LCD TV + Blu RAy

jackdaw

Hi Folks!

I am about to purchase an LCD TV + BluRay player.

TV
//////////////////////////////

I was looking at the SHARP AQUOS LCD 37D 65E

This seems to have good contrast, and a decent response time,

Ideally what I'm looking for is a TV with really good contrast (so dark films will look good) .. also a good response time is a must .. I can't stand trails ..

The above model is not a latest model and here it costs €850 ...
I'm prepared to go to about €1,400.

What makes or models would people here recommend ?
I really like the look of SAMSUNG, but this sales guy told me SHARP was one of the best .. he said LOEWE buy their screens from SHARP ??

BluRay
///////////////////////////////////////////
I was looking at the Panasonic DMP BD55 -- looks really sweet ,
ideally id like one that has the capability to trigger a slight delay with the audio --- in case some DVDs/blurays are out of sync .. my current panasonic DVD can do this --- or is this better to do with the receiver ?



anyway comments are most welcome ..

Rew

Id go with a Samsung Series 6 or a Sony personaly but don't know the sharp's.

Jev/N

Yep Samsung series 6 or Sony W4500 for LCD TV's IMO, haven't bought a blu-ray player yet but I'll be going for a Samsung BDP 1500 as it has DivX support & profile 2.0 ready

Rew

I've a PS3 very happy with it for BluRay. Got a BDP-350 for my dad because it has multi-region for DVD's. Great player for the money. He uses a seperate amp to do HD audio decoding.

jackdaw

Jev/N wrote: »

Yep Samsung series 6 or Sony W4500 for LCD TV's IMO, haven't bought a blu-ray player yet but I'll be going for a Samsung BDP 1500 as it has DivX support & profile 2.0 ready

Cheers guys ...

jackdaw

OK for Blu ray im pretty set now on the SONY BDP S550 ...

Rew

550 is good but as far as I undersand it you will still need an amp to power speakers so unless your in a position where you have that already there may be better alterntitives.

jackdaw

Yes for now i have a KENWOOD receiver with speakers + subwoofer...


this is left to me for free ... (guy im renting flat from) I may buy a harmon Kardon baby in a few months.


This Kenwood doesn't have HDMI .. it has dolby digital + DTS ... Im sure the blu Ray player will downgrade HDMI audio so the DTS/ dolby digital channel can pick it up ?

Rew

You should be able to output analogue HD sound to the amp

jackdaw

Rew wrote: »

You should be able to output analogue HD sound to the amp

but some bluRay discs have English TRUE HD audio only ... so will this be downgraded to 5.1 DD ??

Rew

If you output analogue sound to the amp for each channel the BluRay player had done the decoding and the amp is just amplifing the sound and sending it out to the speakers it would be HD sound not DD. If you send the sound via digital to the amp then thats where DD etc would come in to play. If you getting the amp to do decoding etc there is no benefit to the 550 over the 350.

jackdaw

Rew wrote: »

If you output analogue sound to the amp for each channel the BluRay player had done the decoding and the amp is just amplifing the sound and sending it out to the speakers it would be HD sound not DD. If you send the sound via digital to the amp then thats where DD etc would come in to play. If you getting the amp to do decoding etc there is no benefit to the 550 over the 350.

Ah ok ...

well ... I won't be getting the amp to do the decoding ...

and looks like ill get the Sony BDP S550

akaSol

KDL40W5500 is available NOW !!!!!
Next week or so for : DMPBD60 / 80 from Panasonic!!
Dont Be silly and blow money on the 4500 series!
>Sol

Rew

jackdaw wrote: »

Ah ok ...

well ... I won't be getting the amp to do the decoding ...

and looks like ill get the Sony BDP S550

Just make sure you can hook them up in that way before you comit.

jackdaw

akaSol wrote: »

KDL40W5500 is available NOW !!!!!
Next week or so for : DMPBD60 / 80 from Panasonic!!
Dont Be silly and blow money on the 4500 series!
>Sol

Thanks!!

Damn ... now im confused again !!!

jackdaw

Rew wrote: »

Just make sure you can hook them up in that way before you comit.

Im fairly sure it can ... the receiver I have is the KENWOOD KRF-X9090D

allthough it doesn't have HDMI ... the idea is to get a BluRap player that will
take the HD audio and dump it into the receiver as DTS or 5.1 DD ...

