What States Can and Can't Do When Banning Abortion

What States Can and Can't Do When Banning Abortion

For more information about your reproductive health rights and related federal resources, you can visit the US government's

Reproductive Rights

site.

Whether someone can get an abortion or related medical procedure mostly hinges on which state they live in after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last month and ended the constitutional right to abortion. But the switch from federal protection to state law isn't straightforward and has led to confusion and misinformation on what pregnant patients and physicians can do.

In this still developing landscape, how confident can people be that their treatment is still legal?

"The answer to all your questions is 'Who the heck knows,'" said Dr. Louise Perkins King, a surgeon and bioethicist at Harvard Medical School. "And that's the problem."

The US Department of Health and Human Services issued guidance on July 11 reminding physicians of their responsibilities under the existing Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, or EMTLA, which supports the need to treat and stabilize patients in an emergency, including pregnant patients who may require an abortion. Days later, Texas sued the Biden administration over the law, which allows for medical assistance to save the life of the mother, because, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said, it "seeks to transform every emergency room in the country into a walk-in abortion clinic." 

On Tuesday, a judge in Texas blocked the EMTLA guidance, so physicians in that state may no longer be protected by federal law if they perform an abortion when they deem it medically necessary but it falls outside of Texas' interpretation of a life-endangering pregnancy. Physicians nationwide who are members of the American Association of Pro-Life Gynecologists and Obstetricians or the Christian Medical and Dental Association are also exempt -- a total of about 18,000 health care providers, according to the court document.

Texas' new trigger law -- which will be in effect on Aug. 25 -- bans all abortions except when the pregnancy puts the mother "at risk of death or poses a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function." Physicians who perform an illegal abortion will be committing a felony. It doesn't make exceptions for rape, incest or fetal abnormalities, and it also doesn't make an exception for when the pregnant person's risk of death would come from a "claim or diagnosis" that they'll be hurt or might die in the future. (This could be interpreted to mean a doctor can't provide an abortion if a woman threatens to die by suicide because she has depression.) All abortions are currently banned in Texas after the state's Supreme Court ruled that a law from the 1920s could stand.

Legal battles within some states will continue to shape post-Roe America, with the landscape changing by the day. And lawsuits like the one in Texas clarify the country's stance on whether state law preempts federal rule on abortion or reproductive health care. Basically, can federal regulations trump state law? 

"There's going to be cases that are going to have to determine this question," I. Glenn Cohen, a professor and bioethicist at Harvard Law School, said. 

The argument over medication abortion access -- which is banned or restricted in many states but still available to people if they order it (not without risk) online -- will likely also be one of the first big court cases post-Roe, Cohen said. Questions of whether federal regulations on medication abortion conflict directly enough with state restrictions will continue to be center stage.

Medication abortion, for use in early pregnancy, accounts for more than half of abortions in the US. Restricting the pills is the new frontier of abortion bans.

Robyn Beck/Getty Images

Other federal guidance issued by the Biden administration includes a reminder to pharmacists that they are required to fill medication and birth control prescriptions for patients. Failing to do so is discrimination based on pregnancy status. This was in response to the many reports of women having treatment delayed or prescriptions denied while health care workers try to  navigate around new state laws.

Here's what we know today.

Can states ban abortion pills? Not completely, but some are trying. 

Any state with a current total ban on abortion -- including Texas, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri and Wisconsin -- also bans medication abortion. Heavy restrictions in other states, including Tennessee and South Carolina, which ban abortion after about six weeks, also extend to medication abortion. This means providers can't prescribe the medication in those states and patients can't fill prescriptions at pharmacies.  

"If a state law bans abortion broadly, that includes medication abortions," Elisabeth Smith, director of state policy and advocacy at the Center for Reproductive Rights, told MedPage Today.

But abortion bans and state laws seek to punish abortion providers or people who assist them, not the person seeking the abortion (there's reason to believe this might change in the future). For now, people living in the most restrictive states can still order pills from an overseas pharmacy, including Aid Access. However, the pills could take awhile to arrive and potentially put the person past the point of pregnancy for which the medication is safe and effective (about 10 weeks).

Peter Dazeley/Getty Images

The fate of medication abortion pills in Republican-leaning states centers on mifepristone, the first pill given in the two-dose regimen of medication abortion. Because the US Food and Drug Administration approved mifepristone as a safe and effective way to end a pregnancy over 20 years ago, states shouldn't be able to restrict it, the US attorney general's office argued the same day Roe was overturned. (Misoprostol, the second pill, is used off-label for abortion and miscarriage treatment. It's also used to treat health conditions such as stomach ulcers.) 

Whether this federal regulation (and the FDA's stamp of approval) supersedes state laws will need to be decided. Cohen said this is likely to be determined by the Supreme Court as "one of the first post-Dobbs cases."

"It's unclear whether that's going to be a winner of an argument, to be perfectly honest," Cohen said.

Last year, the FDA extended a pandemic-era rule that allowed patients to get medication abortion pills through the mail, instead of requiring them to be prescribed in person. This was seen as a victory for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and other medical groups, which viewed the in-person requirement as unnecessary for a medication that's safe and effective in early pregnancy.   

But states have their own requirements for medication abortion, and providers licensed in Montana can't prescribe pills to patients who travel over from a restrictive state like South Dakota, NPR reported.

Read more: Worries About Post-Roe Data Privacy Put Spotlight on Period Apps  

Ectopic pregnancies can't result in a delivery and require medical treatment. Symptoms can start with typical pregnancy signs, including a missed period, but can progress to abdominal or pelvic pain, vaginal bleeding, weakness and more. 

