My view on some 32"LCD's, incl Hitachi, Sony S/V, Panny 500, Philips 9830, LG LX2R

daxie

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Ok, so 10 minutes ago I walked out of the Sony centre...
since yesterday they got the s and v series on display (Belgium always is one of the last to get supplies).

On display: 32" S and 40" V...

General consensus between me and the shop manager (who was, surprisingly, pretty objective to what I said about panny, hitachi,...): we both don't understand why Sony asks about €700-800 more (for the same 32") for a model that only has a different design, a wega engine that doesn't actually do that much, and a connector less?

Yes, the difference in picture quality between the s and v was negligable. I couldn't see it. Only slight color difference, (s a bit more saturated, but can be solved), but not any in sharpness.
Agree, the size difference may attribute to that, and the difference may show in the 40" s and v, I can't tell, but when looking at the 32", the image was not distinguishable to the v in terms of sharpness. So the wega engine on a 32" is imo (and his) a waste...
Ow yes, I'm talking about analog RF feed here...

Plus the price on the Sony, is, in Sony's terms, great. It seems they have finally understood that they can't rob people's purses anymore...
€1660 for a 5 year warranty on the 32" s is better price than I had thought it would be.

Comparing to the other models I saw (will only talk 32" from now on, since I did most comparing on those).
I did not see them face to face, only with a few minutes/days in between, but my conclusions...
Contenders: Sony 32" S, Panny 500, Hitachi 7200, Philips 9830, LG lx2r

On a HD feed (Astra satellite 1080i), I can't remember a difference, other than colour, so either set I think will be great.

SD feed, which is in my country still most important, even analog!

Top ranking goes between the panny 500 and the sony s. I compared these with a day in between, and unless I would see them next to each other, I couldn't tell the difference I think. But to my taste, the Panny was just a tad better, but only by a slight edge. The philips coming under them, losing places for overprocessing the image imo. Under that, the LG and the Hitachi. I don't think there is much difference between them. Maybe the Hitachi a tad better, but worth the €500 extra? No.

So my conclusions after all this. For 32", I think you have to be really stupid to cash out an extra €700-800 for a wega engine that does little to nothing a lack of PC input, and a different design. So v series is out for me. LG was on top of my list so far, but for only a 100€ difference between the sony and lg (sony being more expensive, but with 5 year warranty instead of 2), my recommendation would be the sony, although the lack of 1:1 DVI support (But through vga available) hurts a bit in the heart. Then comes the Hitachi and the Panny. They both cost around 350 more than the sony, and 450 than the LG. With all the buzzing issues, and the not so convincing analog performance , the hitachi seems to be slipping (while it has been my favorite for a long time)(but also that dvi 1:1...). SO is the panny worth the extra dime over the sony s? Connection wise they are identical, except for 1RGB scart and card reader on the panny. PQ wise the Panny has a little edge over the Sony. But the sony can boast with a 5 year warranty instead of 2. Is 350€ worth 3 year less warranty and a slightly better PQ, and a cardreader? Depends on the priorities I think...

I did not say that much about the Philips yet. Same category as the Sony V series. Waaaay too overpriced for what in my eyes are only marketing gimmicks.

So my top 5 for current 32" LCD's readily available in Belgium, and at a <2000€ retailer's price (not online shop!)...

1 and 2. Panasonic 500 / Sony S (it really depends on what you want)
3. LG LX2R
4. Hitachi 7200

What hurts me is that the 2 models that have dvi 1:1, end last. Sniff, doesn't the perfect set exist?

daxie @ your service
 
daxie said:
Sniff, doesn't the perfect set exist?

No, and you won't get one for a while. We are in a technology transition phase, until HD-LCD's rule the world, and you've stopped caring about your old SD, interlaced sources, it will always be a compromise. Come back in 3-5 years, when black levels, viewing angles, scaling performance and bandwith limitations are gone.
Until then, pick what matters most to you and chose the set that excels at that.
 
freekbear said:
No, and you won't get one for a while. We are in a technology transition phase, until HD-LCD's rule the world, and you've stopped caring about your old SD, interlaced sources, it will always be a compromise. Come back in 3-5 years, when black levels, viewing angles, scaling performance and bandwith limitations are gone.
Until then, pick what matters most to you and chose the set that excels at that.

rock on.

lcd's are definatly in their infancy, i think people expect too much from them.

for 98% of the UK population, for the next 5 years, until freeview goes HD - which wont happen until analog is fully turned off, LCD's only realy benefit is space saving, and sexy looks.
 
freekbear said:
No, and you won't get one for a while. We are in a technology transition phase, until HD-LCD's rule the world, and you've stopped caring about your old SD, interlaced sources, it will always be a compromise. Come back in 3-5 years, when black levels, viewing angles, scaling performance and bandwith limitations are gone.
Until then, pick what matters most to you and chose the set that excels at that.

I am not 100% sure those days will ever come with LCD's, I suspect it will be over taken by other technology before hand.
 
richard plumb said:
you checked out the JVC 32DS6? got good reviews too. Also the Toshiba WLT58 32"

Nope, didn't find a store which had it on display.
Toshiba not yet available in my country...
 
Update...

I went back to the Sony store.
My thoughs on the difference between V and S in terms of PQ (or lack off!) were highly contrasting the general view on this forum.

So I went back with my LOTR: FOTR DVD...

Now I could see both in same size. The V and the S both in 32". Picture through component @ 576p.

Scene 14. (The first encounter with the black rider and entrance in the Inn). Lots of black scenes, also some fast action.

I was totally surprised with what I saw. V really showed it's skill here. A lot (and I do mean LOT) more detail in dark scenes. Where the S showed a black part, the V showed a lot more!
Also with same settings, V's colours were a lot more accurate then the S's. Especially skin tones were much better on the V than on the S. S were all a tad too yellow. Overal picture was more saturated on the S.

Basically my conclusion has changed. Don't get an S. But if the V is worth the extra over a Panny 500 or the Lg, I'll come back to you. Will test the same scene on those in the next days.

Daxie
 
Good work daxie! I'm thinking of the 26" versions so much appreciated!
 
And another update...

Went to see the Panny 500 with my DVD tonight.

DVD was through a panny s97 with HDMI, plain 576p.

Overal impression was that blacks and detail were better than the Sony S, but not up to level of the V. Blacks on V were to my eye a lot blacker, while still keeping good detail and good whites. Also panny seemed a bit blueish, but the whole scene I selected is blueish, but it seemed more pronounced on the panny.

Overall I'd rate the Sony a 9, and the panny an 8 on PQ. Too bad the V doesn't have the VGA. Damn it's hard.

Thursday I'll put the Lg to the same test.
 
Another update...

Ok, same test, progressive component on the LG LX-2R.

Better than the Sony S, but not as good as the Panny, and not as good as the Sony V.
Lack of detail in blacks, but colours better than the Sony S.

So PQ-wise, it's simple: "you get what you pay for".

1. Sony V/ Loewe Xelos
2. Panny 500
3. LG LX 2-R
4. Sony S
 
Daxie yours is just the sort of posting that makes this site invaluable, thanx M8. :clap:
 
daxie said:
And another update...

Went to see the Panny 500 with my DVD tonight.

DVD was through a panny s97 with HDMI, plain 576p.

Why 576p over HDMI? Why not send a SD progressive signal over the component input?

There are instances documented in reviews where performance differs and is better via component then over HDMI in some respects on certain sets.

I have not seen that said about the Panny but then I think the only signal sent over the HDMI input has been either true HD or SD upscaled to 720p in the reviews I have read.

Dave
 

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