HDTV reviews?

I would like to upgrade to an HDTV and, since they are so expensive, i just feel like i should know everything about the tv i am going to buy, every strenght and weakness, just like i would do with an expensive computer, or digital camera, or audio equipment.

Does anybody know a good website where i can find reviews and comparisons between the latest and greatest HDTVs?

ftaok said:

Try avsforum.com

Click to expand...

I took a look at that one, it's not bad, but i was hoping for something more. It's a good start though, if anybody knows other websites please post the links, they are very appreciated.

About inputs, i'm looking for at least two digital connectors, preferably both hdmi, to connect a playstation 3 and an HD satellite receiver. I can do without component since i don't plan to use it (my current dvd player is going to be replaced by the playstation 3).

balamw said:

HDTV is rather dynamic and a bit subjective/personal preference. You can start holy wars where people are stuck on one particular aspect of what makes their TV better than yours.

Click to expand...

That is exactly why i feel the need for some professional, objective reviews before deciding which model i am going to buy.

I don't trust user reviews because they are usually too subjective, especially regarding products like HDTVs, since most people who rate them on amazon, cnet and such only own 1 HDTV set, which is the one they just bought. Therefore their reccomandation is close to being irrelevant.

balamw said:

By the time you make a list of essential features you can't live without and others that are desirable you end up with a pretty short list.

Click to expand...

The minimum requirements that my new HDTV will have to meet are:
1) Low latency (i want to play console games on it)
2) HDMI input
3) 40 to 50 inches screen
4) Flat panel or near flat panel form factor

Everything else is secondary, I am looking for the best picture quality under 5000$.
There are a lot of sets that meet the requirements above, therefore I need some comparisons between multiple HDTVs to determine which one has the better saturation, black levels, contrast, noise reduction, upscaling/downscaling/deinterlacing/edge enhancing algorythms, etc...

The websites of tv makers are obviously useless, they just show some brightness/contrast measurements (often achieved by "cheating" in some tests) and a bunch of weird names that mean nothing (pixel plus? bravia engine ex? truSurround XT?).

Also going to a store is pretty useless too. Limited selection is the biggest problem (at least in my country) and you can't try and feed them with different sources other than the one they are already displaying (which is usually a bad source, like a standard dvd player connected to a 720p native resolution screen through composite).

So yep, I am still thinking I (we) need a good source of reviews to purchase a new HDTV with confidence.

xparaparafreakx said:

So what about the people that have two sets?

Click to expand...

People with 2 or more HDTV sets will be more informative, but still, i would prefer to hear from a team of people that review 4 or 5 new HDTVs each month.

balamw said:

http://www.hdbeat.com is an OK aggregator

Click to expand...

Thank you, every link is appreciated.

I'd prefer not having to import it from another country, but if it's the only way to get what I want, I'm going to try. I can't remember the last time I bought tech stuff from a store in Italy anyway, usually I just look for reviews and order the product from an internet store.

The only difference between european models and U.S. models is that european ones have scart connectors, which can be, more or less, an alternative to component (if the signal passed through the scart is RGB). Anyway, even if it didn't have any scart connector, it would be fine anyway, since I don't plan on using it.

About resolutions, I will get a 1080p set if the price is within range and there is no lag upscaling 720p sources. I hope that playstation 3 will do all the upscaling to 1080p even for games that are rendered in 720p resolution, therefore eliminating the lag problem on every native 1080p screen. I'll know when I get my hands on it, i guess.

Thank you, i will read it right away.