Svetlana Gustova/Getty Images

Can states ban treatment for high risk pregnancies? The HHS says no, but doctors say state laws are restricting care.  

Even though the most restrictive states banning abortions leave room for some degree of medical emergency, practicing physicians need to decide where the medical emergency line is – and risk prosecution if a state sees it differently. 

This month, the story of a 10-year-old girl who was raped and pregnant and who traveled to Indiana from Ohio, where abortion is banned around six weeks without exception for rape or incest, made headlines. Not only was the physician publicly questioned by Indiana's attorney general on whether she followed state law, but Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said in the aftermath that the girl should've been able to legally get an abortion under the state law's medical emergency exemption. Ohio's OB-GYNs disagreed. 

"It states specifically 'medically diagnosed condition,' and as far as I can tell, adolescent pregnancy is not a medically diagnosed condition that's listed," Dr. Jason Sayat, a Columbus OB-GYN, told the Ohio Capital Journal. 

The Department of Health and Human Services reminded physicians and hospitals that if they want to keep their Medicare agreement and avoid "civil penalties," they must treat pregnant patients and provide abortions if necessary as required under the 1986 Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. The EMTLA, now blocked in Texas, outlines certain life-endangering pregnancies that doctors must treat regardless of state law, including ectopic pregnancies, preeclampsia and complications of pregnancy loss.

But that narrow line of abortion exceptions for medical emergencies given by states like Wisconsin is what's troubling Dr. Jennifer McIntosh, a maternal-fetal medicine physician practicing in the state. While Wisconsin's attorney general said he wouldn't enforce a ban, physicians there stopped performing abortions because the state has a pre-Roe criminal statute that prohibits most abortions. The "save the life of the mother" abortion exception language in that law can leave out health conditions which may not be an immediate emergency but can become one down the line. 

"Some of what we do is to prevent emergencies from happening," McIntosh said. "To have to wait for an emergency to actually appear puts your patient's life at risk."

The treatment for an ectopic pregnancy is termination, because terminating the pregnancy is the only safe outcome when an embryo grows outside of the uterus, typically in a fallopian tube. Without treatment, the fallopian tube is likely to rupture, which can lead to internal bleeding and death. But some laws, like one in Texas, specifically restrict medications including methotrexate, which has led to access problems for people who are pregnant as well as people who are taking methotrexate for another health reason. 

Complicating confusion and risk over how abortion bans will affect treatments for ectopic pregnancies is the fact that more rare types of ectopic pregnancies exist, including ones where the pregnancy is growing inside a C-section scar or other area outside the safety of the main cavity of the uterus -- but still technically in the uterus. These rarer kinds of ectopic pregnancies are also life-threatening, and may be more difficult to diagnose and treat as such in a state that bans abortions with an emphasis on the pregnancy being in the uterus.

Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

States are not prosecuting people who have abortions (yet)

Current state laws -- both those in effect and those in limbo in court -- prosecute other people involved in an abortion, not the person who's pregnant. 

But the health impact may be already felt when a doctor is hesitant to treat patients, or pharmacists are reluctant to fill a prescription for mifepristone before interviewing a woman to ascertain whether her pregnancy is already ended and her situation is in line with state law.

"Even in these straightforward cases of basic OB/GYN practice, the laws leave providers questioning and afraid," Dr. Carley Zeal, an OB-GYN in Wisconsin, told The New York Times. "These laws are already hurting my patients."

Aside from hesitancy among health care providers, physicians also fear that worries people have about being prosecuted for having an abortion or miscarriage will stop patients experiencing complications from any kind of pregnancy loss from seeking care. 

That's because it was already happening, before Roe was overturned. According to the National Advocates for Pregnant Women, there were over 1,700 arrests or prosecutions of women from 1973 (when Roe became law) to 2020 where their pregnancies were the focus of the case against them. 

So will doctors report you if they suspect you had an abortion? 

"The vast majority of health care professionals will not do that, because that's not caring for their patients," King said. But, she added, "I'm sure there's a very small, but unfortunately detrimental, minority who might." 

Your current access to birth control shouldn't be impacted by the overturn of Roe v. Wade. However, there's reason to believe that could change in the future.

Carol Yepes/Getty Images

Birth control is still protected under the Affordable Care Act

Right now, IUDs, birth control pills and other birth control methods are legal in all 50 states. And they should also be covered at no out-of-pocket cost for those covered under the Affordable Care Act. The right to birth control is protected under two Supreme Court rulings: Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) and Eisenstadt v. Baird. (Another Supreme Court Case, Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, chipped away a little of that protection, however, finding that some corporations are exempt for religious reasons.) 

Plan B or "morning after pill" brands are also not included in abortion bans, because they will not end an existing pregnancy. Most health plans should also cover them. 

Legislators in Missouri last year voted to block taxpayer funding for IUDs and emergency contraception, casting doubt that all birth control devices will be protected indefinitely, at least in some states. The claims of legislators like Paul Wieland, a Republican state senator in Missouri, are that anything that has the potential to disrupt a fertilized egg's implantation into the uterus is an abortifacient. 

The medical community has been clear that IUDs and emergency contraception do not cause abortions and will not end an existing pregnancy. Copper IUDs work mostly by causing a chemical change in the sperm and egg before they meet, according to the World Health Organization. Hormonal IUDs like Mirena work mostly by thickening cervical mucus so sperm can't reach the egg, and can also prevent ovulation. Plan B and similar pills likely won't work if a person has already ovulated, meaning the chances of it stopping implantation are currently understood to be slim.

Nevertheless, unlikely occurrences or instances where a fertilized egg may be prevented from implanting into a uterus could be called into question in future court cases.

