Full HD LCD TV Reviews
On this page you will find trustworthy reviews from experts across the internet on a full range of Full HD LCD TV's, including the Toshiba 32XV505DB, the Panasonic TX-32LZD85 and more!
Panasonic TX-32LZD85 - Reviews
Trusted Reviews: Panasonic TX-32LZD85 Review
A month or so ago we saw Panasonic's new range of LCD TVs get off to a very likeable start in the 32in shape of the TX-32LZD80. But, while undoubtedly very good, this TV was still from the relatively lower reaches of the new range, making us wonder just what glories we might expect from TVs higher up the Panasonic tree. Well, now we're about to find out. For before us today is the 32LZD80's costlier, better specified brother, the 32LZD85.
Probably the best place to start is to pick out things that distinguish the 32LZD85 from its cheaper stablemate. Basically all the main differences lie in the area of image processing, with the single most significant addition for the 32LZD85 being 100Hz. Designed to increase the sharpness, detailing and fluidity of motion, we've previously seen Panasonic double the usual PAL refresh rate to 100Hz to great effect, so hopefully the 32LZD85 will continue the trend.
Especially since this latest 100Hz incarnation is aided and abetted by both a new Motion Focus system, and a special processing algorithm targeted at getting the maximum performance quality out of Blu-ray's 1080p/24fps format.
Aesthetically the TX-32LZD85 is very similar to the 32LZD80, looking decently funky compared to Panasonic's sometimes slightly dry design efforts thanks to its combination of a curvaceous gloss-black bezel and bright silver (versus a darker grey on the 32LZD80) arced ‘lip' along the bottom edge.
Connectivity is exactly the same as the 32LZD80, which means the main highlight is the provision of three HDMIs, all built to the v1.3 standard and all able to take both Deep Colour signals and the 1080p/24 signals we mentioned earlier.
Other handy stuff includes an SD card slot for the direct viewing of photographs taken on a digital camera, a dedicated D-SUB PC input and a digital audio output.
Another key area of similarity between the 32LZD80 and 85 models is their use of Panasonic's latest ‘V-Real' image processing engine. V-Real 3 refines still further the already impressive previous two generations of V-Real technology, with its focus on boosting colours, contrast, fine detailing and noise suppression.
The Panasonic TX-32LZD85 Full HD LCD TV also marries up with the 32LZD80 when it comes to those key screen specifications of resolution and contrast. And so we find a Full HD resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 (this is still relatively rare in the 32in world) and an eye-catchingly high contrast ratio of 10,000:1.
This contrast ratio is not, of course, a ‘native' one, but relies instead on a dynamic backlight arrangement - driven by part of the V-Real 3 processing engine - that dims the screen's brightness during dark scenes to make black levels deeper and richer. Black levels have for my money been a slight weakness of some previous Panasonic LCDs, but the sophistication of the V-Real 3 engine seems such that we'll hold out hope that it does the business today.
So, does the addition of 100Hz and Motion Focus technologies really have much of an impact on the 32LZD85's picture quality? Actually it does. A big impact.
As you'd expect, motion looks much better. As I pan around another bizarrely bland industrial environment on my Xbox 360 version of Rainbow Six Vegas 2, for instance, the edges of the buildings scan by with scarcely a trace of smearing. What's more, the faces of any enemies who happen to be in view retain practically all their sharpness and detailing. Or as much detailing as the game's slightly dated-looking graphics contain, at any rate.
In other words, thanks to the TX-32LZD85's various image processing technologies, pretty much every trace of LCD's customary problems handling motion is removed. What's more, this is achieved without causing any significant amount of unwanted image artefacts, and without ‘overcooking' the motion-smoothing effect to the nauseatingly OTT extent seen with, say, Sharp's first 100Hz LCDs. In other words, the Panasonic 32LZD85's pictures always look natural.
While we might have expected at least some of the mentioned strengths to have come about from the introduction of 100Hz to the 32LZD85's pictures, though, it also appears to introduce a few unexpected further improvements, too. Colours, for instance, look slightly richer and more ‘solid' and standard definition pictures ‘upscale' to the screen's Full HD resolution more successfully.
Then there's the 32LZD85's impeccable sharpness and detailing, which seems notably increased over the 32LZD80 - presumably thanks to the lack on the 32LZD85 of the cheaper screen's gentle smearing problems.
