Help choosing a TV

[skaertus]

I'm in search of a new TV. I am inclined towards a 55" model. As I live in Brazil, not all models available in the US are available here, and prices also differ, so I'll stick to what my options are.

These are affordable TVs, about US$ 2,000 each (yes, prices here are incredibly high). I cannot order a TV from the US because of the prohibitive taxes, and there is no workaround, so I'll have to settle with one of these options here:

LG 55LN5400
LG 55LA6600
Samsung UN55F6400AF
Sony KDL-55W805A
Philips 55PFL7008

There is also the Sony KDL-60R555A, which is slightly more expensive, but a 60" model.

Image quality looks very similar on the stores. I don't know which one to choose. I found the LG LA6600 to have a great image quality, and was inclined towards this one, but then I saw some reviews saying that Sony or Samsung was better.

What one would you choose?

 

[olds]

Samsung and Sony are better.
I wouldn't buy Phillips and I'd stay away from LG if I was looking for a GOOD TV as my main TV.

 

[DesiPower]

Another vote for Sony or Samsung, IMHO and Experience Sony is better in quality but lacks features and bells and whistles. Samsungs are "smarter" for the same price

 

[poofyhairguy]

The Samsung is a so-so model. I would go Sony.

 

[Thebobo]

Despite what folks blather off with no proof other then read one post or heard something form someone, there is nothing wrong with LG. In fact one was the best pick at consumer reports last year and several others in the top 10.

I own a LG 60" PN5700 Plasma and its great.

 

[Drako]

Despite what folks blather off with no proof other then read one post or heard something form someone, there is nothing wrong with LG. In fact one was the best pick at consumer reports last year and several others in the top 10.

I own a LG 60" PN5700 Plasma and its great.

So you criticize peoples opinions, and then use consumer reports as your source. Classic.

 

[DesiPower]

So you criticize peoples opinions, and then use consumer reports as your source. Classic.

Rofl

 

[Thebobo]

So you criticize peoples opinions, and then use consumer reports as your source. Classic.

Nothing wrong with CS at all they they have been reviewing for 75 years and TVs as long as they have been around.

And yes I do use CS as a source because folks usually don't have any proof they just hear shit from folks like you that you heard from someone else and take it as gospel. So rather than just snarke show me some facts on the LG TV line and how its so bad AND how consumer reports is so bad. Please And not just your opinion.

 

[olds]

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/home_electronics/lg-tv.html

 

[poofyhairguy]

show me some facts on the LG TV line and how its so bad AND how consumer reports is so bad. Please And not just your opinion.

You mean other than this?

http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/201...sonal-information-viewing-info-isnt-personal/

 

[Drako]

Nothing wrong with CS at all they they have been reviewing for 75 years and TVs as long as they have been around.

And yes I do use CS as a source because folks usually don't have any proof they just hear shit from folks like you that you heard from someone else and take it as gospel. So rather than just snarke show me some facts on the LG TV line and how its so bad AND how consumer reports is so bad. Please And not just your opinion.

When buying a TV, I actually prefer the advise of people who actually know something about TVs, and picture quality. Apparently that is not important to you.

Go read some reviews on AVS, or CNet.

 

[Thebobo]

You mean other than this?

http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/201...sonal-information-viewing-info-isnt-personal/

The was already a patch fix that and I guess you don't own a smartphone or get on the internet much

Also that mentions nothing about the quality and reliability of LGs.

 

[Thebobo]

When buying a TV, I actually prefer the advise of people who actually know something about TVs, and picture quality. Apparently that is not important to you.

Go read some reviews on AVS, or CNet.

I tend to stay away from CNET since they have advertisers to please. I just don't trust them.

I've been reading AVS for years and they have good information as well but AVS is a forum not a test center for multiple reviews like CR.

look all of these sites are tools to help you choose but to dismiss CR without any good reason is foolish. I trust CR and I will keep on allowing them to influence my purchasing decisions.

 

[skaertus]

Thank you for the feedback.

I went to the store to see the TVs in person.

I ended up buying a LG 55LA8600, which is a higher-end model, capable of a higher refresh rate and reportedly with a better picture quality, but it was on sale for the same price of the TVs I mentioned. The TV set is yet to be delivered to me.

