Mark Wilson on November 25th, 2008

In a clever bit of green marketing, the non-profit Electronics TakeBack Coalition ran the above ad warning of “toxic waste” on Panasonic’s own proud Times Square display. The coalition promotes manufacturers accepting their own products back for recycling. Unfortunately, clever ads and even manufacturer support are only half the battle. [via Treehugger]

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Mark Wilson on November 10th, 2008

Allio has gone and done what we wish every HDTV manufacturer would attempt already. They’ve shoved a full-blown media PC into a 1080p LCD TV. Coming in sizes up to 42 inches, buyers can customize a set that features a Vista-powered PC with a Core2Duo, 4GB of RAM, Wi-Fi, 1TB of storage and a Blu-ray player. And maxed out with these specs, the system only runs $2,800. So what’s the catch? We noticed at least two that may or may not be dealbreakers.

First, we haven’t seen a true side profile (a tower PC could be duct taped on the back for all we know). Second, the HDTV itself is fairly mediocre with a mere 2000:1 contrast ratio and no response time listed. Full specs:

* Allio 42” 1080p LCD HDTV
* 16:9 Full Screen Aspect Ratio
* 3D Y/C Digital Comb Filter
* 176 Degree / 176 Degree Viewing Angle
* 2000:1 Contrast
* 400cd Brightness
* Built-in 12Wx2 Speakers
* 7.1 Surround Sound w/Dolby Home Theatre
* 2 x Component Video & Audio Connectors
* 2 x HDMI Connectors
* 1 x S-Video & Audio Connector
* 1 x Composite Video & Audio Connector
* 6 x USB 2.0 Ports
* 1 x eSATA Port
* 1 x DVI-I Port
* 1 x HDMI Output Only
* 1 x S/PDIF Optical Audio Out
* Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
* 4GB High-Speed DDR2-800 Memory
* Slim 2X BD-ROM Blu-Ray Player (Play’s DVD’s too!)
* Plays & Burns DVD’s as Well!
* Western Digital 1TB (1000GB) SATA-II HDD
* Integrated Intel GMA X4500HD Video
* Hauppauge HVR-950Q TV Tuner
* Gigabit 10/100/1000 Ethernet
* Wireless 802.11b/g
* Microsoft Vista Home Premium 64-bit
* Logitech Wireless Keyboard & Mouse
* Wall Mountable
* Menu Languages: English, Spanish, French
* Includes A/V Cable, User Manual, Remote Control

Man, if the TV were just a little better..or the price a little cheaper… [Visionman via Crunchgear]

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