the "help me choose an LCD" thread - Page 72

Hi all

In need of some serious technical asistance here!

OK I know aledgedly Plasmas are better, but I would still like to go for an LCD, pref LED LCD, FULL HD, I hear that the edge lit with Local Dimming are the ones I need, to avoid crappy blacks/ grey blooming areas? I want rich blacks colours the lot, most state edge lit but nothing about locall dimming as this is the combination i need i gather?

1. my Budget - £1500 the very MAX
2. my Seating distance - Approx 3 Meters
3. my Size/placement limitations - need or should I say want 55"- 60"
4. my Uses and sources - will be used at home in lounge area
5. my Room lighting - spot lights with dimming switches



I have done a bit of research and I can say that most shops dont mention about local dimming, as you can appriciate I am going to be spending over a G's worth of hard earned cash and I want the very best money can buy as the next man, Would really honour your guys honest professional options and any sugestions on makes models and outlets....

I have looked at this model and belive it has local dimming capabilites....?

SAMSUNG UE55C6505 55"

According to :

reevoo.com/p/samsung-ue55c6505


Again should I just scrap the whole idea of LED and just settle for any 55" LCD FULL HD, as they only differ in size ( thickness ) a few cm, and price is more or less £200 - £300 more.

I am after great picture quality! Need FULL HD and minimum TV size 55",

Please please help and point me in the right direction dont want to make a silly mistake early on in the year?

Thanks all in advance!

1. Budget - $1400 CDN (before tax)
2. Seating distance - 10-12ft
3. Size/placement limitations - Looking for a 55" LCD
4. Uses and sources - 85% TV/Movies (on PS3), 15% Gaming
5. Room lighting - Lighting not really a concern


I am particularly looking at 3 models. The Samsung LN55C650, the LG 55LD650 and the Sony 55EX500. The former 2 are the same price (top end of budget) and the Sony can be had for about $1200-1300.

Since I have a PS3, Internet stuff is not really necessary, nor is movie playback through USB. I am also not a hardcore gamer (most of my gaming is PC gaming anyways on a separate monitor), so my PS3 gaming will be mostly single-player. Therefore, Input Lag is not really a big concern.

I realize the LG is 240Hz, but to me there's not much difference between 120 and 240. Nevertheless, that LG is it's flagship Non-LED LCD TV, and the website indicates "Advanced IPS Panel" as being a feature for this TV. So I'm hoping there would be no panel lottery involved if I went with that.

I understand the Samsung and Sony have panel lotteries, although I haven't read deep enough into the Owners Threads to see what people were reporting for those models with the 55" size.

Assuming I would win the lottery with Sony/Samsung (S-PVA for both unless I'm mistaking ?), which of the 3 do you recommend ?


Thanks in advance

EV, et all

Is there a good primer on all the current LCD technologies (Back lit, edge lit, LED, local dimming, panel types, etc) and the pros and cons of each? I'm a long time plasma guy that realizes that LCD's are her to stay and not looking all that bad

I love this thread, but really need to get up to speed on the current state of LCD display technology.


thx

bob

1. Budget

$1500 or so

2. Seating distance

9-11ft

3. Size/placement limitations

I'm looking in the 47-55 range, anything bigger would overpower my room.

4. Uses and sources

General TV, blu ray, more gaming on the side. A good mix.

5. Room lighting

A sliding glass door to the left of TV, but with good shades that can block all weight. Otherwise mediume lights.

The TV I'm leaning towards is the Vizio XVT553sv once it hits any sort of price drop, but I'm open to suggestions. A decent amount of viewing would be done from a slight angle, so that's something to take into consideration.

DLP is different technology. It has its advantages and disadvantages. DLP is known to be sharper looking and faster than LCD. But Plasma is even faster, though is has its own problems, with differential phosphor lag (green phosphor trails and purple sparkles). There is no perfect technology.


I guess they have come down somewhat, high color gamut long lasting projection bulbs have historically been very expensive. That being said, long lasting isnt long lasting compared to the CCFLs and LEDs.

