New TV

AsSiMiLaTeD

Well, after my 18 month old Samsung plasma died I found myself needing another TV in the living room. I went in thinking and still think that plasmas offer the best picture. Other than maybe the super expensive Sharp or Pio Elite, I just don't see how ANYBODY can look at an LED and think it's a better picture than a plasma, or even as good. LED has gotten better, but IMO plasma is still king.

So I bought an LED TV.

What???

I wanted something better for daytime viewing, as that's when I do most of my watching, especially with football season upon us. I also wanted something fairly light and thin, which LED fits well. LEDs have come a long way in the last few years and look much better. Ultimately, this isn't going to be my living room TV long term - the goal is to save up and buy the Pio Elite in a year or so and move this one into the office and use strictly for gaming and an LED should be good for that if I can find one that handles motion well.

So plasma was out, and Samsung was DEFINITELY out (which is unfortunate since almost LED set you see is a Samsung). So I've spent the last few days doing research and looking at TVs in store and ultimately decided on a Sony KDL55HX850 - a 55" LED TV. It's a step below their flagship model, but some rate it better than that model (929), the yet to be released 950 is supposed to be an improvement though. The general consensus seems to be that this is the first good TV Sony has made in quite some time outside of the XBR series. I looked at LG, Panasonic, Sharp, Toshiba and ultimately decided on the Sony.

It's a great looking TV from the picture quality to the design of the TV itself. This TV handles motion very well and is better than the other LEDs I saw that were in the same price range. It did take some tweaking to get the picture the way I like it, but now that it's set I'm good. The only real negative is the viewing angles, obviously not on par with the plasma that it replaced.

Overall I'm happy with the purchase. I had to talk myself into getting it but once I got it home and set up I felt better about my decision to jump ship to LED. I still can't wait to get that Pio Elite though (or maybe an OLED will be on the market by then).

deronb1

Congrats! Sony makes a great TV. It's getting crazy how much TVs have come down in price in the last year.

AsSiMiLaTeD

On a side note, as I mentioned above I'm done with Samsung permanently. I've had several bad products, each accompanied by a horrible customer service experience and I'm ridding myself of everything Samsung. I had several phone conversations with them about the plasma that failed a couple months out of warranty and they were of no help. One rep actually had the nerve to tell me "You should have called and reported the issue when the TV was still under warranty" WTF!!!!

Anyway, after reading that others here had similar experiences and reading so many negative reviews of even their higher end models online my decision to ditch them was only confirmed. I could have had someone come fix this TV but I"m just done with them. I have a Samsung 43" plasma in the bedroom which is working fine but I'm still getting rid of it and will replace with something else. The TV incident is what set me over the edge, but it wasn't my first incident with them.

I'm telling everyone I know about their horrible service (a faulty product I can live with, no excuse for bad service). Samsung had a perfect opportunity to make a good impression by trying to help me out (especially since this a known issue with my model that just didn't happen to show up while still under warranty), but they didn't care and were rude on multiple occasions, and those of you who've met me know I'm not an abrasive personality.

I think I've mentioned these on here before, but take a couple examples in contrast:

- Polk replaced an amplifier on a speaker that was several years old and way out of warranty.
- Polk replaced a set of binding posts on another pair that were also way out of warranty, and those were broken by my fault
- Apple offered to replace my iPhone for free when I dropped it and cracked the screen. It was my fault, I called to get a repair estimate and they offered to replace it for free.
- eVGA replaced a video card after a friend fried it by way over-colting it
- In February I bought a Phillips Norelco razor at best Buy, one of the really expensive models. A month or so ago it failed on me. Obviously out of return window for Best Buy I contacted Phillips, and they said they'd send me a replacement but it was on backorder and would take about a month to receive. If I go a month without shaving I'm going to look like Grizzly Adams. So I decided to head back up to Best Buy and see if they could help out. They pulled up my receipt, saw that I was CLEARLY outside of my return window and exchanged the razor for a new one without even the slightest hint of hesitation.

In all of those examples those companies could have easily told me to eft off, but instead they went the extra mile and I recommend them every time I get a chance.

Samsung can suck it, and I'll tell that to anyone who'll listen that.

Conradicles

I agree Samsung customer service is not too good. Congrats on a nice new TV!

badchad

I'm curious of the refresh rate, and how "fast motion" appears on the LED.

I'm also of the opinion that plasma is king, but can't decide whether the extra 5" offered by the sharp 70" LED is worth it or not.

AsSiMiLaTeD

The Sharp TVs were the closest competition of the models I saw. ultimately I would have like a bigger set and will go that route when I get the Pio next year. The Sharps were very nice, but I felt like the picture and especially the motion were a bit better on the Sony and decided to go quality over quantity.

The Sony has very good motion processing, I watched the game on NBC last night and there was no blurring or trails on thrown footballs.