Rew

If your doing that id get the cheaper 350 and hook it up to the amp via optical or coaxial to your amp.

jackdaw

This Receiver isn't mine but ill have use for it for a while ...

so in the future i plan to get my own receiver...


the way i see it i may as well get a good upper range BluRay player...

Now for a TV that sony KDL5500 looks sweet ,,, -- i checked on AVforums about the SHARP AQUOS
seems to have banding problems...

Rew

The diference between a 550 and 350 is the 550 will decode the HD Audio on the player where as the 350 can only send it out encoded over the HDMI to a reciver to decode. If you buy a reciver in the future its pretty much guaranteed to do HD decoding then the 550 is a waste of money. I paired my Dads 350 with an Onkyo 606 and send the HD Auduio to that via HDMI.

Rsaeire

Rew wrote: »

The diference between a 550 and 350 is the 550 will decode the HD Audio on the player where as the 350 can only send it out encoded over the HDMI to a reciver to decode. If you buy a reciver in the future its pretty much guaranteed to do HD decoding then the 550 is a waste of money. I paired my Dads 350 with an Onkyo 606 and send the HD Auduio to that via HDMI.

The 350 can internally decode Dolby TrueHD, just not DTS-HD MA. The 550 also has 7.1 analogue outs.

Rew

Rsaeire wrote: »

The 350 can internally decode Dolby TrueHD, just not DTS-HD MA. The 550 also has 7.1 analogue outs, as opposed to the 5.1 on the 350.

My 350 doesn't have 5.1 analogue outs just HDMI, coax and optical.

Rsaeire

Rew wrote: »

My 350 doesn't have 5.1 analogue outs just HDMI, coax and optical.

2 out of 3 ain't bad, cheers. I've updated my original post.

akaSol

Rsaeire wrote: »

The 350 can internally decode Dolby TrueHD, just not DTS-HD MA. The 550 also has 7.1 analogue outs.

The 350 out puts "DIRECT" allowing your amp to deal with the decodeing.
If its fidelity your looking for, it is not a 350 strong point.
I am giving mine to some one and buying a Panasonic DMPBD80 as soon as iit available.
>Sol

Rsaeire

akaSol wrote: »

The 350 out puts "DIRECT" allowing your amp to deal with the decodeing.
If its fidelity your looking for, it is not a 350 strong point.
I am giving mine to some one and buying a Panasonic DMPBD80 as soon as iit available.
>Sol

The 350 is ideal for users who are looking for a cheap Blu-ray player that also supports the majority of audio formats, including HD and for those who don't have a receiver capable of decoding any of the HD audio formats.

akaSol

Rsaeire wrote: »

The 350 is ideal for users who are looking for a cheap Blu-ray player that also supports the majority of audio formats, including HD and for those who don't have a receiver capable of decoding any of the HD audio formats.

I totally agree with that. My comparative was looking towards a Dolby THD or Dts HDMA enabled amp, the 350 lacks a certain "kick" imo.
But I would rate my self as some what perfectionist and bought a 350 to "tide me over".
The ultimate end of this is a simple question:
Will it suffice you (jackdaw) as a consumer.

>Sol

jackdaw

OK thanks again guys ....


As for TVs this Sony LCD KDL 40W5500 looks sweet ... is there a 37"
'version' ?

jackdaw

akaSol wrote: »

I totally agree with that. My comparative was looking towards a Dolby THD or Dts HDMA enabled amp, the 350 lacks a certain "kick" imo.
But I would rate my self as some what perfectionist and bought a 350 to "tide me over".
The ultimate end of this is a simple question:
Will it suffice you (jackdaw) as a consumer.

>Sol

Well i was thinking of the SOny s550 ... it seems to have better stats then the 350 ... in fairness .. i haven't investigated enough ... i just saw it had the audio delay option .. which i want ... + decoding HD audio that my receiver won't do ... what should i look for regarding image quality ? deep color etc ?? ..



and im assuming all bluRays upscale regular DVDs ¿?

Rsaeire

jackdaw wrote: »

Well i was thinking of the SOny s550 ... it seems to have better stats then the 350 ... in fairness .. i haven't investigated enough ... i just saw it had the audio delay option .. which i want ... + decoding HD audio that my receiver won't do ... what should i look for regarding image quality ? deep color etc ?? ..



and im assuming all bluRays upscale regular DVDs ¿?

Blu-ray players offer almost exactly the same picture quality, with discernible differences between players as a result of post-processing such as DNR (Digital Noise Reduction), edge enhancement etc.