The TX-32LZD85's pictures are so clear, in fact, that we really do believe you can appreciate the benefits of the TV's Full HD resolution - smoother colour blends, more fine detail, less video noise - when watching 1080-line HD sources despite the screen's relatively small 32in size.
Perhaps the most puzzling apparent improvement of all, though, is to the 32LZD85's black levels. For dark scenes really do seem less troubled by the common LCD ‘clouding' problem than they do on the 32LZD80, even though there's nothing obvious in the 32LZD85's processing that might suggest why this is so. Our best guess is that the extra vibrancy of the colours somehow makes the dark bits look darker. But as I say, that's just a guess, and a very uneducated one at that!
Really the only tiny negative point I could see about the TX-32LZD85's pictures, in fact, is an occasional flicker over one or two particularly high contrast edges - especially during camera pans. But if this is the only price that needs to be paid for all the good things 100Hz brings to the table, it's a bargain! And, when you can rely upon more power, clarity and range from its speakers than is common among the 32in LCD fraternity, there's even more reason for cheer.
Verdict
Panasonic's 32LZD85 delivers on the great promise of the 32LZD80, making it easily the company's best LCD TV yet. In fact, the only rival set we've seen that even gives it a run for its money is the sublime Philips 32PFL9632D. Fingers crossed Panasonic can carry the same quality over to the upcoming 37in version. Watch this space…
Toshiba 32XV505DB - Reviews
Trusted Reviews: Toshiba Regza 32XV505DB Review
A little while back we looked at and were impressed by Toshiba's HD Ready 32CV505DB, finding it a mighty fine 32in budget TV. So now we're more than a little intrigued to find on our test benches the 32XV505DB: another Toshiba 32in LCD TV which brings a Full HD resolution to the table while adding less than £100 to the price.
Aesthetically the 32XV505DB - part of Toshiba's strangely-named Regza TV range - looks identical to the 32CV505DB, so far as I can tell. Which is no bad thing, as the combination of a slender gloss-black bezel, silver outer trim, and thin ‘speaker strip' jutting out along the bottom make it one of the better looking small LCD TVs in town.
Connectivity is good for the money, too, particularly thanks to the inclusion of three v1.3 HDMI inputs, a component video input, a D-Sub PC port, an optical audio output, and even a subwoofer line-out should you feel inclined to add a powered bass speaker to your setup.
As we made clear at the start of this review, the absolute key specification in the Toshiba 32XV505DB Full HD LCD TV's make-up is its 1,920 x 1,080 resolution - in fact, it's Toshiba's first ever Full HD 32in TV. This resolution is joined, as with any Full HD LCD TV worthy of the name these days, by a pixel-by-pixel mode for showing the UK's 1080-line HD sources without any image scaling involved to mess things up.
Another very impressive number up the Toshiba 32XV505DB's sleeve is its claimed contrast ratio of 30,000:1. Achieved with the help of a dynamic contrast arrangement, this figure is easily one of the highest we've yet seen attached to a 32in TV. Fingers crossed it turns out to be more than just Toshiba playing ‘the specification numbers game'.
As with the 32CV505DB, the 32XV505DB's pictures are driven by the latest generation of Toshiba's Active Vision LCD image processing. This is designed to improve detail, colour tones, and contrast while reducing noise levels, and has delivered some decent results in the past. Though in curiously inconsistent fashion, it's delivered some slightly disappointing results as well! Let's hope we don't find ourselves in the ‘disappointing' camp today.
Calling up the TV's onscreen menus - which prove a bit small for comfortable reading - uncovers another selection of noteworthy features. For instance, there's a colour management tool; an auto contrast facility that can adjust the picture based on an assessment of light levels in your room; the option to deactivate the dynamic contrast system if you find it making black levels look unstable; plus both MPEG and standard noise reduction routines.
Inevitably my first port of call in assessing the Toshiba 32XV505DB's picture quality has to be its HD performance. Does the set's Full HD resolution actually make its HD pictures from games and films look sharper and cleaner than those of the 32CV505DB? Indeed it does.
In the Sky HD broadcast of Braveheart, for instance, the shot of Wallace's Scottish army charging hell for leather across the film's first battlefield towards the hated English looks slightly cleaner and crisper here than on the 32CV505DB, for two reasons. First, there's slightly more fine detail to be seen. But far more important is the relative lack of blurring evident in the picture, presumably because the set doesn't have to rescale the 1080-line source to fit its 1080-line pixel count.