Read more: Could a Post Roe v. Wade World Impact Your Access to Birth Control?   

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.

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8K TV Explained, and Why You Definitely Don't Need to Buy One

8K TV Explained, and Why You Definitely Don't Need to Buy One

Believe it or not, 8K TVs are available right now. Yep, 8K, as in four times the resolution of Ultra HD 4K TVs. You can, if you really want to, buy models from Samsung, Sony, LG and TCL in a variety of sizes. As you'd expect from cutting-edge technology with over 30 million pixels, the prices are quite high. In most cases 8K TVs cost more than a high-end, and often higher-quality, 4K TV. 

Should you consider an 8K TV? Are they the best TVs out there? In a word: No. In two words: Not yet. You're better off getting a high-quality 4K TV for far less money. It will look better with 99.9% of the content you put on it. That said, 8K is here, and it's not going away, so it's worth taking a closer look. You'll need to look very close, as those pixels are tiny. 

Eventually 8K will be far more mainstream. It's possible 4K will go the way of all those lower resolutions, and be relegated to tech history. Does this mean your 4K TV is already obsolete? Should you wait to buy a new TV until 8K prices drop? Do you need an 8K TV for the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X? Read on for the answer to all these questions and more.

Read more:  PS5 and Xbox Series X Can Game in 8K Resolution. Should You Care?

This shows the relative number of pixels in each of the major resolution formats. Not actual size of course; this is a chart not a visual representation (though it is to scale if you click on it). From largest to smallest: 8K (tangerine), 4K Cinema in 1.78:1 aspect ratio (black); Ultra HD (white); 2K Cinema in 1.78:1 aspect ratio (green); Full HD 1080p (red); 720p (blue). For more detail, pun intended, check out 4K vs. 8K vs. 1080p: TV resolutions explained.

Geoffrey Morrison/CNET

Is it worth buying an 8K TV?

Here's a quick summary of our current thinking regarding 8K TVs in early 2022.

• Unless you have money to burn, don't even consider buying one right now.
  
• From what we've seen, there's little, if any, image quality improvement over 4K TVs.
  
• Any improvement we have seen required sitting very close to a very large screen.
  
• To get the most out of any 8K TV, you need actual 8K content (and there basically isn't any).
• Both new consoles promise 8K resolution, but that's potentially misleading.
• In the next few years 8K TVs will get cheaper and perhaps actually be worth considering.

To reiterate, one of the biggest reasons 8K TVs are not as amazing as you might expect, besides their price, is that there simply aren't any 8K TV shows or movies to watch on them. And while the latest gaming consoles will eventually do 8K (maybe), 8K games today are basically nonexistent. The best you can get in most cases is 4K, so all those extra pixels of an 8K TV won't be used to their fullest potential. 

Now that you've slid your wallet back into your pocket, sit back and soak in everything there is to know about 8K TVs today. 

Read more: Remember When TVs Weighed 200 Pounds? A Look Back at TV Trends Over the Years

What is 8K, and is it better than a 4K TV?

A traditional HDTV from a few years ago is 1080p, which means it has 1,920 pixels horizontally and 1,080 vertically. Many digital cinema projectors -- the ones in movie theaters -- have a resolution of 2,048x1,080. Because it's common in Hollywood-speak to only refer to the horizontal resolution, they call that "2K," but it's basically the same as the HDTV 1080p you have at home.

Mathias Appel/HDMI Licensing

The term "4K" comes from the digital cinema side, too, with a horizontal resolution of 4,096, hence "4K." However, on the TV side, manufacturing efficiencies meant we got double the horizontal and vertical resolutions of 1080p HDTV, so 3,840x2,160 pixels. Everyone colloquially calls this "4K," though the technical term is Ultra HD. This has four times as many pixels as 1080p HD.

Which brings us to 8K. You guessed it: twice the horizontal and vertical resolution of 4K, for a whopping 7,680x4,320 and 33,177,600 total pixels. Not only is that four times the resolution of 4K, that's an incredible 16 times more pixels than 1080p. Or to put that differently, you could put 16 full-resolution 1080p videos on an 8K screen at the same time with no loss of quality. I'm not sure why you'd want to do this, but hey, why not?

Read more: 4K vs. 8K vs. 1080p: TV Resolutions Explained

TV and projector resolutions

Resolution name	Horizontal x vertical pixels	Total pixels	Other names	Found on
8K	7,680x4,320	33,177,600	8K Ultra HD, Ultra High Definition (UHD), Super Hi-Vision, UHD-2	High-end TVs
4K	3,840x2,160	8,294,400	Ultra High Definition (UHD)	Most modern TVs, some projectors
1080p	1,920x1,080	2,073,600	High Definition (HD)	Smaller, less expensive and older TVs, most projectors
720p	1,280x720	921,600	High Definition (HD)	Very small and older TVs

The Consumer Technology Association's 8K Ultra HD logo.

CTA

One thing to look for in new 8K TVs: It will feature the official logo and "spec" on new 8K TVs. This goes beyond raw pixel count to help you find TVs that perform to at least a certain standard. This is partly to avoid the mess from the early days of HD and 4K, where some of the first TVs couldn't accept a full HD or later, a 4K signal. The Consumer Technology Association lays out the following minimums a TV is required to have to wear the 8K Ultra HD logo:

• At least 7,680 pixels horizontally and 4,320 vertically. 
  
• At least one HDMI input capable of accepting that resolution, at 50 or 60 fps (depending on region), with HDR. 
• The ability to upconvert lower resolution signals to 8K.
• The ability to receive and display 10-bit content.

Can the human eye even see 8K?

Technically yes it can, but the difference will be very subtle at best.