Phasewolf

Hate to tell you this but Sony does not make there own panels and you maybe upset by the name that is on the panel inside that set. Tho there are a few company's that make there panels but last ones I seen were yep Samsung lol

F1nut

The Sharp TVs were the closest competition of the models I saw. ultimately I would have like a bigger set and will go that route when I get the Pio next year. The Sharps were very nice, but I felt like the picture and especially the motion were a bit better on the Sony and decided to go quality over quantity.

I hate to tell you this, but those Elite sets are made by Sharp.

I'm curious, did you not look at the Panasonic plasma's? Thin, light, anti-glare coating with a fantastic picture.

jbooker82

AsSiMiLaTeD wrote: »

The Sony has very good motion processing, I watched the game on NBC last night and there was no blurring or trails on thrown footballs.

Did the motion look natural or cartoony? My parents and grandparetns have sony led tv's and fast motion is slowed down and it looks animated. That is one way they deal with fast motion. Simply slow it down so it doesnt blur, or pixlate.

AsSiMiLaTeD

Phasewolf wrote: »

Hate to tell you this but Sony does not make there own panels and you maybe upset by the name that is on the panel inside that set. Tho there are a few company's that make there panels but last ones I seen were yep Samsung lol

Yep I'm aware that when I buy a product there are parts inside made by other companies. I don't know who makes the panel for this TV, but I suspect there's a good chance it's a Samsung panel. IF my TV goes out, who do I get to deal with, Sony or Samsung? Thought so...

I realize I'm not going to be able to avoid Samsung ENTIRELY because they make parts for EVERYTHING, but I'm sure not going to do business with them or have anything with their name stamped on it in my house.

AsSiMiLaTeD

F1nut wrote: »

I hate to tell you this, but those Elite sets are made by Sharp.

I'm curious, did you not look at the Panasonic plasma's? Thin, light, anti-glare coating with a fantastic picture.

Yes I'm aware that the Pio panels are made by Sharp, and Sharp even has it's own high end line that are about the same price, or at least they have a 90" that's 10K. But still, there's a clear and obvious difference between the picture quality between the Pio Elite and the Sharp TVs I see in store.

I did look at the Panny plasmas, several TVs in several stores and I gotta say I'm just not seeing what everyone else sees, they just don't fit my eye very well I guess. I 'know' they're a great TV, and had even talked myself into that line of thinking before I went shopping because I'd read it so much. Even when I purchased the Sony I did so with some trepidation because I knew I was supposed to be buying the Panasonic. But when it came down to it, I just preferred the picture on the Sony LED.

I should note too that buying a Sony product wasn't a particular easy leap for me. I've had the same sort of illogical hatred for Sony that I had for Apple for so many years (though to a much lesser degree with Sony), and buying this TV was kinda like buying my first Mac last year (though again not as painful) but if it turns out the same way long term then I'll be happy.

AsSiMiLaTeD

Regarding the panel manufacturer though, there's a LOT more to a TV than just the panel.

The picture on the Sony TV was obviously different than the Samsung panels they had sitting around it. I preferred the Sony, the sales guy preferred the Samsung and tried his best to get me into one of those. I'll stop short of saying the Sony was absolutely better, but clearly there was a difference. That's because the panel isn't the whole story, there are lots of other electronics in a TV beside the panel.

The same with the Sharp and Pioneer, I'm not sure what all Sharp makes on the Pio set but it's CLEARLY a better picture. Even if the Pio said something like 'Pioneer by Sharp' on the back indicating the whole TV was made by Sharp I won't have a problem buying it because I don't have a problem with Sharp. I purchased the Sony because at my price range I thought it had the best picture, but the Sharp TVs were a very close second.

It's the same reason that the chip in a DAC doesn't tell the whole story, there are other things like circuit design, components and build quality that play a significant role in how it sounds.

mantis

In History , Sony has made excellent quality or top notch products. I've always liked Sony. Since Tweeter went out of Business , I really haven't been around Sony LED's or plain LCD's other then an one here and there when one of my customers purchased one elsewhere. The few I have seen I thought where much better then anything Samsung offered. I'm on the HATE SAMGUNG BAND WAGON as I have seen so many problems with there products not to mention their picture quality sucks. All of their Tv's suck , their plasma TV's are nice but I would never own one. I think Panasonic does a much better job.

The Sharp Elite TV is the best on the market with strong competition from the Panasonic VT50 series. You can argue who is better as they are very close. The Elite I feel has an edge in overall picture quality. It's also the first LED I was able to ISF calibrate correctly. I never been able to dial in a LED before the Elite.

Congrads on the new TV , I'd like to drive into the Sony sets and check them out. My Bedroom TV (Sharp 46 LCD) is getting older now and I wouldn't mind a fresh new set. I plan on a 50 inch or a 50 something size in a Panasonic plasma but I'd check out Sony first before I buy.

AsSiMiLaTeD

jbooker82 wrote: »

Did the motion look natural or cartoony? My parents and grandparetns have sony led tv's and fast motion is slowed down and it looks animated. That is one way they deal with fast motion. Simply slow it down so it doesnt blur, or pixlate.

I'd read that going in, but this model doesn't exhibit that. Again, this model according to everything I've read is the first decent non-XBR set they've made in quite a while so I"m not sure if the motion technology is also new.

