Apr
11

LCD TV Ratings - Best LCD TV April 2009

Filed Under LCD TV Ratings, Samsung LCD TV, Sony LCD TV | Leave a Comment

Let’s start by identifying the best LCD TV brands. The general consensus based on reviews and user feedback at the moment is that Samsung and Sony almost always get good ratings and are in front of the rest.

Exactly how far in front is always hard to say because new developments and LCD TV models come thick and fast.

To generalize further, Sony LCD TVs are often, but not always, the most technically advanced and tend to rate well on picture quality and facilities. On the other hand they are also often the most expensive in a given category.

Samsung tend to be close to the best in quality and feature scores and (much) more price competitive than Sony. On this basis Samsung’s leading position is no surprise.

Samsung-LN52B550-LCD-TV

Key points to Remember

The other manufacturers such as Sharp, Panasonic, LG, Pioneer and the European brands might not rate as highly overall, but they often produce standout sets in a certain area. In other words, their overall range is not as consistently good as Sony and Samsung, but they produce individual TVs that are.

As we always say, go and look at (and listen to) TVs that are in your price and feature range. Take a favorite DVD with you so you get a consistent reference point to compare from.

You may find an LCD TV from a second tier manufacturer that is from your point of view does everything you want and is on a run out, or you are able to negotiate a good price. If so, take it.

Also remember, time is on your side when you’re buying, because there’s only one way LCD TV prices are heading - and it ain’t up!

Budget TVs

This is a tricky area. Some budget brands are shortlived, or their back end product suppliers change regularly. This means that after sales support is something you need to be confident in, if you’re buying a budget brand, unless you are happy to throw your LCD TV away if it fails in 2 - 3 years.

Performance wise, sometimes budget models are reasonably close to the big name brands. For example Popular Mechanics (of all people!) compared the 40-inch Samsung LN40A650 against a budget 42-inch set from Vizio.

Vizio is a budget TV maker that’s well regarded for producing good value TVs. Not surprisingly, the Samsung was better, but in case the difference in picture quality was so big that the magazine said: “While the Vizio is a steal at less than half the price of the Samsung, buying a pricier set could be the smart choice.”

LCD TV Comparison Table - Ratings and Prices

Brand Model Size Type Rating Price Range
AOC AOC Envision L32W761 32 LCD Consumer Search “Best Budget 32-inch LCD TV” $495-$600
Samsung Samsung LN32A450 32 LCD Consumer Search “Best 32-inch LCD TV” $600-$800
Sony Sony Bravia KDL-32XBR6 32″ LCD TV 32 LCD Pricegrabber 5 stars $670-$930
Sharp Sharp Aquos D65U 42″ LCD TV 42 LCD Pricegrabber 5 stars $820-$1200
Samsung Samsung LN46A550 46″ LCD TV 46 LCD Pricegrabber 5 stars Consumer Search “Best value among 40-inch LCD TVs” $980-$1500
Sony Sony BRAVIA KDL-46XBR6 46″ LCD TV 46 LCD Pricegrabber 5 stars $1750-$2700
LG LG 47LG60 47 LCD Consumer Search “Best 47-inch LCD TV” $1450-$1700
Vizio Vizio SV470XVT 47 LCD Consumer Search “Best budget 47-inch LCD TV” $1220-$1350
Samsung Samsung LN52A60 52 LCD TV 52 LCD Cnet.com “Editors’ Choice” $980-$1500
Sony Sony BRAVIA KDL-52V4100 52″ LCD TV 52 LCD Pricegrabber 4.5 stars $1380-$1800
Pioneer Pioneer Elite KURO PRO-151FD 60″ Plasma TV 60 Plasma Pricegrabber 5 stars $4200-$5000
Samsung Samsung LN52A750 52″ LCD TV 52 LCD Pricegrabber 5 stars $2050-$2430
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Mar
26

LCD TV Reviews Mar 2009

Filed Under Best LCD TV, LCD TV Reviews, Sony LCD TV | Leave a Comment

The attempt to buy the “best LCD TV” or “best plasma TV” or “TV with the best reviews” is in many ways a fruitless quest because:

(a) the technology is moving fast enough such that last quarter’s hero may be next quarter’s zero

(b) the reviewers don’t all agree on what the best TV is and/or they don’t test the same selection of models

(c) you may not be able to buy the TVs reviewed in your area/country anyway

(d) some reviewers have biases towards particular TV types or brands

(e) your feature preferences might be different to the reviewers

Nevertheless if you read enough reviews, you can usually spot trends and see which brand scores near the top of the list most of the time and conversely, who hangs around the bottom.

Results of a review by Choice Australia in Late 2008

A surprising aspect of this set of LCD TV reviews was the relatively poor score of most TVs on sound quality. The sound quality scores were mostly well below the picture quality scores.

sony-LCD-TV-KDL40V4000

Interestingly, it took a lot of searching to find the top rated model the Sony KDL-40V4000 on Sony’s Australian website. It may already have been overtaken by their newer, motionflow models.

The price of the Sony KDL-40V4000 was quoted on Sony’s website at AUD2,399.

Also interesting is that Choice rated Samsung’s PS42A410C1D plasma TV second overall and higher than the Samsung LA40A550P1F LCD TV.

Brand/model (in rank order)

Overall score (%)

Panel type

 Sound quality score (%)
Sony KDL-40V4000

70

LCD

55
Samsung PS42A410C1D

65

Plasma

45
Philips 42PFL5603D #

63

LCD

70
LG 42LG70YD

62

LCD

50
Samsung LA40A550P1F

62

LCD

60
Panasonic TH-42PX8A

61

Plasma

30
Panasonic TH-42PZ800A

58

Plasma

35
TCL L42E9ADF

57

LCD

35
Sanyo LCD-42XR8DA

54

LCD

45
Sharp LC-42D83X #

53

LCD

25

As always, remember to go to a couple of different shops to check out what you really like in a TV before you go price shopping, on the street or on the web.

Web or Street - Which is Cheaper?

I think most people automatically assume everything is cheaper on the web.

Well some things yes but definitely not all things. In fact I’ve noticed that if you’re willing to shop around and haggle a bit, you can often get things cheaper on the street.

Good shopping!

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