Samsung's LN55A950 seems destined to generate controversy among the videophile community. Some will insist that it's the best-looking LCD TV on the market; others will say, well, otherwise. Both arguments are likely to revolve around the LED-backlighting technology that differentiates this high-end model from nearly all other currently available LCD TVs.
Price: $2,600 At A Glance: Excellent image depth • First-rate resolution, particularly in HD • Frame interpolation can’t be defeated • Colors are pleasing but not accurate
120 Hertz and All That Jazz
It hasn’t been that long since JVC left the rear-projection business. Its LCOS designs were among the best on the market—which is appropriate for a company that still makes LCOS front projectors.
Anyone who has read my TV reviews knows I'm not a big fan of the audio systems built into most models. They usually sound thin and closed in, and there's not much stereo separation, to say nothing of surround sound. So when Mitsubishi announced a new line of LCD TVs with an integrated sound bar, I sat up and took notice.
A few months ago, a product manager and engineer from LG visited Grayscale Studio to demonstrate the company's new LG60 line of LCD TVs. They were most proud of the effort they had put into the grayscale controls, which let a trained technician calibrate this critical aspect of a TV's performance.
LCD TVs with a refresh rate of 120Hz are becoming quite common these days—all the high-end models now sport this feature, which is supposed to sharpen the image of objects in motion, a bugaboo of virtually all LCDs. JVC's 47-inch, 1080p LT-47X899 is no exception, providing 120Hz operation for a list price of $2600. Can it compete with the other TVs in its class? Only a good, hard look will tell...
When I reviewed Sony's <A href="http://ultimateavmag.com/flatpaneldisplays/408sonykdl52/">KDL-52XBR4</A> LCD TV in April 2008, I was very impressed for the most part. With excellent color and exceptional detail on HD material, my only reservations were a slightly soft appearance on SD content and a black level that remained a bit elevated on real-world programs. (The black level mysteriously dropped on certain test patterns, even with all dynamic settings disabled.) Also, its list price of $4000 was pretty steep.
Now that HD DVD is off its plate, Toshiba can concentrate more of its corporate energy on LCD TVs—not that it ever slacked off in that regard. Despite the silly marketing moniker REGZA (Real Expression Guaranteed by amaZing Architecture), Toshiba has been a heavyweight in the LCD TV realm for many years.
Korea-based LG, which absorbed Zenith a few years back, is one of the world’s largest flat-panel HDTV manufacturers. The company is working on some exciting new stuff, including plasmas that meet the new THX video specifications. LG will also produce LCDs that employ local dimming, a technique that improves the black level and contrast of LCD sets. Some of these models will be in stores by the time you read this, or by the fall season.
Samsung has come a long way since the days when it was considered a second-tier bargain-basement brand. Thanks to steadily improving quality, the Korean megacorp is now one of the world's pre-eminent consumer-electronics manufacturers. I've reviewed several Samsung TVs over the years, and each one has been better than the one before.
Modern display technology is becoming ever more complex. When I bought my first color television at Jurassic Electronics, it was a small 19-inch CRT job from Zenith. Remember Zenith? That set soldiered on for more than 20 years, the last eight or so performing second-string bedroom duties to a sleek new 25-inch Sony Profeel with a (drum roll, please) separate TV tuner. Both sets were CRTs. Remember CRTs?
Westinghouse is one of the most venerable consumer-appliance brands in American history, so it's no wonder the company has gotten into the LCD TV game in a big way. I've reviewed several Westinghouse sets, and I've seen steady improvement with each generation.
The brand name may be new to you, but NuVision, headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, didn’t just arrive on the 3:10 from Yuma [ba-da-bing!—Ed.]. One of the new display companies that have sprung up in the transition to HDTV, it has been marketing video products in the U.S. for several years with little fanfare.
Sony has gone LCD in a big way. The company dropped its rear-projection sets last fall, and it’s been years since a plasma display sported a Sony badge. At its 2008 line show in February, the company announced 17 new sets. When they’re all in stores this fall, the Sony LCD model count will be 50-strong.
Introduced as LG's flagship line of 1080p LCD TVs just last summer, the Korean giant's LBX series began shipping to dealers in the forth quarter of 2007. The LBX TVs seemed promising, albeit relatively light in features compared to some similarly priced competitors.
When you think of LCD TVs, NuVision is probably not the first name that comes to mind. Based in Scottsdale, Arizona, the company is aiming its Lucidium line at the custom-installation market with high-end displays at high-end prices. How does this 52-inch model measure up? Let's see...