[Pedaltothefloor]

Originally Posted by Guite

Go for LED, most companies are concentrating more on LED than LCD, so you will find better picture quality, more features in LED.

Thanks. So LCD is out. How about Plasma? Couldn't help notice that a lot of folks are on the lookout for a plasma.

[khoj]

Do note that all LEDs are basically LCD panels, only the back light is LED instead of CFL.

Sony was the king up untill their Trinitron CRTs were in vogue. They never could capture the LCD market and at the moment are milking their brand as it is a hugely aspirational make and a whole lot of people just buy it for the brandname.

Originally Posted by Guite

Go for LED, most companies are concentrating more on LED than LCD, so you will find better picture quality, more features in LED. Till recently I thought Sony was the best in TV but now my opinion has changed. Samsung and Panasonic

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by khoj

Do note that all LEDs are basically LCD panels, only the back light is LED instead of CFL.

Sony was the king up untill their Trinitron CRTs were in vogue. They never could capture the LCD market and at the moment are milking their brand as it is a hugely aspirational make and a whole lot of people just buy it for the brandname.

Thank you for this post. I am glad to understand this or have it re affirmed by an internal resource rather than a tv sales chap.
By the fact that it is back lit, it ought to consume less power, oughtn't it? And give us marginally greater clarity on account of the dark screen?

Personally I have been comparing Sony and Samsung and find very little to choose between the two, thought I somehow felt that the colour in Sony and sound too, was marginally better.
But most of our appliances otherwise like the main TV, wash machine, fridge, micro etc are Samsungs and on account of their very decent servicing and other aspects, I will probably buy one more Samsung 32 incher HD LED TV too. Watching Tata Sky HD on the Samsung HD Tv is a wonderful experience, especially for sports!
I find the Sony HDMI dvd players excellent, when coupled to my Samsung TVs. We don't use HD DVD or Blue Ray. I just play all my standard DVD's through the HDMi DVD players onto the HD Tv, and by george the quality is wonderful.

I wonder what will happen if they phase out all the optical drive media.
All those lovely original movie dvds will no longer exist. Will we then get nasty little bits of plastic in the form of USB sticks with movies in them instead? Perhaps more efficient etc,but from a 'feel good' point of view, it is lamentable in my opinion.

[Cowardly Lion]

Originally Posted by Guite

Go for LED, most companies are concentrating more on LED than LCD, so you will find better picture quality, more features in LED. Till recently I thought Sony was the best in TV but now my opinion has changed. Samsung and Panasonic are making great strides in consumer grade display technologies.


I was quoted 64K for 42ST30 at a brand shop one month back, so post# 5643 is probably a communication gap.

I would highly recommend looking at 50ST30 instead of 42ST30 as I already have a quote of 70K on the 50". That is 6K more than the price of 42". The 50" looks like a breed apart compared to 42". So my 2 cents - Either upgrade your preference to 50ST30 or renegotiate the price on the 42"...

[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by khoj

Do note that all LEDs are basically LCD panels, only the back light is LED instead of CFL.

Sony was the king up untill their Trinitron CRTs were in vogue. They never could capture the LCD market and at the moment are milking their brand as it is a hugely aspirational make and a whole lot of people just buy it for the brandname.

Yes, incidentally, it was Samsung who just started Hyping LED as a technology, whereas other manufacturers like Philips and LG were already using LEDs for edge lighting and had already started the LED TV concept, in which the backlighting is with LEDs.
Gradually as LEDs colour rendering capabilities improved, the colour saturation improved and instead of LED edge lighting, the industry moved onto full backlighting with LEDs (LEDs behind the LCD panel).

Sony was the last to move onto this concept and was initially hung onto the CCFL (Cold cathode Flourescent lamp tech) and tried to compete against LEDs saying that CCFLs give a warmer and truer colour rendition.
Ultimately it also had to surrender to the LED hype which Samsung created and they also have to move onto LED based backlighting as the market demanded it.
During the past 5-6 years, Samsung became the leader in LED TVs, due to its speed of innovation and the marketing hype that they create around LED TVs. Also one of the key reasons which behind their success is the continuous onslaught of new models / Series which they do (almost every 6 months) which very few other manufacturers can match, which was also why companies like Philips lost out, inspite of having been a leader in CRT and also pioneering the LCD segment along with LG when they setup LG-Philips displays. I don't know if you have seen the Ambilight series from Philips originally - this used LEDs both for back lighting as well as for Ambient mood lighting, around the TV! They also own most of the patents in several key technologies like Audio CD, DVD, Blu-ray (co-developed with others), Trinitron (invented by Philips, then sold to Sony!) and many others. But they have never been able to capitalize / market their ideas well!

So it is not just about technology, but also about aggressive marketing which has led the the current scenario, where Samsung actually commands a premium over Sony in most markets!