However, now that I've read the posts and done some research, I wonder whether I made a good choice. There are some opinions praising the picture quality of the LA8600, and others saying that the contrats and the black levels are poor. At the same time, I see some very controversial opinions on the F6400 (which would be an alternative), and other saying that it is crap (including the black levels; the F8000, which is the LA8600 rival and is praised for its picture quality, is much more expensive here, so I didn't consider it).

In addition, the LG panel seems to be covered by glass and, as my room is bright and has a large window, I wonder whether there would be too much glare and if I would be better served by another TV, even a lower-end one...

 

[Midwayman]

look all of these sites are tools to help you choose but to dismiss CR without any good reason is foolish. I trust CR and I will keep on allowing them to influence my purchasing decisions.

CR is okay for stuff you don't really care about and want the best widget for the dollar that will get the 'get 'er done'.

You you want it to be the best widget, or even particularly care how said widget functions its a terrible source. I would reference it for a dishwasher, but not a TV. It pretty much the antithesis of a enthusiast website.

 

[crashtestdummy]

CR is okay for stuff you don't really care about and want the best widget for the dollar that will get the 'get 'er done'.

You you want it to be the best widget, or even particularly care how said widget functions its a terrible source. I would reference it for a dishwasher, but not a TV. It pretty much the antithesis of a enthusiast website.

It's not an enthusiast publication, but that is in some ways its greatest benefit. You can obsess over tiny details all you want, but you tend to get diminishing returns fairly quickly. When buying a TV, there's relatively little that really matters when watching it other than, "does it look nice?" We can talk about this differences between LCD vs plasma, about 60Hz vs. 120Hz, and about calibrated color accuracy and black levels, but if it doesn't make the viewing experience noticeably better to the person watching it, who cares?

I particularly read CR for reviews on things that I'm an enthusiast for, because it's a necessary dose of reality that some of the things I think are important aren't so valuable.

 

[poofyhairguy]

It's not an enthusiast publication, but that is in some ways its greatest benefit. You can obsess over tiny details all you want, but you tend to get diminishing returns fairly quickly. When buying a TV, there's relatively little that really matters when watching it other than, "does it look nice?" We can talk about this differences between LCD vs plasma, about 60Hz vs. 120Hz, and about calibrated color accuracy and black levels, but if it doesn't make the viewing experience noticeably better to the person watching it, who cares?

I mean I guess you are right about that. We all have our areas of expertise and our own priorities. And, more to the point, you are correct that what nerds value in a TV (picture quality) is not what the greater market values or the plasma industry wouldn't be dying.

But I think part of being a geek/nerd is literally geeking out learning about new areas. If I am buying a washer, or a fridge, or a TV, or a tablet, etc. I will spend a week researching it as much as I can trying to get a level of familiarity and experience. Most of the time I will never get to a point where I am an "expert" on something, but I almost every time I go past the level of detail a CR will provide.

If this thread was on Pintrest or Facebook or the CNN comment section sure maybe CR is the source. Put this is Anand, picture quality (and other nerdy criteria) matters!

And honestly it matters to the people at CR too, because many of them are nerds in that field. Sure they have to dumb things down for their reports, but you ask them personal opinions and they sound just like us.

For example on TVs:

First Pioneer, now Panasonic. For those of us who look at TVs every day and care about picture quality, there's a sense of loss at Panasonic's exit from the plasma market, and what it portends for the future of plasma. This year, its ST60-series sets were probably the TVs I recommended most to friends who asked for buying advice, and the ZT60 sets we tested were perhaps the best TVs we reviewed short of Samsung's OLED set. I only hope that Samsung and LG realize there are customers looking for a top-performing plasma TVs and remain committed to the technology, at least until OLED can get bigger and cheaper.
-- Jim Wilcox, senior editor, Consumer Reports

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-33199_...c-plasma-tvs-reactions-from-industry-experts/

Listen to his words: "care about picture quality" "sense of loss," "I recommend the most to friends," "I hope that Samsung and LG realize there are customers looking for a top-performing plasma TVs."

That last one is key. It is not "I am glad Samsung and LG realize," it is "I hope they realize"

Sounds like when you get the top guy at CR off the record he doesn't think LG's current offerings are up to a quality that they can be recommended to the important people in his life. Samsung gets the OLED pass, but he calls out both for not having the quality he would want when it comes to what matters the most to us: "top performance" IE picture quality.

So I think it is fair to say when you are talking about comparing TVs on this forum, the "on record" CR findings are a starting point at best.

