Correct my knowledge of LCD televisions!

SideWinder · 4 Nov 2008 at 22:22

Right, i need to be set correct...i have always been lead to believe the following:

Samsung are one of the best brands, they create the Sony screens and create their own screens. Best in terms of overall money/quality.
Panasonic are equally as good as Samsung over the last year or so.
LG, the 'VW' of the LCD world as they are quite reliable but pretty standard.
Sony, pay a lot for the brand and the Bravia engine being quite old?
Sharp, one of the best backlights so very bright.

So i'm a bit unsure...can anyone correct me, put me straight or whatever? Or is it extremely difficult to place brands into certain 'groups'?

ethan · 4 Nov 2008 at 22:38

Well I'm in the minority-liking Samsung series six and above. I assume there are other comparable brands and so compare and then define by price

-Ad- · 4 Nov 2008 at 22:45

SideWinder said:
Right, i need to be set correct...i have always been lead to believe the following:

Samsung are one of the best brands, they create the Sony screens and create their own screens. Best in terms of overall money/quality.

Samsung provide the panels for sony tvs, but sony processing and electronics are better, so is their build.

Panasonic are equally as good as Samsung over the last year or so.

Panasonic have always been good at making tvs, their LCDs are pretty damn good if a little overpriced, but their plasmas are the best bang for buck out there.

LG, the 'VW' of the LCD world as they are quite reliable but pretty standard.

LG are more like fiat or peugot than VW. They can produce good pictures, but Im talking about their PG6000 plasma, otherwise nothing to write home about.

Sony, pay a lot for the brand and the Bravia engine being quite old?

They have BE and BE2, don't know what the do exactly, but its theirs.

Sharp, one of the best backlights so very bright.

Lol don't know that, but it doesn't mean jack ass LCDs normally have too much of everything. Sharp also have banding problems.

So i'm a bit unsure...can anyone correct me, put me straight or whatever? Or is it extremely difficult to place brands into certain 'groups'?

Just get a good plasma and be done with it for a main tv. Get an LCD for pc monitor or sole game usage.

Grimley · 4 Nov 2008 at 22:48

SideWinder said:
Right, i need to be set correct...i have always been lead to believe the following:

Samsung are one of the best brands, they create the Sony screens and create their own screens. Best in terms of overall money/quality.

Samsung/Sony have a joint manufacturing site for LCD

see here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S-LCD

Samsung are probably the biggest brand in LCD these days, but as being the best is a matter of opinion as far as I'm concerned. Let's just say I wouldn't buy one.

Panasonic are equally as good as Samsung over the last year or so.

I would've said the former over the latter personally.

LG, the 'VW' of the LCD world as they are quite reliable but pretty standard.

I would say below Samsung from personal experience, but I've been out of Electrical retailing for almost 8 years now.

Sony, pay a lot for the brand?

Yep, always have done.

Sharp, one of the best backlights so very bright.

No idea on that one but Sharp were the 1st to produce LCD TV's so they should know what they are doing by now.

SideWinder · 4 Nov 2008 at 22:58

Fantastic!

Any other inputs to the brands i mentioned? More to say about them?

Margaret · 4 Nov 2008 at 23:10

My new Sony Bravia is by far the best LCD I've ever seen, beats my parents Panasonic TH-37PX80 for black levels, I'm ridiculously impressed!

I used to have a 37" 1080 LG, moved to the 32" 720P Bravia, well to be honest the Bravia looks 10x better, it's like everything seems improved, my 360 and PS3 look immensely better and HD content has never been so sharp.

No dead pixels / backlight bleeding at all, you can't see any white around the edges of the TV it's just pure black, I've got the backlight around halfway up too. I just regret not paying the extra for Sony a while ago.

Richeh · 4 Nov 2008 at 23:33

Sony TV's aren't really that overpriced and are some of the best in the market, they tend to release a series with different variations, the higher the variation you do tend to pay more but if you get the middle end you get a lot of high end features with a few missing but a good price. Take a look at the Sony KDL-40V4000 for instance, fantastic set and very good price.

Samsung aren't bad TV's they do fairly well in HD pictures but i've read the SD can be absolutely awful, LCD's arent best for SD but apparently Samsung are below par.

Panasonic, good TV's but they are overpriced.

Not personally had any dealing with LG or Sharp so can't comment.

But with all TV's you need to look into the model numbers more, because you may see a Sony or a Panasonic really cheap but the model might be extremely cut down and missing a lot of features that make the other sets so good.

Faffer · 5 Nov 2008 at 01:34

Margaret said:
My new Sony Bravia is by far the best LCD I've ever seen, beats my parents Panasonic TH-37PX80 for black levels, I'm ridiculously impressed!

I used to have a 37" 1080 LG, moved to the 32" 720P Bravia, well to be honest the Bravia looks 10x better, it's like everything seems improved, my 360 and PS3 look immensely better and HD content has never been so sharp.

No dead pixels / backlight bleeding at all, you can't see any white around the edges of the TV it's just pure black, I've got the backlight around halfway up too. I just regret not paying the extra for Sony a while ago.

Which model of Sony LCD do you have? Are the blacks really that great?

I was considering the Panasonic TH-50PZ80B but may look into the Sony LCDs, as I intend to use my PC on it occasionally.

