CNet Rates Top 5 HDTV's

[Worf101]

Samsung takes three of the top slots Panny and Pioneer the other two. Interesting.

http://reviews.cnet.com/4321-6475_7-6638687.html?tag=nl.e404

How long before this devolves into an anti-Vizio flame fest? Please god no!!!!!

Da Worsfter

[kelsci]

Hi Worfster; I am not able to get out to the stores to see the sets out on tne market play and make quick "value judgements". I have a friend who is a disableds vet who lives down the road from me who bought a 720P Samsung plasma 50 inch set last Xmas. He doesn't even have a high-def connection to it and it plays fantastic. My brother bought be a 37 inch Toshiba Regza LCD,720P. I have it on Direct TV and an old 480I Pioneer dvd player. There is absolutely nothing that I can fault this televsion for. Oh, it would be nice if I cou ld have all the sets that I am looking at right now in a CNET shootout against what CNET has on hand but that is impossible. Is a $5000 Kuro worth that much over a$800 Samsung. I wonder. As for the case for Vizio, they have been getting some good reviews and showing strong spots in certain areas of reproducing video pictures. If and when I get out to the stores, I will take a good look at them. But it is like my brother's friend said when he went out to look at sets last year; I looked at them all playing and fuddled around with them and this Samsung 720P unit outplayed them all and that is what he bought. Once upon a time to me, Samsung was a jokebook in electronics, but they got their act together and that I have to respect them for.

[pixelthis]

Samsung takes three of the top slots Panny and Pioneer the other two. Interesting.

http://reviews.cnet.com/4321-6475_7-6638687.html?tag=nl.e404

How long before this devolves into an anti-Vizio flame fest? Please god no!!!!!

Da Worsfter

WELL, YOU ASKED FOR IT.....
Actually the Samsung accolades are probably well earned, I have seen some of Samsungs new models , owned some earlier models, and these new sets are quite good.
Vizio fills a niche, 95% of a superb picture for those of us who can't afford the other four
(you never get that last %).
My moms lovin my Vizio (whats not to love) and if I can sell her on it maybe there is a
Samsung in my future(or maybe not).
But Vizio remains an exelent choice , I sure enjoy mine.:1:

[Worf101]

I understand your position. I'd never buy a set I hadn't seen before. Problem is when you're looking at a set in the store there's lot's of variables that can effect what you're seeing.

1. Room lighting.
2. Signal feed (Hi Def, Upconverted or BluRay)
3. Monitor set-up.

And a host of other variables. We normally say "trust your eyes" but you'll never truly know how a set looks until it's sittin' in your living room and by then it might be too late. Hey, you'll never hear me disparage any compromises that people have to make when it comes to the price of home entertainment. We'd all LIKE to have 12 foot screens in dedicated HT rooms but a 42-incher in the living room is better than a portable with tinfoil ears. Enjoy.

Da Worfster

[pixelthis]

I understand your position. I'd never buy a set I hadn't seen before. Problem is when you're looking at a set in the store there's lot's of variables that can effect what you're seeing.

1. Room lighting.
2. Signal feed (Hi Def, Upconverted or BluRay)
3. Monitor set-up.

And a host of other variables. We normally say "trust your eyes" but you'll never truly know how a set looks until it's sittin' in your living room and by then it might be too late. Hey, you'll never hear me disparage any compromises that people have to make when it comes to the price of home entertainment. We'd all LIKE to have 12 foot screens in dedicated HT rooms but a 42-incher in the living room is better than a portable with tinfoil ears. Enjoy.

Da Worfster

iF YOU know what to look for you can make a fair judgement in a store.
First thing, adjust the set, and try to buy one (or look at one) in subdued lighting.
Best thing is to find someone who has one, and I am lucky in that respect, a
friend has a 46" Samsung, hooked to Direct TV, and it is a stunner.:1:

[kelsci]

My friend wanted something on the "cheap" and bought at Costco a 40 inch Proscan set. My brother and I traveled 50 miles to visit him and help set up his Pansonic dvd upconverting receiver to this set and to see how this unit played. My brother went under the iota that it was going to be a real turkey of a television. When we arrived, my friend had already had it set up to a comcast high-def receiver with the component video cables. Surprisingly, the set played very nicely on the high-def stations. We then hooked up the dvd receiver. At first we upconverted to 480P and played STAR WARS 3. It looked great. Finally we upconverted to 1080P which was the resolution of this set. The dvd just looked stunning on this 40 inch unit. This television came with alot of features for the money like headphone jack etc, something I could have used on my Regza unit. So if this unit lasts, my friend will certainly get his monies worth. I personally could have lived with this television myself.

