Advice on What TV? LCD or Plasma

[admin_exported]

My head is spinning re what TV to buy? Plasma or LCD, as I have been given conflicting advice. I had originally thought of buying the Sony KDL-40W2000, however you had tested a 40 inch Samsung (apologise for not remembering which model), which was also very nice. Now I'm thinking of buying a 46 inch tv, and I know the Samsung won your group test. However it did not handle motion as well as you'd like it to have and therefore it won due to value, performance per pound, rather than performance overall. The Sony was your best TV for 2006, things have moved on since then and all manufacturers have raised their game. So what is the best tv at the moment 40 to 50 inch. Which tv would get the What Hi Fi 6 month 2007 award? Thanks Ash.

 

[Clare Newsome]

If you can hang on, we're running a 42in Supertest - including some models not even in shops yet - in our November issue, which comes out in September (I know that doesn't make sense, but it's because of our 13th, Awards issue being out in October...)

If you can't wait that long, I'd strongly suggest you see the following in action, plus look out for a review of an awesome new 50in set in our October issue (out August 23rd):

Panasonic TH-50PX700; Samsung PS50Q97HDX; Sony HDL-46X2000.

Hope this helps!

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the advice. I'm in no rush to buy and can wait for the reviews you have mentioned. However I am confused re is LCD better than Plasma or is it personal preference? As the Panasonic and Samsung you mentioned to look at are both plasma's and the Sony an LCD.

I guess I'll have to wait until the 13th Award edition to really know which is the best overall tv, like the Sony KDL-40W2000 was for 2006.

PS Clare you are absolutely gorgeous!!! Apologise for any embarrassment. But I guess you hear that all the time.

 

[Anonymous]

I notice that Which? say about the PS42Q97HDX that it "lags behind the best models for both picture and sound quality" and "to make matters worse it simply eats power and uses an enormous 330 watts when switched on". They score the SD and Overall Picture Quality as "Poor" and give it just 54 points as against 80 for their Best Buys.

Yet WhatHifi seems to rate the 50" version highly. Presumably sound and vision problems seen in the 42" as tested by Which? would have been at least as obvious in the 50". Does that mean that mean that picture quality etc is very much in the eyes of the beholder or is there some other explanation? I'm confused.

 

[Clare Newsome]

We've said it before and we'll say it again.....

Every model and every size of screen in a TV manufacturer's range should be treated as a separate product. Different-size panels are often made in different factories (and even by different companies, using older/new technology), and the picture processing employed varies between models. That can mean a 50in is a five-star while a 42in could be a two-star, for example.

And with all due respect to Which, I'm sure their tests are not as rigourous or thorough as ours when it comes to TVs. Our expert testers have seen more sets than Which have seen washing machines....

 

[Andrew Everard]

...And that's not a bad case of red push on the screen, it's the just the reflection of Clare blushing after asharb123's last post.

 

[Anonymous]

well me myself am thinking of buying the Sony KDL-40W2000.

although it was your product of the year 2006- it is abit last year. Does this meen it wont keep up with the times (so to speak) I dont want to waste money buying this TV if better quality Tv's will be released soon

I meen Sony are bringing out a New LCD if Im correct?

 

[Anonymous]

I accept to some extent what you say in the first paragraph Clare though it would be little surprising if any manufacturer made a wonderful TV in one size but also produced the same model with everything the same apart from the screen which then suddenly became rubbish in the smaller size. Such inconsistent quality control is the last thing manufacturers want and wouldn't make much business sense would it?

On the second point if the testing team at Which? can't recognise what you say is a wonderful TV then isn't that even more likely to go unnoticed by the average buyer? If their test labs can't see it's a wonderful TV and describe it as 'Poor' will I? I assume they have some expertise as they've been going since before WhatHifi was even thought of haven't they and certainly have every reason to be objective?

I believe Which? always purchase their products for testing anonymously. Does What Hifi do the same or are they supplied to them by the manufacturers?

 

[Clare Newsome]

I agree it doesn't make sense for TVs in the same range to vary so much, but they do. There's also the issue of them coming up against other sets from rivals that may be priced differently, which can make them/more less competitive compared to the competition.

Re Which. Not knocking them at all - they do some sterling work, but they're not specialists, putting every set through a wide range of tests. We want to know how a set performs with its analogue and Freeview tuners - with a variety of TV material, including sports and more static conent - with a wide range of DVDs and HD sources (broadcast and disc), as well as testing all its connectivity options, set-up menus, usability and more. All these factors add up to how a TV performs - and that's before you run it side by side against a rival, running off the same source to give a direct A-B comparision.
We also test them before/after they've been calibrated - factory fresh and tweaked to give their best performance.

But I digress. We haven't said the 42in Samsung is a "wonderful TV" - we haven't tested it yet. Who knows, we could agree with them!

And as for the buying issue - we both get kit from manufacturers and buy products for test, too.

 

[Anonymous]

Was the Samsung you are recommending purchased anonymously as Which? do Clare, or was it given to you by Samsung?

 

[Clare Newsome]

It came from Samsung. As did the Samsung Blu-ray player we gave two stars to, the LCD TV we gave three stars to and the two non-test-winning DVD recorders in the current issue.... When a product's good we say it's good, when it's not we don't - simple as.