Which set is better

[admin_exported]

Thinking of getting a new tv obvioulsy i'll be connecting a home cinema, dvd recorder with upscaling and my playstation 3 i was wondering which you would class as best on the market

Sony KDL-40x3500, Panasonic TH-42PZ700PED, Samsung LE40F86BD or Pioneer PDP-428XD

i dont want to go any bigger than 42" due to the size of the room, obviously i dont mind paying for quality, or if there is a better set on the market please guide me too it, thanks for the help

 

[Clare Newsome]

Easy answer: the Pioneer is the best of the bunch there - our TV product of the year and a truly excellent set with standard TV, DVD or HD. It's definitely worth its premium.

Next up on that list would be the Panasonic - a superb, five-star set.

 

[Alsone]

Pioneer is best but its got a hell of a premium for slightly better blacks and is overpriced in my opinon for what the difference is. Hunt around and you can find the Panasonic PZ 70 for around £800 less.

 

[Anonymous]

I wasnt sure on the pioneer as as a 42" its only 1080i where the others are 1080p just want to make double sure

 

[Anonymous]

The TV can accept 1080p, which it then downscales to fit on the 768 vertical lines. (1080i also needs downsizing to fit on the screen also). What a screen is capable of accepting as a feed, and how many pixels make up the picture are two different things.

Consider this though - at the distances you are supposed to view a 42" screen, your eyes will struggle to tell the difference between good 720p and 1080p displayed on a screen. Its only if you are sitting very close, and are feeding the set with nothing but very high quality content from either HD-DVD or Blueray that you might notice the difference. Also, the less lines a set has, the better chance it has of forming a good image from an Standard Definition source (assuming the processing engine is the same).

Also, bear in mind that the Pioneer has better handling of 1080 24p due to its intertnal refresh rates. The upshot of this is that HD content from a HD player can be played at the cinematically correcty speed (24 frames per second) without any jerking during panning.

Go look at them, you can't choose a telly on stats alone. You wouldn't buy a car based on its 0-60 now would you?