Sony LCD screens - worth it?

Thirith

Not sure whet this is the right place here to post it, but I'm looking for the opinions of people who like a good looking screen with a nice image, but not necessarily AV gurus who aren't happy unless everything's perfect.

I'm thinking of getting a 50-52" LCD TV in March or April, and since I'm happy with the Sony gear I've got (PS3, Blu-ray player, AV receiver) I thought I might go with a Sony TV as well, probably the NX series.

Is this a good choice, or am I being too much of a Sony fanboy? Basically I'm thinking of spending ~USD2000-2500.

Any tips and opinions would be much appreciated.

Fishman

TV lineups change every year, so which TV is best at any one point in time shifts a bit, but Sony and Samsung are reliably two that sit near the very top (although it also often comes with some expense). Sony's near the top of the game when it comes to LCD screens in particular, while with Samsung you can also look at Plasma options.

It's worth doing a bit of research about what you might or might not want to consider on TV's. LCD vs. Plasma, size, 3D options and home connectivity all have their part to play, but generally, you might pay a bit extra for a Sony badge, but you'll almost certainly come out with a decent TV.

Personally, I picked up an 46" XBR8 just over a year ago, and it's easily one of the best looking screens I know. My parents also have a Z-series Bravia, while my brother has a Samsung Plasma, and they all look pretty good, so I have a fair basis of comparison.

Mr_Grinch

Check out avforums.com or avsforum.com for more detail than you could possibly imagine on televisions.

In honesty though if you can afford a Sony set you usually can't go far wrong with them. With a bit of hunting around though you could get a similar spec'd set, but different manufacturer for considerably cheaper.

Spudge

Anything above 46" you should consider going Plasma. You'll get better picture quality at the larger sizes (at the cost of slightly higher power consumption and heat)

As far as plasmas go, the Panasonic VIERA line is quite awesome. Beautiful panels, lots of options, but subpar speakers. But if you're running external sound that's really not a problem then

Thirith

Hmm. For some reason plasma wasn't really on my radar, until now. The Panasonic TVs sound pretty good, and since my interest in 3D is minimal I could get a good one at a cheaper rate than if I went for the corresponding Sony LCD. The one thing is that they don't do them in 52" (and I don't really want to get anything larger than that), but whether I upgrade from 40" to 50" or to 52" doesn't make that huge a difference in the end.

Spudge

Yeah 50" or 54" is not going to be much difference either directon from a 52"

The TC-P54G25 is a nice model, only about $1500 and has those web app things people like to talk about these days. Only 3 HDMI ports, but if you're running through an A/V receiver that shouldn't be an issue anyway

Thirith

The one that I'm looking at right now is this one: Panasonic TX-P50V20. (I searched for the model you mention in Switzerland but it doesn't really seem to be available here, at least not through the normal channels.) The reviews are generally very favourable and the price is definitely nice.

Stormwatcher

Sony TVs are really amazing

LaPuzza

Sony top end sets are incredible. I firmly believe that the nicest set Sony makes at any time is the nicest set anyone makes. Seems to have been that way for 10 years or more. However, don't let the halo effect throw you. If you just need a good TV and not a great one, you'll pay more for the Sony than others.

I'd strongly suggest avsforum for research. You'll see insane complaints along with legitimate ones, of course, because these people are AV nerds of the highest order, but just factor that in. When someone says that the new XBR sucks because it won't pass through 12.4 Imax surround or won't work with their Betamax/Laserdisc player, just ignore it.

Roe

I'd wait until the 3d tvs are out personally. Even if you still want an lcd tv without the 3d, its worth waiting.

Mr_Grinch

Beware some Panasonic Plasmas, there are a fair number of issues (can't remember exact models).

Rising Black Levels - After 500 hours or 1000 hours, or something like that, there's a problem in the Panasonic sets that gives a very distinct rise in black levels, which isn't a good thing.

50hz issue - I think this is on the newer sets and it may not affect you. They have real issues playing content back at 50hz, which is a big problem in the UK where most tv is aired at 25fps.

On the flip side I had a Panasonic PZ80B (in fact I still have it and need to sell it!) that's absolutely fantastic.

Spudge

I've a Panasonic TC-42PG10 (2009 model) and haven't seen any black level issue (yet.) I'm sure I have over 1k hours on it too. I just looked it up, the G10, G12, S1 and V10 models are the ones affected. Looks like the offending system is NeoPDP. Either way the black issue has been corrected in newer models.

Can't comment on the 50hz issue though

Synthesis

Have larger plasma screens overcome that irritating "Soap Opera camera" effect yet? That's one of the reasons I went with LCD (that, and it was 37" across and I got it $400 off).

Nappuccino

Synthesis wrote: »

Have larger plasma screens overcome that irritating "Soap Opera camera" effect yet? That's one of the reasons I went with LCD (that, and it was 37" across and I got it $400 off).

I am not sure if it is the same thing, but LCD tvs include that effect as a feature now. Thankfully you can turn it off but its often the out of the box setting.

Improvolone

Isn't that just 120hZ and despite being a more accurate image people are just weirded out by it?

Thirith

It's interpolation, which is smoother but not more accurate, because basically it's calculating frames in between the ones provided by the original media. (It's probably more complex than that, but AFAIK that's it in a nutshell.)

mcdermott

Thirith wrote: »

It's interpolation, which is smoother but not more accurate, because basically it's calculating frames in between the ones provided by the original media. (It's probably more complex than that, but AFAIK that's it in a nutshell.)

Yeah, a "regular" display at 120Hz (or 600Hz) won't do that, because it'd still only be displaying a 24 or 30 frame source (with a lot of duplicate frames). It's the interpolation that does it.