Regards,
Behemoth

[Pedaltothefloor]

Any suggestions for a 40" LED/LCD/Plasma if you guys know the current offers etc? Also, is it a good idea to buy from Flipkart.com?

I will shortlist 2-3 models today and post here for suggestions later in the day as I want to buy tomorrow.

[Suess]

Originally Posted by Behemoth

.... Also one of the key reasons which behind their success is the continuous onslaught of new models / Series which they do (almost every 6 months) which very few other manufacturers can match, which was also why companies like Philips lost out, inspite of having been a leader in CRT and also pioneering the LCD segment along with LG when they setup LG-Philips displays. I don't know if you have seen the Ambilight series from Philips originally - this used LEDs both for back lighting as well as for Ambient mood lighting, around the TV! They also own most of the patents in several key technologies like Audio CD, DVD, Blu-ray (co-developed with others), Trinitron (invented by Philips, then sold to Sony!) and many others. But they have never been able to capitalize / market their ideas well!

So it is not just about technology, but also about aggressive marketing which has led the the current scenario, where Samsung actually commands a premium over Sony in most markets!

Regards,
Behemoth

My husband has worked at Philips in Germany and what we feel that Philips has been way ahead of time and that has worked against them. In 2003-2004 they were having touch screen mobile phones but no one was ready for them. I wanted to have one but cost didn't allow. so, a mix of wrong time-to-market and almost non-exsistent marketing has proven detrimental for such an inovative company. i feel sad.(we are not anymore with Philips.)

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by devarshi84

...
50ST50
Devarshi84
cowardly lion

42ST50
Guite
CRV2010
chetans ...

Count me in for a 50ST50.

Originally Posted by Behemoth

... the industry moved onto full backlighting with LEDs (LEDs behind the LCD panel). ...

Which are the models available in India with full LED back-lighting now? Looking at the prices of models with lesser abilities, this one sounds like something in the >INR2.5L bracket.

[khoj]

That would be Sony's HX950 series with sizes and prices starting with 46" @ 1.54 lakh.

Originally Posted by DerAlte

Which are the models available in India with full LED back-lighting now? Looking at the prices of models with lesser abilities, this one sounds like something in the >INR2.5L bracket.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by khoj

That would be Sony's HX950 series with sizes and prices starting with 46" @ 1.54 lakh.

Thanks. Hmm... I have seen that one, nothing extraordinary as compared to the EX750 which I had seen side by side at the Sony Brand Shop. The 55" one is 2.5L IIRC.

Is that the only one in the market?

[RemingtonSteele]

Originally Posted by khoj

That would be Sony's HX950 series with sizes and prices starting with 46" @ 1.54 lakh.

Originally Posted by DerAlte

Thanks. Hmm... I have seen that one, nothing extraordinary as compared to the EX750 which I had seen side by side at the Sony Brand Shop. The 55" one is 2.5L IIRC.

HX925: I own it, I bought it after 6 months of technical research and let me tell you it local dimming LEDs beats all of them hands down in the 2D content.

3D content has only one flaw, its off axis viewbility when you bend your neck sideways has an issue. But the true axis viewability is very very good. Deep blacks are mind blowing and unmatchable.

If you need technical analysis then check out for Chad B's review on HX92X (google it), this credeble TV geek who is also a Professinal Calibrator is die hard fan of this Sony series.

[Pedaltothefloor]

Let me ask the specifics I should check since I Need to buy this tomorrow.
I won't be using the TV for gaming and it should have very good sound for watching movies. I have narrowed in on LED over LCD and Plasma. I need the TV to play all formats of movies through USB. The size should be 40 inch.

So, what all specs do I need to check in a 40 inch LED TV that should be able to play most formats through USB and have excellent sound.

Sorry I don't know much about technology and my requirements are pretty basic.

[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

Count me in for a 50ST50.

Which are the models available in India with full LED back-lighting now? Looking at the prices of models with lesser abilities, this one sounds like something in the >INR2.5L bracket.

As far as I know there are some models in the LG range in greater than 55 inch size which use full array back lighting but these are very expensive as you mentioned. Samsung still uses only edge lighting in all its models. Also in full array back lighting the thickness of the tv increases.

[vivekiny2k]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

By the fact that it is back lit, it ought to consume less power, oughtn't it? And give us marginally greater clarity on account of the dark screen?

ALL TVs are backlit. the light source is behind the screen. You will have a greater clarity if you have "active matrix LED" (no LCD) with no backlight needed.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by vivekiny2k

ALL TVs are backlit. the light source is behind the screen. You will have a greater clarity if you have "active matrix LED" (no LCD) with no backlight needed.

Thank you. So perhaps a Samsung LED will meet the requirement.