TV Reviews

The Panasonic TH-50PF9UK was created for business use - but that doesn't mean that you couldn't purchase it for your home. In fact you may find that it is a much better choice for you than most of the consumer models that Panasonic has released in the past. It offers great picture quality and a much cleaner look to what you watch. We must warn you that if you choose this television you will be making sacrifices. It only offers two inputs (compared to the several used on a consumer brand) and does not come with speakers or a stand.

But we'll focus on that later. For now we want to focus on the highlights of this television - which offers a native resolution of 1,920x1,080 pixels. This is twice as many pixels than what you would find in most of the 50" plasmas on the market. On top of that it gives you the ability to watch HDTV formats in the highest resolution that it offers.

There really aren't too many features that you can find on the TH-50PF9UK (because it is geared for office use). Some of the normal features that it has been given are the usual options that give the ability to change your television's settings. The only thing you cannot customize is the way you watch HDTV. Some channels are not sized properly and most televisions give you the option of fixing this problem. It does allow you to view two sources at the same time through its PIP feature. But that would be the only superb feature that it has.

As we said before it has only been given two inputs. The most convenient input is the component video input - which allows you to hook your computer up to it. No doubt this television was given this feature so that it could be used for presentations during a business meeting.

Of course all the features that you miss out on are made up by the awesome picture quality. Usually the black levels on plasma screen scan be a bit of a problem - but on the TH-50PF9UK it is the best that any plasma can offer. The resolution on the television helps to keep the color accurate (for the most part) and shows up every detail that you would usually miss out on.

If the picture quality isn't exactly what you were looking for than you always have the option of tweaking it to the way you like - though we have to admit that you won't have to do too much of this. We found that fixing the colors through the Super Cinema mode was the easiest and most effective way to go.

Watching any HD DVD or Blu-ray DVD on this television is better than going to the movie (though without the great surround sound). Every image that you watch has details and is sharp. You will even be able to notice the small things that don't even matter. Ok so maybe the high-def DVD disc was partly to blame for this - but we have to say that the television did a great job of contributing and de-interlacing it.

Purchasing the Panasonic 50" TH-50PF9UK will cost you anywhere from $2,000 to $3,000 - but remember that this does not include the speakers or a television stand. It will cost you an extra $250 to stock up on these. That is unless you already have a surround system in your home. For the incredible picture that it offers we have to say that it is worth every penny.

Samsung was so proud of the way that they had built their previous LCD television model that they didn't see much of a point in changing the design of it for the new 2007 LN-T3253H model. The most drastic change that they made was hiding the speakers. The stand that it comes on allows the television to turn around 20 degrees either to the right or to the left.

The LN-T3253H comes with a resolution of 1,366x768 - matching the count of pixels that can be found in most LCD models. The amount of pixels that it offers give viewers the ability to watch HDTV.

There are three different picture modes each pertaining to the different independent outputs. You have the ability to customize each of these modes using the three different picture settings. One of those settings (our favorite) is the Only Movie mode - which gives users the choice of adjusting it to the fullest making it the ideal picture mode to watch with.

One of the newer features that they have added is the backlight control - which works differently with each different output. The controls that control how intense you want the backlight to be determined how light your television will give off. As we said before this feature is something that Samsung has never used before even though many other LCD manufacturers have.

When it comes to the picture quality we give this 32" television an A+. Although the picture quality doesn't always start off great when you first take it out of the box after you adjust the image and tweak it to the way you like you will be impressed with what you see. The only default mode that starts off great is the Only Movie mode.
One of the big problems that most LCD televisions have is with the dark images that appear on the screen. More often than not they are so dark that we are unable to see what is going on. The LN-T3253H model however was very different from most models in the fact that we were able to see things with clarity and with incredible sharpness. When it comes to the grayscale we saw a bit of blue in the shadows - but the fact that you can adjust the grayscale can help to fix this problem.

The only performance that we were not impressed with was when we tested the high definition sources through the video processing. Samsung failed to correctly adjust and de-interlace the 1080i signals that it transmitted - which caused distortion of the resolution of the picture that you are trying to watch. When it came down to the performance of the normal standard definition we were impressed with the smooth picture that it produced and the almost perfect color accuracy that it came out with.

Samsung did a pretty good job with the LN-T3253H except for the fact that it doesn't always work well with HDTV. Unfortunately this is a big reason for people buying any television anymore. The good thing is that this computer ranges only from $740 to $1,100. So for those of you who are just looking for a great flat, LCD TV screen are in luck.

Sony has been known for using the LCoS SXRD technology in many of its rear projection HDTV's. So we are not surprised to see that they have used it for the 55" KDS-A3000. They have made some improvements upon it - creating a better picture quality for your viewing pleasure.

The design of this television is very basic when compared to many of the televisions on the market today. It may not be as appealing to most of us at first glance - but then again we can't always buy a TV based on how it looks - but rather on how it performs and what features it has to offer.

In our book performance is everything. You don't want a television that looks great in your living room - but when you try to watch something it dumbs down the look of things and makes you feel like you are at a cheap dollar theatre. You want something that will grab your attention and make you feel like you are in the movie. We are happy to report that the Sony KDS excels in performance.

The color accuracy - which is one of the most important things to look for is excellent. The brighter colors - which usually stick out too much are perfectly adjusted and the de-coding for the HD and SD sources as well as the grayscale were also well adjusted and were similar to those seen on the standard broadcast.

The performance of the black level was also above average and did a great job of smoothing out the images on the screen. If you look in your menu you will see an option for Noise Reduction - which when enabled will take care of any annoying background noise. The Motion Enhancer option also takes part in smoothing out all of the images that you are watching. Unfortunately it is unable to de-interlace the film 1080i HD picture the way it should and can cause the reduction of vertical resolution when viewing HD through your cable or satellite. However, this will not affect your picture when you are watching Blu-ray and HD DVD's on your television.

The television is equipped with all of the usual input slots - which are located along the side of the television instead of in the back or the front. This was a smart move on Sony's part to place them here because now they are not just easy to access - but they also are hidden from view. The television also comes with a remote control - which we have to admit is a bit confusing to understand. To make it easier on yourself you should just go out and buy a universal remote. This will save you time from trying to figure out how to work their remote and from having to use two different ones (one for the TV and one for the movie player).

All in all the Sony KDS-A3000 offers all the necessary features and gives you great performance. The best part about it is it only costs between $1,500 and $2,000. That is a great price for such a well performing and large television.