Best 5 HDTVs-CNET Editors Choice-Picture Quality alone

Gfreeman

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Cnet Have announced the top 5 HDTVs in terms of sheer picture quality this year. This excludes design,features and other considerations.

"Each scored at least an "8" in the performance sub-rating. The topmost is about to go extinct, but the rest are current models that deliver peak performance in their respective categories"

1.Pioneer PRO-111FD
2.Panasonic TC-PG10 series
3.Sony KDL-XBR8 series -(US model 2008..sold as x4500 and x450 elsewhere)
4.Samsung LNB750 series
5.Samsung HL61A750

Check this for more
Best 5 HDTVs: Picture quality - CNET Reviews
 
Best televisions overall(performance,features,design,etc) including picture quality


Check this
Best HDTVs overall - CNET Reviews

Pioneer PRO-111FD
Panasonic TC-PV10 series
Samsung UNB7000 series
LG LH90 series
Samsung PNB650 series
Samsung LNB750 series
Panasonic TC-PG10 series
Panasonic TH-VX100U series
Sony KDL-55XBR8
Pioneer PDP-5020FD
Samsung LN46A950
Samsung HL61A750
Sony KDL-XBR9 series
Panasonic TC-PS1 series
Samsung LNB650 series
Panasonic TH-50PF11UK
LG LH50 series
Sony KDL-V5100 series
 
well most of the other websites put the sony XBR8 tied up with pioneer in image quality or at the most in second position.
G10 being better then XBR8, i don't think so for one the image processing and contrast quite doesn't match the XBR8,G10 doesn't handle interlaced videos that well.
anyway the CNET picture quality rating of XBR8 is said as 9 in the review still higher then the G10 8.
Cnet isn't the most respected review site in the first place.there are much more professional reviews site out there.
 
I am not very sure of the G10 myself. It is obvious that the G10 does have some flaws(including color accuracy)
But I have always noticed plasmas from Pioneer and Panasonics rated higher on most professional HD websites and professional av forums.I do agree the XBR8 does produce an amazing picture and was almost definitely the best LED LCD made last year.
However the picture quality of an XBR8 still cannot match that of a Pioneer Kuro for the following reasons
1.The XBR8 produces black levels almost equal to that of the Kuro. However due to blooming (inherent on any backlit LED based TV including this one) the dark areas against bright areas will still appear lighter than a Kuro or even the G10. Hence it is still not true enough. The pioneer is still hence a reference for measuring true blacks
2.Off angle viewing is still a problem with the XBR8 compared to any plasma including Panasonic. It is infact worse than some of the LCDs available out there


Additionally I quoted CNET just for the reason they seem to be the only ones making a valid effort at ranking TVs. Other sites only come up with ratings but with no real comparisons. I do follow hdtvtest which is quite a reliable site. However they too do not do a side by side comparison or rank.
 
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Take CNET reviews with pinch of salt -see my older post - THe "BEST" HTib wrt Cnet had "Lousy Sound" according to What Hi Fi!!!:eek:hyeah::eek:hyeah::eek:hyeah:

In the end it is technology site not speciality audio or video site!
 
actually video reviews are where CNET does a good job, their reviews are scientific, thorough and usually very reliable. What Hi Fi, sadly is not any of the above. Audio they're not quite reliable.

Take CNET reviews with pinch of salt -see my older post - THe "BEST" HTib wrt Cnet had "Lousy Sound" according to What Hi Fi!!!:eek:hyeah::eek:hyeah::eek:hyeah:

In the end it is technology site not speciality audio or video site!
 
I find What hi fi review extremely vague. No numbers. No tests.

Samsung UE46B8000 TV review - from the experts at whathifi.com

It seems only What Hi Fi thinks highly of the LED TVs(b7000,b8000) giving them a full 5 stars. They seem to have absolutely no negatives about them.
While clearly most other websites including hdtvtest,avforums have all so much to talk about flashlighting, uneven picture uniformity, flickering,etc on them

Having said this seeing is believing. So it is better to let our eyes discern what is best for us.
 
even though a review site or magazine may be professional,they can tend to be a bit biased towards one technology or one company,like DP review for eg they are so biased towards canon.even though they may say in writing that canon has the edge , their own test pictures may say otherwise.
 
actually video reviews are where CNET does a good job, their reviews are scientific, thorough and usually very reliable. What Hi Fi, sadly is not any of the above. Audio they're not quite reliable.

