Is it worth it? Sharp Aquos 42" 120Hz

Whatigot · #1 02-03-2009, 06:07 PM

sharp is one of the most innovative companies when it comes to LCD.
they damn near invented them.
One of the first companies to incorporate it into a home entertainment application and THE first to commercially produce an LCD (remember those blue lit calculators?)

I'd buy one of the aquos in a second, especially the 120hz ones.
You cannot get a good feel for tv to tv comparison unless they are dialed in the exact same way and operating off the exact same feed, even then different tvs will display differently which is not indicative of quality.

I worked at soundsaround in Calgary for 2 years, so I do have some general knowledge of what we tell you to buy certain things.
Future shop might not get commision, but believe me, the reps wil motivate with hockey tickets, free merchandise and the like for selling more of their units.

NEVER believe a salesman, no matter how much you like what they have to say.
Trust me, we're all crooks.

BlueAbyss · #2 02-03-2009, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whatigot

I'd buy one of the aquos in a second, especially the 120hz ones.
You cannot get a good feel for tv to tv comparison unless they are dialed in the exact same way and operating off the exact same feed, even then different tvs will display differently which is not indicative of quality.

NEVER believe a salesman, no matter how much you like what they have to say.
Trust me, we're all crooks.

+1 to both of these...

Your best bet would be to find a store that sells Sharp, Panasonic, and Samsung and compare similar models. Find one with a picture you like or features you like, and buy that one.

Contrast ratio isn't really a 'myth' as such but is overused as a rating of how bright the picture is. The contrast ratio isn't really how bright the image is, it's the difference between the brightest white and the darkest black... And there is no true black on LCD screens, because even when all the pixels are dark some light leaks through. Specially if you are at an angle to the screen...

I personally would look for one with really REALLY dark blacks, and with minimal colour shifting when viewed at an angle. LCDs are quirky that way, because of the tiny moving crystals in the display... Can't wait for OLEDs to take over in a couple years. Maybe

Whatigot · #3 02-03-2009, 06:41 PM

yeah, it's 100% personal opinion.
Don't let brand or price point dictate what appeals to your eye.
you have different eyes than the salesman, and will probably use your tv differently from him, so wtf does he/she know?

Phanman · #4 02-03-2009, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whatigot

You cannot get a good feel for tv to tv comparison unless they are dialed in the exact same way and operating off the exact same feed, even then different tvs will display differently which is not indicative of quality.

NEVER believe a salesman, no matter how much you like what they have to say.
Trust me, we're all crooks.

Well I would assume its getting the same feed since all the TVs on display are showing the same picture. Or at least the same row of TV's should be getting the same feed.

You should of heard the sales guy pitch for it and how he excused why the picture quality was so grainy? He asked me to stand back 10 feet and then said it looks much better from this point. Of course you cant see the grains from that distance but it shouldnt be like that anyways. I can stand 2 feet from from the samsung 7 series and see no pixelation on it.

Anyways Im sure this TV is pretty good, but after looking at the samsung series there is no compairson in my mind.

Whatigot · #5 02-03-2009, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phanman

Well I would assume its getting the same feed since all the TVs on display are showing the same picture. Or at least the same row of TV's should be getting the same feed.

You should of heard the sales guy pitch for it and how he excused why the picture quality was so grainy? He asked me to stand back 10 feet and then said it looks much better from this point. Of course you cant see the grains from that distance but it shouldnt be like that anyways. I can stand 2 feet from from the samsung 7 series and see no pixelation on it.

Anyways Im sure this TV is pretty good, but after looking at the samsung series there is no compairson in my mind.

You will see that some tvs in the same row are spliced 10 - 15 times and some only 1 or 2.
Never assume, thats what they want you to do.

Jason McK · #6 02-03-2009, 07:43 PM

Sorry for some reason I thought this was about the Sony. I do not have a Sharp but the Sony Bravia

Phanman · #7 02-03-2009, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whatigot

You will see that some tvs in the same row are spliced 10 - 15 times and some only 1 or 2.
Never assume, thats what they want you to do.

Good point, but that would be pretty silly to splice it 20 ways and have it sit beside cheaper tv's thats only split 1 or 2 ways that look better.

I dunno, going with the sumsung either way thou. Just got to save up abit more cash.

VFX · #8 02-03-2009, 08:22 PM

A good way to audition the units you're interested in, is side by side in a separate auditioning room using the same set of sources.

I did this & ended up choosing the Sharp.

I tried Blu-Ray, Shaw HD & SD DVD sources to make my comparisons & viewed the displays with high & low ambient light conditions.

Sharp's colours were not as natural as the Samsung's but the depth of blacks & the overall sharpness won me over.

The Samsung was slightly better in high ambient light conditions.

The big box stores refused to let me audition the units like this but I found a Visions dealer wiling to set it up for me & also willing to match any locally advertised price.

.

Phanman · #9 02-03-2009, 08:38 PM

I was going to say who would actually let you do that, but thats pretty nice of visions to haul around TV's and set them up so you can do a comparison.

VFX · #10 02-03-2009, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phanman

I was going to say who would actually let you do that, but thats pretty nice of visions to haul around TV's and set them up so you can do a comparison.

They helped me to shortlist 3 sets & hooked it up in one of their rooms for me.

The room had a Bravia hooked up so moving 2 displays from the showroom wasn't too much hassle & I did drop a couple of thousand on a HT system with them previously.

It helps the customer that times are hard I guess...

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