Clare/Andrew Ultimate Guide To Television

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Hi Guys,

Firstly my congratulations on the above, and the new website. Both are fantastic! I have a couple of queries regarding the specs. of the Panasonic PZ85B and PZ81B please, and comparison in turn to the new Sony KDL-40W4000. Firstly, I recognise obviously that all three have been given 5 stars in your reviews (two of them in the Ultimate Guide and one on the website). Having compared the specs. of the 2 Panny's in fine detail from the Panasonic website, I could summarise by saying that the 85B has BBE VIVA HD30 sound and an SD memory card slot where the 81B does not, and the 81B has Freesat, Deep Colour (10-bit), a LAN port, and PIP,PAP where the 85B does not.

My first question therefore relates to the slight criticism in the Ultimate Guide concerning the 46PZ85 which states "Not the luxurious black levels we have enjoyed from othe Panasonic plasmas." Does the presence of Deep Colour (10-bit) on the 81B mean that the black levels are superior as compared to the 85B? (Both having the same high contrast ratios). I ask this because the 46PZ85B escapes the criticism regarding black levels in the website review).

Secondly, the write-up for the new Sony KDL-40W4000 appears to be suggesting that WHF now rates this LCD TV higher than both Panasonic plasma models. Can you confirm that this is indeed your position on the subject? Thank you.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Andy Kerr, the Editor of the Ultimate Guides, is on holiday at the moment - I've punted this question to the reviewers and asked that one of them replies.

Watch this space...

 

[Clare Newsome]

As an aside, I would point out that the PZ81 actually shares more features with the PZ800 series (yet to be reviewed) than the PZ85 - including superior speakers and toughened front panel.

 

[Joe Cox]

jfsc08579:My first question therefore relates to the slight criticism in the Ultimate Guide concerning the 46PZ85 which states "Not the luxurious black levels we have enjoyed from othe Panasonic plasmas." Does the presence of Deep Colour (10-bit) on the 81B mean that the black levels are superior as compared to the 85B? (Both having the same high contrast ratios). I ask this because the 46PZ85B escapes the criticism regarding black levels in the website review).

Do you mean the '81 escapes the criticism? We actually said in that review that the black levels were "decent" and "put up a good fight against some class-leading plasmas", so it wasn't unqualified praise. The long and the short is that both sets offer, err, decent but not quite class-leading black levels.

jfsc08579:Secondly, the write-up for the new Sony KDL-40W4000 appears to be suggesting that WHF now rates this LCD TV higher than both Panasonic plasma models. Can you confirm that this is indeed your position on the subject? Thank you.

Certainly the Sony won our recent Supertest beating two 37in Panasonic sets along the way - one plasma and one LCD. As a point of reference, we again commented that the TX-37LZD85 couldn't quite match the Pana' plasma or the Sony set for those pesky black levels...

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replies guys! (Joe, well spotted - I did indeed mean the '81 escapes the criticism and not the '85! (Slip of the keyboard!). I will take a detailed look at the '800 now. I know we shouldn't get paranoic about things like "how black is the black" - but it's difficult not to when you are on the brink of investing anything up to £1700.00 on the kit! I was more or less convinced up till now that I wanted a plasma rather than an LCD, but your rousing review of that new Sony is making me have a serious re-think! Cheers!

 

[Anonymous]

Clare Newsome:As an aside, I would point out that the
PZ81 actually shares more features with the PZ800 series (yet to be
reviewed) than the PZ85 - including superior speakers and toughened
front panel.

That sounds like good news to me. I've just placed an order for the PZ81 (42" model). Hopefully it's as good as the 46" that got the good review a few days ago.

I did take a look at the Panasonic website (they have a compare facility) and the main differences I could see are that the PZ800 has "Digital Cinema Colour" and a better speaker system (the PZ81 and 85 sharing a full range system, with the PZ800 having separate drivers).

Having said that, according to the site, all three (PZ800, PZ81 and PZ85) have a G11 panel, 30,000:1 contrast ratio and 5,120 steps of gradation!

Joe Cox:...decent but not quite class-leading black levels.

Hi Joe, could you clarify what you consider to be in the same class - are you meaning the Pioneer Kuro sets, or the other Panasonics like the PZ800?

Thanks!

 

[Anonymous]

I haven't yet bought the latest ultimate guide to tv, but having had a flick through it I didn't seem to see a review of the Pioneer LX508D anywhere, only the 508XD. Why has the best tv that is currently available been overlooked?

 

[Anonymous]

I haven't bought that issue yet. What about the Product of the Year, the Pioneer 428XD? I thought this TV still beats the Sony W4000 and all the rest?

 

[Clare Newsome]

BenjaminHart:
I haven't yet bought the latest ultimate guide to tv, but having had a flick through it I didn't seem to see a review of the Pioneer LX508D anywhere, only the 508XD. Why has the best tv that is currently available been overlooked?

"Currently available" is the key phrase - Pioneer advised us when planning that guide (which, remember, is on sale until late July) that stocks were incredibly limited of the old ranges, especially certain models.

We have, of course, got all the reviews online (see here for all Pioneer TV reviews), and will be reviewing the new Pioneer sets as soon as they become available (very shortly, we believe).

 

[Anonymous]

I have a suggestion regarding the reviews. Would it be possible to rank say the top 3 products in a particular category based on all past reviews rather than just awarding one product as a supertest winner (which is dependent on the products tested in that supertest)?

BTW, I love the new website! Great work guys!

 

[Anonymous]

great idea, think it would be good to see something like that so you can see what the top tvs are in that group rather than just one winner, and compare why they are better etc.

