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 temperature. There are plenty of other ways through which you can play around and this includes a very nice energy management system for cutting down on the power consumption.

Options for connectivity on the Sony KDL-32L5000 is better than others. There are two HDMI ports, VGA jack for connecting computers, and two component video inputs on the back panel. There is one more HDMI port on the side and I was pleased to see this since a side HDMI port is not seen in this price range. Below this port, there is Composite video input and S-Video.

The picture quality on the Sony KDL-32L5000 is good as long as you don’t get too ambitious. The quality is good considering the price that the TV is being offered for. Black levels of the TV are good but they aren’t as deep as some of the most expensive panels around. I liked the color accuracy as well except for a greenish tinge in the skin tones. This panel has a 720p resolution and I am not complaining about the absence of 1080p because the size of the TV is really small.

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 panels like the PNC7000 and UNC8000. I did test Hulu though, the video quality was superb but it depends on the source. The navigation was fast and I also like the built-in search function inside (the so-so remote ruined the experience though). The general interface of the App too on the Samsung PN63C8000 was pretty good.

The only problem with Hulu Plus on the Samsung PN63C8000 is that you don’t have much picture control. On Apps like Netflix, we could adjust the basics of the picture parameters and also choose from the picture modes. The MJC dejudeer processing too could be disabled. But Hulu Plus didn’t have any of these options and the picture too looked stuck in default Dynamic setting aka Torch Mode. The highlights were too bright, the colors were inaccurate looked oversaturated too. We expect Samsung to offer an update for the picture controls in the near future but till that happens, I would prefer external sources like TiVo, Roku or a Blu-ray player for Hulu Plus where you do get picture control option.

Samsung got us the Samsung Apps for its TVs earlier this year and it now comes with Google Maps, Facebook and videos having product support and info on the Samsung products. The updates include ESPN Next Level which is a sports widget and is exclusive to this company for a year. There are also some paid Apps like Dibo’s Storybook (for 99 cents each) educational Word Magic, Math Series, (for $2.99 each), Multibits image galleries (for $1.99 each), Push Up Master personal trainer (for 99 cents). There is a full list on the manufacturer’s App Store.

Apart from the Apps in the main interface, you get Yahoo Widgets interface. At the time of writing this review, there were about 24 add-ons. They include weather, sports, news, etc along with bigger widgets like Drivecast, Amazon Video On Demand, Facebook, Flickr, and the big one – “Experience Samsung.” The company must be praised for improving the widget experience, the response and loading times have been made faster. The widget taskbar on the Samsung PN63C8000 turns up very quickly and it is really easy to navigate through the widgets.

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 as Samsung or Sony but the company has certainly improved a lot as compared to previous year’s models.

This flat panel plasma has omitted gamma controls and fine color temperature from the midline models and hence the S2 models suffer from shortage of picture controls. However, there is a unique feature called ‘blur reduction’ which is supposed to improve picture quality. There are additional subfields created for reducing the motion blur.

Viewers who like the burn in function will like the scrolling bar for erasing it on this flat panel plasma. There is also the pixel orbiter made for preventing altogether. I was disappointed to see that the Panasonic Viera TC-P42S2 didn’t have a energy saving mode which limits the brightness but you still get Standard picture setting which will engage Panasonic’s light sensor called ‘CATS’. This feature dims the panel a bit.

Panasonic Viera TC-P42S2 has three HDMI ports which is good for this price point but there is not VGA jack for PC connectivity. There is an SD card slot but it can be used just for displaying photos. You cannot play video or music like that on the more expensive flat panel plasma TVs from this manufacturer.

This is a midrange plasma TV but it still has good quality of picture. The quality was as good as other plasmas in this price range like the Samsung PNC590 series but there were a few issues which keeps it out of the topmost tier. The black levels were pretty average but it is still good for this price point.

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 HDMI ports and one is on the side. You will also find two component video inputs and a VGA jack for computer connectivity. Remember that for PC, you don’t get the full possible resolution.

Ethernet port on the Panasonic TC-P50GT25 lets you connect the TV to the Internet. Panasonic has Viera Cast which gives has some cool interactive feature under its hood. You get Amazon Video on Demand and the TV also has Skype connectivity which can be used with a camera and microphone accessory (sold separately). Twitter too is there and you a keyboard (USB or wireless) for using Twitter.

