Hdtvs in 2008

Greetings all, I am a product specialist for a high def retailer. I had occasion over the past year to play with many HDTVs and I decided it would be a good idea to rank them in a review. Now I know that this article may hurt some peoples feelings because their TV is not in the top tier. I apologize for that but that's the way the cookie crumbles. Here is my review, I hope you guys enjoy it.

Which Brand Names are best?

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Many consumers are VERY loyal to a specific brand. Others have had bad experiences and will NEVER purchase that brand again. No matter what!

But buyer beware: the High-Def industry has evolved greatly each year since 2003. Those brands that stood still, lost ground. Some popular brands lean more on their reputations (Sony). Some new names have taken major leaps (Samsung).

The smart consumer should re-evaluate the field every year. This is an unbiased rating based on experience with THIS YEAR's models.



Tier 1

Premium televisions at premium prices; these are the highest quality and the most innovative TVs you can get. Great contrasts and loaded with features, this will be the cornerstone of your home theatre.




Pioneer, leading the way.

Pioneer really swung for the fences this year, and it shows. Pioneer's Elite line has the blackest blacks and sharpest whites that a consumer can buy. Their color contrast and picture quality are nothing short of amazing.

Being 'Elitist', Pioneer doesn't even bother with LCD displays. Their Plasma Televisions are beautiful to behold and feature rich. For the consumer who wants the best viewing experience money can buy, there is no substitute.

A Pioneer Elite Plasma 50” may sell for up to $4,999.99.

Plasma PQ: 10/10





Panasonic, consistently producing high quality plasmas.

Panasonic continues its tradition of putting out very solid high-end Plasma displays. This year they proved themselves as a solid second behind industry leader Pioneer.

Panasonic Plasma images are very sharp. In fact, you would have to view a Panasonic Plasma side-by-side with a Pioneer Elite, playing a blu ray film, to know that you are missing anything.

Plasma PQ: 9.5/10






Samsung, This model year Samsung really came out swinging, releasing truly top tier LCDs and Plasmas.

Only a year ago Samsung's High Definition displays were nice but nothing special. This year they have surprised the industry and experts. Many experts feel their new high-quality Plasma displays are on the same level as Panasonic.

They also released a very fine looking LED backlit LCD TV. When I saw it fully ISF calibrated, I was blown away, honestly thinking that it looked as sharp as a top end Plasma.

Plasma PQ: 9.2/10
LCD PQ: 9.1/10





Toshiba, an LCD company that truly excels when it comes to making LCDs, and making them better.

Despite losing the format war, they still came out with 5 different great models of High Definition Television that can stand up to a side-by-side comparison with high end Plasma displays.

Toshiba this year really ran the gamut from 5 model lines in variable sizes complete with their flagship LCD which not only has a super thin bezel edge, they also have 5:5 pull down on it. I'm a huge fan!

LCD PQ: 8.9/10





Sharp, another LCD company that caters to all comers from casual viewers, to videophiles and even to gamers.

Sharp has produced some great LCD displays that are gorgeous and innovative. Running the size gamut from Sharp’s flagship model which adds design elements to the frame, to their massive 65” LCD which looks amazing and does it all.

I would feel comfortable with a Sharp, in fact, I bought their 32” Gamer Panel, red in color, and I am quite pleased with it.

LCD PQ: 8.8/10






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Tier 2



Solid name brands which consistently produce excellent quality displays, but this year for one reason or another really tended to play it safe and did not truly blow the experts away.

This list includes Sony, LG, Magnavox, Philips, and RCA. Now, don’t get me wrong, these are all very solid panels, they just did not do anything truly innovative or noteworthy, and simply kept up with the competition.

In defense of Sony however, they did manage to both win the format war making Blu Ray the industry standard for high definition content, and introduce their OLED display to the world. They simply lack this level of expertise when it comes to their LCD displays. It would have been nice if they had really come out swinging, maybe even start making Plasma again.





Sony, A household name brand that will rarely, if ever disappoint anyone, but falls just short of true high definition innovation.

This year was a bit of a watershed year for Sony. They won the high definition format war, and have made available the new OLED technology.

Sony is a reliable brand made famous back in the 1970’s with its top-of-the-line Trinitron CRT TVs.

While their LCD’s are of remarkably high quality, they don’t particularly do anything truly innovative. You will find yourself paying more for the Sony name than for a higher quality product.

There have really been no amazingly new innovations when it comes to their line of LCD displays. This year, Sony is a safe bet, but you could a) do better and b) spend less and get more.

LCD PQ: 7.9/10





LG

I like LG as a company. I have an LG wrist rest, and I certainly would have no trouble purchasing an LCD or Plasma from them.

In viewing their LCD TVs, I found that off-angle viewing could be better, as well as there black levels could have been a tad darker.

Their plasmas are somewhat similar, however the off-angle viewing of their Plasmas was a bit nicer, I would feel comfortable waiting until next year before I got an LG.

