For a relatively new brand, Olevia has made a fast start. When I attended the launch of its new assembly plant in Ontario California recently, I was impressed by the efficiency of the operation, not to mention the gutsy move to open an assembly plant in the continental U.S. rather than, say, just across the border in Mexico. This says a lot about the confidence that Olevia, and its parent company Syntax-Brillian Corporation, has about its future.
2D Performance 3D Performance Features Ergonomics Value
PRICE $3,000
AT A GLANCE Plus
Accurate color
Good contrast and shadow detail
Customizable Home
Screen GUI
Decent price for a 65-inch UHDTV
Minus
Some picture noise
THE VERDICT
Panasonic’s 65-inch Ultra HDTV provides impressive performance and a huge array of Smart features.
Steep price declines have become the norm in the consumer electronics world, especially when it comes to TVs. Case in point: The last Ultra HDTV I reviewed, a Samsung 65-incher that arrived at the tail end of 2013, had an MSRP that was twice the $3,000 sticker price of Panasonic’s 65-inch TC-65AX800U Ultra HDTV. Now I hear that Vizio is selling sets with the same screen size and pixel count for $2,200. They might as well be giving them away.
2D Performance 3D Performance Features Ergonomics Value
PRICE $7,199
AT A GLANCE Plus
Stunning color
Gorgeously detailed 4K playback
A boatload of picture tweaks
Minus
Not quite plasma-like blacks and shadow detail
3D ghosting
The price
THE VERDICT
Panasonic’s statement Ultra HDTV sucks you in with its alluring image and doesn’t let go, but its high price is a deterrent.
When Panasonic left the plasma market in late 2013 to the whimpers of videophiles worldwide, the company committed to delivering an LED-backlit LCD that would rival the image of their best-ever TV—the ZT60 that was their plasma swan song. The first Panny Ultra HD LCD to follow, the edge-lit TC-65AX800U, was a fine TV, though hardly a breakout set. But in late 2014, Panasonic rolled out their flagship AX900U series at 55 and 65 inches, the latter of which we now review here.
AT A GLANCE Plus
Excellent color
Great screen uniformity
Artifact-free 1080p-to-UHD scaling
Minus
Poor black level and contrast
Meager streaming platform
THE VERDICT
Though it delivers solid entry-level performance, Panasonic’s CX400 faces more fully featured competition at its price.
Panasonic pulled big crowds at its CES booth in January with their CZ950 OLED, a 65-inch Ultra HD television that adds advanced processing to an LG-supplied OLED panel, with quite stunning results. Unfortunately, that set is only sold overseas for now (priced at €10,000 or about $11,000, no less), and it remains unclear when or if Panasonic will release it in the States.
2D Performance 3D Performance Features Ergonomics Value
PRICE $2,999
AT A GLANCE Plus
Very wide viewing angle
Accurate out-of-box color
Great GUI and Smart features
Minus
Some picture-uniformity issues
Pricey compared with high-end LCD competition
THE VERDICT
Panasonic’s LCD boasts an impressive array of Smart features and decent picture quality, but some uniformity issues on dark movie scenes prevent it from stacking up to the high-end LCD competition.
Panasonic is a company that has stuck with plasma TV tech through thick and thin. In the thick column, you’ll find loads of great reviews and general raves from videophiles. In the thin column, there are claims (largely unfounded) of burn-in damage generated by everything from video games to stock tickers; more crucial, there’s bruising sales competition from LCD. What’s less known about Panasonic is that the company actually does sell LCD HDTVs—quite a few of ’em, in fact. If you were to check Panasonic’s Website right now (do it!), you’d see that its TV lineup is divided equally between plasma and LCD. And with rumors circulating about the company’s imminent departure from the plasma manufacturing biz (say it ain’t so!), that balance could soon swing fully over to the LCD side.
Price: $1,100 At A Glance: Bright, pleasing picture • Crisp detail • Poor contrast • Highly reflective screen
We’re reasonably certain that most folks looking for a budget HDTV probably aren’t poring through the pages of enthusiast publications like Home Theater for advice. If they’re researching at all, they’re studying the easy-to-digest bubble ratings in Consumer Reports or Which Video, or Googling generic consumer-help Websites.
In the crowded world of flat panels, a manufacturer that can make their product distinctive certainly has a leg up on the competition. Philips clearly understands this, equipping their line of LCD and plasma displays with some unique features that help these displays stand out from the pack. Of course, when you veer away from the tried-and-true approach, you also risk alienating some consumers.
The battle of flat-screen technology is heating up, and LCD makers are fighting each other for technological superiority. As we reach the end of 2006, the production of 40-to-42-inch LCDs has grown, while pricing has reached parity with plasma displays in this size range. The list of competitive makers of LCDs in this size is exploding, creating a race to innovate. Enter Philips' latest flat panel, the 42PF9831D. This top-of-the-line LCD has a number of industry firsts, including Philips' own Aptura backlight. Aptura is designed to sharpen fast-moving images, solving one of LCD's common shortcomings. The 42PF9831D is a 1,366-by-768 high-definition display with Ambilight Full Surround technology, Philips' exclusive four-sided screen lighting system (more on this later). It also features Clear LCD signal processing—which works with the Aptura backlight for faster response time—CableCARD, a memory-card reader, and Pixel Plus 3 upconversion.
As more consumers embrace high-speed home networking and video downloads, one question is gaining prominence: Can't we view this content on something a little more substantial than our computer monitors? Yes, you can, thanks to the digital media receiver, which is a device that lets you stream video, photo, and music files from your computer to your television.
Much of the R&D effort for Panasonic’s TVs gets funneled into plasma technology — with excellent results. (Check out the TC-P55VT30 in our Editors’ Choice Awards here.) But as we found out this time last year upon reviewing the company’s TC-L42D2, it also makes sets of the LCD persuasion. Quite a few of them, in fact.
While 3D movies haven’t totally taken over the multiplex, the format remains a force to be reckoned with. Michael Bay just released a new Transformers installment in 3D (Transformers: Dark of the Moon), James Cameron is at work on Avatar sequels, and the entire Star Wars saga is being formatted for 3D release.
AT A GLANCE Plus
Cutting-edge graphics
Extreme immersion
Futuristic design
DisplayPort 2.1
Accurate colors
Handles HDR well Minus
Expensive
Needs a powerful PC for gaming
No remote
THE VERDICT
While it requires a cutting edge, top-of-the-line PC to get the most out of it, If you love simulated driving or flying, the Neo G9 57-inch monitor was made for you.
When it comes to visual immersion, Samsung's curved, ultra-wide Odyssey gaming monitors are about as close as you can get to VR without donning goggles. And no such monitor that Samsung has released embodies this more than the Odyssey Neo G9, a 57-inch beast that is the resolution equivalent of two 4K 16:9 monitors side-by-side.
As we round the corner toward 2007, the big names in LCD are bringing their next-generation models to market. While some models experiment with new technologies designed to improve LCD performance, all seem to have one thing in common: They cost a lot less than their 2005 predecessors. It's hard to believe that, this time last year, I was reviewing 32-inch HDTVs and HD monitors priced at around $3,500. As I examined the new Samsung 32-inch LN-S3251D, which has a wee-little asking price of $1,800, I couldn't help but wonder which, if any, corners Samsung cut to help that price fall so far and so fast.
Before I became the editor of <I>UAV</I>, I was the video editor of <I>The Perfect Vision</I> and, after that magazine folded, <I>Playback</I>, an all-digital monthly published by the same company. My final assignment for <I>Playback</I> was a survey of eight LCD TVs, and the last TV I evaluated for that survey was the Samsung LN-T4671F.