Panasonic TC-P50GT25 has a lot of presets for picture settings. The manufacturer has given THX mode which can be tweaked according to your liking. You also get a custom mode with some picture adjustment options for white balance control, gamma selections, etc. This panel does have 1080p/24 compatibility but it uses 48 Hz technology so I won’t recommend using it much.

This TV has great picture quality and I really liked the black levels. They were as deep as some of the best plasma TVs in the market. The colors are nice and inky and they have the ‘pop’ which makes the picture look good. Picture quality is much better as compared to other plasma TVs in this price range and it is due to the THX mode.

Picture options on this panel are a bit less but this is not unexpected in an inexpensive TV. Panasonic has made a few compromises in order to keep the price low and hence I would recommend videophiles to stay away from this panel. You get anti-glare filter for lighting in the room but again, this is not as good as some of the best panels in the market.

Panasonic TC-P50GT25 has 3D compatibility but the manufacturer doesn’t give the glasses included with the product, you need to buy them separately. I was also happy to see a 2D to 3D conversion option here, something that is found only on higher end plasmas.

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.

In my lab tests, Netflix and Vudu worked as they were advertised. The video quality of the LG Infinia 47LX9500 lived up to my expectations through both Wi-Fi and Ethernet (LG gives a dongle with the TV). I also liked that the panel let me tweak the picture control in a lot of ways. I didn’t test streaming through USB or DLNA.

Most of the nonstreamming apps on the LG Infinia 47LX9500 are courtesy of Yahoo Widgets with a few exceptions like Picasa. When I wrote this review, there were 18 widgets available but no Facebook unlike the Vizio and Samsung panels.

The Yahoo platform of the LG Infinia 47LX9500 is better as compared to its predecessors. The reponses were snappier and the load times too were much faster on the individual widgets. As compared to the Vizio and Samsung apps platform, the LG widgets were less snappy and rival products from Samsung, Sony and Vizio offered wider content selection.

LG Infinia 47LX9500 has a games platform and they are different from what you get on Yahoo widgets. You will find some basic titles here like Whack a Mole and Sudoku. There is Skype too but you will need an external microphone for it. This feature hasn’t been released yet so I didn’t test it for this TV.

This TV has exception 2D video quality and I was impressed by the adjustable parameters that it offered. You can adjust the dejudder processing;  a feature that Samsung got us first last year. There are specific settings for gamma like 1.9, 2.4 and 2.2 in the ten-point IRE system in the Expert menu and THX picture preset. You can now choose from the THX Bright Room or THX Cinema but you will have to input a special code for adjusting it.

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 through coaxial cable.

The other connector is a video output and has ‘To TV (RF)’ written on it. You can send the analog audio and video signals to the TV from the box through a coaxial cable. Apart from the F connectors, the device also has a composite video output and also RCA stereo analog outputs – the regular white, red and yellow outputs. If the TV has proper inputs, I would recommend you to use this output because you get better video and audio quality through RF connection.

Zenith 901 converter box handles aspect ratio very well. This is really important because you will used with older analog TVs having 4:3 aspect ratio but there most of the content on TV is shown with 16:9 aspect ratio or wide screen mode. There are four options here and you can cycle through the ‘Zoom button’ on the clicker. They are as follows –

• Set by program – This sets the aspect ratio according to the request of the content maker
• Letter box – This mode will keep the wide screen programs in its original form but you get big black bars on the bottom and top sides of the screen
• Cropped – The proper aspect ratio is maintained here but the extreme left and right sides of the picture is cropped.
• Squeeze – This does not remove any part of the image but it distorts the aspect ratio. This makes people look skinny and tall.

Zenith 901 converter box has everything you need in the box. The manufacturer gives two cables – composite video and RF cable and also the stereo audio cables. The inclusion of composite video cable is appreciated because other products in the competition like the GE 22730 and RCA DTA800 don’t give it. There is also a single AAA battery for the clicker. This box has all the features that you’d need but I wish there were some extra features as well.

