Samsung v Sony LCD - Easter Purchase

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paul151

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#31544 21-Mar-2009 14:35

I'm pondering buying a 40 - 46 inch LCD TV when the Easter specials come out.

So far I tend to favour Samsung models over Sony for contrast ratios, motion flow etc but I may be missing something here?

The series 7,8,9 will most likely be just to expensive for me but a series 5 or 6 at the right price may work for the budget.

Having DVB-T built in is not important to me as I am looking to build a media centre pc.

Any thoughts, comments suggestions, traps for new players welcome.

Ideal would be comments on price points to look for / expect when Easter rolls around.

Thanks, Paul.

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#202521 21-Mar-2009 17:35

Hi Paul,

We splashed out and bought 52 inch Samsung Series 7. I find the picture on a Samsung LCD superior over a Sony myself. We got the Series 7 for the DLNA feature, but in all honesty it wasn't worth the extra cost
(is not compatiable with other DLNA software... and with limited codec support I doubt we'll be using this feature much.).

The Series 6 is basically the same as the Series 7, but without the DLNA feature.

Keep in mind if you intend to use a home theatre setup with the set, you won't be able to use the analogue left/right audio outputs, unless your home theatre has a delay option. Out of the Left/Right analogue audio outputs on our series 7, the audio is ahead of the video. We have got around this for now by using the audio out of the headphone jack (though this isn't ideal).

It's also a fingerprint magnet.. and these seem to be very difficult to get off (with of course the fear of damaging the screen)..

Overall, a nice set with both HD and SD video alike.

Cheers,
Grant

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#202525 21-Mar-2009 18:17

I bought the series 6 IDTV. It was what i was waiting for. Even though I have a media centre, I wanted teh IDTV, and defintely do not regret waiting and spending the extra for that.

The PC i find a bit software from 1080i (tv3) TV2 looks good, but the TV blows them away. My Media Centre is connected via HDMI at 1080p.

I looked at the series 7 but it didn't have enough extras over the series 6 - and DNLA is you have a media centre you will be blowing that out of the water. With flexibility and other features that can be added.

EDIT: Sorry didn't mention Sony - saw those the first week that IDTVs came out in NZ, and never looked at them again, running an upscaled TV3 picture inthe store it looked crap. Apparently they have improved somewhat, but I stopped looking at them.

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paul151

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#202530 21-Mar-2009 18:47

Thanks for the replys so far to this developing thread.

It seems Samsung is on to a good thing and I find the comments about the lack of extra benefits moving to a series 7 confirm a line of thought that I had already held.

The issue with audio delay was something I had in the back of my mind but moreover it was a concern about how to handle audio/video via media centre pc as a number of cards just handle the video but not audio via their hdmi outputs - or so I have been led to believe.

In either respect that issue is better suited to another thread in the HTPC forum.

Grant, I agree I would plump for a 6 over a 7 and not consider the DNLA a game breaker.

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davidcole

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#202534 21-Mar-2009 19:07

I guess slightly OT, but since you're a, looking at a tv similar to mine, and b, potentially running a similar set up, we'll carry on.

I have an 8600Gt video card with HDMI. It takes sound from an SPDIF header on the motherboard to the video card, which it then adds to the HDMI cable to the tv. It is Stereo only though.

I am also fortunate enough to have a second SPDIF port (Digital Coax this time) on the back plane of the motherboard for sending raw AC3/DTS to my receiver.

All of this is done via AC3Filter on the PC.

I also have an optical cable from the TV to the amp but at the moment this is only stereo (even on TV3), it is hoped with a firmware change that it would put out a DD5.1 signal.

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#202537 21-Mar-2009 20:18

If you're using a media PC, the set has a VGA connection, with a 3.5mm stereo jack next to it (well, on the series 7 it does at least). You could always use the VGA instead of the HDMI (not sure if this causes any problems.