As we've explained many times with 4K TVs, there's a point of diminishing returns when it comes to resolution. The human eye can see only so much detail, and extra pixels beyond what you can discern are basically wasted. To get anything out of higher resolutions and their proportionally tinier pixels, you need to sit closer, get a bigger TV, or both.

It's rare that anyone gets a large enough TV -- or sits close enough to one -- to justify the need for even 4K resolutions. 8K is excessive overkill... at least for a TV. If you're talking about massive theater-size screens like Samsung's Wall or Sony's Crystal LED, 8K would be amazing. But since 4K is hard to discern when comparing to a 1080p TV, 4K to 8K from 10 feet away will be pretty much impossible.

That said, because 8K TVs are currently the most expensive offerings from most companies, they often have features which help them produce stunning images that are completely divorced from resolution. So most 8K TVs, with the likely exception of the "cheap" models, will usually look great regardless of their pixel count.

Read more: Best 4K Projectors for 2022

TCL's 65-inch 8K 6-Series TV. 

TCL

8K content: Can I actually watch anything in 8K?

Without 8K content, an 8K TV is just a 4K TV with a few thousand dollars stuck to it with duct tape. Samsung talks up fancy "AI" upscaling technology on its TVs, designed to improve the look of mere 4K and 1080p sources on an 8K screen. And other TV makers like Sony and LG have touted their own 8K special sauces. But to get the most out of all those 33 million-plus pixels, the incoming source needs to be 8K too.

There are three main aspects to getting any new format, like 8K, into your home:

1. Content recorded in the new format

2. Transmission of the new format (broadcast, streaming, etc.)

3. Playback of the new format

An 8K TV represents the last part of the system: playback. That's the easy part. Any TV manufacturer can design and produce a TV with any resolution it wants. It's just up to the company and its resources.

Creating content in the new resolution, meanwhile, is a lot tougher. While the number of 8K-capable cameras has dramatically increased in the last few years, they're still expensive to buy or rent. In most cases, these cameras are used to create 4K content instead. There are lots of reasons it's a great idea to capture in 8K. The end result, however, is 4K, because of the second part of the process (transmission).

Read more: How I Built My Dream 8K-Capable Video Editing PC

The Red Monstro 8K VV "Brain" has a 35.4-megapixel CMOS sensor, can record 8K video at 60 fps, has over 17 stops of dynamic range, and costs -- brace yourself -- $54,500. 

Red

Ultra HD 4K transmission takes a lot of data. You need a really fast internet connection to stream it. Streaming 8K is a whole other level, well beyond what many have in their homes. With only a tiny percentage of their audience able to see it, mainstream streaming services are slow to adopt higher resolutions, with the increase in cost of storage, processing and more. 

Which is all to say, don't expect 8K versions of your favorite streaming shows anytime soon. And without 8K content, the main benefit of an 8K TV is at least partially wasted.

Do I need 8K to play Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5 games?

Both Sony and Microsoft have announced that their next-generation gaming consoles, the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X, will both be capable of outputting 8K resolution via future updates. Sounds like a great excuse to buy an 8K TV, right? Not so fast.

First, and most important, you will not need an 8K TV to play games on these consoles. They will work just fine on most 1080p and nearly all 4K TVs. If you can connect a PS4 or Xbox One to your current TV, it will work with a PS5 or Xbox Series X. 

Read more: Sony PS5 vs. Microsoft Xbox Series X: Game On

Secondly, games will need to be specifically written to take advantage of 8K, something that isn't going to be particularly common. The resolution you see on screen, even if your TV says it's 8K, might not be what resolution the console is rendering the game. It will likely be far more common for the console to build the game's visuals at a lower resolution, 1440p or 4K at best, and convert to 8K to send your TV. This is the same thing your TV does automatically.

Andrew Hoyle/CNET

A Sony spokesperson confirmed that this FAQ, published on the PlayStation blog in November 2020, was still the case: "PS5 is compatible with 8K displays at launch, and after a future system software update will be able to output resolutions up to 8K when content is available, with supported software." We're still waiting for that update.

"Xbox Series X is fully capable of 8K output. However, as there is no media content or games that currently support 8K resolution, we have not enabled the option within the system settings at this time. Xbox Series X was designed with the next 8 to 10 years of advancements in mind, and as we see signals from creators and 8K becomes a more widely adopted format, we will update console software to support it," a Microsoft spokesperson said.

Long story short, few games will look much different on an 8K TV than they will on a 4K TV. There is limited time and money when you develop a game (well, most games), and few developers will want to invest those limited resources on something only a handful of people will be able to enjoy. Far more likely are games rendered in 4K with higher frame rates, something else made possible by the latest version of HDMI and available on the new consoles.

Read more:  120Hz Gaming: Best TVs for PS5 and Xbox Series X

Where can I stream 8K? Do Netflix or YouTube support it?

Getting the 8K onto your new 8K TV is also a bit of a challenge. Ideally, the TV's internal apps for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and the rest will be 8K compatible. You'd think that'd be a given, but it wasn't in the early days of 4K. Further, there's no 8K content from any major streaming service available yet. The exceptions are YouTube, as you see in the video below, Vimeo and a new service called The Explorers exclusive to 8K Roku TVs. Eventually, ATSC 3.0, also known as Next Gen TV, might allow 8K to be broadcast over the air, but we're a long way from that.

How fast does your internet need to be to stream 8K?

8K also presents another issue for the early adopter: The bandwidth required is immense. Most 4K content streaming companies recommend you have an internet connection in the 20Mbps range. 8K, even with everything else the same, has four times as many pixels. 

