Is it REALLY good or am I just imagining it? Bravia

[PeaceLoving]

When I went to the department store, I was ver impressed with the Bravia line of LCD TVs. They had this DEEP 3D feel/look that made me feel as if I could jump into the picture.

However, when I talked to the Philips salesman, he said that other brands are just as good and that Sony was using some kind of converter box to enhance their pictures.

Are other LCD TVs really truly just as good as the Bravia series or is the Philips salesman lying?

Is it wrong to use a converter box? I mean, would it be affordable to buy a converter box(if there is any) to use at home so that my pics will be as nice as they were in the department store?

Thanks

Fred

 

[schwinn]

Last I read, Sony's LCDs are manufactured by Samsung...

I will admit, I have always liked Sony TVs in the past... something about the picture is well filtered/composed/whatever. However, also note that in the store, they often turn the contrast WAY up, to make it "look" better. People tend to like brighter displays, even if they are actually of a lower (technically speaking) quality. Also, the TV areas in the store are often underlit on purpose, to better showcase the screen... is your TV room setup that way?

 

[PeaceLoving]

The lighting in my room is just right for watching movies.

Thing is...just wanted to know if a Philips or Samsung LCD TV would be on par with a Sony Bravia.

ps. While walking in the stores, the picture on the Bravia usually looks better (at least to me). hehe.

anybody have any reviews or "professional" advice?

 

[schwinn]

Sony has typically used "better" processing for their signals, which can lead to a "better" picture. That's basically the main difference between most TVs these days anyway - the displays are pretty much the same, but the pre-processing is what makes the pictures look so different (comb filters, noise reductions, color balance, etc).

For this reason, I always say - go buy what looks good to YOU. Video (and audio, too) are very subjective. If you like what you see, then specsmanship is just for bragging rights... so who cares?

Certainly play around with the color balance and such on the TVs you like/don't like, and see if you can get the picture "where you want it". In theory, you should be able to get two TVs to look alike, if you fix the balance and such as you desire. Obviously, there are limits to this adjustment, which is why you should try it out and see what works best for you.

Lastly, remember, when the TV is at home... you won't have other TVs next to it to compare to, so you won't be "second guessing" yourself because of another one sitting next to it!

 

[PeaceLoving]

I'm just worried that the "bravia" at the department store is "tweaked" to give optimal performance.

Then when I take it back home, it doesn't produce the same quality image.

So....I'm just wondering ...does anyone here have a Bravia LCDTV 32 inch or more? How is it compared to a Samsung or Philips LCDTV?

Happy with it? Not happy with it? Why?

 

[schwinn]

It's kinda hard for an owner to compare it to a Samsung or Philips... because they already bought the Bravia (ie, they didn't buy the Sammy or Philips to compare it to!)

As for "tweaking" in the store, take a look at their color settings and see what they have it setup for. Usually, they don't do anything "inside" to make it look better, as this is a sellable unit. Yes, they may tweak the consumer-accessible settings, but that's about it. So, by looking at them, you can see how they have it set. For that matter, set it to "default" and see if that makes a big difference.

Lastly, most stores will allow you to return it... so give it a try and see how it fares in your home.

 

[PeaceLoving]

Thanks for the suggestion about testing it on default. Helped a lot! Why didn't I think of that before?!!!! hehe...

The only thing is in Thailand, its really hard to return anything you buy. Most will say, no refund! In the US though, you can return even if you don't like the color of the computer ya? (or did I hear it wrong?)