Help in choosing a 40" LCD

[andre19]

hey guys

want to know which of the two tvs are better?
Samsung lcd 40inch 550 at 47k or sony bx420 40inch at 48k.i am only looking at sd viewing,should have good scaling. i demoed both the tv's and found both same in terms of pq.though the setting were different from each other. The Samsung is thinner and looks great when switched off while the sony is not as good looking as the samsung when switched off.
now my only trouble is reliability! the samsung comes with 1 year warranty while the sony has 2 years extended for 3k extra.which will last at least for 5 years without any panel issues??. which tv you guys think i should go
? not interested if the sony cant play certain formats via USB since we can buy a media player later.
also should i check the lg and Panasonic ones?? these come with the IPS panels,are they better in sd scaling and pq as compared to samsung and sony??
i am really confused!!:sad: please help guys!

thanks

 

[cjsarora]

@andre -- I demoed both these yesterday. The Sony has the older BE3 engine which acc to @adder is not as good as the later X-reality engine. Plus it doesnt play some formats but since you are not considering that, i guess it doesnt count. Even then try the CX420 which has bit better specs and is available for 49.9 in Delhi. BX420 should be available for lesser price

The SamsungD550 is available for 43K if you bargain and plays all the formats I took along for checking

 

[andre19]

@andre -- I demoed both these yesterday. The Sony has the older BE3 engine which acc to @adder is not as good as the later X-reality engine. Plus it doesnt play some formats but since you are not considering that, i guess it doesnt count. Even then try the CX420 which has bit better specs and is available for 49.9 in Delhi. BX420 should be available for lesser price

The SamsungD550 is available for 43K if you bargain and plays all the formats I took along for checking

according to sony website the cx420 has everything similar to the bx420 accept the cx420 does not have the digital noise filter which the bx420 has. does this make any difference?? is the BE3 engine inferior to the samsung one?? i really did not find any much difference between the x-reality and the BE3 when i demoed it.
I live in goa where tv prices are quite high. the last price for the samsung is 47k with exchange. i am leaning towards the sony as i can get 2 years extended warranty which the samy does not have!
@cjsarora
did you check if the cx420/ nx520 comes with a spva panel?

please help

 

[BLASTO]

i am only looking at sd viewing,should have good scaling.

Nothing comes close to 720p samsung.
The 43D450 plasma is the best option for SD. It costs like 34k.

 

[andre19]

Nothing comes close to 720p samsung.
The 43D450 plasma is the best option for SD. It costs like 34k.

I dint like the the reflections seen in the showroom:. Worried about normal daylight viewing. dont want to close all the curtains and doors just to watch tv! i have seen your vt20 reflect some amount of light when you allowed sunlight to enter! what will a poor 43d490 do?:sad:
by the way i have not given up the 443d490 but just wanted to check some lcd tvs. found the PQ quite acceptable when viewing normal sd via airtel dth on FHD 40 inch sony and Samsung lcd's.just wanted some additional info on these tvs.

thanks!

 

[adder]

Well the BX series is the Sony most low end series,haven't seen the BX420 but if i remember with the last years BX400 series it had lots of noise in the picture,compared to the EX400 which also had a BE3 but from what i have seen over the years in Sony models is that base models despite advertized as the same engine still isn't upto the Sony usual upscaling standards.

So i would go with a CX420 BE3(plays more formats then X-reality based tvs)or would go with a CX520 which has the newer X-reality processor (better upscaler and deinterlacer).

In the samsung D550 has a decent upscaler,but its has the SMVA panel which trails in contrast and viewing angle compared to other VA based panel.
D5000/D5500 comes with a better panel AMVA which again is some what inferior to the SPVA panel.

The Sony displays usually come with a SPVA panel.

 

[cjsarora]

@adder/Blasto/Guys -- Another question pls based on the two points below:

1- My viewing distance is 8-10 ft as I will be putting the TV in my bedroom. I currently have a Samsung 29"flat screen in the same room. As per the other threads, the minimum distance for a 40LCD is around 8to8.5 ft. Does this distance also holds true for LED?

2-I plugged my laptop on a friends 32Philips using HDMI cable. Even the laptop desktop wallpaper showed some pixelation on the tv screen. My blue ray movie also showed pixelation. That has scared me. Was it the fault with the TV/HDMI cable? Will it happen on a larger scale if I hook it up to a 40incher?

Keeping both these things in mind, would you suggest that I go for a 32incher or go ahead with 40"

 

[cjsarora]

No reply guys......:-(
Should I post in some other thread?
Since I had already started this one, thought will ask the query here only. But no response in almost 24 hours is really disheartening!!!

 

[adder]

1 viewing distance is subjective ,but for your distance a 40" is perfect.

2 If the resolution of the laptop output isn't the same as the native resolution of the tv,then it will show some pixelation.
Also some tvs like philips have issues with PC.

 

[cjsarora]

@Adder - TX Boss

Just one more query. Does it make sense to pitch in the extra money and go for D5500 just for the Internet? How much is it going to be used? Wouldnt it be better if I connect my laptop to the tv and use the tv screen as the big screen for surfing the net and since I will be using the Laptop for actually connecting to the net, there will be no limitations?

 

[adder]

Well if you happen to watch youtube then why not the price difference compared to D5000 ain't much.
But with the laptop you really don't need the smart tv features.Since it does better in all aspects compared to the integrated capability of the tv
But imo considering the price difference ain't much i would go with the D5500.

So the answer to your question lies with you.

 

[cjsarora]

@adder - A big thanks

Based on all the inputs given by you guys, I think I will go ahead and get the D5000. Will put the extra money I save from not opting for D5500 as a down payment for a good Home theatre. So hopefully, will start a new thread asking you guys about that. Thanks again

PS: Keeping my fingers crossed regarding getting a good hand in the Samsung Panel lottery.

 

[cjsarora]

Thanks everybody

Got a Samsung 40D5000 which was delivered and installed on Sunday itself. Upgraded my Tatasky to TataSky HD yesterday.

The HD channels are superb.

I am not sure whether its the size or the viewing distance (abt 9ft) or something else, but I am not liking the SD channels very much.
I tried going through the forums here and changing the settings but still not very happy

Can you please share the settings for Samsung so that I can get good results.
Thanks in advance