That doesn't equate exactly to a 4x increase in data or bandwidth, but, and this is just a ballpark guess, a connection requirement in the 40 to 50Mbps range wouldn't be unexpected. Maybe you, cutting-edge CNET reader, have that kind of speed, but most people do not.

A visual representation of how much more bandwidth the upcoming Ultra High Speed cables can handle.

HDMI Forum

What kind of HDMI cable do I need for 8K? 

One thing we've already got is the physical connection thing sorted in case any 8K media streamers hit the market or they're needed for the PS5 and Xbox Series X. HDMI 2.1 is capable of 8K resolutions and more. But before you rush out and stock up on HDMI 2.1-compatible cables, keep in mind there will almost certainly be a new standard between now and the wide adoption of 8K. So those cables might be obsolete, despite their current forward-looking appearance.

All of the major 8K TV makers say that their sets have HDMI 2.1 inputs capable of handling the 48Mbps bandwidth required for the highest resolution and frame-rate combinations (8K and 60 frames per second and 4K at 120 fps). We also got a look at some new, higher-bandwidth HDMI cables. 

To take advantage of higher 4K frame rates on the new consoles, presuming your TV can handle them, you might need new cables.

Read more: When is the Best Time to Buy a TV?

Is 8K TV a gimmick?

To put on my cynic hat, increasing resolution is one of the easiest ways to offer the appearance of higher performance. This is likely what TV makers are smoking, coming out with 8K TVs when there's essentially no content and no 8K infrastructure. 

Given how easy it was to market 4K as "better looking than 1080p," TV makers are claiming the same thing with 8K. But resolution is just one aspect of overall picture quality, and not one of the most important ones. Improving other aspects, such as contrast ratios, overall brightness for HDR, more lifelike colors and so on, offer better image improvements but they are significantly harder to implement. This is especially true for LCD, which is a technology Samsung is still strongly flogging -- e.g. all of its QLED TVs are simply LCD TVs with quantum dots. 

It's relatively easy to create a higher-resolution LCD panel, but improving the other aspects of performance for that tech is a greater challenge. Not "more" pixels but "better" pixels. This is why OLED is a thing, and why many companies are researching new technologies like true direct-view quantum dot displays, MicroLED, and mini-LED. Samsung is even coming out with an OLED-quantum dot hybrid that promises to combine the contrast ratio of OLED and the bright colors of quantum dot-based displays. These technologies, regardless of resolution, should look better than 8K TVs, which are currently only LCD-based. 

Well, except for LG's OLED, which costs $20-$30,000 depending on size.

Direct-view quantum dot display.

Nanosys

Bottom line: Don't wait for 8K

If you're thinking about buying a new TV, does this mean you should hold off? If your current TV works, you should probably hold on to it regardless. New 8K TVs shouldn't be a factor, because as we mentioned above, early 8K TVs are expensive. We're also many, many years away from any sort of widespread 8K content. We arguably don't have widespread 4K content, and no one is talking about scrapping 4K to go directly to 8K.

The other aspect is a warning that will be seconded by countless 4K early adopters: There's no guarantee these early 8K TVs will end up being compatible with any future 8K standard. There are tens of thousands of 4K TVs that can't play any current 4K media content. 

Lastly, even as prices drop, like they have with the $2,200 TCL 8K 6-series, you're almost certainly better off with a 4K TV for the same money. It offers better picture quality overall and only lacks the bragging rights that you have more pixels than your neighbor. But if that's your thing, go for it.

Update, March 14, 2022: This article was first published in 2018 and is regularly updated with new info.

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As well as covering TV and other display tech, Geoff does photo tours of cool museums and locations around the world, including nuclear submarines, massive aircraft carriers, medieval castles, epic 10,000 mile road trips, and more. Check out Tech Treks for all his tours and adventures.

He wrote a bestselling sci-fi novel about city-size submarines, along with a sequel. You can follow his adventures on Instagram and his YouTube channel.

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Will Fed Continue to Push Interest Rates Up? Here's What the Latest Inflation Stats Tell Us

Will Fed Continue to Push Interest Rates Up? Here's What the Latest Inflation Stats Tell Us

This story is part of Recession Help Desk, CNET's coverage of how to make smart money moves in an uncertain economy.

What's happening

Inflation remained unchanged in July. If prices remain steady, or decrease, throughout August, the Fed may slow the rollout of interest rate hikes.

Why it matters

If the Fed continues to drive up interest rates, there will be consequences -- most likely an uptick in unemployment, and an increase in interest rates for mortgages, credit cards and loans.

What it means for you

Soaring consumer prices, tumbling stocks, increased costs to borrow money and the threat of layoffs could prove particularly devastating for low- and middle-income Americans.

The Consumer Price Index showed that inflation slowed in July, though prices remain at record highs, with significant upticks in food and shelter over the last month. The Federal Reserve has been on a crusade to cool rising prices since the end of last year, but it's too soon to say whether -- in light of inflation's slowing pace in July -- we're seeing the fruits of its labor. 

The Federal Reserve's next meeting is in September, and Fed Chair Jerome Powell has said he anticipates additional rate increases throughout the year. But, depending on inflation's pace over the next month, that could change. If inflation improves significantly in August, the Fed may slow the rollout of interest rate hikes -- or, at least, raise interest rates by a smaller amount, compared to the two previous hikes.

Raising interest rates is the main action the Fed can take to try to counter high inflation. When it costs more to borrow -- as with credit cards, mortgages and other loans -- consumers have less spending power and will buy fewer items, decreasing the "demand" side of the supply-demand equation, theoretically helping to lower prices. 