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 too is quite unusual, you have four legs protruding out of the bottom and this keeps the screen standing. Some of my friends thought that it was a bit awkward but I liked it very much. It is an out of the box design. Some people are like the rectangular or circular stand beneath the TVs.

The Samsung UN55C6500 is quite good feature wise, the collection of apps is really good for this price point. This panel can be connected to Internet for watching goodies like Hulu and Video on Demand. You also have Hulu Plus which you won’t find on other manufacturer’s TV right now. Samsung has a monopoly over it at the moment but it would soon come on other company’s products. Hulu Plus gives you access a huge movie database from a variety of networks. I checked this feature and it worked quite well.

There is no built in Wi-Fi for the Samsung UN55C6500 and this meant you will have to purchase it separately. Maybe Samsung dumped the Wi-Fi feature in order to keep the panel slim. Attaching the dongle may ruin the look of the TV; I would recommend you to place it strategically so that it is not easily seen. Or else you can always connect this TV to the Internet through Ethernet but it will keep wires dangling all over the area.

For connections, the Samsung UN55C6500 has a VGA jack and four HDMI ports. You also get component video input. The TV is really slim and there is not a lot of room for all the jacks but you still get all the essentials. Some had to be sacrificed in order to keep the TV slim. Above the HDMI ports, you have two USB ports. One USB port will be used for the wireless dongle. The other jack can be used for connecting a camera to watch all the pics and videos on the large screen.

Thumbs Up:

Black level performance is excellent, color is relatively accurate, lots of picture tweaks and controls, sleek looks with just one inch depth, excellent widget and streaming through the well-integrated platform of apps, 3D picture quality is really stellar.

Thumbs Down:

This panel cannot handle the 1080p/24 sources properly, not good with regards to energy efficiency as compared to other models, the duplication of widgets and Apps can be quite confusing, 3D glasses are not given along with the set.

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

Samsung PN50C7000 is a 50 inch plasma TV. With the stand, the panel is 47.6 inches x 8.9 inches x 31.8 inches x 63.5 lbs, without the panel, the TV is 47.6 inches x 1.4 inches x 29.5 inches x 54 lbs. The display format is 1080p, refresh rate is 600 Hz, pixel response time is 0.001 ms, video interface options include composite, component, and HDMI. Speakers include 2 x left/right channel speaker – built in speakers of 10 Watts. Audio controls include treble, bass and balance.

Connectors include 3 x HDMI (19 pin HDMI Type A), USB ( 4 pin USB Type A ) – Rear, HDMI ( 19 pin HDMI Type A ), Composite video/audio input ( RCA phono x 3 ), 2 x Component video input ( RCA phono x 3 ), Headphones (Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm), VGA input (15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15) ). Samsung gives a one year warranty for parts and labor for this TV.

Razzle Dazzle:

The latest product from Samsung to turn up in my labs is the Samsung PN50C7000 and this TV too is 3D compatible. This panel is amazingly thin when looked from the sides. It is just 1.2 inches deep. LED technology in TV have made panels really thin and they are getting thinner with more research in technology. You also might mistake this panel as an LCD TV due to its thin profile; it is actually plasma. Around the edge, there is a matte metallic finish which makes the TV look sexy. Some people hate glossy TVs because they shine a lot and also attract fingerprints, making it look ugly. A transparent ‘lip’ surrounds the TV on all the side and this adds to the aesthetic appeal of the TV. On the bottom, there is non-glossy stainless steel stand which doesn’t go too well with the panel but it doesn’t make the TV look that ugly either. To sum it up, I would say that this is a slick looking TV and it will not ruin your beautiful interiors.

Inside Dope:

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 a 2D to 3D conversion system and this feature converts all standard TV content in to 3D. I tried doing this but the conversion didn’t look that realistic. I wasn’t expecting the TV to convert 2D content that well either so it is not a big disappointment. I tried fiddling with the controls hoping for something better to pop up but there wasn’t anything and hence I gave up.

Samsung PN50C7000 has a good collection of apps, which means you can go in to the menu and access a lot of services. The coolest here, according to me, was the Netflix, Amazon Video on Demand, and Vudu also. Another big addition here is Hulu Plus. This is the first TV to have this it and Hulu Plus is exclusive to Samsung at least until November this year. After that this feature will roll out on other TVs too. I must say that the app collection on this TV is really compelling, I haven’t seen such good collection since a long time.