I wouldn’t worry at all about deep colour, as there is currently no deep colour content available on Blu-ray and there probably never will be.

All Blu-ray players upscale DVD, however, the quality in which they do this is generally different between each player.

jackdaw

OK, Owners of the Sony s550 , how is the upscaling ?

jackdaw

That SONY didn't get great reviews ... has backlighting issues apparently ..

Rsaeire

jackdaw wrote: »

That SONY didn't get great reviews ... has backlighting issues apparently ..

Have a read of this thread and this review, regarding the W5500.

jackdaw

Thanks ... it's pretty pricey ... is there any recommendations for a similar size TV different brand , but just as good ... thats cheaper..

?

Rsaeire

jackdaw wrote: »

Thanks ... it's pretty pricey ... is there any recommendations for a similar size TV different brand , but just as good ... thats cheaper..

?

How about the Samsung A656? It’s from Samsung’s 2008 range and it compares very favourably with Sony’s W4000 series.

You can buy it from Powercity for €999.99 with a free Samsung DVD player and you can find a review here.

jackdaw

Thanks ,,, but the sony 4400 series is pretty cheap now aswell ...

I'll see if it'll come down in the next few weeks...

jackdaw

...more confused then ever now ...

Rsaeire

jackdaw wrote: »

Thanks ,,, but the sony 4400 series is pretty cheap now aswell ...

I'll see if it'll come down in the next few weeks...

I thought you were looking for a lower priced, different brand to the Sony W5500, hence my recommendation of the Samsung? Are you simply looking for a cheaper priced Sony TV than the W5500?

jackdaw

If i see a TV with similar specs to the W5500 .. then id like to investigate more ... ideally id like the 40W5500 ... what im complaining about is here in spain it's €1,500 ... on amazon it's about €1,000 ...

jackdaw

incidentally should i seek a 120hz TV as this is compatible with 24fps ?

Rsaeire

jackdaw wrote: »

incidentally should i seek a 120hz TV as this is compatible with 24fps ?

120Hz TVs have a motion compensation feature that enables video content to appear more fluid. For further information have a look at this and read this review to see how the feature fares in real world situations.

jackdaw

The Samsung TV's ... the series 5,6,7 etc ... is this features or age of the TV or both ?


is it worth the extra €€€ for the LED ?

Rsaeire

jackdaw wrote: »

The Samsung TV's ... the series 5,6,7 etc ... is this features or age of the TV or both ?


is it worth the extra €€€ for the LED ?

Th numbering scheme denotes the feature set, whereas the letter denotes the year e.g. A656 2008, B656 2009.

jackdaw

Thanks all for the help ...

I today finally ordered the SAMSUNG LE37B651.

For a non LED it has excellent contrast + IQ.

Good upscaling , + a nice "onboard player" - it can play 1080P mkv movie files, i was going to get a popcorn player for this but now looks like
i wont need it ...

I also got the Sony S550 BD player.

both are being delivered next Friday .

byte

I think it has an MPEG4 DTT tuner aswell which might be handy.

Rsaeire

jackdaw wrote: »

Thanks all for the help ...

I today finally ordered the SAMSUNG LE37B651.

For a non LED it has excellent contrast + IQ.

Good upscaling , + a nice "onboard player" - it can play 1080P mkv movie files, i was going to get a popcorn player for this but now looks like
i wont need it ...

I also got the Sony S550 BD player.

both are being delivered next Friday .

It's no problem at all. I'm glad to hear you bought both the TV and Blu-ray player. Let me know how you get on.

jackdaw

Well back in the hunt ,,, the shop i was buying it from refused my custum cos I'm not Spanish ....


anyway ... I'll probably get the same models ...

jackdaw

anyone else who has a LEXXB65X series ??

let me know how it plays movie files ... I heard somewhere that it plays MKV but to only a certain bit rate ??

so i may get the popcorn media player after all ..

jackdaw

OK so i finally got the Samsung LE40B651 + the Panasonic DMP BD80 ...


TV is great ... when i paly a BD disc the sound is perfectly synced with the TV, but when i have the sound go to the receiver (KENWOOD KRF X9090D) its off a little ... the delay function fixes this ... but could this have anything to do
with the audio from the BD player going out from coaxial ?

should i use bitstream out ?

akaSol

Yes JD its probably the best choice that you have at the moment.
Also try looking at optical as an alternate?

>Sol

jackdaw

hmmm .. bitstream still doesn't remove the delay ?

strange ....