Sony KDL-32L5000 is a 32 inch sibling of Sony’s L500 series of TVs. There is also a 37 inch and 26 inch member in this series and this review applies to all three of them. There is not much difference in the 3 panels except for the size of the screen. Sony KDL-32L5000 is the very inexpensive TV as compared to other products in Sony’s repertoire. The styling on this TV is really impressive. It is hard to find such quality in this price range. The best part about the aesthetics is the bezel around the edges. It is equal on all the sides and this bezel gives the TV a picture frame kinda look. There is beveling too which adds to the beauty quotient. This panel has a glossy stand which matches the color of the TV but it doesn’t swivel. The design of Sony KDL-32L5000 is really nice and it is extended to the remote as well. This clicker is a lot better than others in this price. The menu system has a few features and you get six different choices for adjusting the color  [...]

Samsung PN63C8000 has a good collection of Apps and the options for video streaming are more than other TVs in the market. It looks like Samsung is adding new content from time to time. When I reviewed the UNC6500, Samsung had put in Hulu Plus. There is another free app for video streaming called ‘Explore 3D’ which promises video clips, 3D movie trailers, and also premium videos. When I reviewed the TV, there were just three trailers and not much content but Samsung will be putting in more goodies soon. Apart from Hulu Plus, this panel has Blockbuster, CinemaNow and Dailymotion. There is also Napster subscription service which is not found on a lot of sets. There are no video services missing here but I would have liked some nonsubscription audio like Last.fm or Slacker radio. Apart from Amazon VOD, all the streaming services are put in Samsung’s main Apps platform. I didn’t test Amazon, Netflix, YouTube, or Vudu, here because they worked really well in Samsung’s previous  [...]

Panasonic Viera TC-P42S2 is flat panel plasma having a black glossy bezel which is of equal width on the sides and top of the screen. On the bottom, it grows and also adds a bit of curve. For differentiating it with other flat panel plasma TVs from the manufacturer’s line-up, the gloss has been textured to resist fingerprints and it works quite well. The bezel’s bottom too has a bluish subtle accent. The black stand is glossy and doesn’t let the panel to swivel. The look is understated and I still liked it. The Panasonic Viera TC-P42S2 has a cool remote with medium sized, differentiated and well-spaced buttons. The drawbacks include absence of illumination and the clicker cannot be used to control any other devices through infrared. The yellow and blue menus have been updated by the manufacturer to include some onscreen explanations and there is a collection of navigation columns on the left which looks pretty persistent. It is still not as good  [...]

Panasonic TC-P50GT25 is a 50 inch 3D plasma TV and this product is also available in 42 inch size called Panasonic TC-P42GT25. The picture quality on both the TVs is the same and there are no major differences apart from the size of the TV. This is the second 3D TV from Panasonic for the year 2010. The previous one was a flagship model and the manufacturer had put in all possible features. Hence it was really expensive. For the Panasonic TC-P50GT25, the manufacturer has cut a few corners in order to keep the price low. The design of the TV is pretty lukewarm. There is nothing aesthetically appealing about this panel apart from the bronze brownish strip on the TVs bottom. The TV is glossy black and it is accompanied by a stylish stand which lets the display swivel on sides. Panasonic TC-P50GT25 is three and half inch thick on the sides which means this doesn’t have LED technology. I liked the feature set of this panel for the price that it is offered for. On the back, there are two  [...]

This TV is quite similar to LE8500 series and the only difference here is of the 3D compatibility. The LG Infinia 47LX9500 has full array LED backlight along with local dimming which is really cool. The 47 inch panel, according to the manufacturer, has 216 independent dimmable zones and the 55 inch panel in the same series has a few more. The advertised refresh rate is 480 Hz and the company says that this is due to the combination of standard 240Hz MEMC processing along with scanning backlight. Also noteworthy is that he LX9500 failed in my proper 1080p/24 processing unlike the LE8500. LG was the first TV maker to put in Netflix in their 2009 products. Other companies followed soon after and now most of them have it. There aren’t any major missing links on the LG Infinia 47LX9500 apart from lack of audio services like Slacker radio or Pandora.