Other goodies on the Samsung PN50C7000 include plethora of picture adjustments. This again was not that surprising on a high end TV. The PN50C7000 has gamma, ten point Iris system (which is new for this year) and there are lots of picture tweaking options too so you can calibrate this TV according to your needs. A lot of options are quite advanced though and have to be an expert for this or else you will have to spend some time to digest the features. On the flip side, if you are someone who likes the calibrate a lot, there won’t be much to complain for you here.

On the back, the input collection on the Samsung PN50C7000 looks pretty strange because the TV is really thin. On the back, you have four HDMI inputs, a VGA jack, LAN port, just one component video input, and few other inputs. The manufacturer has done quite well to give such good options for connectivity and yet manage to keep the panel thin.

Nitty Gritty:

There are better 2D TVs in the market but if you are looking for a 3D TV, then I will recommend you this panel as it gives excellent performance for a less price as compared to the competition.

Sleek and stylish panel design; energy efficient; various interactive and streaming features; controls local dimming; better off-angle view; most accurate color; great shadow details; the deepest black level as compared to other TVs.

Thumbs Down:

Expansive price tag; stray illumination problem; difficult to discern 240Hz refresh rate; customizable dejudder settings are not so useful.

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

The LG Infinia 55LE8500 is 1080p LCD TV based on LED Backlighting technology. It has 1920×1080 pixels resolution, 240Hz refresh rate, and 16:9 image aspect ratio. The horizontal and vertical viewing angle is 178°. The 55LE8500 features XD Engine, Sleep timer, V-Chip control, closed caption capability, parental channel lock, and line doubling progressive scanning.

Four wide-screen modes are: Conventional 4:3, Cinema, Zoom, and 16:9. The picture adjustment modes include Game, Sports, and Cinema. The LG Infinia 55LE8500 has three video interfaces: Composite, Component, and HDMI. The input video formats are 1080p, 1080i, and 720p. There are two right/left 10watt stereo speaker inbuilt speakers. The 55LE8500 TV features invisible speaker system and inbuilt Dolby Digital decoder.

The LG 55LE8500 supports MP3 audio format, JPG picture format and DivX/DivX HD video format. The connectivity options are USB, Wi-Fi, and Ethernet. The connector set includes 1×Composite video/audio input (RCA phono×3), 1×HDMI (19pin HDMI Type A), 1×Hi-Speed USB (4 pin USB Type A), 1×VGA input (15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15)), 1×Serial , 3×HDMI (19 pin HDMI Type A) , 1×Component video input (RCA phono×3), 1×Audio line-in (Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm) , 1×Digital audio output (optical) (TOSLINK) , and 1×Headphones (Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm).

The LG Infinia 55LE8500 is EPA ENERGY STAR qualified and compatible to HDCP. Its Greenpeace policy rating is 5.1.

Razzle Dazzle:

The LG Infinia 55LE8500 is 31.6 inches tall, 50.8 inches wide, and 1.4 inches deep and weighs 78.9 lbs. With stand, it is 34.4 inches tall, 50.8 inches wide, and 12.3 inches thick and weighs 96.6 lbs. The 55LE8500 TV looks sleeker and has an appealing artistic aesthetic.

Inside Dope:

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 buttons on its top, and Back, Widgets, and Exit buttons on the bottom. We like the well positioned buttons on the remote.

The LG Infinia 55LE8500 has glossy screen and 240Hz refresh rate. Its main selling point is the full-array LED backlighting with local dimming like the Samsung 8500 and the LG LH90. According to LG, the LE8500 series TVs has 216 dimmable independent zones while the Infinia 55LE8500 has 240.

The company also ships LG Wireless Media Box that enables to connect HDMI, Wi-Fi connection and other gears. The available streaming media services are Netflix, Vudu, and YouTube. We will prefer to access BlockBuster, CinemaNow, Pandora, and Rhapsody. The LG Infinia 55LE850 is DLNA compliant that means it can stream the photos/video/music tracks on DLNA compatible networked computers. You can connect the external drive on USB ports and playback the stored photo/music/video files.

