Samsung vs. Sony vs. Sharp LCD

[Lean Guy]

Just started out on some serious comparison shopping for an LCD TV. I've always been a Sony fan, (I have 3 Sony Tubes), and have always thought they had the best picture quality (and highest Price). During a recent stop in a local P.C. Richards, I decided to look at the latest Samsung sets as a comparison. Of course, as I tried to do some quiet comparison shopping, one of their knucklehead salesman decided to glue himself to my hip. Surprisingly, he tried to sway me away from Sony, saying they were overpriced, and practically dragged me over to see the new Sharp Aquos sets. (They must have a commission special going on at Sharp, why else would he steer me away from Sony?)

Anyway, to make a long story short, even though the Sharp sets had incredible specs (15,000:1 contrast, 4ms response time time, 120 Hz, etc.) I wasn't overly impressed. I was however, blown away by the new Samsungs (65 series), and the Sony XBR's have impressed me from the first time I saw them.

What do you guys think about the 3 brands, and which of them would you recommend. I'm probably going with a 46" screen size. I know Sony is coming out with new models this year, which may make my decision easy.

 

[MDS]

The Sharp Aquos line has gotten rave reviews with one potential problem that some people notice. On some scenes they say there are visible vertical bands on the left and right of the screen. I've never seen it myself looking at the sets in the store.

I've yet to really look at the Samsungs but IMO the Sharp is better than the Sony by far. The thing is it's all personal preference and hard to really tell how good the set is at the store.

I'd pretty much ignore what the salespeople say (without being rude of course). I was at Circuity City and they conveniently had the 46" and 52" Sharp D62U models side by side. The salesman told me the 46 was High Def and the 52 was Cable. When I asked the source of the HD he told me it was the Denon DVD player; ie NOT High Def. He didn't know much of anything about the TVs at all. Just nod and ask for the price - that part they do know well.

 

[Swerd]

Maybe you had the one salesman in ten that was not such a knucklehead. I agree with MDS about the Sharp Aquos LCD TVs. They are excellent. The problem about the vertical bands is limited to one 52" model, the LC-52D62U. The 46" version (LC-46D62U) has not had that problem and should be great. Sharp leads the other makers in LCD TV product development. They always seem to be the first with the new features. I bought my new Sharp LCD TV in February and have been very happy with it.

Sony has had a long-standing excellent reputation dating back to the 70s and 80s, but has not been doing as well in more recent times. Their quality control has slipped significantly. More and more of their TVs (and other products) have shipped with serious problems. Their customer service has gone downhill at the same time. Lately, they may have begun to reverse some of these problems, but considering their unusually high prices for TVs, I wouldn't touch a Sony product. I've heard too many horror stories about defective products and miserable customer service.

Samsung seems to be quite good, but I know less about them because they didn't make a model in the size I wanted. One salesman (was he one of those knuckleheads?) did tell me that Sony buys its LCD screens from Samsung. But that is unconfirmed. They may be fine, but I think Sharp is the leader in LCD TV, and their prices are competetive.

 

[angstadt530]

I've always been the most impressed with Sharp and Samsung LCDs, but I haven't have much experience with Sony LCDs. Personally, if I had the money, I would get one of the newer Sharp Aquos TVs...or a Samsung. Man, that sure is a tough one!

I think you can't go wrong with the newer LCD models from either of these three models. Aside from reading lots of professional reviews, I recommend playing some fast moving content on the LCDs you are looking at to see how they handle it. Last time I was at a Circuit City, some of the LCDs looked really great with the video they were playing, but a quick close up clip of a Nascar race revealed poor refresh rates on quite a few.

Also, see if you can get a good comparison of black levels.

 

[jpaget]

I am a new owner of the Sharp 42D62U and I have no complaints whatsoever--definitely no vertical bars. I would encourage you to get the Avia or a comparable calibration DVD. I used Avia and my picture nows looks far crisper and natural then any of the TVs I see in in-store setups.

I think Sharp offers the best combination of performance and price.

 

[avaserfi]

When I was looking between all the LCD brands I decided on sharp for two reasons. In stores I thought it looked better than the bravia and while I liked the colors slightly more on the samsung the price on the 42D72U I got was unbeatable.

 

[BarryDVD]

(They must have a commission special going on at Sharp, why else would he steer me away from Sony?)

Sharp might have the best LCD HD PQ atm, and the Sony would be last yrs model with outdated specs,....but the only thing I'm curious about is why you haven't mentioned 50inch Plasma?

 

[3x10^8]

It may be worth your while to check out the new line of Toshiba Regzas.

 

[BarryDVD]

I wonder if anyone has seen Blu-ray on both a 52inch 1080 LCD and a 720p 50inch Plasma, and if so, which TV won the PQ battle?
Sony, Sharp and Samsung have 1080 52in LCD.

 

[ddcobb]

I've been very pleased with my Samsung 4696. I wasn't as impressed with the Sharp's or the Sony's and I looked FOREVER prior to purchasing. The only other tv I strongly considered was the Olevia Syntax 747i. However, they kept delaying the release of it so I said F'it and pulled the trigger. I have been very happy with my choice.

 

[j_garcia]

There is something to be said for small details and features, but Sony's LCD panels are supplied by Samsung, so between the two of them, I'd have to say Samsung knows better how to get the most out of them.

 

[Lean Guy]

Thanks for all of the feedback......

I appreciate all of the feedback so far. Based on further research since my original post, as of right now I'm leaning towards the Samsung 4665. For some reason the Sharps just don't do it for me. As for the Sony's, I've been hearing about the upcoming XBR4/5 sets, which I'm sure will blow everything else out of the water, but I'm sure they will carry a hefty price tag.