Hi everyone. I am desperately stuck in between selecting a new LCD TV for my new home. My candidates are Sony KDL-46X2000 and Philips 42PF9831D.

Philips is 42" but has great quality and latest technology. Also, awesome design. Ambient color etc. Price is 4800 CHF in toppreise.ch.

Sony has 46" screen but not so very stylish as philips. Also Philips has better image quality. Price is about 5500 CHF in toppreise.ch

I am going to watch the tv from about 3.5m-4m distance. 46" Sony really fills my living room and I really like the screen size. Philips doesnt make bigger than 42 so I am stuck with it. So which one would you choose? the size or the quality/design? any reviews, comments or experiences with these models?

Thanks

Personally I would buy niether of these two. You are in the "premium" price class and not choosing a 1080 (ie HD) model which to be blunt is a bit daft...

Points to note (I believe):

• support for 1080p. Most HD TVs support to 1080i - and it's questionable as to whether this is better than 720p. Consider this in your decision (having 1080p supported)
• what are you going to use as source (now and in the future)?
• do they have Digital tuners? This will be important in 2-3 years

I have a Sony KDL-32S2010 - I am very happy with it and upscale some inputs to 480p (seems to look the best given the CPU in the box, etc). It's also good for watching SD content (Sky, Dreambox).

Sony is full HD 1080.
Philips isnt. But philips has great technology like ClearLCD, PixelPlus3D.
The activation time for LCD pixels is as low as 3ms for Philips.
Sony is at 8ms. When you compare both TVs side by side, Philips has increadibly sharpe image and better colors.

The only reason I am thinking of Sony is because it is 46" and its got full HD panel. The price is just abou 800CHF more than Philips. I really wish Philips had a 46" LCD with same technology.

Do you really think Full HD 1080 is necessary?? The earliest HD broadcast in Switzerland will be towards the end of 2008! Philips is HD ready but its got a 720 panel not 1080. But does it really matter?

1. I dont think one can really distinguish between a 1080p and 720p broadcast. However its good to have the latest technology. Philips is at 720p for now and Sony is at 1080p.

2. The only imput I have is the cablecom digital Tv. No HD or SD input. Both TVs support HD but Sony supports full HD input. I am not sure if it really matters.

3. Both have digital tuners.

Sony KDL-46x2000 comes with the new BraviaEX engine. But somehow Philips ClearLCD looks fantastic and thats what is really putting me into a dilemma.

Lastly, How far do you watch 32" from? The wall is about 3.5-4m away from my seats. Will 42" be okay? 46" really looks great from this distance

I think you should look closely at how the sets handle dual language options. Grundig for example required entry into the sound menu each time and defaults to German when the channel is changed. Phillips and Panasonic allow you to permanently select the second language, so that if it's in English you'll hear it. [That's all for Cablecom analogue.]

I would check this with these or any other TVs you look at.

I have a Panasonic 42" LCD. This is great on sound - piped through the hi-fi and woofer. But the picture sizing is a bit of a pain. In 'Panasonic auto' the only way to watch 16:9 TV using full screen, the picture often changes format itself. With DVDs and SFDRS movies sent in 'Wide' there is no problem, it's just TV. Also DRS need to get their act together on format. The news and many programmes are still in 4:3, jumping all over the pace for the ads...

I view my 32" Bravia from about 3-4m away - I deliberated got this size as it does not impose on the room as much and was replacing a 32" WEGA heavyweight! Plus I have a projector for "proper" viewing

I mentioned 1080p because if you're making a large investment now, you might want to consider how good it'll be once "real" HDTV comes along.

The Sony remembers your choices for 2nd channel sound - but with Cablecom Digital, you'll be doing that via their box (or not).

Sorry I never wrote more before... IF you are going to invest in an LCD panel today then it really makes sense to choose a 1080 panel. It is almost certain that the broadcasters will be using 1080 signals and having seen a 1080i and p side by side the difference is huge. This is similar to saying why bother buying 768 if 480 is cheaper...

And just to be right. Although Cablecom and Swisscom are not broadcasting in HD plenty of other providers are try sky or premiere! Both available in Switzerland

Richard,

I have just checked detailed specs of both LCD TVs. Sony has a 1080 panel however the max. resolution is 1920x1080i but not "p". Same applies for the Philips too. Even though it has a 768p panel the highest resolution is 1920x1080i. I also checked Philips 42PF9731 which has a real 1080p but again the highest resolution is 1920x1080i. So how come non of these, even the real full HD ones, have 1920x1080p resolution??

Try the Sony KDL46XBR2 this along with the other XBRs is 1080p

I guess it is all down to price. The 1080p generally costs more...

I subscibe to T3 magazine, and they reccomend both the Phillips 42PF9831D and the Panasonic TH42PX60 (Plasma)

For the Phillips they say Quote "The Best big LCD . Amblight and networking are ace"

Panasonic Quote "A stunning Television that delivers gorgeous pictures"


Both are highly recomended,
The Sony 46" is not reviewed.
One thing that I see is that the panasonic has 3 scarts compared to the Phillips 2 scarts.

Good luck.
Nick

Richard, I dont think Sony KDL46XBR2 is for sale in Switzerland.
It is currently only available in the US. The top model in here is 46X2000

I have a Samsung 32 inch which I am very happy with, although it is almost a year old now.

Sony and Samsung also have an LCD manufacturing partnership, so the quality of both should be similar. More information is available here:
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/nov2006/gb20061128_546338.htm?chan=tc&chan=technology_tech nology+index+page_more+of+today's+top+stories

1080P is also worth paying more for. If you cant find a set you like which is available, just wait a month or two (if you can).

Also, in Australia at least, LCD TVs have a large mark up, so I would suggest trying to get at least 20% off the price. Not sure how much luck you will have with this in Switzerland however...

I'm looking at buying a LCD TV also. Price and lookswise the SAMSUNG LE-40F71B is looking quite good because it's 1080p and about chf3000 from toppreise.

As a source I use sky+ only, which I will upgrade to sky+ HD, but the HD content I will watch is only likely to be sport and the odd movie, which is only about 20% of my viewing.

My questions:
1) is there a better screen around at a similar price (or lower). (I'd prefer a 42" but these seem much more expensive for 1080p)
2) as 80% of my viewing is in SD, will be upscaling make SD look like a dog's dinner? Would it be better to buy a 720p screen for a better picture 80% of the time and slightly lower-res compromise for 20%?

Thanks in advance for your help.