LG 32LG80UR– 32 Inch LCD JAZZ TV
After a few days of researching on models of popular makes like Sony, Samsung, Panasonic & LG, I bought this Tv Today. Only Sony, Samsung & LG has the largest range of versions ranging 10000:1 to 50000:1 contrast ratio one of the most important criteria in LCD televisions. The other is the response time measured in Milli seconds which is 5ms one of the lowest. After carefully watching different versions of contract ratio, the best are from 15000:1 to 30000:1. The difference between 30000:1 & 50000:1 is not much at least visible to the human eye. Hence, it is a waste if you will be using normal analog cable / digital cable or DTH services in India. Though the higher versions offer true high definition capability of 1920 x 1080, this format is not currently available in India and is very rarely used. So buying a top end model is waste of money with many never-to-use features. However, there is visible difference between a 10000:1 & 15000:1 contrast level versions. Here LG & Samsung offer best value for the price. After all, Samsung is the largest manufacturer of LCD panels in the world. Even Sony uses Samsung panels. The second is LG-Philips(Forbes.com).
Though LG was the last choice in my list, I must confess I bought it mostly due to advice from a well-known friend who has been using LG products for the last 6-7 years and has received the best service to his satisfaction. Any product can develop problems. Hence, after sales service should be counted while purchasing a product. Fujifilm makes one of the best and technologically most advanced digital cameras in the world. However, they are notorious for their after sales service and total dis-regard to their customers particularly in India. That is one of the most important reasons why even the dealers refuse to sell Fuji products
The specifications for various models are available in the company’s website.
LG: in.lge.com
Sony: Sony.co.in
Samsung: Samsung.com
Hence, I shall try to stick to my observations and most important details. Aesthetically, I feel Sony is slightly better looking though, the brick red edges gives LG a unique look. This is the speaker port, which according to the website comes out only when the TV is switched on and retracts back inside the casing when switched off. BUT this does not happen in this model. Probably, this is only Model that has two woofers speakers for low bass sound output and offer sub-woofer connectivity. It also has 500W output that is adequate for a reasonable large room. It has also various sound setting like standard/ cinema/ music/ game / SRS-TSXT / clear voice etc. Hence, one can choose the sound quality according to ones liking. This basically works as a pre-set equalizer
Apart from the usual TV / AV 2 nos/ PC – display / HDMI – 2 numbers and USB port which needs no conversion unlike other makes. All the functions related to menu functions that are available on the remote could be done on the TV itself that is a great relief in case of damage to the remote.
The HDMI offered in this model is 1366 X 766p that is a compromise between the low end 1080X 720p & true HDMI 1920 x 1080. I have not been able to test this since I do not have a DVD player with true HD capability.
Presently I have connected to the Asianets(Hathway) Cable digital box. Though the picture is smooth, it quality is far from the reality. The main difference I have noted the blotching of the image. This could be common to all the manufactures of LCD TV’s. Various manufactures uses different jargons to describe picture enhancement technologies they use. Since I also work with digital cameras and image corrections. The method used is basically noise reduction and enhancement algorithms. The low-resolution images transmitted by the common networks particularly in India, the blown to a larger size. This results in stretching of the image. Filters and enhancers fill the missing pixels to compensate for the loss. This results in the blotchy look. Only images & films produced in higher resolution can be seen decently in its true clarity on these televisions
The above blotching is not seen when laptop was connected. I looked at a few images and videos taken from a Cannon camera. The images were crisp and displayed just like what we see on our computer screen. So also was the video clippings. Both did not show any signs of additional filtering applied. This indicates that only low quality images from the cable / DTH are being processed. Even the effects differ from channel to channel.
Continued in Part 2