The Full HD pixel count also lets the TV show just a fraction more clarity with such picture detail ‘niceties' as the stubble on Wallace's face in the shot where he gets his first glimpse of York.
There are other strengths to report, too, that aren't necessarily a direct bi-product of the Toshiba 32XV505DB Full HD LCD TV's extra resolution. For instance, it produces really good black levels for its price point, suffering relatively little with LCD's still-common 'greying over' issue.
Admittedly there is a trace of clouding over extremely dark scenes, such as the night-time bagpipe serenade to Wallace's dead father in Braveheart. But during most ‘normal' footage, which contains a mix of brights and darks, the black levels look punchy and help the image enjoy real dynamism - a dynamism enhanced further by the TV's exceptional levels of brightness.
So far, so good. It seems that there's definitely enough of an HD benefit to easily justify the 32XV505DB's extra £90 or so over the 32CV505DB. Pity, then, that there's a price to pay in the form of a reduced standard definition performance and some colour issues.
Standard definition pictures on the 32XV505DB really don't look very hot at all, if I'm brutally honest, with the Active Vision LCD processing tending to leave one or two rough edges as it goes about translating standard def PAL content to the screen's Full HD pixel count. Common ailments include exaggerated MPEG noise, noticeably more motion blur than you tend to see with HD, and a slightly unstable, flickery look to proceedings that might, perhaps, have been stopped if the set had 100Hz processing.
Actually, once I'd noticed this flicker on standard definition, I also occasionally spotted it with HD, such as in the trees and the battlefield of the long-distance shots of the English Army about to charge Wallace and his motley Scottish crew in the first battle.
A similar thing happened with the TV's colour toning. It was during standard def viewing that I first became aware of some slightly strange colour toning issues, especially in low-quality digital feeds, and once I'd ‘tuned in' to the problem I also found slight colour problems with HD footage. For instance, some skin tones look slightly orange or salmony, while some greens tend to look rather washed out.
What's more, in standard def mode some skin tones can look a little patchy, as the MPEG blocking prevents the TV delivering the sort of ultra-smooth colour blends a Full HD TV might normally be expected to produce.
Obviously I tried to counter these blocking issues with the TV's MPEG noise reduction circuits, but in order to reduce the digital artefacts to the sort of level I was happy with, the processing had to soften the picture too much for comfort.
When it comes to audio, the 32XV505DB is in the same boat as the 32CV505DB. Which is to say that it sounds rather average, truth be told, as a wide soundstage and solid amount of bass are countered by an over-crowded mid-range, a slight lack of raw power, and even a tendency to suffer cabinet hums when pushed really hard.
Verdict
I'd thoroughly expected to find the Toshiba 32XV505DB, with its Full HD LCD pixel count, winning me over even more easily than the cheaper, HD Ready 32CV505DB. But for me, it's the CV model that's the more pleasing proposition overall - especially when you consider that the 32in market is more likely to still be watching predominantly standard def fare on their new TVs than the people buying the really big-screen stuff.
Samsung LE40A559P Full HD TV LCD
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stunning LCD television,
The Samsung LE40A559P Full HD LCD TV *indeed* exist ...I know because I'm looking at it right now. And what a TV it is!
I've compared many, many Sony's and Toshiba's and this Samsung came out above them all. Why? Because it edges it's rivals in all areas, except maybe the sound (which is a bit tinny), but this won't matter once you hook it up to a surround system or tweaked the onboard EQ.
Using the Samsung BD-P1400 with Casino Royale I spent a few hours getting the contrast/brightness/colour to as near perfection as a lay man can (leave the backlight on default level 7, it's one of the few settings to leave well alone). The picture quality is awesome and I found myself talking through the film more than actually watching it, it really does look that good. You will not be disappointed with this TV in any way. Spend a few hours tweaking and then sit back and enjoy.
Extras that are not well advertised ...it has a USB socket for mp3's and jpg's ...it has picture in picture, very handy ...when using the BD-P1400 you only need to use one of the remotes.