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#202572 22-Mar-2009 09:28

Whichever brand you go for be it Sony or Samsung I urge you to get one that has some sort of motion flow technology. Some call it 100Hz or even 200Hz, but basically it is interpolating between frames and inserting extra ones. It reduces juddering in panning shots and is really noticeable when you see a set with it demonstrated beside one that doesn't.

An inbuilt freeview while not essential is preferrable because it avoids having to crank up the HTPC just to watch the free-to-air channels.

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paul151

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#202575 22-Mar-2009 09:46

Dingbatt: Whichever brand you go for be it Sony or Samsung I urge you to get one that has some sort of motion flow technology. Some call it 100Hz or even 200Hz, but basically it is interpolating between frames and inserting extra ones. It reduces juddering in panning shots and is really noticeable when you see a set with it demonstrated beside one that doesn't.

An inbuilt freeview while not essential is preferrable because it avoids having to crank up the HTPC just to watch the free-to-air channels.

Do you think this flow tech is more important than the response time ratings sets have? i.e 8ms, 5ms, 4 ms..

I was looking at the specs between the Samsung series 5 and 6 last night and the response time between each model only differs by 1ms (from 5ms to 4ms)

I ask this as prior to the flow tech features appearing it seemed besides contrast ration and screen size the response time was a key selling point for sales reps when you had 3 tv side by side (8ms, 5ms, 2ms??) displying panning images.

Re inbuilt DVB-T - if I could find a series 6 or higher without this feature but loaded with the other current tech in the unit I would by it. A planned HTPC for the lounge will handle all of the DVB processing.

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#202584 22-Mar-2009 11:12

Dingbatt: Whichever brand you go for be it Sony or Samsung I urge you to get one that has some sort of motion flow technology. Some call it 100Hz or even 200Hz, but basically it is interpolating between frames and inserting extra ones. It reduces juddering in panning shots and is really noticeable when you see a set with it demonstrated beside one that doesn't.

An inbuilt freeview while not essential is preferrable because it avoids having to crank up the HTPC just to watch the free-to-air channels.

That 100hz 'technology' is rather awful really. Anything other than 'low' makes me feel personally like I'm on a rollercoaster and I just want to grab a bucket 'n puke. :) Set to low is 'acceptable' but can also have the same effect. I'm not one with a weak stomach either!

sbiddle

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#202585 22-Mar-2009 11:27

100Hz is no big deal IMHO. It can make some stuff (such as fast action sport) look slighty better but tends to make lots of other things look like they are sped up.

At least you can turn it on and off in the Samsung's

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#202588 22-Mar-2009 11:34

ZollyMonsta:
Dingbatt: Whichever brand you go for be it Sony or Samsung I urge you to get one that has some sort of motion flow technology. Some call it 100Hz or even 200Hz, but basically it is interpolating between frames and inserting extra ones. It reduces juddering in panning shots and is really noticeable when you see a set with it demonstrated beside one that doesn't.

An inbuilt freeview while not essential is preferrable because it avoids having to crank up the HTPC just to watch the free-to-air channels.

That 100hz 'technology' is rather awful really. Anything other than 'low' makes me feel personally like I'm on a rollercoaster and I just want to grab a bucket 'n puke. :) Set to low is 'acceptable' but can also have the same effect. I'm not one with a weak stomach either!

I have to defer to someone that actually owns an LCD capable of the interpolation. My experience is only from auditioning TVs for a replacement bedroom set. My main TVs are plasma (as you can see from my signature block) but even so I turn on the Intelligent Frame Creation on the PZ850 because juddering pan shots and tickers on news channels bug me.

Visual perception is a personal thing, some people are affected by rainbowing watching DLP projectors, others are not. All I suggest is be aware of possibility and check it out in the store before shelling out the readies.

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sbiddle

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#202592 22-Mar-2009 11:58

Dingbatt: I have to defer to someone that actually owns an LCD capable of the interpolation. My experience is only from auditioning TVs for a replacement bedroom set. My main TVs are plasma (as you can see from my signature block) but even so I turn on the Intelligent Frame Creation on the PZ850 because juddering pan shots and tickers on news channels bug me.