Experts worry that further increases to the cost of borrowing money could contract the economy too much, sending us into a recession: a shrinking, rather than growing, economy. The Fed acknowledges the adverse effects of this restrictive monetary policy.

"We are highly attentive to inflation risks and determined to take the measures necessary to return inflation to our 2% longer run goal," Powell said during July's press conference. "This process is likely to involve a period of below-trend economic growth, and some softening in labor market conditions. But such outcomes are likely necessary to restore price stability and to set the stage for maximum employment and stable prices over the longer run."

As rates rise and inflation continues to swell, you may be wondering how we got here. We'll break down everything you need to know about what's causing record high inflation and how the Fed hopes to bring levels back down.

What's going on with inflation?

In July, inflation surged to 8.5% over the previous year, a slight decline from June's 9.1% reading, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Gas prices declined significantly by 7.7% in July, but that was offset by increasing prices of food and shelter. Food increased by 1.1% last month, the latest in several month's worth of price increases.

During periods of high inflation, your dollar has less purchasing power, making everything you buy more expensive, even though you're likely not getting paid more. In fact, more Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, and wages aren't keeping up with inflation rates. 

Why is inflation so high right now?

In short, a lot of this can be attributed to the pandemic. In March 2020, the onset of COVID-19 caused the US economy to shut down. Millions of employees were laid off, many businesses had to close their doors and the global supply chain was abruptly put on pause. This caused the flow of goods produced and manufactured abroad and shipped to the US to cease for at least two weeks, and in many cases, for months, according to Pete Earle, an economist at the American Institute for Economic Research.

But the reduction in supply was met with increased demand as Americans started purchasing durable goods to replace the services they used prior to the pandemic, said Josh Bivens, director of research at the Economic Policy Institute. "The pandemic put distortions on both the demand and supply side of the US economy," Bivens said. 

Though the immediate impacts of COVID-19 on the US economy are easing, labor disruptions and supply-and-demand imbalances persist, including shortages in microchips, steel, equipment and other goods, causing ongoing slowdowns in manufacturing and construction. Unanticipated shocks to the global economy have made things worse -- particularly subsequent COVID-19 variants, lockdowns in China (which restrict the availability of goods in the US) and the war in Ukraine (which is affecting gas and food prices), according to the World Bank.

Powell confirmed the World Bank's findings at the Fed's June meeting, calling these external factors challenging because they are outside of the central bank's control. 

Some lawmakers have also accused corporations of seizing on inflation as an excuse to increase prices more than necessary, a form of price gouging.

Why is the Federal Reserve raising rates?

With inflation hitting record highs, the Fed is under a great deal of pressure from policymakers and consumers to get the situation under control. One of the Fed's primary objectives is to promote price stability and maintain inflation at a rate of 2%. 

By raising interest rates, the Fed aims to slow down the economy by making borrowing more expensive. In turn, consumers, investors and businesses pause on making investments and purchases with credit, which leads to reduced economic demand, theoretically reeling in prices and balancing the scales of supply and demand. 

The Fed raised the federal funds rate by a quarter of a percentage point in March, followed by a half of a percentage point in May and three-quarters of a percentage point in mid-June. In July, the Fed raised rates by another three-quarters of a percentage point. 

The federal funds rate is the interest rate that banks charge each other for borrowing and lending. And there's a trickle-down effect: When it costs banks more to borrow from one another, they offset it by raising rates on their consumer loan products. That's how the Fed effectively drives up interest rates in the US economy. 

The federal funds rate now sits at a range of 2.25% to 2.5%. But the Fed thinks this needs to go up significantly to see progress on inflation, likely into the 3.5% to 4% range, according to Powell. The Fed's latest estimate is that, by the end of this year, the federal funds rate will sit at a range of 3.25% to 3.50%.

However, hiking interest rates can only reduce inflationary pressures so much, especially when the current factors are largely on the supply side -- and are worldwide. A growing number of economists say that the situation is more complicated to get under control, and that the Fed's monetary policy alone is not enough.

Could rising interest rates spark a recession?

We can't yet determine how these policy moves will broadly affect prices and wages. But with more rate hikes projected this year, there's concern that the Fed will overreact by raising rates too aggressively, which could spark a more painful economic downturn or create a recession. 

The National Bureau of Economic Research, which hasn't yet officially determined if the US is in a recession, defines a recession as "a significant decline in economic activity that is spread across the economy and lasts more than a few months." That means a declining gross domestic product, or GDP, alongside diminishing production and retail sales, as well as shrinking incomes and lower employment. 

Pushing up rates too quickly might reduce consumer demand too much and unduly stifle economic growth, leading businesses to lay off workers or stop hiring. That would drive up unemployment, leading to another problem for the Fed, as it's also tasked with maintaining maximum employment. 

In a general sense, inflation and unemployment have an inverse relationship. When more people are working, they have the means to spend, leading to an increase in demand and elevated prices. However, when inflation is low, joblessness tends to be higher. But with prices remaining sky-high, many investors are increasingly worried about a coming period of stagflation -- the toxic combination of slow economic growth with high unemployment and inflation. 

Here's what higher interest rates mean for you

For the past two years, interest rates had been at historic lows, partially because the Fed slashed rates in 2020 to keep the US economy afloat in the face of lockdowns. The Fed kept interest rates near zero, a move made only once before, during the financial crisis of 2008. 

For the average consumer, increased interest rates means buying a car or a home will get more expensive, since you'll pay more in interest. Higher rates could make it more expensive to refinance your mortgage or student loans. Moreover, the Fed hikes will drive up interest rates on credit cards, meaning that your debt on outstanding balances will go up. 