Amazon's fab delivery also takes some beating. After getting a 3 week runaround from Dixons I checked out Amazon's price and ordered at 1PM on Friday - the TV was delivered at 8AM the next day (yes, a Saturday) for less than the Dixons price. Thanks to Amazon I watched the Monaco GP in style.
I can't recommend this TV enough, and at such a cracking price.
4.0 out of 5 stars
AMAZING TV FOR THE PRICE
I was fortunate enough to pick up this Samsung LE40A559P tv for an unbelievable £599 elsewhere and it is an absolute bargain.
Setup was very easy, however the out-of-the-box factory presets across all three modes are NOT good. Luckily, Samsung have provided more picture tweak options than you can poke a stick at, so you'll have little problem finding something to suit your particular preference. If you get stuck then a quick search on one of the AV forums should sort you out.
One word of warning...this tv has easily the worst sound I've heard on any tv EVER (which is the reason for 4 stars only).
The picture quality on both analogue and Freeview digital is surprisingly very good and the blacks are nice and deep. Even in dark scenes there is a lot less crushing of shadow detail than several other top end Full HD LCD TVs I've seen.
The LE40A559P doesn't have the 100 hz facility of it's more expensive sibling, the A656, but this is hardly a problem as the overall images really are quite stunning (once correctly calibrated). This is especially so when hooked up to an upscaling dvd player via the HDMI connection.It has brought a whole new lease of life to my standard def. dvd collection!
The tv comes with a shiny black frame and matt black panel which really helps keep nasty screen reflections to a bare minimum,although it is a bit of a dust magnet.
Highly recommended.
5.0 out of 5 stars Faultless for the money,
Purchased this tv a few days ago for £600 delivered after much research.
I am currently using the built in freeview (just moved house and only have an aerial in the loft at present).
I have to agree that the picture out of the box isn't great, but I had no problems finding picture settings on a few forums - 5 minutes to put them in and the picture is perfect, and thats on SD.
I'm waiting on a new HDMI cable and a freesat box coming through so that I can hook up my PS3 and check out the HD.
I haven't really noticed a major problem with the sound, but then I haven't really watched that much on it as yet, but I would imagine that most people would use a 5.1 theatre system anyway.
Overall, I think it is a great looking tv for the money.
5.0 out of 5 stars A Fantastic package, 10 Jun 2008
By Ankur Consul "katalyst" (London, UK)
This television offers me everything I was looking for .. and more!
Apart from the beautiful FULL HD TV LCD display and the bright 30000:1 contrast ratio, it has some other features such as PIP and a powerful built in Freeview receiver.
The icing on the cake was the Wiselink USB port which allows me to directly connect my camera and usb stick to access music and mp3z.
Amazon's PRIME delivery was excellent - I got my tv within a day. I ordered on Friday at 2pm and it was delivered to me next morning at 7am!
Toshiba 47Z3030D Full HD TV LCD
Trusted Reviews: Toshiba Regza 47Z3030D Review
We were impressed by the first TV in Toshiba's new flagship ‘Z Series' of LCDs back in November 2007. So we took delivery of the new 47in model expecting more of the good old same, only bigger. Yet for reasons we'll have a stab at explaining later, we didn't find ourselves quite so enamoured this time round.
Naturally the 47Z3030D still cuts as fine a design dash as its smaller sibling, thanks to its remarkably slender bezel and high gloss finish. Admittedly the bezel's skinniness isn't quite as striking as it once was since we've recently witnessed the arrival of Toshiba's ‘XF' Picture Frame models, with their 23mm bezels. But the 47Z3030's frame still makes those of most 47in rivals look like proper fatboys.
The 47Z3030 also sports the same connectivity as the 42Z3030. And so you find three HDMIs, all impressively compatible with the HDMI 1.3a standard for such potential tricks as automatic lip-synch correction and the Deep Colour system. We say potential because as of today commercially available sources that can exploit these HDMI 1.3 features are non-existent, so far as we're aware.
You also get a component video input, a D-Sub PC option, a subwoofer line-out (lest you find yourself dissatisfied with the bass levels from the TV's own speakers), and an optical digital audio output for pushing through to an AV receiver any digital audio tracks you might receive via the HDMIs.
Other key specifications making pleasing reading are a native full HD pixel count of 1,920 x 1,080, and a beltingly - some might say ridiculously - high claimed contrast ratio of 15,000:1. Obviously this latter number is only achieved via a combination of a) a dynamic contrast arrangement that dims the LCD backlight to improve black levels when dark scenes are detected and b) what we suspect are some fairly dubious measuring techniques.
