[Alwayswantmore]

Hi, I need flat panels for bedroom (37") and kitchen (19"). Targeting upper end of 720P models. What brands are best to focus on? Based on preliminary research I'm leaning toward Sharp or Samsung. Can anyone confirm these as good, or recommend anything better in terms of brands / models?

Thanks for any input. Kent

[JP78]

i work for an a/v company, and we have a lot of success with the sharp aquos and toshiba regza.  i'm not sure if direct sunlight is an issue, but the aquos seems to have the best anti-glare coating out of any flat panel tv i've installed.

good luck,

[Captain Humble]

We have a Sharp AQUOS 52" 1080p Flat-Panel LCD HDTV and love it.
The wall on the left is full of windows yet we have absolutely no issue with glare.
Highly recommended.



Jeff

[Alwayswantmore]

Thanks for the input. JP78, does your company also carry Samsung? If so, I assume you rate them below sharp and Toshiba??? Thanks. Kent

[IronLion]

I have a Sony Bravia, my advice would be to first pick your perfect size then see if you can afford their latest version of that, then scale down to later versions from there.  My Bravia is about a year and a half old and it still looks better than almost any LCD I've seen out there. 

[JP78]

alwayswantmore - yep we carry samsung too, but honestly we usually sell them only when a client demands the samsung brand name.  i don't have any problems with them at all; it's a very nice looking display.  i happen to think that samsung excels in their dlp technologies, where sharp and toshiba have really pushed the envelope with their lcd implementations. 

personally i'm a plasma guy (find myself very sensitive to the jaggies), but the aquos is the easiest on my eyes by far.

at the end of the day, if you had to choose between sharp, samsung, and toshiba, i'd say that's a pretty good problem to be having .

ironlion - you're very right about picture quality of the sony.  the new xbr5 series of lcds certainly has a lot of 'pop' to the picture quality.  however, i find it really difficult to recommend the sony because they really are significantly more in price than the aforementioned brands.  i would certainly agree that if price isn't sensitive the sony lcds are among the best.  at this price point though, i'd much rather have my hands on the pioneer kuro elite. hey, to each our own.  if you're lucky enough to enjoy the sony in your home, all the more respect to you .

best,

jp

[jcpix]

JP,  is there any model 40 or 42 inch sharp that is better then the others?

Jeff

[electricbear]

I am also a dealer and I agree with JP78. Sharp are the undisputed leader in lcd terchnology.

[TheChairGuy]

I'm not a big Sony fan, but I think the Bravia stuff is not only reasonably priced, but a really good pic.

Comes in colors, too - a nice change from the plain silver box look

John

[Alwayswantmore]

Thanks for all the feedback. Based on a bit of Web surfing, I kind of thought Sharp was a leader for LCDs. The fact that two people who work in the industry agree only reinforces my limited research.

Yesterday, I brought my wife to a BB to give her a feel for size and picture quality (we have never owned flat-panel or high-def TVs). On a pure whim she bought the new Samsung 40" 550 series (1080P). She selected the Samsung based on the look of the front bezel, and the fact the BB sales rep pushed Samsung over all other brands. Once we got it home she now feels that it is too big for the bedroom (kind of over powering, especially when in stretch mode for standard signals).

Good chance we will return it tomorrow, and I am encouraging her to get the new Sharp D64U series slim-line (either a 32" or a 37"). She doesn't like the silver stripe, but based on your input she is coming around to the fact that Sharp is tough to beat for mid-size LCDs. [This TV is mainly for her, so she can watch TV in the bedroom while I'm listening to music in an other room].

Thanks again for all the input. Kent

[TheChairGuy]

Consumer Reports within the past 3 months had an issue on TV's....don't have it here, but the Sony's came out on top in a couple size categories as I remember it.  Unlike Sony's of old, they are very cost competitive now 

Fact is, once they are home and set up right....most all of them look fine.  LCD's are still a bit two dimensional for my taste, blacks are still not rich and folks looks squatty on the ubiquitous wide screen on TV programs.....but most all of them are decent even house brand Insignia at Best Buy is not that bad.

john

[JP78]

alwayswantmore - glad you found something you like.  enjoy! .

thechairguy - competition's always a good thing. an affordable sony would indeed make for great competition...at the end of the day we win as consumers.  i think i might just work too close to this stuff, but i think the difference in performance between lcd brands is still very noticable on high quality sources with a lot of motion...especially sporting events.  i think golf, baseball, and tennis are great examples of sources that separate the best from the others...i'm an avid tennis fan and i know on some brands i have trouble following the tennis ball.

jcpix - i think any model aquos 9th generation or later (usually noted by a 9u or some similar nomenclature...i'm not up-to-date on that) are the best.  they have the nice pull-down ratios and a small couple other tweaks that really let them shine.

i think for all lcds though (and largely plasmas too) those contrast numbers are pretty much picked out of a hat.  the proof is in the pudding.

regards,

[Alwayswantmore]

alwayswantmore - glad you found something you like.  enjoy! .

thechairguy - competition's always a good thing. an affordable sony would indeed make for great competition...at the end of the day we win as consumers.  i think i might just work too close to this stuff, but i think the difference in performance between lcd brands is still very noticable on high quality sources with a lot of motion...especially sporting events.  i think golf, baseball, and tennis are great examples of sources that separate the best from the others...i'm an avid tennis fan and i know on some brands i have trouble following the tennis ball.

jcpix - i think any model aquos 9th generation or later (usually noted by a 9u or some similar nomenclature...i'm not up-to-date on that) are the best.  they have the nice pull-down ratios and a small couple other tweaks that really let them shine.

i think for all lcds though (and largely plasmas too) those contrast numbers are pretty much picked out of a hat.  the proof is in the pudding.

regards,

Turns out the 32" in Sharp's 64 series is not yet available. Also Samsung's 550 series for 32" hasn't hit stores yet either. I tried a 32" top of the line Sony based on BB sales rep recommendation, but the upconversion and movie conversion (Tuner Classic) was far behind the 40" 550 Samsung, so the Sony was returned to BB.

