[sunjialin]

Both have similar prices in Amazon. Can anyone give me suggestions on which to choose? Also, is there any other 40-42 inches 1080p TV at the $1100 budget?



I need a TV mostly for cable, both sd and hd. No gaming or computer output. I do not have a separate sound system, so the TV's sound is important.

 

[johnlwright]

Hey guys... just to add a "ditto" to this post, would greatly appreciate any experience anyone has with the SONY KDL-40S4100 (vs. the LNxxA550)! Looking at the SONY refurbs on SonyStyle.

 

[sunjialin]

Can anyone give me some comments on both TVs? Thanks!

 

[sunjialin]

I will watch TV in a very bright room with windows beside the TV. Is there a glare problem with the Samsung?

 

[media_man]

I like the Sony better... the S-series has the better processor... stay away from the L and M-series.... check out ABT or Walmart.... good price!

 

[kazm899]

i saw an s4100 at the sony store, the picture never impressed me at all, they actually had a v3000 from 2007 beside it, the v3000 had a much better picture then the s4100.....

 

[Wooterz]



Quote:
Originally Posted by kazm899 /forum/post/14265304


i saw an s4100 at the sony store, the picture never impressed me at all, they actually had a v3000 from 2007 beside it, the v3000 had a much better picture then the s4100.....

The set probably wasn't calibrated, the cables could have been loose, etc. You honestly can't base your opinion solely on a single comparison you saw at a store.

 

[fociz]

When i see someone posting that they "compared the PQ" while they were at the store it makes me want to slap them upside the head.


The sony has better tv speakers and better blacks and no ghosting.


The samsung has very bad tv speakers, ghosting during gaming(dont know about movies) but it does have a usb port for pics/firmware upgrades.


Id go with the sony, but watch out for the sparkles.

There are alot of people who are happy with their samsungs, not me.

Simply my opinion, take it for what its worth..not much.


Go do your homework and go read up on them both as much as you can.


GL.

 

[DominoTree]

I much prefer the 550 to the S4100, the blacks ARE better on the S4100 but the overall brightness of the 550 is better and it has almost half the response time of the Sony. For general use I'd take the 550 (also consider the 550 generally retails around $300 more than the S4100 does, maybe the 530 might be a more direct comparison - also the 530 has an integrated woofer in the back) If you're looking in the price range of the 550, I'd consider the V4100, it's a much better TV all around than the S4100 and at the same price point the 550 is usually at.

 

[DominoTree]



Quote:
Originally Posted by fociz /forum/post/14265976


The sony has better tv speakers and better blacks and no ghosting.

The samsung has very bad tv speakers, ghosting during gaming(dont know about movies) but it does have a usb port for pics/firmware upgrades.

No ghosting on the Sony? It's there, just not as easy to notice because the screen isn't as bright as the Samsung. Now it's not quite as bad as, say, the W3000 was, but it's still there and still noticable. As to the speakers comment, they are quite bad but I wouldn't call the S4100 much better... The 530 is actually pretty decent, don't know why they downgraded the audio on a higher end model...

 

[vladi123456]

I was actually looking at the 46 inch models - Sony S4100 vs Samsung 550 vs Samsung 650.

I spent all week at the store looking at TVs, and as far as PQ - to my eyes Sony looked better than either one of those Samsungs. But in the end - I went with Samsung 650. I bought it because it had better specs than S4100 and 550 - which sounds kind of stupid - to get a TV with a worse PQ because it has better specs. But I hope I can calibrate it to the point where I'm happy with it. And Samsung 650 was only $150 more than Sony S4100. I WANTED to get a Sony, but they are just too expensive for me right now.

 

[fociz]



Quote:
I much prefer the 550 to the S4100, the blacks ARE better on the S4100 but the overall brightness of the 550 is better and it has almost half the response time of the Sony.

Ahh..no.