But if you like DLP, go for it. Samsung really put out some nice looking DLP Rear Projections a couple of years ago. Sony and Mitsubishi as well.

Ive had DLP Front Projection, and really appreciated its qualities in that configuration.

You might also look into a Panasonic AX200u LCD Front Projector or a Benq W5000 or W6000 or other DLP Front Projector.

There is also 240Hz and 480Hz sets. The Vizio XVT553SV is 240Hz (actually 120Hz panel and backlight scanning). The backlight scanning will help kill motion blur...and enhance percieved sharpness.

Im a big fan of the CCFL backlit sets, they can be great values. One problem with LED in the marketplace is that the Full Array LEDs were largely abandoned for slimmer chasis EdgeLit which brought with it uniformity issues and thus degraded Picture Quality.

The only Full Array LED with Local Dimming that I know currently 2010 is the Vizio XVT553SV which is not available in the UK.

There are some new sets with Nano backlighting and local dimming that look promising coming out this year....though they are likely to be expensive.

I would wait to see what is coming out this year, the news out of CES just last week should provide those answers. But you will have to wait for reviews and testing of early buyers.

If you cant wait then their are some fantastic CCFL backlit models from 2010.

Samsung C630
Sony EX500
Sharp 78UN and 88UN

All of which are available in 55" and 60" and have top notch PQ.

LG also claimed this for other models that have the panel lottery in their early year promotional packets.

But the upper end of manufacturers lines usually dont have panel lotteries. Also the larger the size of teh screen the less likelyhood of a panel lottery. Especially 55" and above.

I wouldnt worry about a panel lottery. But you can always check via a magnifying glass after purchase to make sure.

There is also the Samsung C630 which drops the WiFi and Internet Apps but is otherwise the same as the C650, for the most part.

Those are all good choices. Sony EX500 will be a better gaming machine than the C650/C630. They all have very good PQ with the Samsung slightly ahead of the Sony, IMO. Im not as familiar with the LG 650, but going by the 520 and 450, you should have very good PQ with its own strengths that differ from the S-PVA panels in teh Samsung and Sony.

Good Luck!

There probably are some good ones. However, I cant point you to any links that I know of. Do google searches and look for articles from the great sites.

Perhaps check out the HDGuru. And dont forget sites like UltimateAV, Audioholics, HomeTheater Mag, etc...

That is a great choice.

These CCFLs are also good alternatives.

Samsung 55C630
Sony 55EX500
Sharp 55E78UN
Sharp 5588UN

I am finally purchasing a TV this week and I narrowed the choices down to the below final four. I will be sitting about 6 feet from the TV and will use the TV for HD cable, XBOX 360 gaming, and DVD using 1080 upconvert. A 37 would be a perfect fit, but a 32 incher would be great if it is a better tv. I'm actually excited about getting my second HDTV, and wanted to thank the moderators and posters for a such great website!

Samsung LN37C550 37-Inch 1080p

Panasonic TC-L37U22 37-Inch 1080p

Sony KDL-32EX500

Toshiba 37E200U

Wusaga,

I would go with the Panasonic 37 incher. You will appreciate the extra screen area. It also has a guaranteed IPS Alpha panel. The audio quality is above average, though its not great....sound is generally poor on Flat Panels.

It also does good with a wide variety of sources, gaming, HD video, SD video, etc.

The Sony EX500 would be good if you could stretch it to 40". The extra screen area of the 37" Panasonic will be appreciated much more than any PQ advantage that the 32" EX500 would give you.

EscapeVelocity, thanks for your advice!

Hi EscapeVelocity,

Thanks for your reply,

I ahve just got this back from Samsung....


Your model does not have Precision Dimming. Here are the models that having this functionality:
ue55c6900 and ue55c8000.


I have googled and googled and read up to my neck and I am lost more so than ever!

Can anyone recomend me a good 55" I can buy in UK my musts are it must be 55" or 60" , must be FULL HD and have rich colours great picture quality.

I dont know if I should just get an LCD or an LED LCD?

please advise?

Thanks in advance!

Raegos,

I would look at the Sony 55EX500 and 60EX500.