Plasma PQ: 7.4/10
LCD PQ: 7.3/10





Philips, making an impression on HDTV consumers with their interesting and innovative designs.

In thinking of Philips, you can look back at a long tradition of excellence, and they certainly display that here. This model year shows a very reliable picture. However, in looking at it side-by-side the picture quality tends to be a tad softer than other sets, and the inputs on the TV tend to be located in odd locations.

Their " Ambilight" feature casts a glowing halo of light around the TV, which corresponds to the current picture. This may seem like a gimmick, but first-hand experience shows that it is a useful and intriguing addition in a market where it can be hard to stand out.

LCD PQ: 7.0/10





RCA

When I think of RCA, I always think of those 2 cute dogs, and were they watching TV on this TV they would not be disappointed. RCA has a nice bonus of including on some of its models a wall mounting bracket, however its speakers tend to be under-powered and if you cannot hear the TV the prettiest picture in the world will not make up for this shortcoming.

LCD PQ: 6.7/10





Magnavox, Consumers may relate the Magnavox name with its former parent company, Philips, but the current day Magnavox name licensed and has no relation to Philips anymore.

Magnavox makes some good quality TVs and you really will not go wrong with picking one of their TVs as your new display. Their color balance tends to run a little blue but after properly calibrating it, you should enjoy this panel in its many sizes.

LCD PQ: 7.4/10






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Tier 3
Impressive what you get for your money, but the picture quality might make you regret your purchase.

Companies that you can see in this tier include Visio, Dynex, Insignia, Westinghouse and Polaroid.

These are not necessarily bad televisions, however, their marks of distinction are the fact that they are not dollar-intensive displays, and most are manufactured by the big box stores (e.g. Dynex by Best Buy).

It is in this category that people will find really great buys! But, as always, buyer beware! It is in this category that I would most heavily recommend purchasing an extended warrantee.





Visio

A common site at stores like Costco, Visio is a bit of a craps shoot. While I certainly don’t hate them, I have found that if you pay close attention and make sure to get a 1080P set you will be pleased. Black levels are not all they could be, and some more inputs in the rear would be nice, but certainly not a terrible brand, provided it is functional out-of-the-box.

Plasma PQ: 6.4/10
LCD PQ: 6.4/10





Dynex

The house brand of big-box giant Best buy they certainly are a bargain brand. When you see the prices on some of their TVs you will be amazed at their cost, however it would be nice to see a little better color accuracy, and some side mounted inputs would be nice as well.

Plasma PQ: 6.1/10
LCD PQ: 6.1/10





Insignia

Overall, not a poor quality TV, they tend to be thicker than their competitors, and their contrast could be higher. I like their prices.

On the other hand, I would prefer a little more bang for my buck. Once they triple the contrast ratio, I will be ready to take the plunge. Probably just with the LCD, as many Plasma buyers seem to be complaining about image retention, a.k.a. “burn in”.

Plasma PQ: 5.4/10
LCD PQ: 5.4/10





Polaroid

Polaroid truly innovated when it came to photography; it would have been nice had they shown this level of innovation with their LCD TVs.

Flimsy construction and a poor user interface left me feeling let down. Don't even consider this one until their next model year.

LCD PQ: 4.7/10





Westinghouse

Westinghouse products, out-of-the-box, have a great image quality. But the good news seems to stop there. Most users tend to report problems with their Westinghouse displays after about 1-2 months of regular viewing, and their support is at best lackluster.

You can do better.

LCD PQ: 4.5/10






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In the tier 3 category, one can expect to be in the below $1,000 price point depending on size.

In the Tier 2 Category, depending on which model is purchased, it can be on either end of the $1,000 threshold it all depends on the size of the panel that is picked up and the specific model that is being examined.

In the Tier 1 category, these models tend to be a little more dollar intensive.In this area,prices in the 50”+ panels tend to live in the $2,000 - $2,500 price point with Pioneer going higher than $3,000 for its Elite models. Still it is in this tier that consumers tend to have the least amount of self-doubt, regret, or remorse.

Regardless of which brand, model and size you decide there is one thing that you can do to any television to enhance its image. With LCD TVs you can do this immediately, but with Plasma TVs this has to be done after the TV has been in use for over 100 hours. What you, the consumer can do to enhance any high definition TV is to calibrate it. Make sure that the blacks are as black as they can be, the whites are white, and at the correct level of sharpness. After that, the colors must be adjusted so that the color red looks red, green looks green, and blue looks blue. You will simply be amazed at the results. In fact I recommend taking before and after pictures of your calibration just so that you can see the dramatic change. It is important to realize that when a TV leaves the factory that the settings are a) not set in stone and b) never the optimal settings for your particular watching environment.

That is the great equalizer of HDTVs; they all need to be calibrated because they can all look better than what you see out of the box.


I hope you all enjoyed the article, please don't flame me too bad. It would be nice to make friends here but I am going for hoesty and integrity first.

YoniX