group tests vs single reviews .. is one more flattering ??

[admin_exported]

i was wondering about this one , theres been lots of talk on here recently about the recent tv grouptest in the mag , where the panasonic 42g20 just didnt quite make 5 stars because of it retailing for £200 more than the test winning sony , even though whfi were very happy with the tvs performance...

but in the same mag , the lg50pk990 plasma got 5 stars even though it costs £1600 , so , its obviously a very good plasma , but , what if the panasonic had been reviewed in isolation ? then it would have surely got 5 stars , there was no faults with the tvs performance , deep blacks , the usual plasma strengths , why would it have got anything less than 5 stars ?

my point is , anyone buying the mag , could easily assume that both the sony (which may well be the case) and the lg were better tvs , because they got 5 stars , and the panasonic got only 4 ..

even though the lg hasnt been reviewed against its real competition , ie , samsung and panasonic plasmas of the same size , and of course any other lcd tvs , its already a 5 star tv , the panasonic g20 range could be better than the lg ??

i understand that whfi can only review what the manufacturers send in to them , thats obvious , and im sure they would like to have all the various products to hand , so they can devise any tests they feel warranted , but even so , has the lg not benefitted from not being subjected to like for like , pound for pound scrutiny ? while the panasonic has been docked a star , under those very test conditions ?? just my thoughts...

 

[Clare Newsome]

Every one of our tests is comparative, Max - the LG was compared with new-season sets (albeit of different size) as well as our reference Pioneer Kuro (and you don't get tougher competition than that!)

Obviously there could be a time when we put the five-star LG up against newer rivals and it drops a star. Eventually most products meet their match! But then again, it could remain unbeaten this year on performance-per-pound, who knows?? (I'm Clare, not clairvoyant

)

Going back to the Panasonic in the Supertest, we made it explicitly clear in the overall verdict text that if it were not for the Sony, the Panasonic may have got a five star. But the Sony did - and does - exist, and in our opinion outperforms the Pana for less money.

Your loyalty to and passion for Panasonic is touching, Max, but we are totally brand-neutral.

 

[Anonymous]

ah clare , if i thought that whfi were not brand neutral , i wouldnt post here , on principle , i dont doubt your integrity for a minute ..

im just sharing my views on how i think the various tests may be confusing to some

ps .. please post next weeks lotto numbers here for us

 

[Anonymous]

and you know what, its easy to pre judge LG because they havent made too many good TV's (products) until maybe recently. (get your point though maxflinn) but maybe the reason these companies are catching up is that Panasonic with the G20 havent really moved it on

but i saw the '3D sky man utd game' today on an LG and thought, wow! -- it was great, really engaging, and the TV in general and sound were superb (in isolation against no other product) but the point being it was LG who were ready with their set and it worked brilliantly with the polaroid glasses. Remember the HD launch with sky?, it was all Sony, times move on and LG have got are getting closer

What it decided me on however was a 50'' VT20 is now essential, (providing it matches or beats the LG on 3D), the immersion from 12ft on a 50'' on live football will be worth the expenditure, genuinely staggered by how good it was today even off centre at 20ft with an elevated set. Eye strain the only issue, hope the active glasses reduce