Feb
14

Best LCD TVs - Review Sumamries

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

You can drive yourself a bit mad running around the internet trying to decide which are the best LCD TVs, or best anything else for that matter.

With LCD TVs “best” is temporary anyway given the rate of progress in the technology. The best from 3 or 6  months ago at any point in time has probably already been overtaken by something better and maybe cheaper too!

Nevertheless “upgrade fever” is a well known medical condition that afflicts mostly the male gender when it comes to technology toys of any type.

Latest features that you absolutely gotta have in your LCD TV:

  • 1080p resolution
  • Full-HD tuner to allow you to see HD broadcasts and Blu-ray disks in their native format.
  • LED backlighting, which results in deeper blacks and better colours, and
  • Home networking, so you can stream media from another PC or a home server.

If you are suffering from upgrade fever right now, here’s a few LCD TVs that you coulda, woulda, shoulda buy or bought! :-)

LCD TV Reviews by CNet in late 2008:
1.  Samsung LA46A950  Editors’ choice 8.8/10

They say: “The Samsung LA46A950 is without a doubt the best LCD television we’ve seen up until this point”

2.  Sony Bravia KDL46W4000  Editors’ choice 8.7/10

They say: “The Sony Bravia 46W4000 offers exceptional image and sound quality at a reasonable price.”

3.  LG Scarlet 42LG61YD 8.5/10

They say: “The LG Scarlet 42LG61YD is an exceptional 1080p television with great design, features and a well implemented 100Hz mode. Considering the cost and the improvements over the previous Scarlet, this is definitely a good buy.”

Smarthouse Reviews Late 2007:
BEST LCD TV 36″ to 50″: Toshiba 42WL68A

They say: “Toshiba has made a string of excellent LCD TVs, and this 100Hz W Series is top-notch. Thriving on high definition content, this series produces spotlessly clear picture, surprisingly great audio and plenty of connectivity.”

Highly Commended: Sony KDL40XBR

Well Worth Buying: LG 47LB2DE

LCD vs Plasma Shoot Out
In late 2007, Sound and Vision took took the best Plasma TV they could find (Pioneer Elite PRO-110FD Kuro) and the best LCD TV they could find (Samsung LN-T5281F) and compared them in a carefully calibrated match.

The winner as the Pioneer Elite which at the time they rated as “the best flat panel ever” and “the best TV ever”.

The main difference was how much better the Pioneer plasma displayed blacks compared to the Samsung LCD. The Pioneer “made the blacks on the LCD look gray, even though the Samsung had the best blacks ever seen from an LCD”. On the plasma, objects appeared more etched and dimensional against the dark background, thanks to the extra low-level detail.

Samsung-LN-T5281F-LCDTV-vs-Pioneer-Elite-PRO-110FD-Kuro-plasmaTV

Summary:

If you can think rationally through the haze of upgrade fever, remember the Buying Tips:

  1. Decide what features of an LCD TV are most important to you.
  2. Make a shortlist of models that meet your criteria in #1.
  3. Set your budget.
  4. Go and see a few TVs before making your decision.
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Dec
16

Sony LCD TV Reviews 2008 Models

Filed Under Sony LCD TV, Sony LCD TV Review | Leave a Comment

Like most TV manufacturers, there is a large range of Sony LCD TVs with a variety of size and feature combinations.

When evaluating any LCD TV, remember to focus on picture quality, especially with motion, such as sports, and sound quality rather than esoteric features that you will probably rarely use.

Sony has generally been positioned in the mid to high end of the market and its TVs usually perform well in comparisons.

It has also made a noticeable effort to be much more price competitive in recent times, so you can often get a Sony LCD TV for about the same price as one of the historically, lower priced brands.

The main product ranges are: 

  • Bravia XBR4 series
  • Bravia XBR5 Series
  • Bravia XBR6 Series
  • Bravia XBR7 Series
  • Bravia XBR8 Series
  • Bravia V4100/W4100 Series
  • Bravia M4000 Series

Understanding Sony’s Model Numbering System

As an example, if you take the LCD TV model Sony KDL-40XBR4 the last 4 digits refer to the range and the number refers to the screen sixe in inches. So 40XBR4 means a 40 inch TV in the XBR4 range.

Bravia XBR4 LCD TVs

The models in the XBR4 range include:

  • Sony KDL-32XBR4
  • Sony KDL-40XBR4
  • Sony KDL-46XBR4
  • Sony KDL-52XBR4

Bravia XBR5 LCD TVs

The XBR6 series are Sony’s entry tier models for 2008. As the model numbers indicate they come in 5 sizes from 32 up to 52 inches (note the 32 and 37 inch LCD TVs have different styling to the larger models and do not feature the 120Hz MotionFlow technology present on the larger XBR6 TVs).

The 3 larger sized models: KDL-40XBR6, KDL-46XBR6, and KDL-52XBR6 feature Sony’s MotionFlow 120Hz refresh rate. They house a USB port for easy playback of music and photo gallery.

The models in the XBR5 range include:

  • Sony KDL-40XBR5
  • Sony KDL-46XBR5
  • Sony KDL-52XBR5

Bravia XBR6 LCD TVs

The models in the XBR6 range include:

  • Sony KDL-32XBR6
  • Sony KDL-37XBR6
  • Sony KDL-40XBR6
  • Sony KDL-46XBR6
  • Sony KDL-52XBR6

Bravia XBR7 LCD TVs

The models in the XBR7 range include:

  • Sony KDL-40XBR7
  • Sony KDL-70XBR7

Bravia XBR8 LCD TVs

The XBR* range is Sony’s high end line offering for 2008. The main differentiating feature with the KDL-46XBR8 and 55XBR8 TVs is the local dimming feature. This claims to improve contrast in “localized” areas of the screen, achieved partly through use of the new LED backlight (siliar to Philips ambilight).

The models in the XBR8 range include:

  • Sony KDL-46XBR8
  • Sony KDL-55XBR8

Bravia V4100/W4100 Series LCD TVs

This series features a 120Hz refresh rate and a 1080p panel and uses the BRAVIA Engine 2™ for realistic images. The models also contain features such as the XMB (Xross Media Bar®) with 3D graphics, DMex capability and picture quality enhancement technologies such as ACE (Advanced Contrast Enhancer).

The models in the V4100/W4100 range include:

  • Sony KDL-40V4100 / Sony KDL-40W4100
  • Sony KDL-46V4100 / Sony KDL-46W4100
  • Sony KDL-52V4100 / Sony KDL-52W4100

 

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