Have your say & ask the experts

I would like to buy an 50+ inch LCD.
It would be ideal to keep price about £1500, however my top limit is
£2000. I have been reading reviews and recommendations for this size
plasma screens, but I would rather get an LCD. Can anyone recommend a
decent 50+ LCD?

To editors:

I was hoping that the latest issue of
What HiFi would help make my choice and I mainly was waiting for Sony
KDL-52V5500 and Sony KDL-52W5500 reviews. However they are seems to
be disappointing on the basic and I don't consider them any more.
Also, I have to say that I am bit surprise that both of them got 4 of
5 stars if they suffer from the uneven backlighting issues. You have
pointed that it is wholeheartedly impossible to recommend these
screen. So how bad the screen needs to be to get a score between 1 to
3 stars? In my understanding 4 out of 5 is pretty good score.

Personally I have the Pioneer KRP-500a which is slightly out of your budget, however I also auditioned the Pioneer PDP-LX5090 and can recommend it highly. There are a couple of issues with this though, firstly Pioneer have pulled out of the TV market and these panels are as rare as rocking horse s**t at the moment (however Pioneer are still offering a 5 year warranty) and secondly due to this there is not a lot of movement in regard to price, so you will have to spend all of your budget to get one.

Rest assured, Pioneers are the best TV's out there and have not and probably will not be bettered for some time.

Pioneer makes the best TVs on the planet, but I guess you don't want a plasma TV.

Sony makes some of the best LCD TVs. W5500 series is excellent. Some batches of the TV have uneven backlighting issues apparently, but you can always return it for another model if your TV shows these issues.

Samsung also makes very good LCD TVs & are worthy of a consideration.

Why don't you pop down to your local Curry & see which TV you like the most?

I am not convinced that I should get a plasma as burn-in problem is more likely to happen on them. I am planning to use my TV as PC monitor screen, often displaying quite static image. Also, LCD uses about 50% less energy comparing to plasma.

I visited Currys and Sony local dealership. The biggest screens on the display were 46" and Sony dealership did not have anything bigger than 40" from the lastest  W and V series. I guess I need to find some bigger Currys shop.

I have looked at Samsung UE46B7020 and UE55B7020 and they look good on the paper. 40" version received good review in What Hi Fi, but what about those two bigger version? Are they as good as the 40" version?

Coming back to plasma. I would like to see Kuro or LX5090 next to... lets say UE55B7020, but Currys do not sell Pioneer.

Going through the forums I have noticed that Pioneer plasma used to be about 25% cheaper. What was the reason for price increase? (or was just due to the exchange rates changes? )

Cheers.

Burn-in is not an issue anymore with newer plasmas, & certainly not with the Pioneer. Yes, LCDs use less energy, but that translates to savings of about £10 per year!!

 You can check the TVs at local Sony stores for bigger screens. Next time you go to Currys, compare and LCD TV with a plasma (not the cheapest ones, but ones which are reasonably priced) side by side. When I was buying my TV, I did the same, & found the colours on plasma TVs to be more natural. Plasma TVs inherently resist motion judder compared to LCDs, apart from giving deepest blacks and more natural rendition of colours.

You may be able to see a Pioneer TV at Richer Sounds or John Lewis.

If 46 inch TV is good, 50" will definitely be good. It's only a 4" difference in screen size.

Uusally, if an older model is replaced or its' production being stopped, the price of the TV goes down. But in case of Pioneer, the prices have actually gone up, because everyone knows that Pioneer TVs are the very best in the market and are yet to be surpassed. Google Pioneer Kuro TV reviews & check all the reviews. They've been unanimously voted as the best TVs ever to be made....for a good reason. It wouldn't be the best, if the screen had a burn-in issue, would it?

If you can afford the Pioneer LX5090, go for it. If you're willing to consider plasma TVs, Panasonic and LG are worthy choices (Panasonic is the next best after Pioneer). If you're still decided on LCD TVs, Sony & Samsung are worthy of recommendation.

empi,

I can understand your reservations about the cost, as I had exactly the same issues when I was looking to upgrade my existing Pionner PDP-428D. I did a considerable amount of research and auditioned lots of different manufacturers at the time and not one of them came close to my existing 6 generation Pioneer let alone the latest 9th generation sets. I am now the proud owner of the KRP-500a.

All I can say is go and audition a Pioneer and the Panasonics / Samsungs and make your decision from there. Of course Pioneer TV's come at a premium, but there is a reason for this and as my Father always told me, buy cheap, buy twice.

As mentioned in my earlier posts, Pioneer are still giving a free 5 year warranty here

Good luck.

empi:

I am also tempted to buy Samsung LED range. It is a shame they have a gap between 46" and 55" size. UE46B7020 is £1500, however I would like something bigger, but again UE55B7020 is too pricey at about £2200. 

I do hate how Samsung are touting this model range as LED TV's as all they are is a LCD TV that used LED strips for the backlight!

Now there is little doubt if any that the Pioneer is still the best 50" set that money can buy but in the real world we all have to obide by our own budgets which is why when I upgraded my Plasma I went for a Samsung as at the time the pioneer was almost £2000 more and even tho it was better IMHO it was not £2000 better.

I would recomend having a look at the Samsung PS-50B850 which like the Samsung UE46B7020 is very thin and from what I saw of it set up in a local store looked very good indeed and can be found for around £1350 HERE

lcd are not so good in big screens plasmas r better. But if you really want a lcd go for the new led range from samsung. the v10 range from panasonic or 8 series from samsung for picture quality. the new panasonic does not use as much energy as before on eco mode it uses much less. screen burn is the only issue but it is temporary. i wouldnt recommend the samsung for sd viewing the sound is also not as good as the panasonic but has a good contrast ratio, but in high def it is pretty good. The sonys r too pricey and not good when u come close to the screen.

empi:

Thanks for your posts ukgthor and bigboss.

Coming back to plasma. I would like to see Kuro or LX5090 next to... lets say UE55B7020, but Currys do not sell Pioneer.

 Just a quick note, my Currys does have a Pioneer 5090 on display, connected to a Sky HD Box. Not saying you should necessarily buy from Currys because I don't think there are any new boxed ones left, only ex display, but if you give the call centre a ring then they should be able to tell you which local stores have one in stock if that's the most convenient way for you to see it.