But while we might not approve of the measuring systems, there's nothing necessarily wrong with the dynamic contrast arrangement, provided it works quickly and subtly enough not to make its brightness-adjusting machinations distractingly obvious.
Another specification we're pleased to spot is playback of the 1080p/24 HD video format now output as the ‘pure' option from many HD disc players. In fact, the 47Z3030 goes the extra mile with 1080p/24 by including a 5:5 pulldown system that rapidly repeats each frame five times to cut down on the juddering artefacts commonly seen with 1080p/24 sources.
After being starved of 100Hz processing for improving the clarity of motion on the X and C models in Toshiba's latest LCD range, it's a relief to find the system is included with this flagship Z series model.
The 100Hz element actually forms part of a wider image processing system dubbed Active Vision M100 HD, with other elements including processing designed to improve colours, contrast levels, brightness levels, noise levels and fine detailing.
As if all this wasn't enough, the 47Z3030DB claims: 10-bit video processing to reduce, we'd hope, colour striping where there should be smooth colour blends; a Dynamic Curve feature that Toshiba claims both reduces unhealthy extremes of black and white while also making colour tones more natural; and MPEG noise reduction for smoothing away some of the blockiness that can arrive in standard def digital broadcasts.
Although the lion's share of the 47Z3030's clever bits are targeted at improving picture quality, Toshiba can't be accused of ignoring the TV's audio. For the set actually sports a new speaker technology designed by audiophile brand Onkyo that reckons to deliver remarkable frequency response and power from an exceptionally small driver array.
Piping the Blu-ray transfer of Casino Royale into the 47Z3030 (this doesn't mean we've totally written off HD DVD, honest!!), the set initially dazzles every bit as impressively as the 42in version of the set.
Two features of the picture in particular stand out. First up there's the colour response. During the bright, colour-rich sequences in Venice, for instance, the blues of the canals and the red of Vesper Lynd's red dress look positively luminous. Such colour intensity additionally helps the picture look unusually solid and deep, as well, of course, as simply ensuring that your gaze remains attracted to the screen like a moth to a flame.
The Toshiba 47Z3030D Full HD TV LCD's other stand-out picture quality with our HD source is its sharpness. Rare indeed is it for a set of this size to reproduce all the lovely fine details on a pristine HD source quite so accurately and noiselessly as this Toshiba does. This further boosts the sense of depth to the picture, reinforcing the directness of your connection with it.
Smaller strengths we also spotted over time include extremely subtle colour blends that appear nearly devoid of any ‘striping' problems, and relatively little interference from motion blurring thanks, no doubt, to the efforts of the 100Hz system.
Despite the formidable strengths, we found ourselves unexpectedly troubled by a couple of problem areas that for some reason didn't seem quite so pronounced on the 42in Z model.
The first concerns that seemingly eternal LCD issue of black level response. For the very darkest scenes of Casino Royale, such as the opening black and white night time footage, undeniably have some of their impact reduced by a slight greyness over the darkest corners. What's more, scenes containing particularly stark contrast extremes reveal occasional brightness ‘jumps' as the dynamic contrast system fails to adjust subtly enough.
This is all particularly strange given that the 47Z3030's contrast ratio is actually quoted as 50 per cent higher than that of the 42in model. Go figure.
Our other problem with the 47Z3030DB is that it's really no lover of standard definition sources. Possibly because of the extremely aggressive nature of its images in terms of brightness and colour saturations, it tends to rather exaggerate any noise that might be inherent to a standard def source. And such noise is, of course, highly present in more standard def Freeview and Sky channels than we'd like.
Whether the picture flaws we've been talking about are more troubling on the 47Z3030 than the 42Z3030 because the screen's extra size exaggerates them, or whether it's because the 47Z3030D employs a different panel with potentially different core image characteristics isn't entirely clear. But the problems are definitely there.
The Onkyo speaker design, meanwhile, helps this TV produce a really quite potent soundstage. A fair amount of bass is on hand to underpin proceedings (we doubt you'll find yourself rushing to use the subwoofer line-out), the mid-range is only slightly compressed during action scenes, and trebles are clean and help to deliver some sense of width to the soundstage.