Securities and crypto markets could also be negatively impacted by the Fed's decisions to raise rates. When interest rates go up, money is more expensive to borrow, leading to less liquidity in both the crypto and stock markets. Investor psychology can also cause markets to slide, as cautious investors may move their money out of stocks or crypto into more conservative investments, such as government bonds.

On the flip side, rising interest rates could mean a slightly better return on your savings accounts. Interest rates on savings deposits are directly affected by the federal funds rate. Several banks have already increased annual percentage yields, or APYs, on their savings accounts and certificates of deposit in the wake of the Fed's rate hikes.

We'll keep you updated on the evolving economic situation as it develops.

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Tesla Solar Panels Review: Cheaper Than Other National Players

Tesla Solar Panels Review: Cheaper Than Other National Players

Like

• Low prices and a price match guarantee
• Quality equipment
• Lower profile panels

Don't Like

• Anecdotally, customer service can be poor
• Four set sizes limits flexibility
• Fewer equipment options

More and more homeowners are turning to rooftop solar panels as a way to save money or address climate change. But solar panels represent a huge financial investment. While there are dozens of solar panel providers and installers around the country, it's worth looking at the major players.

Although most people likely know Tesla as an electric car company, it took a major step into the solar business with its 2016 purchase of the solar company SolarCity, which was founded by cousins of Tesla CEO Elon Musk. It now installs solar panels and its unique Solar Roof in at least parts of 25 states and promises to match the prices of its competitors.

Tesla is one of the largest solar installers in the United States (though it's no longer one of the three largest, Wood Mackenzie reported). Tesla gave ground to companies with more aggressive sales tactics, opting for an online-only sales method that feels less pushy. It backs its already low prices with a price match guarantee.

Tesla offers low-profile solar panels and are likely cheaper than those from other national companies.

Tesla

Those guaranteed low prices, matched with quality panels, batteries and inverters means Tesla likely offers more solar power for less money than other national players. Tesla customers might lose some of that value in customer service. While customer satisfaction ratings don't exist for the still relatively new solar industry, anecdotal evidence suggestsTesla may be skimpingon customer service after purchase.

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Tesla is a good option for someone who wants the most solar for the least amount of money, even if it means some challenges elsewhere. While we weren't able to test a Tesla solar installation or the customer's experience, if you value customer service you're likely to have a better experience with a different provider. Note also that the US Security and Exchange Commission is investigating a whistleblower claim that Tesla misled customers and regulators when fixing fire hazards in its solar panel systems. More on that below.

It's difficult to compare solar providers, since each rooftop installation is unique. It will perform differently based on everything from the orientation of your roof to nearby tree cover to local weather from one day to the next. Below, I'll give you the essential information about Tesla's solar panels and, where possible, let you know how it stacks up to the competition. I'll stick with Tesla's panels here, and write up the Solar Roof in its own article since it's so unique. 

Read more: Solar Panels vs. Tesla Solar Roof: Biggest Differences Broken Down

What do I get from Tesla solar panels?

Tesla offers four sizes of solar panel installations measured in kilowatts: 4.8, 9.6, 14.4 and 19.2kW. Tesla allows you to package your solar panel purchase with a Powerwall, its well-regarded battery system that can store power for use during surge pricing, outages or after the sun sets.

As you might expect, Tesla boasts about its panels' sleek, low-profile design. To my eye, Tesla's installations are indeed less obtrusive than others. If that's important to you, Tesla has an advantage here.

Unless you're really particular about who manufactures your panels, what's really important is how long they'll last and how well they'll work. Tesla's warranty says your panels are guaranteed to work at 85% capacity after 25 years or it will replace them. That's roughly in line with other major companies, though stronger than some.

Tesla's solar panels have maximum efficiency ratings that range from 19.3% to 20.6%, which compare favorably with other panels (though slightly higher-efficiency panels are available).

Tesla's first foray into solar power was not with panels, but with storage. Its Powerwall battery is still one of the top choices in the industry, to the point that other major solar companies offer the Powerwall with their installations.

Tesla's warranty says your panels are guaranteed to work at 80% capacity for 25 years or it will replace them. 

Tesla, Inc.

Powerwall can hold 14 kilowatt-hours of energy. Tesla says it has the ability to power most appliances, though full use of larger 240-volt appliances like air conditioners and clothes dryers may require more batteries. How long 14 kilowatt-hours lasts depends on how much energy you use, but if you avoid using energy-intensive appliances like washers, dryers or air conditioners, it should last you a couple of days at least. (Keep in mind your solar panels will provide power during the day and possibly recharge your Powerwall, weather permitting.) Powerwall can provide 5 kilowatts of energy continuously or 7 kilowatts for a short peak.

Powerwall's warranty guarantees that the battery will hold at least 70% of its rated capacity after 10 years (or after you've cycled 37.8 megawatt hours through it).

You can install Powerwall batteries indoors and outside of your home. They're roughly 6 inches deep, 2 and a half feet wide and almost 4 feet tall, so they shouldn't be difficult to tuck away somewhere.

The final bit of hardware is the Tesla solar inverter, which converts the direct current electricity your panels generate into alternating current that your house can use. A key metric here is efficiency. Tesla's solar inverter operates at 97.5% or 98% efficiency, according to the company. That puts it near the top end of what's typical. It comes with a 12.5-year warranty.

When everything is up and running, you can monitor it all from the slick-looking app Tesla offers its users. Via the app you can monitor your energy production and usage. If you have a Powerwall, you can also customize how it operates. You can set how much charge you'd like your Powerwall to reserve for outages, boost its reserve when a storm is approaching, and adjust when you draw energy from your Powerwall based on time of day. The app has a 4-star rating on Google Play and a 3.8 in the App Store.

