Geoffrey Morrison

LG and VIZIO announced today many new models with Passive 3D. This contrasts with Panasonic, Samsung, Sony, and Sharp who all announced new Active 3D models.

The main differences are that active uses comparatively heavy and expensive LCD shutter glasses. The advantage to this method is that you can have full HD resolutions with minimal modifications to the underlying television. The disadvantages are that potential for flicker, crosstalk, and the aforementioned glasses.

Epson's new 9700UB projector offers a lot of letters for $3,200. Letters like ISF, THX, HQV, E-TORL, and 3LCD. All of those acronyms mean something to a knowing videophile, but they don't in themselves guarantee a good-looking picture. With projectors, however, certain acronyms can give some indication of the steps taken toward producing quality video.

If you're a Comcast subscriber and an iPad user, make sure you download the XFINITY TV app. While not the streaming app widely hoped for, it's at least partially there. The killer feature is that it lets Comcast subscribers stream TV to their iPad from anywhere there's a WiFi signal. No 3G streaming yet. Before you get too excited, there's some limitations.

DEFINING A NEW PRODUCT CATEGORY

I'm struggling with this: What do you call these things? Digital Media Streamers? Digital Media Receivers? How about media extenders, media streamers, or digital media adapters? Maybe Internet Streaming Devices? If you abbreviate that last one, it sounds a bit sinister. "Dude, I got an ISD." Annnnnnnd, you're on a list somewhere.