Verdict
Toshiba's 47Z3030DB Full HD TV is a likeable enough big-screen LCD TV, and it's now being discounted to some pretty attractive prices. But either because of its extra size or its use of a different core panel to its 42in sibling, its picture quality doesn't impress us quite as much as expected.
Samsung LE32A559P Full HD TV LCD
Amazon.co.uk Reviews:
5/5 stars Samsung LE32A559P,10 Jun 2008
By A. Bates "bash"
I ordered this Samsung LE32A559P Full HDTV LCD on Monday afternoon and it was delivered by CityLink the next morning - faultless. Inside the box the is the stand, remote control, batteries, manual, no ariel cable though. The stand is easy enough to install, i would agree with another reviewer and say the easiest way to fit it is to lay the TV face down on something soft (bed, sofa etc..) then fit the stand - make sure the screws sit properly. Turning the TV on, it runs through set up, that takes minutes, then you're off! The 4 main channels are available straight away,and by pressing the TV/DTV button on the remote you can access the digital channels.
The picture quality is fantastic and the sound is just as good. There are so many options for contrast, brightness etc.. The remote control is easy to use and well laid out. This is my first flat screen TV and i am well impressed with it, couldnt recommend it highly enough.
5/5 stars Superb TV, 11 Jun 2008
By www.stronart.com
Ordered this TV from Amazon on Monday night paid for Express Delivery, although it came today (1 working day later) it came after the 1pm guaranteed time, so I got p&p refunded!
The LE32A559P is absolutely fabulous. Picture and audio quality cannot fault it. Plugged in Xbox 360 on HDMI mode and the game visuals are amazing feel a lot more fluid and has tonnes of extra detail.
If your looking for a great Full HD TV LCD at a reasonable price then get this one. I had looked on various websites and Samsung TV's get very good reviews, they are far better than Sony on price, quality ad looks.
Also agree with previous reviews regards laying TV face down on bed to screw in stand which went on in under a minute 4 screws a few turns each and your done. Setup dead easy press the 'OK' buttom a few times and your away. You will have to play around with the picture and sound setting if you get your TV from Virgin, Sky, Freeview etc.
Sony KDL40V3000 Full HD TV LCD
Sony KDL40V3000 HDTV-News Reviews
When it comes to audio and video equipment, take your hats off to Sony. So far, in this industry, Sony has been leading the pack. Sure, a lot of companies are catching up, but Sony remains one of the best. A sure sign of this success is one of their sets, the Sony KDL40V3000 LCD HDTV. This mid-range television is a step lower from their more successful W3000 range, but still provides the necessary power and quality to make users give this seta second thought.
A lot of users today, get high-definition sets not just for movies, but also for video games. Sony�s successful game console, the PS3, has been making waves in the gaming market. With the PS3 and the Sony KDL40V3000, users get one of the best 1080p/24 output making sure that video games are enjoyed the way it should be.
Also, the Sony KDL40V3000 did not exhibit any input lag significant enough to impair gaming response.
Putting the set through its paces with high-definition programs, you can easily recognize the smoothness of the picture without a single hint of judder nor interpolation artefact. This confirms the fact that the KDL40V3000 did not employ internal 2:3 pulldown nor motion compensation technology to process 1080p/24 signals.
Another aspect worthy of mention is this TV�s black-level rendition. The KDL40V3000 is excellent in showing dark scenes. It�s not the same as plasmas of course, but enough to satisfy most people. Sonys KDL40V3000 produced shadow details delineation that is excellent and acceptable. This resulted to even brighter colors and skin tones that never looked out of place.
As for standard definition content, the KDL40V3000 could not compete with the best. But for average users overall, the pictures look acceptable without excessive compression noise or ringing.
Without the 100Hz motion compensation frame interpolation (MCFI) technology, the KDL40V3000s motion handling capability is bothersome. Any fast paced action usually resulted to slight blurring to the picture background and to the whole scene in general. Of course, all these also very much depends on your sensitivity and tolerance to motion blur, but if you demand higher clarity of moving objects, perhaps an LCD TV with 100Hz technology or a plasma television would be a better bet.