Zenith 901 converter box has a pretty basic program. Press the guide button and you will get a 'Simple Guide' which shows you what is being shown on a channel currently and which program is coming up next. There are advanced products in the market where the EPGs show you a lot more information like the program data for several hours for the future for a lot of channels. Something is better than nothing but I would like the say that there is some room for improvement. Zenith 901 converter box displays wide screen content comfortably if it is connected to a wide screen TV and it is something that RCA DTA800 cannot do. This device also has analog pass through which means that the device can let an analog signal pass through RF output to a TV which has analog NTSC tuner. Connectivity options on this device are pretty basic. You get two RF style F connectors which have screw threads outside along with a tiny hole inside. One of them is an antenna input which has to be connected to an antenna  [...]

Samsung sent me a 55 inch version in my labs and this review will also apply to the 65 (UN65C6500), 40 (UN40C6500) and 32 (UN32C6500) inches of this product since the hardware specs are the same. The picture quality too is the same and the only difference here is the screen size. These TVs belongs to the least expensive line up to feature the apps platform. But the sexiest part of this panel is the thin profile which looks quite pleasing to the eye. Swiveling the TV gives shows off a disappearing effect. It is something that I haven’t seen on other TVs till now. The panel is just 1.2 inches deep which looks really cool. This TV can be hanged to the wall but it is better if you keep it on the bundled stand because the viewers will certainly appreciate the slim profile. The Samsung UN55C6500 has a slim glass which extends beyond the bezel and makes the TV look even sexier. I would again reiterate here that this is the most compact and slimmest TVs I have ever had in my labs. The stand  [...]

Samsung is a big wigs when it comes to plasma and LCD TV, they make one of the best ones in the market and I don’t have much to complain about them when it comes to quality. They were the first ones to come with 3D TVs and the quality was really impressive. There is not a lot of 3D content out there in the market right now so I didn’t get to test it thoroughly. I had just one 3D disc – Monsters vs. Aliens, I used that for my tests and drooled on the screen for hours. Samsung PN50C7000 belongs to the high end line up and hence has all the bells and whistles that you’d look for in such a TV. I was disappointed to see that the manufacturer didn’t include 3D glasses along with the TV. You will have to buy them separately for $150. You probably won’t be watching the TV alone so you will have to spend at least $300 for 2 pairs of glasses. If you are going to watch the 3D content with a family, you will have to spend a bit more. Samsung PN50C7000 also comes with  [...]

If you talk about televisions, every one will be attracted towards the LED backlights and 3D in this year. The LG Infinia 55LE8500 TV costs $3149.99 and features full-array backlighting with local dimming. It means the screen has hundreds of hidden cells that dim or brighten independently to improve the output picture quality. The 55LE8500 TV has ability to adjust the dimming of a complete array by dividing into zones. You will not find this ability in the most of LED backlit televisions available in the market. If you can afford an extensive price tag for an excellent performing LCD TV and do not mind lack of 3D capability, then the Infinia 55LE8500 TV will be the best choice. Noteworthy that features, performance and specification of 47-inch LG Infinia 47LE8500 are quite similar to that of the 55LE8500. The remote control is 9.2 inches tall and 1.8 inches wide. Four-directional toggle with middle Enter button is surrounded by Menu, Netcast and Q.Menu  [...]

There are a lot of LCD panels for this category of small TVs and among the many that we have reviewed; we found that Samsung LN26B360 is the best in picture quality. The black level performance is commendably and it leads in other areas too. The downside is that it lacks features that you expect to find in such TVs and it’s also a bit expensive as compared to competition. If money is not a question for you and if you want the best picture quality in this size, we would recommend you this TV. Samsung LN26B360’s menu system and remote are both simplified and smaller as compared to its larger siblings. The options are the same that you get in Toshiba's AV502U series but the interface is more user friendly. Keys are differentiated by color and size and it has all the buttons that you’d expect. On the menu, the layout and the simple icons are just the same as higher end models and we really liked it. There is a Tools menu which offers quick access  [...]