Looking for a flat panel for my parents. They are leaning towards LCD, mainly because they don't want to worry about burn in (even though I explained to them how its very difficult to do on modern plasmas, and how IMO plasma pq is superior. But I digress).

How are the Samsung LCD's? They seem reasonably priced compared to say, Sony. Are the Sharps worth looking into? What brand or brands are considered top tier in the consumer LCD space?

 

Samsung, Sony and Sharp, in that order.

I like Samsung the best overall for LCD.

 

fdl:
I just got a 46' Samsung LNT-4661f from Future shop, the TV is absolutely the best thing on the shelves, look at the reviews it is one of the top rated out there. Also we talked the sales guy down to cost on the tv to cover the cost of some cables and a hardcore power cleaner also got a pioneer upsampling dvd player. HD rogers is insane especially all the sports channels. It's definitely the way to go.

 

Sony uses Samsungs panels. Their partly expensive because their margins are diluted, and partly expensive because they're Sony and have a name that allows them to rip people off.

That said, you can find wicked sales on Sony's, 2-3k off at a time no problem.

Decide on a size, then decide on your budget. Samsung, for instance, is currently producing something like 6-7 different 46" sets (not to mention the A,B,C variants sold at certain box stores).

They go all the way from 40-series (run of the mill) to an 80-series (state of the art LED backlighting), with a 90-series coming out any day now.

You can spend from a couple hundred bucks to well over $5000 on a 46" Samsung.

 

Unfortunately, the 61-series is far from the the best thing on the shelves. I don't mean to knock your purchase, but simply let the next buyer know that there are alot of options out there above and beyond a 61-series.

It's a rock solid set. Just not the best.

There's four series above the 61 right now. 65, 69, 71, and 81... with 81 being the BEST LCD on the market at the moment. If not for some of it's first generation quirks, it would probably be the best flat panel on the market period. That title is being given to Pioneer's 8G Kuro plasma series at the moment.

When the 85 & 91 series Samsung LCD's hit the market they will most likely be crowned the best displays ever in short form.

 

an acquaintance of mine develops LCD technologies for 3M and says the EXACT same thing.

With that said, I just bought a Sharp.

 

As some have said, Samsung, Sony and Sharp.


Samsung with their latest LED backlight system puts any of the Sony's and Sharp displays I have seen to shame.

So Samsung is easily top dog for the moment. By a good margin... until the others adopt a LED back light system as well.

With the LED backlight the Samsung LCD has better color coverage, and better contrast.


Read soopa's thead and note the model numbers. If you drop models below the LED driven backlight Samsungs the playing field evens out quite a bit between Sony and Samsung.

Sharp's displays are decent, but require an external scaler/processor to get good SDTV video. Their internal scaler does a horrible job of taking SDTV to the planels native resolution. And any analog noise gets seriously amplified.

edited

 

Yes, but the 81-series is almost prohibitively expensive at the moment (very little discounts being offered as of yet) and is plagued with bugs.

I, personally, would not buy an 81-series despite their magnificent (at times) picture.

I would wait until the 2nd generation (likely the 85 series) before buying. Judging by the amount of complaints the 81-series is getting, I'd bet this will be sooner then later. Definitely by super bowl time.

At this very moment, if you're looking for an "LED backlit" caliber display, Plasma is still a better bet.

 

Oh, all that said... LCD to LCD... if I were going to spend 7k on an LCD... it would most definitely be an LED-backlit 81-series Samsung over a lackluster XBR-series Sony.

I just don't understand how Sony still commands such a premium.

 

I was just answering "Who is the current leader in flat panel LCD?"

 

And I agree with you completely.

 

I haven't noticed any plague of bugs with my LN-T5281F. The picture is awesome, the LED backlighting delivers the black levels as advertised.

 

Consider yourself one of the lucky ones.

Bugs or not, it's still light years beyond any other LCD, so don't get me wrong.

The picture is indeed awesome.