 

[crashtestdummy]

I mean I guess you are right about that. We all have our areas of expertise and our own priorities. And, more to the point, you are correct that what nerds value in a TV (picture quality) is not what the greater market values or the plasma industry wouldn't be dying.

But I think part of being a geek/nerd is literally geeking out learning about new areas. If I am buying a washer, or a fridge, or a TV, or a tablet, etc. I will spend a week researching it as much as I can trying to get a level of familiarity and experience. Most of the time I will never get to a point where I am an "expert" on something, but I almost every time I go past the level of detail a CR will provide.

If this thread was on Pintrest or Facebook or the CNN comment section sure maybe CR is the source. Put this is Anand, picture quality (and other nerdy criteria) matters!

And honestly it matters to the people at CR too, because many of them are nerds in that field. Sure they have to dumb things down for their reports, but you ask them personal opinions and they sound just like us.

For example on TVs:



http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-33199_...c-plasma-tvs-reactions-from-industry-experts/

Listen to his words: "care about picture quality" "sense of loss," "I recommend the most to friends," "I hope that Samsung and LG realize there are customers looking for a top-performing plasma TVs."

That last one is key. It is not "I am glad Samsung and LG realize," it is "I hope they realize"

Sounds like when you get the top guy at CR off the record he doesn't think LG's current offerings are up to a quality that they can be recommended to the important people in his life. Samsung gets the OLED pass, but he calls out both for not having the quality he would want when it comes to what matters the most to us: "top performance" IE picture quality.

So I think it is fair to say when you are talking about comparing TVs on this forum, the "on record" CR findings are a starting point at best.

I think all of that is fair. I still read Anandtech, obviously, and respect the work that people like them do. I simply caution against the dismissal of CR as "for the masses", because I think they can provide a worthwhile counterweight to the obsessing over minutiae that they do on enthusiast sites, even for said enthusiasts.

I also do have to say that, for the record, I do also lament the disappearance of plasmas. I think they tend to look better than LCD panels, largely because of the contrast. I don't view all those features I mentioned as inherently meaningless, but it's sometimes worth reexamining your assumptions in the context of an outside observer.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I think all of that is fair. I still read Anandtech, obviously, and respect the work that people like them do. I simply caution against the dismissal of CR as "for the masses", because I think they can provide a worthwhile counterweight to the obsessing over minutiae that they do on enthusiast sites, even for said enthusiasts.

I also do have to say that, for the record, I do also lament the disappearance of plasmas. I think they tend to look better than LCD panels, largely because of the contrast. I don't view all those features I mentioned as inherently meaningless, but it's sometimes worth reexamining your assumptions in the context of an outside observer.

That is a good point. We do sometimes get too hung up on one thing and make that THE deciding factor despite other features or value. Forests and trees....

 

[Midwayman]

And honestly it matters to the people at CR too, because many of them are nerds in that field. Sure they have to dumb things down for their reports, but you ask them personal opinions and they sound just like us.

That's actually really good to hear. Sometimes when reading their reviews I really question if they have people who know anything about the topics they review.

 

[skaertus]

Thank you for the feedback.



I went to the store to see the TVs in person.



I ended up buying a LG 55LA8600, which is a higher-end model, capable of a higher refresh rate and reportedly with a better picture quality, but it was on sale for the same price of the TVs I mentioned. The TV set is yet to be delivered to me.



However, now that I've read the posts and done some research, I wonder whether I made a good choice. There are some opinions praising the picture quality of the LA8600, and others saying that the contrats and the black levels are poor. At the same time, I see some very controversial opinions on the F6400 (which would be an alternative), and other saying that it is crap (including the black levels; the F8000, which is the LA8600 rival and is praised for its picture quality, is much more expensive here, so I didn't consider it).



In addition, the LG panel seems to be covered by glass and, as my room is bright and has a large window, I wonder whether there would be too much glare and if I would be better served by another TV, even a lower-end one...

Nobody...?

 

[poofyhairguy]

In addition, the LG panel seems to be covered by glass and, as my room is bright and has a large window, I wonder whether there would be too much glare and if I would be better served by another TV, even a lower-end one...

If you find that LG has too much glare, the Sony might be better.

 

[skaertus]

If you find that LG has too much glare, the Sony might be better.

Well, that's what I would need to know. I can replace the TV for another one before it arrives, but not later.

I must choose between the models I mentioned in my earlier post.

 

[DumasMcPhail]

Samsung and Sony are better.