 

[Clare Newsome]

Glad you like the site, and feedback always welcome.

If you click on our TV Best Buys, you'll not only get the best sets in every class size, but 'Also Consider' alternatives on those reviews. That should give you the top two or three sets at every size.

We're also working on an online product comparator that will allow you to compare kit side-by-side. That feature's in development, so watch this space!

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the info but currently, the 42 inch category refers to the 40 and 37 inch category Best Buys and vice versa so it doesn't really give us more options.

Also, is it worth leaving in products that are low in stock but still available nevertherless? That might mean that the outgoing models could be extremely good value to purchase at reduced prices versus the newer current models.

 

[Clare Newsome]

I'll get onto the Best Buy alternatives - there should be more than that! (Though we have had a dearth of 42in test models in, oddly - i'll get onto that, too!)

Re leaving in products - we do online, as mentioned, as we have room for new and older models. However, in a magazine where we have limited space, it makes sense to concentrate on models we know you'll be able to buy, rather than wax lyrical about a product you might not be able to get hold of (when this has happened in the past, we've had many, many frustrated emails!)

 

[Anonymous]

*Edited*

 

[Anonymous]

Clare Newsome:
I'll get onto the Best Buy alternatives - there should be more than that! (Though we have had a dearth of 42in test models in, oddly - i'll get onto that, too!)

Re leaving in products - we do online, as mentioned, as we have room for new and older models. However, in a magazine where we have limited space, it makes sense to concentrate on models we know you'll be able to buy, rather than wax lyrical about a product you might not be able to get hold of (when this has happened in the past, we've had many, many frustrated emails!)

OK thanks. I see your point.

I just got a hold of the Ultimate Guide To TV. In the guide, the Sony W4000 was awarded the best buy while the Pioneer 428XD was listed under the best of the rest categories. So does this mean that the Sony W4000 is better than the Pioneer 428XD and would have won the Product of the Year TV if it was available last year? Similarly, the Pioneer 508XD did not get the best buy award despite the good review. Is it because the performance has now been bettered by the new Best Buy winner or is it because of pricing again that causes it to miss out on the Best Buy Award?

In the DVD Recorder category, what happened to the award winning Sony? Why has it been dropped from the list?

 

[Clare Newsome]

Pricing and availability - as mentioned previously, we're very wary of giving Best Buys to products that readers won't be able to buy, especially as that Ultimate Guide is on sale until 31st July, when there'll be no more '8' series Pioneers around. The Sony DVD recorder is also coming to the end of its life, plus the new Pana models offer more for the money.

The HD Ready Pioneers remain superb sets, and if you don't intend to live on a diet of Blu-ray/HD TV, they definitely remain the best option, if you can buy them. But of the 2008 sets we've seen so far, the new Panasonics and Sonys are excellent, and offer the extra detail you'd expect from Full HD TVs.

I'm sorry, Seaking, but i've now answered variants of this question about a gazillion times, and it's only you that can make the final ecision which TV to buy!

 

[Anonymous]

Clare Newsome:
Pricing and availability - as mentioned previously, we're very wary of giving Best Buys to products that readers won't be able to buy, especially as that Ultimate Guide is on sale until 31st July, when there'll be no more '8' series Pioneers around. The Sony DVD recorder is also coming to the end of its life, plus the new Pana models offer more for the money.

The HD Ready Pioneers remain superb sets, and if you don't intend to live on a diet of Blu-ray/HD TV, they definitely remain the best option, if you can buy them. But of the 2008 sets we've seen so far, the new Panasonics and Sonys are excellent, and offer the extra detail you'd expect from Full HD TVs.

I'm sorry, Seaking, but i've now answered variants of this question about a gazillion times, and it's only you that can make the final ecision which TV to buy!

Thank you so much for your comprehensive reply. It really helps to get an insight into how the TVs have been rated and why some products are featured and awarded best buys but not others. I am now able to make even better use of the Ultimate Guides!

I have another question regarding Full HD versus HD Ready sets. From what I have been reading, I seem to be getting the idea that SD looks better on a HD Ready set rather than on a Full HD set. Is this true/correct? If we watch DVDs and use either the DVD Player or the AV Receiver to "upscale" the image, would a HD Ready or a Full HD set be better?

Once again, thanks for all the advice!

 

[professorhat]

seakingadvice:I seem to be getting the idea that SD looks better on a HD Ready set rather than on a Full HD set. Is this true/correct?
This is completely dependent on the TV, not the spec. Some HD Ready sets will look better than other Full HD sets, whereas some Full HD sets will look better than some HD Ready sets. You'll notice in every WHF review though, they comment on the quality of the Freeview / SD picture so look at this and trust your own eyes rather than specs.
seakingadvice:If we watch DVDs and use either the DVD Player or the AV Receiver to "upscale" the image, would a HD Ready or a Full HD set be better?
See above!

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks. If we "upscale" a DVD, are we then considered to be watching full HD or SD? I'm trying to understand how I should be using the What Hi-Fi size/distance guide as I will be watching lots of DVDs and use the AV Amp to upscale the image.

 

[professorhat]

DVDs are SD. You have to remember that any SD signal (generally considered to be 576 lines in the UK) which is being displayed on an HDTV is being upscaled at some point. If the DVD player isn't upscaling the picture, then the TV will do this. If it didn't you'd have a small picture in the middle of the TV as only 576 lines would be displayed, rather than the required 720 on the HD Ready sets, or 1080 on the Full HD sets.