I own a Samsung 52" LCD HDTV (LN52A550) which recently broke. When pressing the power button on the remote a rapid clicking noise was heard on the TV and it wouldn't turn on.

After Googling, it seems this is a common failure of Samsung TVs after ~2 years (I've had it since June 2008). Apparently the capacitors are undersized and prone to rupture. Now I need a new HDTV and soon. I had been hoping to wait another year for 3D TVs to drop in price, but now I do not have that luxury (a 3D TV is not a must-have if the price is right).

I want my new TV to be "better" in every way than my broken one. I would like to avoid Samsung as a brand because I am not happy with any manufacturer who can't make a TV last at least 5 years!

Budget:
My budget is $2,400 but I would REALLY like to keep that to under $2,000 if no major performance would be compromised (I know this forum says no price talk, but I seriously don't know how to ask this question without mentioning my budget!). Please recommend me the best TV for that budget.

Seating distance:
9-10 feet

Size/placement limitations:
None – bigger is better (52+”)

Uses/sources:
HDTV cable (60% of the time), Blu-ray & DVD (20%), and HD gaming (20%). All through one HDMI cable from receiver.

Room lighting:
Moderate to dim for TV watching, dim to dark for movies and gaming.

Features that are important to me:
- Size (52" minimum, 55-60" would be preferred)
- LCD (I play a lot of games and don't want plasma's burn-in)
- High contrast (local dimming is nearly a must-have)
- Reliability (must last more than 2 years)

Features that would be nice:
- 3D

Features that I think I want, but don't know why:
- LED-backlit
- Full-array LED (w/ local dimming)
- 240+ Hz (is that important?)

THANKS!!!

Thanks EscapeVelocity,

Will look into these , seem a bit hard to come by in the UK,

What do you think of the LG 55LE8900, as some one advised they are full LED back lit?

any thoughts,

This choosing a TV seems really hard work,

the SOny you advised does seem nice just a bit hard to get one in UK, will keep loking though.

Anyone have any input?

Fade, you might get better feedback if you asked that question in the threads dedicated to those units, as many of the people who purchased one or the other, almost assuredly deeply researched those models to decide amongst them.

Raegos, You might do better asking in a UK or European forum. I think model numbers are sometimes different, and I know for a fact that the European EX500 has several differenes to the US version, namely the European model has Bravia Engine 3 video processing and the upscale Sony menu system...the US version Bravia Engine 2 and a basic menu system.

Vizio XVT553SV (No 3D) is my recommendation.

You should also not abandon your Samsung. Replacing the capacitors is a relatively easy (and cheap) fix. FWIU, Samsung has been servicing these units with Capacitor failures out of warranty. You should check into that.

thanks for your input Escape , will do!

Again, thanks for taking the time to respond & make suggestions.

I really need the 36 month 0% interest I'm getting from BB, so tonight I'm taking my PS3 to BB to play with it on a few sets. If I find something that I like better, I'll exchange. If not I'll keep the Samsung.

The input lag in the Sammy is just fine in game mode, but I had my heart set on playing games with 120hz motion smoothing - games look AMAZING with that feature turned on, but are so laggy that you can't even play - plus the screen is choppy in a weird way. I'm going to find out tonight if there's something better, although I doubt there is a tv with a better picture for movies.

Thanks again!

Sounds like a very good idea gringo.

Ok, I have spent way too much time trying to make a decision on a TV. I have narrowed it down to two...
Sony Bravia KDL55NX810
Panasonic TC-P58VT25

I think both will perform equally in the room. It will be mounted over the fireplace with a tilt mount. I know the Sony has some issues as does the Panasonic.

Any input would be appreciated. With the Plasma, I just son't know if all of the babysitting is needed or not. Is is true that watching letterbox movies with black bars will cause issues? In this case make the bars grey...no thanks.

I am just going in circles between the two and my wife is getting tired of listening to me.

what brand has the best 26 inch set for watching sports ? I was looking at samsung 350 series but some people state there is some ghosting on these sets.Also will 7 feet back be okay with a 26'' set? Thanks for any info.

