Best 55" Smart TV

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I'm looking for a great, if not the best 55" smart TV. I was told the best time to buy is around the end of Jan due to the Super-Bowl.

Also is there any guide on how to shop for them and all the technical jargon that goes along with the features TV's have these days ?

Thanks

 

[Midwayman]

Panasonic TCP55ZT60 Flat out the best 55" TV you can buy right now.

 

[phillyman36]

Panasonic TCP55ZT60 Flat out the best 55" TV you can buy right now.

Doesn't the ZT60 only comes in 60" and 65"?

 

[Midwayman]

Doesn't the ZT60 only comes in 60" and 65"?

Checking it, I think you are right. I guess that would make the vt60 the best 55"

 

[cmdrdredd]

When you say "best smart TV" are you talking about the TV with the best apps and features for movie streaming and the like or the best picture quality that also happens to be a smart TV?

If Plasma won't work for your room lighting conditions, There's a lot of good LCD sets out there from Sony, Samsung and others. Samsung have gotten more expensive these days while Sony has had some great sales on their high end sets. I recently purchased a Sony KDL55W900A for $1800(MSRP $2800). I bought it for a game room and put all my consoles and a 3D Blu-Ray player in there with a 5.1 system. I looked at every 55" TV I could find and I always went back to the Sony. It has the best color reproduction on any current LCD IMO. It almost matches a plasma for color vibrance and accuracy. It can't match the black levels though. The bonus for me was the game mode with no image processing enabled drops the input lag to 16.9ms according to some reviews I found online. I couldn't use a plasma in the game room because of the lighting so I wanted a very nice LCD set with low lag for games. The Sony was my choice.

So my recommendation is

Plasma- Panasonic TCP55VT60 which is selling for $1575 on Amazon
LCD- Sony KDL55W900A LED which is considerably more money at $1998

Plasma cannot be beat right now for the price. Also if you want a Plasma you should buy it soon as Panasonic is shutting down their Plasma manufacturing facility and will no longer be selling them after March 2014. So if one strikes your fancy, better get it while you can. They will honor the full warranty on any TV purchased before they are gone.

 

[phillyman36]

The only reason Iv'e stayed away from plasma tvs is due to room light reflection. Take what I say with a grain of salt but every time I'm in a store the light reflection tends to bother me. (I have never had a plasma or seen one in someones house so it may be stereotypical fear) The best tv Iv'e had is my Samsung 46D8000 (which after 2 years 9 months needs service lol) Great picture quality. Just remember CES is Jan 7 thru 10. If I can hold out I'm waiting until March/April usually when the new models come out

 

[phillyman36]

When you say "best smart TV" are you talking about the TV with the best apps and features for movie streaming and the like or the best picture quality that also happens to be a smart TV?

If Plasma won't work for your room lighting conditions, There's a lot of good LCD sets out there from Sony, Samsung and others. Samsung have gotten more expensive these days while Sony has had some great sales on their high end sets. I recently purchased a Sony KDL55W900A for $1800(MSRP $2800). I bought it for a game room and put all my consoles and a 3D Blu-Ray player in there with a 5.1 system. I looked at every 55" TV I could find and I always went back to the Sony. It has the best color reproduction on any current LCD IMO. It almost matches a plasma for color vibrance and accuracy. It can't match the black levels though. The bonus for me was the game mode with no image processing enabled drops the input lag to 16.9ms according to some reviews I found online. I couldn't use a plasma in the game room because of the lighting so I wanted a very nice LCD set with low lag for games. The Sony was my choice.

So my recommendation is

Plasma- Panasonic TCP55VT60 which is selling for $1575 on Amazon
LCD- Sony KDL55W900A LED which is considerably more money at $1998

Plasma cannot be beat right now for the price. Also if you want a Plasma you should buy it soon as Panasonic is shutting down their Plasma manufacturing facility and will no longer be selling them after March 2014. So if one strikes your fancy, better get it while you can. They will honor the full warranty on any TV purchased before they are gone.

I actually saw a Sony 900 series at Bestbuy (I think it was a 60-65 inch)
I had a Sony 720 series and took it back because the picture quality wasn't as good as my Samsung 32A550.
The Sony 900 I saw looked really good. Color looked great. Does it have a glossy screen?

 

[cmdrdredd]

I actually saw a Sony 900 series at Bestbuy (I think it was a 60-65 inch)
I had a Sony 720 series and took it back because the picture quality wasn't as good as my Samsung 32A550.
The Sony 900 I saw looked really good. Color looked great. Does it have a glossy screen?

The W900 is only available in a 55". I can't be sure what model you looked at as they have many. They have a W850(65") and a R550(60") as well as an R520 (older model). The R550 and 520 use passive 3D while the W850 and W900 use Active.

Anyway I know they all have some type of anti reflective coating, but the W900 is less reflective. I don't know if the coating is different or not.

The W900 and W850 use what sony calls a Triluminous display. It is a technology that uses quantum dots. I cannot explain what it does so I'll paste a quote from a site that can.

A traditional LED LCD uses blue LEDs, coated with a yellow phosphor, to create "white" light. While reasonably efficient compared to other technologies (i.e. CCFL LCDs and plasmas), this still creates a lot of "wasted" energy. Orange, for example, doesn't make it past the color filters on the front of the TV (instead, red and green are combined to create orange).
Triluminos uses blue LEDs, but instead of coating them with a yellow phosphor, the blue light from the LEDs passes through the Color IQ optical element containing red and green quantum dots. So the blue LEDs have two functions: create blue light, but also energize red- and green-emitting quantum dots so they in turn can create red and green light. About two-thirds of the light created by the blue LEDs is used to excite the QDs.

 

[Midwayman]

The only reason Iv'e stayed away from plasma tvs is due to room light reflection. Take what I say with a grain of salt but every time I'm in a store the light reflection tends to bother me. (I have never had a plasma or seen one in someones house so it may be stereotypical fear) The best tv Iv'e had is my Samsung 46D8000 (which after 2 years 9 months needs service lol) Great picture quality. Just remember CES is Jan 7 thru 10. If I can hold out I'm waiting until March/April usually when the new models come out

Store lighting is nothing like home lighting. Take one home and return it if it doesn't wow you. I doubt you'll be sending it back.

 

[olds]

Panasonic TCP55VT60
I love my 60" VT60.

 

[Fingolfin269]

I love the VT60 but it really does need a light controlled room to truly show off. Best bang for your buck right now though is the ST series.

 

[destrekor]

Yep. P55ST60 would be a treat as well. From the ST to VT series is a fairly significant price difference, and while, if you have the money it is definitely worth it, for those who have to seriously hem and haw about financing such a purchase, do yourself a favor and "settle" for the ST60 series. Unless you are a pro gamer who needs a low-input-lag TV, that is.