Best Brand LCD & Plasma Televisions |
Top LCD & Plasma Manufacturers Reviewed...
There's plenty of of choice on the market for LCD & Plasma televisions no matter your budet.
There are several factors to consider when choosing your brand of television aside from price.
Although the cost is more often than not the deciding factor in most purchases, it is worth
remembering that the most expensive option is not necessarily a guarantee of being the best.
Taking into account the overall package of picture quality, features and connectivity options,
we take a look at the top manfucturers in the digital television market. The debate will rage on for
many years to come as manfucturers continue to bring out new models with the latest technology.
The Sharp AQUOS range come in 16:9 widescreen and the standard 4:3 aspect ratio (see our jargon buster!) with sizes ranging from 13" to 45".
Sharp prides itself on excellent image quality, elegant design, rich colours and crisp edges without pixelation and all at reasonable prices.
Sharp introduced a 64-inch LCD monitor at the 2007 Ceatec technology trade show in Japan. The 64" LCD offers quadruple the resolution of a normal
high-definition screen which signifies Sharp are clearly continuing to push forward with their commitment to LCD televisions. Sharp claims its larger than life LCD TV has a contrast ratio and refresh time equal to plasma sets, and says its televisions offer superior resolution in all size ranges. The hugely popular
AQUOS range certainly testifies to that caim.
Click here to compare our full range of bestselling Sharp LCD and Plasma TVs.
Sony offers an assortment of LCD televisions varying in size from the high-end 42-70" and the smaller flat panels between 23-42". The Sony Bravia KDL range remains a popular first choice for a large percentage of shoppers, and with Sony's XBR technology featured in the most recent models (XBR is an acronym for Sony's advanced 'eXtended Bit Rate' technology) , the super thin Sony Bravia range continues to be one of our top sellers.
Bravia consistently delivers vivid colour with deep blacks for those dark movie and TV scenes together with high contrast ratios and ultra-fast refresh rates. The anti-glare screen coating is also worth a mention as this helps avoid diluting the TV image with those unwanted reflections caused by some lighting. Sony's range of LCDs are generally lighter and thinner than Plasma too.
While offering impressive image quality and stunningly good looks, bargain shoppers may feel that there are less expensive alternatives available than the stylish but often expensive Sony Bravia LCD range.
Click here to compare our full range of bestselling Sony Bravia LCDs.
Samsung offer LCD TVs ranging from 15-46" and come in widescreen or standard aspect ratio. Samsung will always reward you with a massive feature set and excellent picture quality. While a few issues hamper Samsung's attempt to out perform it's main rivals, they still produce some of the best-performing LCD HDTVs available today by striking an excellent balance between price and performance. In terms of pure aesthetics, Samsung's LCD TVs look
gorgeous. The most striking of which is the speaker grills which angle down to a point at the centre. It may not sound like much but it fits in well with the minimalist design. Plenty of style and functionality make Samsung LCD TVs a top choice overall amid some stiff, and in some cases better, opposition.
Click here to compare our full range of bestselling Samsung LCDs.
Panasonic also offer an excellent range of LCD products. Their flat panel models are between 14-32" and rear projection range from 43" to 60"+.
Most of the Overall the Panasonic LCDs are HDTV ready and are becoming both lighter and narrower. The Panasonic Viera range is worthy of a special mention here.
While beauty is very much in the eye of the beholder, the Viera range exudes an elegant charm with its gun-metal and glossy black front. The Viera's outstanding colours and competent sounds are reasonably good value for money among the full-HD-capable LCDs. The bright and accurate colours, brilliant shadow detail, smart-looking design are let down only by the PC resolution support, which in comparison to some its rivals could be better.
Overall the Panasonic VIERA range is strong performer in terms of both price and picture quality.
In addition to the leading brands featured above, we feel one or two more deserve your attention when researching a new LCD or Plasma TV.
The LG LCD TV range is simple yet stylish in design. Most models are framed in elegant reflective piano black gloss surrounds with the base of the unit decked out in silver, a look that is proving popular among more and more of our shoppers. Of all the LG models we tested, the fast moving images relayed crisply and cleanly. In short, we fully expect the LG LCD TV range to go from strength to strength and thanks to their built-in HD tuners and HDMI capability, LG LCD TVs offer very good value for money.
Although very expensive and perhaps out with the scope of our best brands review for that reason, the high-end Pioneer Plasma and LCD range deserves to be mentioned. Their class-leading blacks and colour saturation together with superb motion reproduction are a class apart. Pioneer's Plasma and LCD range is certainly pricey but an undisputable leader when it comes to picture quality, particularly in terms of black level and colour vibrancy.
With truly awesome high-definition image quality, Pioneer's PDP range is among the very best on the market. Whether that warrants the premium pricing is for you to decide.
See also: LCD or Plasma? | Digital TV Jargon Buster
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