The Sony KDL40V3000 Full HD TV LCD retains some of the best traits expected from Bravia LCD televisions manufactured by this Japanese electronic giant. It is one of the few LCD TVs on the market that can handle 1080p/24 video signals smoothly without needing to resort to internal 2:3 conversion nor frame interpolation. Also, shadow detail and fine HD detail presentation on the Sony KDL40V3000 rank among the very best any LCD television can offer.
Samsung LE37A559P Full HD TV LCD
Amazon.co.uk Reviews:
4 out of 5 stars
Decent all rounder, 2 Jul 2008
By A. Rose (UK)
I purchased this Samsung LE37A559P Full HD TV as an upgrade from a 28 inch CRT box that recently died. I've always been a bit hesitant about buying a HDTV set due to fears over SD picture quality. Thankfully, this box as proved that (through the build in Freeview tuner at least) that standard definition TV can look good on a 37inch set (for those who care - I sit either 5ft or 9ft away from it).
The TV has a number of 3 modes that allow varying degrees of modification plus 3 entertainment modes that cannot be changed. The system provides a wide range of picture settings that can be (and need to be) changed. Out of the box the settings do not do justice to the set so you will need to adjust them. The entertainment modes seem to work well with the cinema mode giving a very pleasing picture.
HD viewing is very good. I have a PS3 so the TV gets plenty of use with games and Blu-Ray videos. The 1080p 24hz and 60hz output has made me very glad that my old TV bit the dust.
Negative points for the LE37A559P: 1) the speakers could be better, 2) It is hard to get the set up just right (displaying multiple shades of black is always a bit of an issue on LCD tv sets) 3)Freeview channel changes are slow
Positive points: 1) Decent black levels for an LCD (though not as good as the glossy screened 6 series 2) Plenty of display options 3) Good range of inputs (inc 3 HDMI 1.3 connections and a USB connection) 4) Very good viewing angles 5) Fast menus (inc Freeview TV guide) 5)It remembers your settings selection for each input source 6)Good value for money
Overall, a good purchase!
2 out of 5 stars
Not worth it when there are better TVs out there.
4 Aug 2008
By O. Z. Janjua
The 37" size of the Series 5 TVs like the LE37A559P reportedly use a lower quality panel for the TV.
Compared to my Panasonic, HD quality doesn't look anywhere near as good. The HD image isn't crisp on 1080p trailers I've downloaded from the Apple website and on the Playstation store.
Games such as Resistance have terrible motion smearing and this soft, jaggy and smeary appearance. It just does not look crisp at all. This TV also suffers from Blu Ray judder problems.
The out of the box settings are terrible too. I used a HD cable by the way. However, I was impressed with how good Gran Turismo 5 looked - on par with my Panasonic, but that probably was down to the fact it was a 1080p game.
But at least connected via a PC through VGA looks great. Sound quality is decent.
I've already returned a different Samsung TV due to the overall poor image quality, and I've done the same with this TV.
Do not buy unless you will use it solely for PC usage, or if you like playing GT5 Prologue.
Toshiba 37XV503DB Full HD TV LCD
5/5 Stars
Impressive, 11 April 2008
By Jimmy D
After plenty of hours researching Full HD TV LCDs on the web and looking at what I could get for £600 I finally plumped for this one. There was a lack of reviews but it fit all the criteria I was looking for. 37", 1080p, 3 HDMI slots, nice looking, good price and a good make. I had a 32" 100hz Toshiba CRT and I have been more than happy with its performance so I figured 'why not?'.
At first when I tuned in to Sky+ I must admit I was ready to send it back. I watched the Champions League game on ITV on Tuesday night and was taken aback by how BAD the picture was. It was awful. However once I tuned in the freeview tuner it has improved amazingly, through both Sky and Freeview the picture is now really good. Now I can honestly say there is little difference between the CRT and this LCD and on some channels there is a vast improvement (Sky Sports, Channel 4, BBC to name a few). Channels like UKGold sufferon the 37XV503DB �because of the age of the shows they transmit and the fact this TV is 1080p means that it blows up the picture quite a bit and makes it a little fuzzy. A minor gripe.
It was the same bad picture issue when playing a DVD through my Xbox 360. I played Black Hawk Down through the component cable and, instead of being blown away I was slightly deflated. It looked scratchy and not as good as my old TV. Then bought an HDMI cable and oh my gosh. DVD's look fantastic when upscaled through the 360, really deep levels of black which is apparently a good thing and great clarity and sound. 360 games are breathtakingly good, Burnout Paradise looks incredible as does just about every title I have played on it so far. COD 4 just looks amazing and makes an awesome game WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY better on the 37XV505DB. Trust me.