LG has also included some Internet applications including Stocks, Sports, News, Weather, Skype, Picasa, Flickr, Twitter, and Yahoo! Widgets. You have to purchase separate microphone for using Skype. What’s more – you can play the games included on Yahoo! Widgets like “Whack a Mole” and “Sudoku”.

We appreciate the LG to improve the picture controls and to include the option for adjusting dejudder processing like Samsung. LG has included Blurr and Judder labeled sliders. The LG Infinia 55LE8500 allows customization of antiblur effect, dejudder and smoothness using its TruMotion processing.  This de-judder system resembles that of Samsung, but the 55LE8500 does not allow full motion resolution.

The included picture settings are Color Management System, 10-point fine color temperature controls, three color temperature presets, five standard-def aspect ratio modes, three high-def aspect ratio modes, fine dejudder control, two-dejudder presets, independent memories per unit, three gamma presets, and six adjustable picture modes. The other settings are 2THX modes, 10-point and 2-point IRE systems, and guided “Picture Wizard” setup. The picture mode options are Expert 2, Expert 1, Game, Sport, THX Bright Room, THX Cinema, Standard, Vivid, and Intelligent Sensor.

More to like – 1) On-screen user manual to provide details of all settings, 2) Ambient light sensor that can be engaged by selecting Intelligent Sensor picture mode, and 3) Power-saver mode – “screen-off” adjustment that turns off picture to get only sound. This mode reduces the total power consumption to 36 watts.

The back panel has three HDMI inputs, a composite video input, one VGA-style PC input, two component video inputs, one optical digital output, one RS-232 port, one RF input, a wireless control port to connect Media box, and an Ethernet adapter. The side panel has one HDMI input, a composite video input, two USB ports, one component-video input, and headphone jack.

While testing, THX Cinema provided the best and most accurate picture settings that produced excellent accuracy, gamma linearity, and grayscale. The Expert Mode also delivered very fin results by improving the gamma from 2.28 to 2.21, revamping the shadow details with large numbers of the deepest black levels and evening out the grayscale, especially for dark areas.

We tested the LG Infinia 55LE8500 with (1) plasma Pioneer PRO-111FD TV, (2) local dimming LED TVs – the LG 47LH90, the Samsung UN55B8500, and (3) edge-lit LED TVs including the Sony KDL-52NX800, the Samsung UN46B7000, the LG 47LE5500.

The LG Infinia 55LE8500 produced the deepest black level which we had seen on any TV. It surpassed the Samsung UN55B8500 and other sets including the Pioneer plasma model. The black levels remains the deepest even in low-light scenes, but the difference is visible in low and bright areas. The 55LE8500 preserved the excellent shadow details and provided the realistic displays than others. However, the Samsung UN55B8500 handled dimming a bit better than the LG 55LE8500. In contract, there were no fluctuations of backlight on the LG model.

After some calibration, the LG Infinia 55LE8500 produced the most accurate color accuracy and grayscale as compared to others. The color was consistent in both light and dark areas. The Samsung UN55B8500 provided the better de-judder control and motion resolution than the LG 55LE8500.

We received the excellent uniformity on the LG Infinia 55LE8500 around the complete screen as compared to other local dimming LED TVs. Moreover, it provided the better off-angle view than the Samsung UN55B500.

The 55LE8500 performed well for stand-definition sources and delivered each line of DVD with sharp details and less jaggies. Its noise reduction performance was also good and it switched into 2:3 pulldown accurately and quickly.

However, the LG model reflected the bright objects in the room due to its glossy screen. On the contrary, the 55LE8500 performed fine in PC connectivity with both VGA and HDMI connection.

Nitty Gritty:

If you can afford extensive price tag and need the deepest black level and most accurate colors, but do not mind limited dejudder processing and lack of 3D at such a high cost, then go for – LG Infinia 55LE8500 TV.

• Deep black levels are better than any other LCD in this class.
• Color is relatively accurate
• Picture control options are extensive
• Attractive design

Cons:

• Lacks side panel inputs
• Expensive as compared to other models in this size

Bottom Line:

Samsung LN26B360 may not have as many features but it makes up with is excellent picture quality.

