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Blu-Ray without HD TV?

CooInTheZoo

By CooInTheZoo
in General Chit Chat

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Choze Newbie

Choze

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Don't be such a fucking toolshed; Samsung are a good brand. Just because you own a different brand it doesn't mean you should go around slagging off other ones to make you feel elite.

 

There are cheap models within brands but you can't just write Samsung off.

 

Some Samsung models are not bad though but people seem to definitely try to big up the brand abit too much which is what i am getting at. I also use Samsung myself.

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Cube Collaborator

Cube

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Samsung TVs are brilliant if you want a cheap HDTV (or in my case, a TV/PC Monitor Combo).

 

If someone really cares a lot about quality then they should be willing to spend a lot of money. Simple as that. My Step Dad's few-year-old £1500ish Pioneer 32" still looks fantastic (although technically it's appalling as the resolution barely scrapes 720p...but if you don't have anything that displays in more than 720p - I'm fairly sure Sky HD is 720p or less - then it isn't really a problem).

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Choze Newbie

Choze

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Most pc monitors with HDMI ports are better than small size Samsungs. My BenQ (nothing great) is nicer than the HD Samsung in the Kitchen. With PS3 I can see awful colour banding on the Samsung right in the XMB. Motion is awful too. Samsung looks nicer styling wise and has a remote but thats about it.

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McPhee Newbie

McPhee

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I never get why people try to generalise the quality of one brand's TVs, it never works! Each set is different and Sony, Samsung and LG.Philips aim for the whole market with their sets. They all compete pretty well at each level.

 

The only brands that can be said to be "safe" buys are Panasonic and Pioneer. They keep a good reputation by ignoring the low (or in Pio's case mid) range of the market. Panasonic's cheapest TV from this year's range is £500 and Pio's is £1000!

 

Pioneer now use Panasonic plasma panels. But Pioneer are still superior. The Pioneer Kuro plasma is the reference tv. You wont find anything better. Panasonic are no slouch though. :smile:

 

Not yet they don't, Pioneer don't switch to Panasonic panels until next year. The current 9G Pioneer sets are the last ones to use in-house panels.

 

As a general rule, any PC monitor is better than any HDTV. It's not really set in stone as there are great HDTVs and there are shit Monitors.

 

What? Most PC monitors are dross! They come with the bare minimum of picture processing and rely on the PC to provide the picture processing (which is fine until you give them a different feed). Until you start spending big money the colours are also usually inaccurate and black levels poor. PC monitors have their use, and pound for pound they are better under the right application. Feed them something that isn't made for them though and they crumple (like a feed from a Sky box or a PS3).

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Jon Newbie

Jon

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Not really true. Panasonic might aim for the higher end market but their TV's are usually beaten by Sony, obviously reviews are subjective but from all the 'what hardware' test's i've read the Sony always comes up above the Panasonic. Especially in the 32" range. So i'd add Sony to the safe buy list.

 

I also wouldn't group Samsung with LG. LG sets are always inferior to Samsung (and usually cheaper) it's right at the base end of the scale. Philips are more difficult in the fact that some sets are awesome where as others are dross.

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McPhee Newbie

McPhee

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Not really true. Panasonic might aim for the higher end market but their TV's are usually beaten by Sony, obviously reviews are subjective but from all the 'what hardware' test's i've read the Sony always comes up above the Panasonic. Especially in the 32" range. So i'd add Sony to the safe buy list.

 

I also wouldn't group Samsung with LG. LG sets are always inferior to Samsung (and usually cheaper) it's right at the base end of the scale. Philips are more difficult in the fact that some sets are awesome where as others are dross.

 

I was refering to how Sony do a wider range of sets, not the quality of their high-end sets. If you bought a Sony set at random it could be a good one (V, W, X or Z series) or it could be a duff (L, U, S, and by this year's standards P and D). There isn't a budget set or a bad set in Panasonic's range, I can't even name a year where there has been one!

 

I wouldn't say Panasonic's sets are "beaten" by Sony's, there's usually quite a difference between the two with both having their positives and negatives. Simply put, Sony's LCD sets are better on High Definition material and handle colours better. Panasonic have done a far better job of scaling SD material on their LCD sets, but the processing involved detracts from the quality of HD pictures. Plasma on the other hand is a whole different ball game.

 

Fair point about LG though, they haven't got much that competes this year. Samsung do better sets at every price point.

 

I've never heard of a Panasonic Plasma (idk if they even do LCDs...) being below 42".

 

They do a 37" Plasma and 32" and 37" LCDs. Might be a 32" Plasma in the works for next year too given LG managed it over a year ago now.

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McPhee Newbie

McPhee

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What are you using it for? The Sony looks stunning with games and Blu-Ray but every time i demo'd it was really, really crap with Freeview. The Panasonic is more middling, pretty good with both and not outstanding with either.

 

Check them out in store (your local Sony Centre and Shop@Panasonic are going to be your best bets for a decent look at the sets). I ended up buying the Panasonic TH-42PZ81. Definitely the right purchase for me :D

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Choze Newbie

Choze

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What? Most PC monitors are dross! They come with the bare minimum of picture processing and rely on the PC to provide the picture processing (which is fine until you give them a different feed). Until you start spending big money the colours are also usually inaccurate and black levels poor. PC monitors have their use, and pound for pound they are better under the right application. Feed them something that isn't made for them though and they crumple (like a feed from a Sky box or a PS3).

 

Well said.

 

What i find amazing is that my cheaper BenQ pc monitor outperforms the recent more expensive Samsung LCD we brought in every way. The colour banding is visible on both but the BenQ hides it far better. In XMB on PS3 the Samsung visibly looks it has horizontal bars of colour rather than a smooth silky look... So many issues visible in blu ray. But i doubt most will care.

 

Not really true. Panasonic might aim for the higher end market but their TV's are usually beaten by Sony, obviously reviews are subjective but from all the 'what hardware' test's i've read the Sony always comes up above the Panasonic. Especially in the 32" range. So i'd add Sony to the safe buy list.

 

In LCD its hard for anyone to come close to Sony. Shame Sony dont do plasma as at 42"+ plasma begins to excel (for smaller sizes LCD excel). Some of the Sony interestingly are nicer than most plasma at motion... Few LCD TV keep HD resolution in movement, the fact Sony pull it off really well on LCD is pretty amazing. But ultimately its down to the individual set you buy.

 

As you can see research is important as even well intentioned salesmen get it wrong. Specs are misleading and odnt give you the full picture. Especially with so and so expensive brand shares same panel etc...

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