Are you sure the Sharps exist in the 55" size? From what I've been able to gather, they only come in 60". If they did come in 55" I'd be all over it.

Also in response to your previous reply about you suggesting the 55C630 instead of the 55C650, the only reason I chose C650 is because it's cheaper than the C630. I forgot to mention that. Pricing in Canada is always out of whack, and prices differ significantly from retailer to retailer. I just hope I can find a cheaper C630 when I actually go buy my TV at the end of the month.

Thanks for your input.

Get the Sony and be happy.

Oh, OK. The C650 may have better quality control and less panel lottery issues as well. Ive heard it has a glossy screen and the C630 doesnt at that size, so it might actually may have better absolute Picture Quality, in a dark room.

Could very well be that the Sharps dont come in 55". As always, do more research on your own.

I am having trouble choosing between the Vizio XVT473SV(LED) & Samsung LN46C630(LCD).

I am interested in those two TV's specifically because they are both sold by a dealer I have a line of credit with.

The main thing that concerns me is while it seems the Vizio is generally regarded as the better TV, it is said that its handling of 1080p/24p content is sub par. Is this a deal breaker? I watch a lot of Blu-Ray movies and the TV will only be for my bedroom, not a home entertainment center/living room style TV, so I am certainly not a 'videophile' like most on this forum and may not be able to notice certain nuances that others can.

I am confused as to whether or not the Samsung's perhaps inferior picture quality is made up for by the fact that it handles 1080p/24p sources properly.

In short, any advice on which would be a HUGE help. Whichever I choose I am making a fairly big jump because I have a Samsung LN32 720p series that is 4-5 years old now, so that is a good thing. Thanks!

Lets break it down littleuglycat...

Im not aware of the Vizio having issues with 1080p/24Hz.

The Samsung PQ isnt necessarily inferior. The Vizio has its advantages and the Samsung its. They are both fantastic PQ sets. No set is perfect.

Vizio's superior blacks (on some scenes) come at the price of blooming (on some scenes). But the Samsung has fantastic blacks as well. Most of the time you will not be able to tell that the Vizio has superior blacks....on the majority of scenes.

They are both fantastic sets. If money is a big concern, get the cheaper one.

The Samsung has better functionality on the USB port.
The Vizio can achieve deeper blacks, on some scenes. But the Samsung can match them on most scenes.
The Samsung has slightly better video processing, but the Vizio is very good.
The Vizio has significantly less motion blur, especially on fast action, because of its addition of backlight scanning to 120Hz panel....but the Samsung is very good.
The Vizio has a fancier Remote with QWERTY keyboard, but the Samsungs is backlit.
The Vizio has Internet Apps (Netflix, etc), Integrated WiFi, and something no other set that I know of has, BlueTooth functionality. The Samsung does have an Ethernet port, but none of that other stuff (though it is available on the very similar C650.)
The Vizio uses an LG S-IPS panel which has the best viewing angles, as well as top notch color reproduction, however it lacks deep blacks, which is compensated for with the Local Dimming on the Vizio (a great combination). The Samsung has the fantastic Samsung/Sony S-PVA panel, with market leading black levels (without local dimming), but a bit less viewing angle.

You cant go wrong either way.

I would probably go for the Vizio, but Im a hardware geek and love all the technology tricks and bells and whistles.

This particular size in the XVT**3SV lineup has 160 zones of local dimming (instead of 120 of the other 2) which will help minimize blooming...so it will happen less often and be less objectionable when it does happen from time to time.

One last thought. The Samsung C630s suffer from the dreaded panel lottery. Many use AuO MVA panels which arent as good as the S-PVA panels. The Vizios use LG S-IPS, no panel lottery. So you would have to make sure that you get an S-PVA panel if you go with the Samsung, in order to maximize your PQ.

If its between a AuO MVA paneled Samsung 46C630 and the Vizio XVT473SV, its no contest, get the Vizio.

PS - The Vizio gives you a bit more screen area, which is always nice.

I would be thrilled to have either an S-PVA panelled Samsung 46C630 or the Vizio XVT473SV.