There are two options for controlling motion, MotionFlow and Cinemotion. I leave MotionFlow on but turn Cinemotion off because it gives the dreaded soap opera effect.

jbooker82

AsSiMiLaTeD wrote: »

but turn Cinemotion off because it gives the dreaded soap opera effect.

That must be what I am seeing. I will look and see if I can turn that off on their tv's or if they even have the option to. It makes every appear to flow way to smooth.

tophatjohnny

I had the Sony 55" 3D and it crapped out in less than 2 years. so we went with the 55LG 3D and so far we love it. Congrats on the Sony. I still like them too!!

AsSiMiLaTeD

Well I learned my lesson this time around and bought a 4 yr service warranty at a reasonable price, so if mine craps out I'm covered.

Drenis

Interesting.

When we bought our Sharp, I walked in to buy a Sony and left with a Sharp and a sense of disappointment. I wont talk down about Sony but they aren't like they used to be and that's rather sad. With saying that, I hope your TV exceeds your expectations and is issue free. While my Sharp (LE920UN) has been solid for the past year and a half we've owned it, it's also retained that awesome picture. However, the downside is it IS still a LED TV. And they aren't perfect, especially for dark movie watching. Now the new Sharp Elites are something to get excited for. I had a demo many months ago and they are unlike a lot of TV's out there.

Last but not least, Samsung can suck it.

AsSiMiLaTeD

Everything I've seen and read indicates that this Sony is a much better tv than in years past, so I'm not at all surprised that you ended up preferring the Sharp tv when you bought last year.

spock 2054

If you wait, some of that tech in the Elite televisions will filter down the product line. I like plasma, but the glare off the panel during the day would have been too much to deal with. I upgraded a couple of months ago from a 7 year old 65 inch Mits DLP to a 70 inch Sharp 3d edge led tv. (lc70847u) The black levels are pretty good and colors very accurate once you get it calibrated. I just did a basic calibration on my friends 70 inch Elite set - that is a good looking tv - and the off axis viewing angle is very good for an LED. He was looking at the VT50, but bought the 70 inch Elite. Best Buy was willing to wheel and deal. Sony is on the right path with crystal LED...

See attached shots - I use my screen more for a monitor than a tv. Great for older eyes...

cnh

Boy that's sucks! 18 months! I don't know that much about current Samsungs but about four years ago, I did a lot of research on LCDs and back then, Samsung was right up there. Had my son buy one for his apartment in Boston, he's never had a problem there. But that was long ago in terms of Technology.

My dinosaur of a set was bought "strictly" for reliability, an old 2004 Toshiba HDTV RBG rear projection, still running perfectly, fingers crossed, great natural color when properly calibrated but only 1080i. Will probably run another five or six years I bet? I did not like LCD colors, and did not like those rear projection LCDs that blew their lamps every two years! Plasmas also had a more limited lifespan back then. If you wanted a set to last 10 years or more, there was NOT much of a choice.

You don't like Panasonic plasmas? Really! Did you "like" the picture your Samsung had compared to your new set? Just curious. Because I "still" think the color on LCD/LEDs is not fully natural, still a bit too exaggerated for me. I like the Panasonics better.

cnh

AsSiMiLaTeD

Correct. I know I was supposed to like the Panasonic, but I just didn't, found it a bit dim for my taste, the whites just don't look right to me. I had the same quandary when I bought the Samsung plasma - I didn't buy the Samsung to save money I bought it because I actually liked the picture on the Samsung better than on the Panasonic.

I went and looked at the Pioneer Elite and Panny VT50 tonight side by side at my local Magnolia. To me the Pioneer beats out the Pioneer by a good bit, and the Pioneer right now is my long term goal for the living room. I also compared a few Sharp TVs to the Pioneer and there's no contest. The Pioneer may be made by Sharp, but it's clearly not the same television. After having lived with the Sony a couple days now and going back again tonight to compare I still think it is my best option at my price ~$2000.

Actually, technically I still think the Samsung has the best picture at my price, but since they can suck it that TV wasn't an option.

Phasewolf

What went wrong with your Samsung TV? The most common issue I see is the caps being under rated in the power supply the ripple will kill them after a year or so that however is a easy fix. If you know the issue or can tell me more and still have it I can help you get it fixed and make sure it don't break again.

Drenis

AsSiMiLaTeD wrote: »

I went and looked at the Pioneer Elite and Panny VT50 tonight side by side at my local Magnolia. To me the Pioneer beats out the Pioneer by a good bit, and the Pioneer right now is my long term goal for the living room.

You dont say...

AsSiMiLaTeD

Phasewolf wrote: »

What went wrong with your Samsung TV? The most common issue I see is the caps being under rated in the power supply the ripple will kill them after a year or so that however is a easy fix. If you know the issue or can tell me more and still have it I can help you get it fixed and make sure it don't break again.

I posted a thread on here about the issue, and here are a couple videos of the issue:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31XlxMvM0mw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKAvstZWjhs