Now it is time for another 32in comparison.Festival is just 1wk apart & everyone busy in analising LCDs.
Some poppular models this year can be-
Samsung-550, SonyV550, Panasonic X9/10, Hitachi L32A02A, LG LF20 &LH35. My comparison as follows-
Samsung550-
SD PQ= Samsung new series is better for SD upscaling,image is clear ,stable,colours balanced(even in 37in)
Still some sharpness missing & motion blurr is partially visible.
DVD PQ= It is better than SD with extra details.Nothing spectacular to add,but overall better.
HD PQ= HD is never problem with Samy any display.PQ is best with sharpness,accurasy,colour vivid.
Overall= 8.5/10
Sony 32V550- -
SDPQ = This year Sony has improved upscaling & results are better than last yr.SD looks promissing,but with poor source its not.
Some motion issue is vissible & occasionally sharpness less than Samy.Colours are natural.
DVDPQ= DVDp with component looks best ,but with composite sharpness get lowered.Overall PQ enjoyable,better than SD.
HD PQ= HDis again best & partially better than Samy.Colours are vibrant & no motion issue here.
overall= 8.5/10
Panasonic X9/10-
SD= SD upscaling fro these are better,but contrast & colours are not the best.Overall image looks pinkish shaded & white looks yellowish.
Edges are stable,no motion issue,still overall not best.
DVD PQ= DVD is far better than SD,still not the best comparing to others.Colours are not natuarl,motion better.Still missing something.
HD PQ= Images are soft,Colours improoved,Doesnt look better comparing to others.X9 cant accept 24/sec.
overall= 7/10
HitachiL32A02A--
SD= SD looks much sharper than any other mentioned LCDs here.Image clean,little 3Dness,motion has little problem,but stable image.
Colors looks darker than actual.ie.Pure Red & Grass green looks little darker.
DVD PQ= Image improoved with colours & detailing.Dark levels good too.
HD PQ= Best performance than any here.Colour shades still not neutral,but image is best.No motion issue,best black levels,Depth is lot with pure 3D effect.Blue(water)looks best .
Faces looks as if you are watching person from window.
overall= 9/10 impressive.
LG LF20-
SD= 1st time I have seen improved SD scaling from LG.Colours accurate,image stable ,no motion issue.
Better tha half LCDs here.
DVDPQ= Improved by 20% & very clean,image though not as sharp as Hitachi,but far better than others.
HD PQ= Improoved overall,sharp,clean,better motion.
overall= 7/10
LGLH35-
SDPQ= Best SD found here,better than almost all.Image very stable,almost nill noise,colours vibrant,natural,best motion handling(4ms)
Image looks better than 29in CRT probably.Repeat-Best for SD.
DVD PQ= DVD improoved by 30% & again best with image Q,movement,contrast ,It looks bright(backlight is powerfull)better than LF20.With full backlight setting LH35 was brighter than LF20 without disturbing overall image.
All colours are natual,sky looks perfect skyblue,skin tones accurate.
HD PQ= The best again.Its full HD.
USB= Fast to recognise mov.DIvx & Xvid was played with accurate without hanging.Colours best again.Motion handling better(Transporter 1 chase)I didnt expect such good Divx playback,highly impressed.
Dark details is very poor though.
overall =7.5/10
So according to me Hitachi can be winner in VFM segment & LG LH35 to follow.Others are almost same in performance & personal taste can make them best too.
So hope this may help you as its very difficult to get full Demo at one place.I might have visited atleast 7shops to get detailed demo with selecting differernt model at different place.
Cheers...
Updates-
Philips 5609 is too impressive,
SD- SD stuff is upscaled with stable image,Edges not very sharp,colours accurate,some may feel less vibrant,but if you see anything from camera & off camera,recordings looks with some extra colour in regular LCDs,Philips shows exactly what is present.
DVD PQ= DVD is much better here,image looks very natural & Theatre like,occassionally softness,but much enjoyable than LG.Dark scenes are much detailed than any other LCDs herer.Sharpness very natural.
HD PQ= On top of everything,flowing water is just natural without adding extra blue colour.Motion is equally good(with SD too)
USB = USB loading is not atomatic though but fast after manually selected.It read entire 3 movs in less than 15sec.Images again natural & theatrelike,it can also play Realmedia(10),I didnt have that time with me.
So if you are searching premium brand,Philips can be the best .