I do agree. CNET and HDTVtest are the most trusted for video reviews across the net. What Hi-Fi is all about a glossy website and a glossy magazine and absolutely empty insides. All they use is words like"the sound is detailed, picture is detailed".
 
good reviews on the CNET site but all these are like super expensive teles! i wonder how many might actually go and buy any of these.
 
Except for the Pioneer and the XBR8. The prices are slightly out of date. The rest are infact not very expensive in the US ,UK or elsewhere.
A 52 inch B750 can be had for 1700 dollars...that's like 85000INR. A 50 inch G10 can be had around the same price. A 46 inch B750 costs 105000 here.

The world's moved on to larger sizes and better models. But we as Indians pay the same for cheaper smaller sized models. I understand that import duties on audio video components is quite high. However if you still compare the final price of a tv to the rest of the world i don't think companies actually pass on benefits to Indian consumers even when prices of components fall across the world.
Part of the fault also lies in the ignorance of the Indian consumer. How many of us really know when a dealer talks about tv technology? How many dealers in fact know what they are talking about? Companies know they can continue to sell cheaper technology as though they are expensive technology here... because very few like the members of this forum actually know.
 
Except for the Pioneer and the XBR8. The prices are slightly out of date. The rest are infact not very expensive in the US ,UK or elsewhere.
A 52 inch B750 can be had for 1700 dollars...that's like 85000INR. A 50 inch G10 can be had around the same price. A 46 inch B750 costs 105000 here.

The world's moved on to larger sizes and better models. But we as Indians pay the same for cheaper smaller sized models. I understand that import duties on audio video components is quite high. However if you still compare the final price of a tv to the rest of the world i don't think companies actually pass on benefits to Indian consumers even when prices of components fall across the world.
Part of the fault also lies in the ignorance of the Indian consumer. How many of us really know when a dealer talks about tv technology? How many dealers in fact know what they are talking about? Companies know they can continue to sell cheaper technology as though they are expensive technology here... because very few like the members of this forum actually know.

that i'm quite sure is true. the other day i was at a Great Eastern store here in Kolkata when a potential buyer asked one of the showroom folks about why he should get an lcd. i was just stunned at what the guy's reply. he said that lcds have a longer lifespan than crts, that y one should get an lcd.

now i know its true, but is that the first thing which comes to ur mind when u compare lcds with crts? :)
 
that i'm quite sure is true. the other day i was at a Great Eastern store here in Kolkata when a potential buyer asked one of the showroom folks about why he should get an lcd. i was just stunned at what the guy's reply. he said that lcds have a longer lifespan than crts, that y one should get an lcd.

now i know its true, but is that the first thing which comes to ur mind when u compare lcds with crts? :)

Lol!
the other day there this was customer who was comparing a samsung a650 and a Sony w400. So our dealer was going gung ho about samsung. All he kept saying was that the picture looks great on the samsung. Our dear customer looks for a moment and remarked that the samsung looked bright crisp and clear. I was stunned. The fact is the poor Sony was so dimmed that we could see our faces better than what was on the screen. I was thinking to myself 99% of people who come to showrooms get fooled this way.
 
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Lol!
the other day there this was customer who was comparing a samsung a650 and a Sony w400. So our dealer was going gung ho about samsung. All he kept saying was that the picture looks great on the samsung. Our dear customer looks for a moment and remarked that the samsung looked bright crisp and clear. I was stunned. The fact is the poor Sony was so dimmed that we could see our faces better than what was on the screen. I was thinking to myself 99% of people who come to showrooms get fooled this way.

exactly. this is done by nearly all dealers. and dunno why maybe because of the commission factor, but all dealers have a tendency to promote samsung, even when they have sony stuff available!
 
Last year it was slightly different here in Bangalore. I had seen some dealers promoting Samsung and some Sony. But this year a majority of them have tilted towards Samsung.
 
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