LeTwig

I picked one of these up around Thanksgiving when they ran a decent sale with a free PS3.
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921666188211
I absolutely love it. I don't think it's thicker than 2 inches anywhere on the tv.


Has the burn in issue been solved with plasmas? I haven't had one for a few years, but that one had the NHL2K8 menu system clear as a bell whenever the screen was supposed to be black.

Mai-Kero

LeTwig wrote: »

I picked one of these up around Thanksgiving when they ran a decent sale with a free PS3.
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921666188211
I absolutely love it. I don't think it's thicker than 2 inches anywhere on the tv.


Has the burn in issue been solved with plasmas? I haven't had one for a few years, but that one had the NHL2K8 menu system clear as a bell whenever the screen was supposed to be black.

Burn in has been solved to a certain extent with plasmas. It will still happen, but almost all sets include a burn in removal tool that is pretty effective. On my roommate's Panasonic it completely removes any burn-in and only takes like two minutes to run. I'd say needing to do that if I ever accidentally leave it on with a menu up is worth the tremendous jump in picture quality going from LCD to plasma.

Arkyris

I am very happy with my Sony TV. I was after a Samsung of the same size and HTz, but the Sony ended up being cheaper.

Synthesis

This shows how little I've followed HDTVs...when I made my last purchase, LCDs still had the hand up on Plasmas in picture quality (interpolation aside), especially when it came to use of colors.

Of course, now we have LED-lit LCD TVs as well.

Stormwatcher

AFAIK, regarding pure image quality and nothing else, Plasma has always been and still is king.
Both basic techs (LCD and Plasma) had many different problems, but most were solved one way or another.

Plasma TVs today are much superior to the older Plasmas, but they're still much, much heavier than LCDs (and even heavier than LED LCDs) and they still eat a billion times more power.

Synthesis

Going by my friends who are image qualities nuts, Plasma has not always been king (and given the quality of a lot of the early Plasma screens, when LCD had already gotten itself comfortable, that's not the least bit surprising). Even I could tell a lot of early Plasmas sucked in areas of colors.

That being said, I wouldn't be surprised if they've caught up and surpassed them. When I picked up my 37LG50, it had a better picture than 90%, if not all, of the Plasma screens at Best Buy, and that's not a higher end LCD. But that was a few years back...

Stormwatcher

Well, plasma has a huge advantage by definition: Each pixel also generates the light, unlike LCDs, which need a backlight. That alone makes a lotta difference.

And, come one, shop floor TVs are no parameter for any kind of serious comparison. I'd never take a showroom as a source of information.

Synthesis

Stormwatcher wrote: »

Well, plasma has a huge advantage by definition: Each pixel also generates the light, unlike LCDs, which need a backlight. That alone makes a lotta difference.

And, come one, shop floor TVs are no parameter for any kind of serious comparison. I'd never take a showroom as a source of information.

Come on, it wasn't that long ago....LCDs had backlights. Mine does. I didn't mean floor models for comparison, so much as available products--I knew people who grabbed Plasmas because they were substantially cheaper at the higher sizes (above 42" or so) and used that for comparison primarily. And I do not miss the actually inferior brightness a lot of those Plasmas had back then (granted, it was mostly noticeable in bright rooms). The technology was not perfect back then by any means.

Ego

Plasma has better blacks (and therefore a better contrast ratio) and tends to have slightly wider viewing angles (not really an issue these days.) In a pitch black room the better contrast ratio can make a picture on plasma look nicer.

That's about it. They're both pretty damned close these days. I'd pick based on image quality of individual units first, followed by your lighting situation where you'll be putting your TV.

Bastable

I'm looking at a Sony 710 55inch LED to replace a old samsung 6 series CCFL from 2008/9. This is based on ancedotal experience of the Samsung having issues with lack of reactions to remote inputs, slow menus and quite noticble light bleeding. After using the old sony 32 inch CCFL in my old work place and the utter lack of these issues with sonys control or XMB emotionally I'm all for sony again.

Any one have any advice on the narrowing down to the 710?

martyllian

I am picking up an NX711 this weekend. IT has a beautiful picture. If it is similar, you cant go wrong. Make sure it does at least 120 refresh rate. There are a lot of places trying to unload old stock.

LED lit screens tend to be more vivid.

Get it from a Sony depot store if you can to save some cash, AND unlike normal style stores, they let you play with the TVs without having a fit.

Bastable

the 710 I'm looking at is the ex version, the one without 3d and motion flow is listed at 100hz. I'm looking at a appliance store that's selling it for 3300 nzd compared to my current samsung which was 5000nzd when brought. The picture quality will be less than your NX as the ex has edge lighting as opposed to dynamic edge lighting. I guess that will make it a little worse.

NX only come in 40 and 46 inch here which would be a bit of a down grade from my old 52

martyllian

I ended up getting an 46HX800, as the nx711 was sold out..(boo) this is a dynamic edge lit, and 240hz set.

Beautiful picture all around, and the 3d works better for me than it ever did in the theater, but thats beside the point.

I love it for gaming. My old LCD 42 inch had image retention problems. This one does not, which is a huge plus. I cant wait to get a new vid card for My PC so I can try Nvidia 3DTV play and 3d games.

Thirith

Sounds good! In spite of my original post and the thread title, I'll probably go for the Panasonic mentioned earlier (TX-P50V20). It isn't 3D, since I'm not altogether sold on it, but it sounds like it'll be quite the improvement on my current Oki LCD screen. I think I'll order it early next week, as a present to myself for starting a new job.