Ten... Monster tellies Back in the day you had to resort to a cabinet-sized rear projection TV if you wanted to watch Dallas on anything larger than a 37in CRT. Thankfully times have changed. Technically advanced, visually stunning super-screens are now the order of the day from every major brand. You need only oust some living room essentials – sofa …
Please for the love of God stop using manufacturers stock photos for all your reviews.
If these TV's were reviewed properly then they must have been set up in a room somewhere, possibly a room resembling a living room. Would it be too mush trouble to get a photo of each one. Then we could see what it looks like in an actual living room.
This of course assumes that the review wasn't carried out by visiting a local branch of currys and hastily making some notes before being kicked out by the manager.
" Then we could see what it looks like in an actual living room."
So, you want a panoramic view of a some journos sitting room with a TV in the corner? Maybe in a full review with space for multiple images but even then a shot of a telly in a lounge will give me no idea of what it will look like in my front room which will have different furniture, a different color scheme, different lighting sources, be a different size etc etc etc etc.
Reg - please ignore this gimp and stick with the stock images. Some of us aren't just looking at the pictures.
What serious home cinema type uses a TV?
Home cinema is a front projection screen more then 80" or so, seating at 1.2x screen width, and with real surround sound, not that shit where the speakers come in the same box as the amplifier. Oh, and a pitch black room. Most theaters now seem to have 50 exit signs of street-light level brightness, but that sure as hell isn't in the specs. Neither is moonlight coming in your window! For christ's sake, people, it's just not the same when you see a reflection of your buddy opening the fridge, just as the joker is asking, "Why so serious?"! People, have some self-respect!
A television for a home theater?! I mean, really, when was the last time you went to the movies and they had a light transmitting display? You want to watch a movie, fine... a tv will work. If you want to watch it like the director intended, you need front projection, big-ass sound, a totally isolated, dedicated environment, and the first two calibrated to perfection. This does -not- mean setting 'cinema 1' and calling it a day. It's wrong. Throw that shit out, get a colorimeter, and learn to do it yourself.
See, that's "home theater enthusiast" - someone who wants to watch movies -right-. Having a kick-ass TV is just watching movies a bit less wrong.
It's not like non-home-theater people are stupid for not doing all that stuff, it's just that something set up in your living room with a TV just ain't home theater, any more than putting your netbook on the coffee table is good television.
There's a hell of a lot more content available in 2.35:1 than in 3D. I've seen the 50" of this, and it was very impressive. So, unfortunately, was the price.
The screen diagonal is also the first two digits of the Philips model number, information that, one can only assume, was not on the press-pack. Anyway, for price hunters the 50" model is 50PFL7956. There's also a larger, higher spec model with a 58" diagonal, the 58PFL9956.
The wide aspect makes the set a lot shorter from top to bottom than those numbers would suggest, though. The 50 is only as tall as a 40~42" set, but obviously is wider.
Once you've owned an Ambilight television, you'll never want to own another set without it.
I've got the original Aurea by Philips, and while I don't dispute the better picture quality of more recent televisions from Philips and other manufacturers, the overall effect cannot be beaten (except by the Aurea II, of course).
Size in model number is pretty much standard these days and easy to discern.
More important in these times would be the power rating and standby usage (which should be low in EU). Some of these TVs will be like storage heaters. The 65" VT65's figures are 311W and 0.30W respectively (454kWh annually - IEC 62087 Ed.2 measurement method). A 50" model in the same series has 190W, 0.3W (and 277kWh) respectively for comparison.
LCD panel uniformity issues abound. The Editor's pick 64 inch Plasma Sansung has Freesat + Freeview HD tuners, but you can't use them at the same time (i.e. with Picture in Picture - have to just use the one tuner). Also, the channel selection is slow.
The Panny VT30 - though it has the best blacks is apparently so dim you should consider a GT30 unless you're going to dim the room (not ideal for watching a football match in the Summer). The Pannys also have a stupid advertising feature on the EPG (honestly, why ?)
Currys currently have the 60" Aquos on offer at £999. As our old 47" LG just died messily, this seems like a bit of a hint. Seems like an awful lot of television for the money.
Quite amazing that something that size can run on 101w of power. I do so love the 21st century.
GJC
You've said nothing about the sound, which is generally pretty dire from these things.
In any case why do we have to have everything in one package? It would be better just to have a screen to go onto the wall and the tuner and everything else (HDD, DVD/Blu-Ray, USB, etc.) in a separate box which can be connected to a sound system (surround if desired).
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