Margaret · 5 Nov 2008 at 03:49

Faffer said:
Which model of Sony LCD do you have? Are the blacks really that great?

I was considering the Panasonic TH-50PZ80B but may look into the Sony LCDs, as I intend to use my PC on it occasionally.

Sony KDL-32V4000

They do 40" + versions too I think, but they are 1080P and slightly different but mostly the same. (models start at KDL-40W4000 I think)

Blacks on this are fantastic, really can't believe how good they are.

[DOD]Asprilla · 5 Nov 2008 at 08:07

Richeh said:
Panasonic, good TV's but they are overpriced.

No idea on the LCD side, but I wouldn't say so on the plasma side.

-Ad- · 5 Nov 2008 at 09:14

double sigh

-Ad- · 5 Nov 2008 at 09:15

Faffer said:
Which model of Sony LCD do you have? Are the blacks really that great?

I was considering the Panasonic TH-50PZ80B but may look into the Sony LCDs, as I intend to use my PC on it occasionally.

I would take the panny over the sony V anyday, the blacks are darker and the picture is just more natural. The v4000 is a very good tv, but as a main tv for everything I would still take it if I had that money over all the other tvs I have seen.

But if you will be using it a lot connected to your pc for windows browsing and desktop usage then the sony LCD might be a little better.

Panny LCDs are alittle overpriced, but they are better quality than the LG, samsung, and up there with the quality of the sony sets. On the plasma side the panny sets are the best value plasmas, especially the ridiculously cheap and good PX80.

Beansprout · 5 Nov 2008 at 09:18

Don't know how people can think Panasonic [plasmas] are overpriced, I've got a 42PZ80 sat behind me and for less than half the cost of the equivalent Kuro it's pretty darn close

2blue4u · 5 Nov 2008 at 09:19

Philips Aurea >>> the rest.

[DOD]Asprilla · 5 Nov 2008 at 13:41

2blue4u said:
Philips Aurea >>> the rest.

In what way?

sparkymark75 · 6 Nov 2008 at 23:57

My perceptions from research and experience over the past 4 years has been that;

Pioneer and Panasonic are the best for Plasma TV's.
Sony currently make the best LCD TV's but are quite a bit more.
Samsung make LCD's which aren't as good as Sony's but are more reasonably priced. The new Samsung LED backlit TV's are supposed to produce a fantastic picture, the 46" 785 model can be had for approx £1300 - £1400, whereas the equivalent Sony costs about £1000 more.

-Ad- · 7 Nov 2008 at 08:56

Beansprout said:
Don't know how people can think Panasonic [plasmas] are overpriced, I've got a 42PZ80 sat behind me and for less than half the cost of the equivalent Kuro it's pretty darn close

You need to see them calibrated side be side, then you will kick the PZ onto the floor and hug the kuro whilst kissing it all over

The PZ is a very good tv, be glad you don't have the upgrade bug.

mparter said:
My perceptions from research and experience over the past 4 years has been that;

Pioneer and Panasonic are the best for Plasma TV's.
Sony currently make the best LCD TV's but are quite a bit more.
Samsung make LCD's which aren't as good as Sony's but are more reasonably priced. The new Samsung LED backlit TV's are supposed to produce a fantastic picture, the 46" 785 model can be had for approx £1300 - £1400, whereas the equivalent Sony costs about £1000 more.

Pioneer still are the undisputed best by a good margin, but the panny PZ series offer great value around the £1k mark, and the 37/42 PX range are stunning value around £600 below.

Sony make some very good LCDs, but pioneer have also come out fighting with some stunning sets, albeit quite expensive. The new LED tvs look interesting but have their own faults with this new tech, plus are very expensive. Have you seen the new X4500 series from sony, nigh on £3k for a 46 and well over £3k for a 55. Sony have shot themselves in the foot, but many people seem to think it is the kuro killer :rolleyes:

But sony can;t work miracles, and although it looks very good it apparently isn't near the 9G sets let alone the KRP, according to phil hinton who has seen it.

Lot's of choice out there, especially in the LCD market, but if you want to choose a plasma then the panny px in the lower range, PZ for 1080p and a slightly improved picture, and the pioneers for all out awesomeness

2blue4u said:
Philips Aurea >>> the rest.

[DOD]Asprilla;12838121 said:
In what way?

By offering the stupidest price for a 42 inch screen at this moment in time

Over £2.5k for a 42inch screen, that is just laughable. I'l get a Kuro KRP thank you very much.

Beansprout · 7 Nov 2008 at 10:35

-Ad- said:
You need to see them calibrated side be side, then you will kick the PZ onto the floor and hug the kuro whilst kissing it all over

Not seen them side by side but parents have a Kuro and I have the PZ, and I remember the picture from the Kuro when I was at theirs...don't remind me....but Jessica Alba still looked incredibly gorgeous on the PZ last night so all is ok

-Ad- · 7 Nov 2008 at 11:44

Beansprout said:
Not seen them side by side but parents have a Kuro and I have the PZ, and I remember the picture from the Kuro when I was at theirs...don't remind me....but Jessica Alba still looked incredibly gorgeous on the PZ last night so all is ok

Ahh the jessica alba test, a well known one in the AV market. But I normally forget what I'm actually supposed to be comparing whilst watching her