front of your TV for the day, now's the time to make sure your set-up is perfect. Here are our best tips for making sure your living room is ready for some football.

Tips for watching the game online

Watch the Big Game on just about any device

The big game is set to take place on February 2 at MetLife Stadium. Here's how you can watch it live on any device.

Read: How to watch the Super Bowl live

Buying the right TV

Great super-sized TVs

TVs are getting bigger every year, and our annual American football championship can be all the reason you need to upgrade your set. Here are our favorite TVs over 64 inches.
Read: Six big screens for the big game 

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Great smartphone games to get ready for 'the big game

In gearing up for the big game this Sunday, I've put together a collection of football games for both iOS and Android.

The big game is this coming weekend, and most Americans will tell you it's a lot more than just a football game. Many people make an event out of the game with parties, barbecues, and betting pools, even if their favorite team isn't in the running. My team lost a week ago, but you can bet I'll be watching just for the fanfare. Even the commercials shown during the game are an event in themselves with advertisers spending huge amounts of money for 30 second and one minute spots.
While you wait for next Sunday's festivities to kick off, I've put together a collection of mobile games to get you excited for the main event. All but one of the games here have versions for both Android and iOS, with Ted Ginn: Kick Return being the odd man out.

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In Madden NFL 25 you can see the whole field.

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)  

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Hands on with the massive Samsung UN-85S9 85-inch 4K TV

CNET - The UN-85S9 is massive, and massively expensive. At a special event in LA, we got to spend some time with it, watching 4K, Blu-ray, some test patterns ... even DVD

This thing is huge. There's just something about a TV this size that dominates a room. Even a big room. It plays tricks on the eyes, in a way, as your brain isn't accustomed to seeing a TV of such girth.

The UN-85S9 isn't just massive in size (85 inches, 189 pounds), but massive in price ($40,000) and resolution (Ultra HD "4K," of course).

I got to spend some time with it, and here's what I found out.

As you might have noticed, from the lack of "review" in the title, this isn't a full review. We only had limited time with the TV, and it wasn't at the CNET labs. Also, my name is not David or Ty. I did have access to a variety of equipment and test gear, though, so consider this a mostly-there-but-not-quite-full review.

Big

My "TV" at home is a projector on a 102-inch screen, and even I think this is a big TV. There's something about the presence of a device-of-unusual-size that is impressive. The easel design for the stand, which I thought looked odd at best, weird at worst, at CES, actually sort of works. It makes the TV look even bigger, and makes it look different from your average television. That makes sense for something this price.

Like Samsung's OLED and a few of its other new TVs, the UN-85S9 comes with the OneConnect box, an external input box where you connect all your sources, and then a single cable goes to the TV. Honestly, I like the idea. I think for most people it would make setup easier. More importantly, with HDMI 2.0 immanent, it's a lot easier to replace a OneConnect box than cracking open a TV and replacing the input board (or more).   More

Google Chromecast - Wireless Video-Streaming Device

TV Review: Panasonic TC-PST60 Series

 

CNET Editors' Rating

5.0 stars - Spectacular

$1,347.99 to $1,499.99

The good: Reasonable price; incredibly good picture quality with exceedingly deep black levels, great shadow detail, accurate colors, solid bright-room performance, and superb off-angle and uniformity characteristics; sleek styling with metal accents; plenty of Smart TV content; includes two pair of 3D glasses.

The bad: More 3D crosstalk than some competing TVs; not as suited to extremely bright rooms as some LCD models; consumes more power than LCD TVs.

The bottom line: The midlevel price and outstanding quality of the Panasonic TC-PST60 series make it our strongest TV recommendation ever.

Read the Full Review

CNET's 18 favorite tech gifts - Holiday Gift Guide

Samsung Galaxy S3 (AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, U.S. Cellular, Verizon)

Samsung's Galaxy S3 has a huge, vibrant HD screen, a large battery, an awesome camera, and a boatload of software extras -- the best lets you tap two like phones together to share photos and video. A fast dual-core Qualcomm processor and 4G LTE make it a compelling Android 4.0 package. You'll have your choice of 16GB or 32GB versions, which also store up to 64GB of your movies and e-books on a microSD card.

4.0 stars - CNET Editors' Rating

Starting at: $99.99

The good: The Samsung Galaxy S3 comes fully loaded with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, 4G LTE/HSPA+ 42 capability, a zippy dual-core processor, and a strong 8-megapixel camera. S Beam is an excellent software enhancement, and the handset's price is right.