Visual perception is a personal thing, some people are affected by rainbowing watching DLP projectors, others are not. All I suggest is be aware of possibility and check it out in the store before shelling out the readies.

100Hz mode on the Panasonic Plasma's does seem to make things better. When I got one for my parents a few months ago I left this on after spending plenty of time playing with it - there don't seem to be any negative issues with it.

On an LCD however it seems to be a different story.

Going back to the OP is there any reason why you are set on an LCD? The current Panasonic Plasms'a are IMHO one of the best (if not the bext) TV's available at present IMHO. I might be a slightly biased Plasma fan but I just find the softer look of the Plasma superior to LCD's.

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paul151

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#202594 22-Mar-2009 12:11

sbiddle: Going back to the OP is there any reason why you are set on an LCD? The current Panasonic Plasms'a are IMHO one of the best (if not the bext) TV's available at present IMHO. I might be a slightly biased Plasma fan but I just find the softer look of the Plasma superior to LCD's.

Hi Steve,

I'm pro LCD as I understand Plasma

1. suck a lot more juice than their LCD counterparts
2. put out more RF interference in the HF bands (0-30MHz) which is important to me as I'm a ham radio operator (ZL4PH)

The plasmas are far superior at handling motion than LCD so I'm suprised to read that folks are enabling motion flow assistance on their plasma boxes.

Regards, P.

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#202651 22-Mar-2009 19:55

paul151: ..........

Hi Steve,

I'm pro LCD as I understand Plasma

1. suck a lot more juice than their LCD counterparts
2. put out more RF interference in the HF bands (0-30MHz) which is important to me as I'm a ham radio operator (ZL4PH)

The plasmas are far superior at handling motion than LCD so I'm suprised to read that folks are enabling motion flow assistance on their plasma boxes.

Regards, P.

More than just the HF band, think of the plasma as a broadband emitter right up to ultraviolet (probably). Causes problems IR targets on the way as well.

The power consumption is a little more tricky because LCD backlight is virtually constant whereas plasma emittance and therefore power consumption depends on the number of cells being energised. But yes my 50" plasma is a pretty effective heater.

As for the motion display, the plasmas don't smear like some LCDs do. The intelligent frame creation can reduce motion artifacts such as panning judder, by filling in the gaps. As I understand it, it's a bit like the stagecoach wheels going backwards in western movies. Change the frame rate and you might remove the artifact, although doubling the rate wouldn't help some phasing. For example when I watched the cricket on MySkyHDi I had to turn IFC off because the ball racing across the outfield became 3 balls strobing their way to the rope.

As I said further up, the motion affect may be different for different viewers, I for example can notice the difference between Sony, Samsung and Panasonic LCDs that do and don't have the frame doubling. But that was on screens no bigger than 37". Nothing beats a good test drive.

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Marmion

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#202891 23-Mar-2009 21:07

It may be a bit late, but Harvey Norman had the Sony Bravia KDL-40X4500 for $3325 during the electrical clearance sale in the weekend. I'm sure if you talked nice to them they might extend the offer to you if you come up with an excuse to say you couldn't be there!
Its a real bonus too since you can get a 40GB PS3 + a Home Theatre system worth $1000-$1200 for $199 through Sony, which you could sell on TradeMe for sure. Thats a $5k TV for potentially $2500!
I got mine yesterday and its really quite amazing. It also handles the AC3 TV3 like you would expect (defaults to AC3 when on TV3, and actually allows you to change back to stereo with a simple press of the audio button on the remote).

paul151

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#203729 27-Mar-2009 14:28

Marmion:

It may be a bit late, but Harvey Norman had the Sony Bravia KDL-40X4500 for $3325 during the electrical clearance sale in the weekend.

Thanks for the tip Marmion and apologies for the delay in reply.

Sony seem to have similar offers out from time to time - I recall one around 6 months ago.

I won't persue this one preferring to wait until Easter to see what offers come along then.

Cheers, Paul.

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