Podcast #1271: Consumer Reports HDTV Ratings

On this week's show we take a look at the consumer reports ratings for 70 inch and larger TVs. We also read your email and take a look at the week's news.

News:

Your Google Home can now take orders from Claude and other AI agents Roku Adds 30 New Bundles To Premium Subscriptions Element Launches New TiVo-Powered Smart TVs in the U.S. Paramount Settles States' Antitrust Suit, Clearing Way for Warner Megadeal Consumer Reports Ratings for 70-inch and larger TVs: On this week's show we take a look at the consumer reports rating for 70 inch and larger TVs. This list was sent to us by Dermot who thought it may make a nice topic. We took the list and only updated pricing. So how does Consumer Reports determine a score for their TV ratings?

Consumer Reports builds each TV's Overall Score from three buckets: lab performance, member surveys, and (for smart TVs) privacy/security. They do not accept manufacturer samples. Secret shoppers buy the sets at retail so they test the same units you would buy.

They run 200+ TVs a year. Each set goes through 20+ tests and more than 500 data points in their Yonkers labs. Picture settings are optimized with the on-screen user controls only—not a full professional calibration. If a set needs a calibrator to look good, that hurts it.

What the lab actually measures

HD and UHD picture quality — test patterns plus real movie/TV clips for detail, black level, contrast, and color accuracy after the set is optimized. HDR — peak brightness (measured with a Photo Research PR-740 spectroradiometer), plus how well highlights and shadows hold up in dark and bright scenes. Viewing angle — color and contrast from both horizontal and vertical off-axis positions. Motion blur — how clean moving text and action stay. Sound quality — built-in speakers: clarity, bass, volume range, and distortion, compared against reference sets in the lab. Features / versatility — inputs, smart-TV functions, ease of use, etc. Data privacy and data security — whether the TV collects extra data, how easy it is to control that, encryption, known vulnerabilities, update practices. These scores are folded into the Overall Score. A viewing panel then watches real content side-by-side after the meter work is done.

Survey piece

Predicted reliability and owner satisfaction come from CR member surveys, not from the lab unit they bought.

Reliability is brand-level, not model-level. A statistical model estimates the chance a new set from that brand will have a problem