Based on the PQ of the 40" 550, I've decided to wait for one of the new models from either Sharp (64) or Samsung (550) for the 32" bedroom system.

On the otherhand, Tweeter is blowing out new in box 50" Pioneer Elite 720Ps for $2,300, so last night bought one for the great room. The picture -- even for standard programming -- is everything I heard it would be: Fantastic! On the otherhand, it's big, so I'm having difficulty with the WAF. My guess is the 42" version is what I really need for my GR setup. 

[JP78]

Turns out the 32" in Sharp's 64 series is not yet available. Also Samsung's 550 series for 32" hasn't hit stores yet either...On the otherhand, Tweeter is blowing out new in box 50" Pioneer Elite 720Ps for $2,300, so last night bought one for the great room. The picture -- even for standard programming -- is everything I heard it would be: Fantastic! On the otherhand, it's big, so I'm having difficulty with the WAF. My guess is the 42" version is what I really need for my GR setup. 

alwayswantmore - sorry you have to wait for the bedroom, but with a new kuro elite in your room, i'd say the wait will be quite enjoyable .  that's definitely a great price for the display - congrats.  also, the new kuros are relatively close to isf measurements out of the box (versus previous pioneer plasmas), so you will really get some pop.  i'd recommend some kind of monster power / panamax power filtration unit too...i know it's extremely debatable for audio, but for video the difference is often night and day. congrats!

[Alwayswantmore]

Turns out the 32" in Sharp's 64 series is not yet available. Also Samsung's 550 series for 32" hasn't hit stores yet either...On the otherhand, Tweeter is blowing out new in box 50" Pioneer Elite 720Ps for $2,300, so last night bought one for the great room. The picture -- even for standard programming -- is everything I heard it would be: Fantastic! On the otherhand, it's big, so I'm having difficulty with the WAF. My guess is the 42" version is what I really need for my GR setup. 

alwayswantmore - sorry you have to wait for the bedroom, but with a new kuro elite in your room, i'd say the wait will be quite enjoyable .  that's definitely a great price for the display - congrats.  also, the new kuros are relatively close to isf measurements out of the box (versus previous pioneer plasmas), so you will really get some pop.  i'd recommend some kind of monster power / panamax power filtration unit too...i know it's extremely debatable for audio, but for video the difference is often night and day. congrats!

Thanks JP78. When you refer to power filtration, can you please be more specific as to which models or technology meets this requirement. BTW: Can you share anything in terms of what the next generation of Kuros hold in terms of technology /feature improvements or pricing? Thanks, Kent

[JP78]

alwayswant more - i believe the pioneer you just purchased is the latest generation of kuro.  i also believe this is going to be the last generation pioneer is going to fully manufacture in house; i'm not so sure the next generation (whenever it is released) will be any better.  you can search on google (or even here on audiocircle) for extensive information on pioneer's announcement.

in terms of power filtration, i'm referring to a monster power center product, or similar from any reputable company if you have issues with the monster brand (panamax, tripp lite, etc):
http://www.monstercable.com/power/home_theater/reference_home_theater_power.asp
i really notice a lot less video noise in terms of image quality. 

i don't know enough to know if it really does lengthen the lifespan of the flat panel display, but it does protect it from lightning strikes and surges, which in turn should give you a lot more hours.  i figure for less than 10% of the price of the tv, the improvement in image quality and peace of mind is worthwhile.

best,

[MaxCast]

I like the looks of the sammys too.  All their TV's look alike.  I love my 61" LED.
I know it's too big but I just picked up the Panasonic ???x80u 42" plasma from Sears for $972 for the bedroom.  My wife took one look at the box and said, "that's TOO big."  I said it's not that big there's a lot of styrofoam and stuff in there.    plus if it is then I'll take it down stairs so I can configure my DVD-A's and listen to them.  I reminded her that we DO have a 13" color WITH built in VCR we could put in the bedroom 

[tonyptony]

alwayswant more - i believe the pioneer you just purchased is the latest generation of kuro.  i also believe this is going to be the last generation pioneer is going to fully manufacture in house; i'm not so sure the next generation (whenever it is released) will be any better.

Not yet, JP78. The panel referred to is an 8G. The 9G models should be out within the next few months. They will still be "all Pioneer" produced, including the glass. After that is the big question of who will be producing their glass.

[Alwayswantmore]

alwayswant more - i believe the pioneer you just purchased is the latest generation of kuro.  i also believe this is going to be the last generation pioneer is going to fully manufacture in house; i'm not so sure the next generation (whenever it is released) will be any better.

Not yet, JP78. The panel referred to is an 8G. The 9G models should be out within the next few months. They will still be "all Pioneer" produced, including the glass. After that is the big question of who will be producing their glass.

If by glass you are referring to the plasma screen, the answer is the parent company of Panasonic.