Are Tesla solar panels a good deal?

Each of Tesla's four offerings compare favorably to national averages for value measured in dollars per watt. According to the consulting firm Wood Mackenzie, the average cost of residential solar in the United States in 2021 was $3.28 per watt.

Tesla's online estimates usually come in well below that amount, even including one Powerwall (or two with the 19.2 kilowatt option). With the suggested storage options and the federal tax credit (30% of the cost if you install through 2031), Tesla's estimates range from $3.18 per watt for the smallest option down to $2.18 per watt for the largest. If you remove the suggested Powerwall batteries, the estimates come to $1.49 per watt for each size. 

These prices are well-below the information available for other national providers, though they may not be the final cost. Your $100 refundable deposit only starts the process. You may need to upgrade your electrical main panel or pay extra for hiding the conduit from your solar panels. Tesla has also suddenly changed solar panel prices in the recent past. 

Tesla will match any installer who quotes you a lower price. If that quote comes within 14 days and is for an array of the same size or larger, Tesla will match the price on a dollar-per-watt basis. All you need to do is to email them the quote and your Tesla reservation number.

Tesla offers fewer choices than some other installers. While others might offer Tesla's Powerwall and another brand or size of battery, Tesla only offers Powerwall. Because your energy needs will vary from others, you might find a better fit for your needs with another company.

In early December, Reuters reported the SEC was investigating a whistleblower's claims that Tesla failed to notify customers of an issue that may have caused some solar arrays installed before 2018 to catch fire. The company launched Project Titan in 2018 to fix the issues, but was not upfront about the reason and did not offer to shut down solar panels to decrease the risks. Several of its solar customers have sued Tesla over fires. The SEC said that the ongoing investigation into Tesla does not mean it has found that Tesla broke the law, Reuters reported. Tesla does not operate a press office to handle requests for comment.

Read more: Your Solar Panels Can Make You Money. Find Out When and How

Does Tesla operate in my state? How do I order?

The only surefire way to know if Tesla's solar panels are available in your area is plug your address into its website and check. I found services in parts of 25 states. That means it's available in a few more states than some of the other major solar companies, like Trinity and Sunrun, though SunPower serves more. (Tesla's service areas for solar panels and solar roofs are not identical. It's possible that solar roofs are available through a certified installer where panels are not.)

The ordering process is fairly straightforward: Enter your address. Enter your average monthly electricity cost. Tesla will then spit out a suggested solar array and number of Powerwall batteries. It also provides an estimated cost and a visual mockup (though not of your house). You can add or remove solar panels and Powerwalls from your order and see how it will affect your estimated electricity usage and storage capabilities.

When you're satisfied with your setup, you can place your order with a refundable deposit of $100.

From here, you'll need to submit your utility bill and take a few pictures of your roof. Tesla uses that information and satellite imagery to design your system. 

While it may seem strange that Tesla doesn't send someone out to view your roof before designing your solar system, the idea here is to reduce costs. (While the price-per-watt cost of residential solar is falling, the price of panels, inverters and other hardware is falling faster than the soft costs like labor and site visits.)

Tesla solar panel services are available in parts of 25 states.

Tesla

At this point, you'll sign a contract and installation moves ahead largely as it would with any installer. Permits are pulled. Tesla sets an install date (which can be rescheduled). A local team puts panels on your roof.

Your installation may be subcontracted to a certified installer. Tesla has in-house installation teams, but more and more it's relying on third-party installers to expand the reach of its tech. In particular, it certifies installers for the Powerwall and its other solar option, Solar Roof.

Although Tesla did not respond to requests for confirmation about its selection process for install teams, this is information you should be provided before you sign your contract, if it's important to you. 

You have a couple of backstops, too. You can cancel your contract within up to three days after you sign. Also, your final payment isn't due until the newly installed system passes an inspection by your local authority. You also have the option to return your system for up to seven days after it's fully functional. Some work won't be refunded or returned (like a Powerwall installation) and Tesla won't make cosmetic repairs to your roof after it removes panels. What is or isn't returnable and refundable will be detailed in your Energy Products Order Agreement, which you should read carefully before signing.

Is Tesla the best choice?

As with any major purchase, you should get multiple quotes from multiple companies. Make sure they answer all your questions and provide the information you need. While Tesla doesn't have a press office, its customer service representatives were easy to get in touch with and seemed knowledgeable. Still, it shouldn't be your only call.

If you're looking for the lowest prices and the backing of a national brand, Tesla is the way to go. Tesla's price match means it will always be competitive in terms of cost. Likewise, the estimates it provides online (which are only estimates) come in well below the national average. If the look of your panels is really important, Tesla's do sit closer to the roof and look sharp. Tesla also offers more information up front about its warranty than some of the other players. Still, make sure you can view it in detail before committing.

The Powerwall is widely considered an industry leader in batteries. It sets the Tesla's equipment apart, but it's also available from some other installers.

There is very little reliable customer service and satisfaction information for the solar industry. Tesla Solar doesn't have a score on with the Better Business Bureau (which companies receive only if they pay a fee), but anecdotally Tesla's customer service for solar is bad enough in cases to make some people regret their purchase. It's customer service call center was responsive and it's not hard to find customer service complaints for any of the major solar installers, but the complaints about Tesla seem louder and more numerous.

It's also important to note that I researched this as deeply as was practical and tried to provide the clearest answers, but I didn't go through the purchasing process, interact with customer service as a buyer or base my assessment of Tesla's performance on any first-hand experience. This category is a hard one to review in the traditional sense, so if possible, you'll want to make sure to get multiple estimates from the different providers in your area before you make a purchase decision.

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