There are a lot of options to tinker with for the techies out there, only thing I would say is that there is currently no calibration settings on the web as there are for other, older TV's, to help optimise the picture. But maybe a call to Toshiba customer support could sort this out, I haven't tried yet as I'm too busy going through my DVD collection and playing COD 4 and just gasping at the improvements!
The sound is really good too, I watched Days of Glory the other day and a scene with bird song in it. I have no surround sound but there was definitely a bird singing behind my left ear so this technology does work although I'm sure it doesn't compete with a purpose built set up. But hey, if you don't have one cos you spunked all your money on a new TV (:-P) then it is more than adequate and WAY better than Samsungs offering in this price range.
All in all I am very happy with this TV, it was a big purchase for me and apart from the early transmission problems, it's now great. If you enjoy DVD's and have an Xbox 360 you will have an absolute ball with this TV as the quality is amazing, if you are just a watcher of TV then perhaps check the strength of your signal in your area as it could really impact your enjoyment of the TV, it's just the nature Full HD TV LCD's as far as I can see. But I have a good signal, a future proofed TV and a reinvigorated DVD collection all for £600. Well chuffed.
5/5 stars
GREAT TV FIRST CLASS SERVICE, 21 April 2008
By: Christopher Dalton (UK)
I Recently purchased this Toshiba 37XV503DB TV after researching the market for a long time. I was concerned about a rumour I had heard regarding the freeview on the Tv, I was concerned about the fact that between 2009 and 2012 that there was going to be free to air HD programs broadcast and this TV along with all the rest on sale would not be able to receive these channels and the normal channels would be switched off. This is the case but the HD channels are going to run along side the normal digital channels and should you wish to view them you will have to purchase a box a bit like the freeview ones available now so this is not a problem. The TV is an excellent price the picture quality is amazing and the SRSWOW sound is more than enough for your average front room. I had my last Toshiba TV for 12 years and once again I feel I have purchased wisely. One more thing this TV is available on Play but I would pay extra from Amazon any day for the great service they provide. I bought from Play in the first place it took 2 weeks to get the TV when I received it, it was broken and it then took a further 1 and a half weeks and only because I phoned up to be told they were waiting for new stock. I ordered TV from Amazon and received it in less than 24hrs FANTASTIC SERVICE!!
5/5 stars
Wow.,
By: Keith Mcneill (EDINBURGH)
After months of nagging, the wife finally cracked and let me buy a new telly. Researched almost every lunchtime looking at reviews, prices on various sites etc. and finally decided on this bad boy - the Toshiba 37XV503DB Full HD TV LCD !
Delivery was a slow process, used the free delivery service (would not recommend as took about a week to get it....longest week ever!)
When it did arrive had a wee panic as noticed on the box that it said HD READY as opposed to FULL HD, checked code etc to confirm it was the correct TV they sent and it was fine. Dont know why this was but its defo Full HD.
Set up was simple, couldnt get the V+ working straight off but a wee call to the help desk and they took me through some simple steps and it was fine after that.
Has everything you could need for an outstanding price, full HD (absolutely breathtaking when playing PS3 games and Bluray movies through an HDMI cable, BBC HD not too shabby too, Euro Champs...magic!), not bulky around the screen edge(i noticed a lot of tellys have speakers attached) which actually makes the screen look bigger.
Standard definition through an HDMI on V+ is a lot sharper than any screen I have seen, programme menu slightly blurry but not a major problem.
Would highly recommend this set to anyone on the market for a 37"� Full HD LCD TV
The newest Full HD TV LCD from Toshiba is the 37XV503DB; a state-of-the-art TV created to broadcast sharp, crystal-clear pictures on a beautifully clear 37" LCD screen. The 37XV503DB accepts the HD ready 1080p standard and has SRS WOW stereo sound, plunging you into the heart of the action. There are three HDMI connections, so you can hook up your DVD player or Home Cinema system. It also has a digital tuner, giving you access to a whole host of free digital TV channels. With a resolutely modern, glossy black design, the Toshiba Regza 37XV503DB Full HD TV LCD will become the main attraction in your home!
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