LCD TV Reviews

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Thomas J. Norton  |  Mar 22, 2010  | 
Price: $5,999 At A Glance: Good black level • Excellent detail • Vibrant color • Uneven screen illumination

LEDs on the Edge

You might not be familiar with the NuVision brand. You won’t find it at Best Buy. Costco has never heard of it. And a Wal-Mart associate would likely scratch his or her head and send you to the on-site optometrist.

Scott Wilkinson  |  Feb 22, 2010  | 
Price: $3,000 At A Glance: Great color and detail • Excellent video processing • Mild-mannered frame interpolation • Mediocre blacks and shadow detail

A Worthy Contender

Many companies have gotten into the LCD HDTV game over the last few years, hoping to capitalize on the high demand for flat panels. But most are newcomers compared with Sharp, which was one of the first companies to offer LCD TVs in Japan back in 1988. Since then, Sharp has remained ahead of the curve in terms of manufacturing and environmental concerns. It has invested billions of dollars in new plants and processes.

Scott Wilkinson  |  Jan 19, 2010  | 
Price: $2,200 At A Glance: Superb video processing • Improved menu operation and calibration controls • So-so black level and shadow detail on real-world material

LED for the Masses

At the 2009 CES, Vizio took the wraps off of its first LCD HDTV with LED backlighting and local dimming, which consumers have been eagerly waiting for ever since. At $2,200, the VF551XVT is the least expensive 55-inch local-dimming LCD available, which makes it mighty attractive to cash-strapped TV shoppers. How well does it fulfill the promise of LED backlighting? Read on to find out...

Thomas J. Norton  |  Nov 30, 2009  | 
Price: $4,500 At A Glance: Deep blacks • Excellent resolution • Full range of color adjustments • Local-dimming LED technology

Back to the LED Future

Samsung, it appears, is going LED in a big way. Thirteen of its LCD sets in the 6, 7, and 8 Series use LEDs for back-lighting instead of CCFLs (cold cathode fluorescent lights), which until recently have been nearly universal in flat-panel LCD HDTVs.

Thomas J. Norton  |  Oct 12, 2009  | 
Price: $2,300 At A Glance: Outstanding black level and shadow detail • 240-hertz-like operation • Full range of calibration controls

An LED Touchdown

LCD HDTVs have long been compromised in their ability to reproduce the deepest blacks together with good shadow detail. But that’s changing. We’ve seen some notable improvements in a few recent conventional sets. However, the change has been most pronounced in sets that use a revolutionary new development: LED backlighting with local dimming.

Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 12, 2009  | 
Price: $2,400 at A Glance: Excellent color, detail, blacks, and frame interpolation • Mediocre shadow detail • THX mode not as close to correct as it should be

Black Is Back

As you no doubt know by now, LCD HDTVs command the lion’s share of the flat-panel market, outpacing plasma by a wide margin. This is due, at least in part, to the fact that LCDs are generally brighter than plasmas, which draws more attention on the showroom floor. They also consume less power, which makes them the greener choice.

Scott Wilkinson  |  Sep 14, 2009  | 
Price: $3,400 At A Glance: Great detail and color • Lower black level than most conventional LCDs • Integrated Internet TV • Menu system not my fave • Some off-axis discoloration

The Right Stuff

I’m old enough to remember when Sony introduced its first XBR models, which were top-of-the-line CRT TVs. Since then, the company has continued to use XBR in the model designation of its flagship flat panels, adding a number to indicate each new generation.

Thomas J. Norton  |  Aug 11, 2009  | 
This review is part of a five-way Face Off. Read the introduction and conclusions of the Face Off here.

Price: $1,300 At A Glance: 240-Hz-like operation with 120-Hz refresh • Outstanding calibration adjustments • Sub-par contrast and black level

Thomas J. Norton  |  Aug 11, 2009  | 
This review is part of a five-way Face Off. Read the introduction and conclusions of the Face Off here.

Price: $900 At A Glance: The price is right • Good detail • Mediocre black and shadow detail

Thomas J. Norton  |  Aug 11, 2009  | 
This review is part of a five-way Face Off. Read the introduction and conclusions of the Face Off here.

Price: $1,400 At A Glance: Superb adjustability • Outstanding color • Mediocre contrast and black level

Thomas J. Norton  |  Aug 11, 2009  | 
This review is part of a five-way Face Off. Read the introduction and conclusions of the Face Off here.

Price: $1,500 At A Glance: Plasma-like blacks and shadow detail • Good color and resolution • At its best with 1080p sources

Thomas J. Norton  |  Jun 30, 2009  | 

You've heard the old saying—you can't be too rich or too thin. I won't touch the "too rich" part here, but people can certainly be too thin to maintain good health. On the other hand, flat panels have no such restriction, getting thinner every year in response to strong market demands.

Thomas J. Norton  |  Jun 22, 2009  | 
Price: $3,800 At A Glance: Good blacks and shadow detail • Excellent resolution • Natural color • QC issues in our early samples

The LED Edge

It was CES, January 2009. The young lady standing next to the new Samsung 7000 Series LCD HDTVs was still perky. (It was early in the show’s four-day run.)

Scott Wilkinson  |  Apr 27, 2009  | 
Price: $2,000 At A Glance: Beautiful colors • Excellent HD detail • Frame interpolation works well • Poor black levels • Would not accept 1080p/24 from some BD players

V for Value

If you read my review of the Vizio VP505XVT plasma HDTV in the April 2009 issue, you know that I think it is—or, more accurately, was—the best flat-panel value on the market. (Just after that review went to press, Vizio announced it was getting out of the plasma business to concentrate exclusively on LCDs.) I was eager to see if the latest Vizio LCD could meet that standard of excellence.

Thomas J. Norton  |  Apr 09, 2009  | 
Price: $12,000 At A Glance: Superb blacks • Exceptional resolution • Inaccurate color

Ultra Black and Ultra Thin

Less than two years after I accompanied a group of American journalists on a visit to a new Sharp factory, the company has developed yet another new plant. This one can support an even larger mother glass. On that same visit, we also witnessed examples of the company’s cutting-edge R&D, including new, ultra-black technology.

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