The bad: The Galaxy S3's screen is too dim, and Samsung's Siri competitor, S Voice, disappointed.

The bottom line: Pumped with high-performing hardware and creative software features, the Samsung Galaxy S3 is an excellent, top-end phone that's neck and neck with the HTC One X.

Read CNET's Full Review

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX200V
 

Those who need a camera to satisfy a couple different users will like the HX200V. Its 30x, f2.8-5.6, 27-810mm lens is good for a variety of subjects -- from close-ups to field shots from the bleachers. It has a wide selection of shooting modes, too, so whether you like to fiddle with settings or leave it in auto, the HX200V has you covered. 

4.0 stars - CNET Editors' Rating

Starting at: $385.00

The good: The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX200V is a fast-shooting megazoom with excellent photo and video quality for its class, and plenty of shooting options to make casual and advanced shooters happy.

The bad: The HX200V lacks advanced bridge camera features like raw image capture, a hot shoe, or mic input. Some of its shooting modes and general operation can get confusing if you want to do more than leave it in auto.

The bottom line: A lot of camera, both in lens and features, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX200V is a solid choice for point-and-shoot users looking to do a little more than that.

Read CNET's Full Review

Samsung SyncMaster S27B970

The Samsung SyncMaster S27B970 impresses with both its sleek aesthetics and stellar performance. It's a bit on the pricey side with a hard to disconnect DisplayPort, but both design and performance of the monitor outweigh its cons.

 

4.0 stars - CNET Editors' Rating

 

Starting at: $999.99

The good: The Samsung SyncMaster S27B970 has stellar performance, a sleek, sexy design, and useful OSD options.

The bad: At $1,200, the monitor will set you back a few car payments. Also, attempting to remove the DisplayPort cable can have disastrous consequences.

The bottom line: The Samsung SyncMaster S27B970's excellent performance and beautiful aesthetic outweigh some thoughtless design choices.

Read CNET's Full Review>>

See the Rest!

Apple's plan to dominate all the screens in your home

Apple wants to own every screen in your home, including the TV. If it succeeds, you may never buy a non-Apple device again.

Apple has one more screen to conquer...

CNET - Apple wants every screen in your home to be an Apple screen. The company will be taking a giant leap toward accomplishing its goal at this year's WWDC.

In just a decade, Apple has become a dominant force in computers, tablets, and mobile. It has yet to make major inroads into the biggest screen of them all: the television.

Sure, there's Apple TV, but it has been a "hobby" for the company. Last year, 2.8 million units of the device were sold, and 2.7 million units have been sold so far this year. Though that's impressive, it's a far cry from the company's iPhone, iPad, Mac, and iPod sales.   More

Hottest new and upcoming HDTVs

Cheap and cheerful, the ST30 was without a doubt the best bang-for-buck TV in 2011 and we’re expecting big things from the follow-up. The TV is shipping now, and you can look forward to seeing the full review very soon.

The good: The affordable Panasonic TC-PST50 series exhibited outstanding overall picture quality, characterized by exceedingly deep black levels with great shadow detail, accurate colors, and solid bright-room performance. Unlike LCDs, as a plasma it has superb off-angle and uniformity characteristics. The styling is attractive and the feature set well-chosen, including excellent onscreen help options.

The bad: The ST50 uses more power than competing LCD TVs, and doesn’t perform as well in bright rooms as those with matte screens. It doesn’t include 3D glasses, and 3D picture quality showed more crosstalk than many competitors’ models. The ST50 is only available in 50-inch and larger sizes. Three HDMI inputs is one fewer than most midrange TVs offer.

The bottom line: With flagship-level picture quality for a midlevel price, the Panasonic ST50 series sets the value standard among videophile-grade TVs.

Read CNET’s Full Review





Speaking of “full review” and “bang for the buck,” this Sharp has both. It served to introduce our new “Value” score with an excellent score of 8. No, it’s not going to reach the picture quality or features scores seen on the other TVs we’re previewing, but we doubt most of them will hit its value.

The good: The relatively inexpensive Sharp LC-LE640U series delivers accurate color thanks to ample picture controls, as well as a matte screen that works well in bright rooms. Its feature set hits all of the right notes for the price, including excellent help and support options, built-in Wi-Fi, and a remote with three programmable keys to easily access favorite apps. I appreciated its understated styling, especially with such a large screen.

