screen advice for a novice

[farawaydave]

thought it was time for a new tv,so armed with a copy of the awards issue trooped of to the shops to see for myself.my room is quite large so it can handle 46in or 50in. 3 screens i saw sony kdl46w4500(£1600),panasonic th50pz80(£1250).samsung ps50a556(£989) now all 3 screens were set up side by side all playing independence day on bluray.now i know the awards issue says the sony is the best 46in tv you can buy but the two plasmas i saw were far superior in picture quality than the sony with rich deep colour and very deep blacks where as the sony was well poor,when i asked to see them in sd my old toshiba crt looked better than the sony.I understand the samsung is an old model but with £600 difference this goes along way towards amp,bluray and speakers.i suppose the set up in the shop (comet) could explain some of this but i remained to be convinced. any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Anonymous]

I would say the Sony was in shop or dynamic mode. If adjusted correctly it can hold its own against the others. I have a Sony 40W4500 and it is better than my mates Panasonic TH42PX80B and it blows away my brothers Samsung LE46A656.

 

[Andy Clough]

Hi Farawaydave

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: TVs on display in many of the big retail multiples are rarely calibrated properly, are often set to be artificially bright in store and are often fed a poor signal. Are you sure the Sony was being fed from the same source as the other two sets? And do you know if it was correctly calibrated?

We test all our TVs in a dedicated room especially designed for the purpose so we can do direct A-B comparisons with rivals, using the same source. If the Sony 46W4500 you saw looked poor, then frankly I suspect it wasn't set up correctly.

I'm not saying the Panasonic and Samsung are poor, but we know the Sony is a superb set. I'd try and see a demo at a dedicated Sony Centre or independent retailer if you can.

 

[farawaydave]

thanks for the advice andy, illdo my best to visit a sony centre.in your opinion in terms of performance is the sony worth £600 more than the samsung?

 

[Andy Clough]

Haven't seen that particular Samsung in action, Farawaydave, so couldn't say. But I do know the Sony is very, very good.