Manufacturer’s specifications:

Samsung LN26B360 is a 26 inch wide screen TV, resolution is 1366×768 pixels, display format is 720p, LCD refresh rate is 60 Hz, response time is 8ms, dynamic contrast ratio is 30000:1, wide screen mode options include Conventional 4:3, Wide Zoom, Auto Wide, Zoom, 16:9.

Video interface options are Composite, Component, and HDMI. Input video format options include 1080i, 720p, 480p, 480i. Supported resolutions for computer are 1280×1024 (SXGA), 800×600 (SVGA), 1024×768 (XGA), 640×480 (VGA), 1360×768, 720×400, 640×350. Speakers are 2×5 watts.

Connector types include 1x Headphones (mini-phone stereo 3.5mm)- Rear, 1x Composite video/audio input (RCA phonox3) – Rear, 1x Component video input (RCA phonox3) – Rear, 1 x Audio line-out ( RCA phono x 2 ) – Rear, 1 x HDMI ( 19 pin HDMI Type A ) – Rear, 1 x Audio line-in ( Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm ) – Rear, 1 x VGA input ( 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15) ) – Rear.

Design:

Just like most entry level HDTVs in this price range, the Samsung LN26B360 has a glossy black frame but there are some classy touches that make it apart. On the bottom edge there is a slight protrusion or the ‘lip’ that comes out of the panel. This lip goes well with the oval stand.

Inside Dope:

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 to the functions that are most frequently used. We also liked that there are text explanations along with the items. You get a Self-diagnosis along with internal patters which are designed for quick trouble shooting. you get a diagram for the common connections and Samsung contact page which contains Website, phone number and guide to the firmware update section of the site.

Just like most entry level panels, the Samsung LN26B360 h as a 1366×768 pixel native resolution or 720p as compared to the 1080p resolution on higher end models. We won’t complain about the non-1080p resolution of the panel because a 26 inch size cannot exploit the offerings of a 1080p resolution.

When it comes to picture adjustability, only LG is better than Samsung and this panel too is no exception. There are lots of ways to fiddled with the image like 3 adjustable picture modes which are all independent per input. There are also options for controlling the color temperature in order to enhance the 4 presets. The white balance controls have six adjustment options which are seldom found in such entry level models.

There are other adjustments like color and gamma space along with black tone, dynamic contrast, edge enhancement and flesh tone. Finally there is a film mode, three levels for noise reduction and HDMI black level.

In all, there are four settings for aspect ratio for both SD and HD sources and you can adjust 2 among them. Energy Saver setting limits the light output from the panel and this gives you power savings. Samsung LN26B360 also has a game mode which minimizes the processing of video and prevents possible lag between the onscreen action and controller.

Connections on the Samsung LN26B360 are not in plenty, and the biggest issue is the side panel which doesn’t have any inputs. On the back, there is 2 HDMI, one VGA, one component video, one RF input with analog stereo and optical digital audio outputs and one AV input with composite video.

As mentioned earlier, this panel stands out amongst other LCD TV in this range with is solid picture quality and deeper black levels. There are a few issues with the color aspects but that can be forgiven at this price range.

We compared this panel other TVs in this range, we had Westinghouse SK-32H640G, Vizio VO302E, Toshiba 32AV502U, Sony KDL-32L5000, Sharp LC-32D47U, and Panasonic TC-32LX1. For black level tests, the Samsung LN26B360 was the most efficient, the panel gave us the deepest shade of black. It went passed the Sony, Sharp and Toshiba panels by a bit and rest all the displays were far behind. In the brighter scenes, there was less difference between Samsung and other panels were lesser. Shadow detail performance too was good on Samsung panel but it wasn’t as good as Sony.

When tested for color accuracy, Samsung LN26B360 was decent. Performance was as good as Vizio and was second to only LG. The black levels on the Samsung panel were deeper which led to superior saturation. The very dark and black areas weren’t as neutral as that on Sony but still they were better as compared to others.

Samsung LN26B360 was the best in SD video quality as compared to other models. The details looked sharp and every line of DVD format was resolved. For computer tests, we hooked up this panel to a PC and tested through both VGA and HDMI jacks. We got the full 1360×768 pixel resolution on both the ports. The text and video both looked crisp.