First there is no industry standard for measuring panel response time so you have Chevy stating theres is 2s and Ford stating theres is 1s with no one to hold them accountable.

Second, Brightness is something that can be adjusted to the point of basking yourself in radiation on these lcd's.

Quote:
No ghosting on the Sony? It's there, just not as easy to notice because the screen isn't as bright as the Samsung.

Again with the brightness..theres this little thing called "options" on your remote you can go in and adjust things like this.


Ghosting, i noticed none on the sony putting it through the paces with many games via dvi-hdmi using a cat2 18 gauge hdmi cable.


The samsung however is noticeable immediately for instance load up WoW and head to shadowmoon valley, look up at the sky and watch the motion blur goodness. lets not even talk about CoD4.

 

[bplewis24]



Quote:
Originally Posted by sunjialin /forum/post/14224125


Both have similar prices in Amazon. Can anyone give me suggestions on which to choose? Also, is there any other 40-42 inches 1080p TV at the $1100 budget?



I need a TV mostly for cable, both sd and hd. No gaming or computer output. I do not have a separate sound system, so the TV's sound is important.

I'd probably go with an a550 if it's down to this set and a S4100. I'd recommend a higher end Sony model over both of these. Although the speakers on the Sony may be better.


Brandon

 

[kazm899]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Wooterz /forum/post/14265606


The set probably wasn't calibrated, the cables could have been loose, etc. You honestly can't base your opinion solely on a single comparison you saw at a store.

i agree, but BOTH sets were not calibrated, and they were both showing the same feed, maybe the blacks were a bit better on the s4100, but the overall picture was more dull compared to last years v3000.....

 

[vladi123456]

I also want to add - for some reason - nobody on this forum ever comments on S4100. There are owner threads for V4100/W4100/Z4100 - but none for S4100. Almost looks like everybody avoids that particular one. The lack of owner comments was also a part of my decision to go with Samsung

 

[sunjialin]

How's the picture quality for SD between these two sets? Thanks!

 

[Dark Rider]



Quote:
Originally Posted by fociz /forum/post/14265976


When i see someone posting that they "compared the PQ" while they were at the store it makes me want to slap them upside the head.


The sony has better tv speakers and better blacks and no ghosting.


The samsung has very bad tv speakers, ghosting during gaming(dont know about movies) but it does have a usb port for pics/firmware upgrades.

Uh.... I'm not sure if you looked at a bad set, but the A550 is not prone to ghosting, even when it's not in game mode. Don't take my word for it... go to the owner's thread. You'll find little to no complaints about ghosting or motion blur on any gaming system. The A650 has some complaints depending on what settings are turned on, but in game mode, it performs equally as well. The A550 also has visibly better blacks than anything in the Sony 4100 series short of the W and Z's, which are on par, but certainly not better. Overall, Sony's V4100 would be a better comparison to the A550 then the S4100, but neither have the color accuracy or the black levels of the A550. I've spent extensive time with both sets, and the only clearly better feature on the Sony's is the sound. The internal speakers on the A550 do sound pretty bad out of the box. You can calibrate the EQ to take out a lot of the midrange to make them sound less tinny, but you're still better off going with a HTIB.

 

[Dark Rider]



Quote:
Originally Posted by vladi123456 /forum/post/14268498


I also want to add - for some reason - nobody on this forum ever comments on S4100. There are owner threads for V4100/W4100/Z4100 - but none for S4100. Almost looks like everybody avoids that particular one. The lack of owner comments was also a part of my decision to go with Samsung

SD is another area where I think the Samsung shines. The Sony was decent, but not great. The only LCD's I've seen with better SD were the new Toshiba XV450 and FX550's, but there's been so many user complaints that I would be leary about purchasing one.

 

[SLR722]

I have a question...


the sony 40S4100 have QAM tuner ?????????


because in the sony site...It dont say about it...but all the rest of theirs TV's have QAM tuner....

 

[reddgrave]

Love the samsung I have it.