[Jim Clark]

Interesting that there are no Sony's making the grade. Actually makes me pretty happy, it must be a Karma thing! I hope that them burning me and millions of others who bought their 3 panel rear projection lcds is finally catching up with them. I can't imagine the circumstances that would lead me to purchase another Sony product regardless of the rating though!

Go Samsung and everyone else who makes TVs!

BTW, I like the 37'' Vizio just hung on my bedroom wall just fine. Amazing pic for the cash and since I just watch it when I shave and fold laundry I'm content with it not being a top 5 TV.

jc

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Most A/V mags don't agree with this assessment. Widescreen Review did testing on the Samsung LED televisions, and found severe haloing around light objects are a predominately dark screen. It was so severe that they turned down the backlighting all the way, and it was still mildly visible.

In Hometheater Mags testing, Panasonic and Sony's televisions finished neck and neck.
In Hometheaters Choice, the same result.
In Sound and Vision, the same result.

I don't know CNET testing methodology, but they have never been all that thorough with using instruments to actually test televisions. They have always been a "by the eye" kind of testing outfit. I absolutely agree with their choice of projectors, as I am going to purchase the Samsung SP-A900B for my new dedicated hometheater. When I saw that Image Entertainment used one for their quality control room, I just had to have one. Their choice of this projector was an easy one. Measurements show this projector conforms to THX standards and SMPTE standards almost out of the box.

[pixelthis]

My friend wanted something on the "cheap" and bought at Costco a 40 inch Proscan set. My brother and I traveled 50 miles to visit him and help set up his Pansonic dvd upconverting receiver to this set and to see how this unit played. My brother went under the iota that it was going to be a real turkey of a television. When we arrived, my friend had already had it set up to a comcast high-def receiver with the component video cables. Surprisingly, the set played very nicely on the high-def stations. We then hooked up the dvd receiver. At first we upconverted to 480P and played STAR WARS 3. It looked great. Finally we upconverted to 1080P which was the resolution of this set. The dvd just looked stunning on this 40 inch unit. This television came with alot of features for the money like headphone jack etc, something I could have used on my Regza unit. So if this unit lasts, my friend will certainly get his monies worth. I personally could have lived with this television myself.

I saw a Proscan at Sears, it looked quite nice.
But Sears has this rediculous policy of having to send to a warehouse for any major
thing, so they lost the sale.
PROSCAN used to be a quality name, but with so many "quality" names being sold
to fly by night outfits(some are decent) its hard to keep up without a program.
Good luck on that one.:1:

[AVMASTER]

I don't know CNET testing methodology, but they have never been all that thorough with using instruments to actually test televisions. They have always been a "by the eye" kind of testing outfit. I absolutely agree with their choice of projectors, as I am going to purchase the Samsung SP-A900B for my new dedicated hometheater. When I saw that Image Entertainment used one for their quality control room, I just had to have one. Their choice of this projector was an easy one. Measurements show this projector conforms to THX standards and SMPTE standards almost out of the box.[/QUOTE]

Just curious but what do you think of the JVCpro D-ILA reference series projectors?

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

I don't know CNET testing methodology, but they have never been all that thorough with using instruments to actually test televisions. They have always been a "by the eye" kind of testing outfit. I absolutely agree with their choice of projectors, as I am going to purchase the Samsung SP-A900B for my new dedicated hometheater. When I saw that Image Entertainment used one for their quality control room, I just had to have one. Their choice of this projector was an easy one. Measurements show this projector conforms to THX standards and SMPTE standards almost out of the box.


Just curious but what do you think of the JVCpro D-ILA reference series projectors?

I must admit, I do like JVC projectors a lot, and had my eye on the RS-20 until I saw the Samsung. What pushed me towards the Samsung was the fact that Joe Kane played a major role in its development, and approved and certified the final design. We he speaks, I listen.