Samsung, LG, Grundig and Sony all claim their latest generation LCD HDTVs are closing the gap on plasmas in picture quality and screen response times. We've tested them exhaustively to find out which is worth your dollars.
LCD HDTVs are outselling plasmas and are closing the gap on a couple of areas where plasmas still have an advantage, such as contrast and screen refresh times.
We've recently taken a look at the fraught issue of choosing between plasma and LCD -- but what about specific models?
We've been looking at latest generation LCD HDTVs from Samsung and LG, and the best from Grundig and Sony.
All except for the just-minted LG were part of the LCD HDTV team of TVs that faced off against the plasmas in our previous test (in the September edition of APC, on sale now).
The LG HDTV was supplied to us later and is newer than the LG HDTVs we used in the faceoff.
Samsung 40in LCD HDTV
The imaginatively named LA40M81BD from Samsung is a $4399 40in LCD HDTV with some serious styling and performance to match. Showing Samsung's strong history with LCD panels for all manner of devices, the 40M8 is raising the bar for image quality among flat-screen TVs.
The 40in (101cm) 40M8 is a wide-screen HDTV, supporting full HD, or 1080p resolution, with a screen res of 1,920 x 1,080. This model includes a HD tuner, which looks excellent with free-to-air HDTV broadcasts.
The screen also supports three HDMI inputs, two component inputs, two composites for that old DVD player in the corner and a PC D-Sub connector for some geeky gaming. The screen's tuner is fully featured, and onscreen menus are a pleasure to use. The included 2 x 10W speakers in the screen are pretty weak; you wouldn't want to rely on them for a movie experience.
Colour and contrast on the 40M8 are excellent, showing surprisingly deep blacks for an LCD panel and vibrant, colourful images. The system states a 15,000:1 contrast ratio and 8ms refresh, though both are unable to be tested independently. The screen surface is reflective, similar to the branded, bright viewing coatings found on some newer notebook PCs, so beware of lights behind the viewer. The screen's design is sleek and shiny with a piano-black finish; it might look a little imposing in a smaller room.
Overall, the Samsung LA40M81BD is a solid choice for 1080p HD viewing - it has good contrast for an LCD, a good tuner for telly and plenty of connectors - just pretend the speakers don't exist.
Nick Race
LG LB9 42in LCD HDTV (42LB9DF)
When the main feature being promoted by the maker of a new HDTV is its stylish black pearl finish, you automatically become suspicious that the underlying technology isn't strong. And so it was when we fired up LG's new $3,799 42in LCD HDTV .
Finished in deep shiny black with a stylish ring-shaped stand, the LB9 will look great in the lounge room. But when it comes to the picture, it's an unusual package. As you would expect, HD content looks good on its full HD 1,920 x 1080p resolution screen, but upscaled standard definition (SD) TV is rubbish - jagged and full of artifacts, not to mention occasional screen shudder. With the majority of TV still broadcast in SD, the ability of a high-def TV to rescale SD signals matters, and here the LB9 lets itself down.
By contrast, some HDTVs do a tremendous job upscaling SD, such as the Philips WL8A HDTV we looked at in the plasma vs LCD faceoff.
The overall picture quality of the LG places it among the current generation of LCD HDTVs rather than the newest, advanced crop which includes the Samsung HDTV reviewed here or the new Toshiba Regzas.
On the positive side, the LG has an astonishingly fast screen refresh of 5ms, which is as fast as it gets for an LCD TV - sure to keep the jaggies down when watching sport. Its contrast ratio of 10,000:1 should make for deeper black levels, although we couldn't see any difference to other TVs with lesser contrast ratios.
Our overall impression is that it's trying to be a style/value contender, forgoing picture quality at the lower end to offer itself up as a big 42in LCD TV at around the $3,500 mark on the street. The screen response time is phenomenal, which makes it an LCD HDTV to be considered seriously if sport is important in your viewing habits.
Tony Sarno
Grundig Cinemo 40 LCD HDTV (40in)
Grundig is a respectable brand of consumer electronics that has been churning out medium-to-high-end gear since the '40s (and is a traditionally premium brand in TVs). But is it finally losing its luxury status in the digital age?
The Cinemo 40 is a ho-hum screen that passed through the APC Labs this month. Not bad by all accounts, but the others outshone it.
It’s a 40in (101cm) 720p HD LCD TV with built-in speakers and tuner. It sports the usual swathe of connectivity options, including two HDMI ports, two composite, two S-Video and a single set of component inputs.
Its contrast is 1,200:1 and is in native wide-screen format with a resolution of 1,377 x 720. Video playback showed it deals with bright colours very well — it’s clear and well-defined in light areas of the pictures — but like many mid- and low-range sets, it turns into a mess of mud where dark detail is needed.
It doesn’t suffer from blur too terribly, there are worse examples out there, but it’s no plasma. The menu system is comprehensive and easy to navigate, but it covers too much of the screen. The built-in speakers were fine, but you’ll want something with more oomph for that cinema experience.
Its stylings seem quite 2005, with a large silver bar down the bottom of the screen, but it makes it look more like a TV than some of the large black holes a pure piano finish creates. All in all, the Cinemo 40 is a well-priced screen with middle-of-the-road performance. The best thing about it is its $2,699 price, which is at the lower end for 40in LCD HDTVs.
Nick Race
Sony Bravia 52in X Series
So, what does $7,499 worth of LCD TV get you? This baby: the Sony Bravia 52in X Series (52X) monster - straight out of a sci-fi movie set. This silver behemoth is arguably the best 1080p LCD TV on the market - though the technology in LCD panels is changing so quickly, it might not hold the crown for long, considering Sony's got ten new full HD models coming out this year.
With an image on it, the Sony glows. Pictures are clear, bright and vivid, with colour reproduction saturated and vibrant, giving a three-dimensionality to the image that really works. On the flip side, it deals well (though not as well as a plasma, mind you) with reproduction during dark or ‘black' images. We didn't notice smearing or ghosting with fast-moving images. The built-in HD tuner, in conjunction with the ‘Bravia Engine' used for cleaning up fuzzy images is effective. HD content from free-to-air sources looked excellent - this is definitely a dream screen for the World Cup!
The 52X is over 1.4m wide and almost 90cm tall when sitting on its table stand - an imposing piece of furniture for any room. Thankfully, the silver colour scheme and perspex edging does break it up a little, so it doesn't seem to cover an entire wall. For the fashion-conscious, Sony offers black, blue, red, brown and white bezels for $699 as well. Inputs are generous, including two HDMI, three component inputs, two S-Videos, one VGA and three composite connectors.
Nick Race