The bad: I noted lighter black levels and uneven lighting across the screen, both especially obvious in dark scenes under home theater lighting. The Sharp also failed to properly handle film-based (1080p/24) sources, causing slight stutter in certain scenes.

The bottom line: With decent picture quality and great pricing, the Sharp LC-LE640U series makes a strong case for mainstream TV shoppers who want to go bigger.

Read CNET’s Full Review





The Samsung E8000 is the follow-up to last year’s excellent D8000 plasma, and Samsung promises that this model has even better picture quality. Look out for enhanced features such as Smart Interaction with built-in Skypeing and gesture control.

The good: The Samsung PNE8000 series exhibited outstanding overall picture quality, characterized by exceedingly deep black levels, accurate colors, superb video processing, and very good 3D. Unlike LCDs, as a plasma TV it has superb off-angle and uniformity characteristics. Its massive feature set includes a touch-pad remote, IR blaster, two pairs of 3D glasses, motion and voice command, and the industry’s most capable Smart TV platform. This Samsung is also one of the best plasma designs around.

The bad: Samsung charges too much for extra features that are largely unnecessary and poorly implemented. Its picture delivers slightly worse shadow detail and bright-room performance than some competitive plasmas, and its maximum light output is somewhat dim.

The bottom line: The expensive Samsung PNE8000 series comes through with stellar picture quality, but its main appeal is to people who crave the latest gadgetry in their plasma TV.

Read CNET’s Full Review

See the Rest of the Reviews!

Intel’s Rumored TV Plan: We Know How This One Ends

 

Intel A Player In TV? History Says No

 

Intel is arguably the most efficient, most advanced manufacturer in the world and one of the most sophisticated companies when it comes to bringing cutting-edge technology to the mass market.

It just isn’t very good at branching out.

The Santa Clara-based chipmakers inability to move into new markets has come up again amid rumors that it is working on services to provide TV programs over the Internet.

“The chip maker envisions the service as a bundle of television channels akin to the packages provided by cable and satellite television providers, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions, who did not want to be identified talking about unannounced company plans.

Instead of using the service via a set-top box, consumers would tune in with devices that run on Intel chips,” wrote the New York Times.                     More

LG’s mammoth 55-inch OLED TV is CES-bound

CNET - It’s not every day you can claim making the largest of the thinnest TV screens on the planet–which is precisely why LG is drumming up excitement for its 55-inch OLED TV panel at CES 2012.

What’s the big deal? The 5-millimeter-thick display is light, pencil-thin, and promises high definition with no after image–that motion-induced blur you may see in an LCD screen. In addition, it boasts a contrast ratio of over 100,000:1.             More

How to rid your HDTV of reflections

(Credit: Geoffrey Morrison)

Most people don’t like watching TV in the dark. The problem is, flat-panel TVs tend to reflect light in the room. Even if you have a matte-screen LCD, light bouncing off the screen is going to diminish picture quality in one way or another.

This how-to guide has some obvious and some not-so-obvious tricks and tips to help you make sure that no matter what lighting you have in your room, you’re still getting the best picture quality.


The problem
Most flat-panel TVs these days have glossy screens, which act like a mirror for any light source in a room (from windows to lamps). If you have a glossy screen TV, and you’re reading this guide, chances are you know exactly what I’m talking about.

What’s interesting is that even though matte-screen LCDs don’t have the mirrorlike reflections, ambient light in a room still adversely affects them. This is because instead of bouncing the light right back at you, a matte-screen LCD spreads that light energy across the whole screen. Reflections are lessened, but black level goes up (lightens).


The easiest fix
Turn off the lights, right? Well, sort of. There’s a reason people like to leave the lights on when they’re watching TV: eye fatigue. Many people feel soreness in their eyes when watching TV in the dark. Whether you’re conscious of this or not, leaving the lights on can create a more relaxing viewing environment. Unless, of course, that light reflects off the TV.

It may seem like a roundabout way of solving anything, but you can change the TV to minimize eye fatigue. If this works, you won’t need to leave the lights on. No lights, no reflections. Problem solved.

If you have an LCD TV, this is easy. Most LCDs have a backlight control. Check your user menus: this control is likely set near or at maximum. This is really bright. Turn this down at night for a more relaxing image and better black levels. Your contrast ratio won’t change.

In theory you could turn down the contrast control on a plasma to reduce its brightness, but that’s not advisable. With plasmas, reducing the light output does reduce the contrast ratio.                 More