Best HDTV 2011-2012?: The Complete Guide

Improvement in HDTV technology has been pretty impressive over the last few years.

The war between top LED and plasma screens is delivering crisper images with less blur. 3D is now very affordable (but only worthwhile if you can find good 3D movies to enjoy).

TV's are bigger, thinner and more completely integrated with cable, satellite and internet services.

Smart TV with internet connectivity and genuinely useful apps is now standard in the higher price ranges.

So what is new in 2012 and what are the big improvements?

How to Choose a Hi Def TV

• Local dimming is superior to edge lit displays.
• LED back-lighting is superior to the older-style florescent tube back-lighting.
• Refresh rate is important for low blur and avoiding eye strain. The best TV's now offer 600 MHz
• WiFi is more convenient than cables for Smart TV's
• Everyone loves thin
• Full internet browsing is now possible with a few models

Want the Very Best Picture? Look out for THX

Not many TV's get THX certification. Stringent tests are applied to make sure the TV shows a movie with a true-to-cinema quality. This means the colors are accurate, the black level (one of the most difficult and important effects) is true and the screen performs evenly with no areas of low or high light.

Features

Apart from picture quality, price and reliability, there are a host of features that feed into any decision. There is a TV out there that will slot perfectly into your home entertainment system and there is one that is perfect for the kids. There is 3D TV and Internet-ready TV. There is also one that will mesh most easily with your Slingbox, Tivo, camcorder, smartphone, iPod and iPad.

In fact, for many people it is ease of integration with their existing entertainment systems that will decide what they buy.

Smart TV advances in 2012

Internet-ready TV's have been offering games, movies, music, useful weather and news widgets and plenty of shopping opportunities for a long time. Many manufacturers are now following Sony's lead and offering full internet browsing.

This year will see LG offering Google TV on at least one TV in its range. Vizio is offering the VAP430 Stream Player which will allow full browsing on its TV's. Sony will continue to sell their Internet TV Blu-ray player for around $200.

Samsung has the new 'Smart Internet Portal' with a usable web browser.

You will need broadband, of course, to get any of these services.

One consequence of these developments will be the increasing importance of TV apps. All makers offer some apps already, but there will be more and more available from Google's Android Market.

Best Plasma in 2012?

Panasonic: still top of the tree?

Panasonic has long been regarded as the top maker of plasma-screen HDTV's and has delivered some significant improvements this year.

The top line is the VT50 with 55-inch and 60-inch models.

VT50 features Vierra Smart TV, WiFi connectivity, Skype, 2D to 3D conversion, and full 3D playback from Blu-ray or 3D cable channels. All plasmas offer a wider viewing angle compared to LCD's and more natural gradation of color (though the softness of plasma does not appeal to everyone).

Improvements on 2011 offerings include:

• Less motion blur and better still-image display courtesy of 600HZ Sub-field Drive. You can read the maker's name on a football as it leaves a kicker's boot.
• Better speakers. Many people use surround-sound systems, of course, but the speaker improvements will be welcomed by many.
• Blacker blacks. The Infinite Black Pro Panel delivers genuine black even in daylight and the improvement is noticeable, especially in dramatic night scenes where false rendering can kill the moment.
• 24p 3D. The '24' means 24 frames per second and p stands for progressive. 24p offers a big improvement previous resolutions and gives less jitter. This is one of the few TV's to be awarded the THX3D stamp of approval which mean it displays 3D at a standard you would find a good movie house.
• A good price for a big 55-inch screen at less than $1500

Samsung Plasma- best Plasma TV for Surfing?

Samsung is selling more and more plasma TV's. This year's star model is the 50-inch PN51D8000 with 3D, 1080p res, 600 Hz and Wi-Fi.

What sets it apart is the Smart Hub Internet portal with QWERTY keyboard. There are a lot of apps and a very usable web browser.

The only downside is price. It is more expensive than the larger Panasonic model above, at around $1800.

Don't care about Smart TV, WiFi or 3D? Try LG

LG offer the no-frills, but well-priced (and huge!) 60-Inch 60PA6500. Picture quality is very good with a 1080p resolution and 600 Hz. The onboard speakers are a little below average but no issue if you have surround sound speakers.

At around $1200 this is an affordable centerpiece for a home entertainment set-up.

Best value LED in 2012?

Panasonic Vierra LCD/LED

While Samsung has been catching up with Panasonic in plasma tech, Panasonic has been quietly establishing themselves in Samsung's LED territory.

With lack lustre offerings from Sony (only 10 models and edge lit!) and quality control issues affecting Samsung's early models, the Vierra line is looking good for best overall LCD/LED HDTV in 2012.

Don't expect a web browser or huge screens from this product line, however.

What Vierra Does and Does not Offer

One thing to note is that the biggest screens on offer from Panasonic are 55 inches so if you are looking for a 60 or 70 inch monster Panasonic will not satisfy.

Also there is no web browser included with the Smart TV.

Apart from these drawbacks there is plenty to get excited about.

Smart TV

All the usual widgets and apps for downloading Movies

Media Player

All but the smallest Panasonic TV's have a media center built in. This means you can slip in an SD card or USB stick and play music and videos or view photos.

WIFi

Again only the smaller models lack WiFi so you stream content from a PC. You will need to buy a seperate LAN adapter, however.

178 Degree Viewing Angle

This is as good as you will get with an LED TV right now and a big improvement on earlier models.

Price

Vierra prices are very affordable with a 37-inch model at not much more than $500.

Money No Object? Want absolutely the Best Picture Quality?Try the Sharp Elite Pro-60x5fd

If the price tag of four and a half thousand dollars does not deter you and you want to leave behind all the imperfections of the average HDTV, the Sharp Elite is the model most likely to satisfy.

The full array local dimming LED display gets the blacks right and keeps bleed through to a minimum.

The Internet ready features are adequate with streaming video from the likes of Amazon, Netflix and Vudu.

The 3D is impressive and you get two pairs of glasses supplied.

Best HDTV's from 2011

Prices are falling...

Panasonic VIERA bargains including 3D Plasma Hi Def TV's- THX-Certified and Selling for around a thousand dollars

There are always bargains to be found on older models as the new ones roll out. A THX certified TV is always going to deliver a good viewing experience and when you can pick up a 50 inch screen for around $1000 with Smart TV, it is worth exploring.

Smaller 720p models have fallen as low as $400.

Best LCD HDTV?

LG INFINIA 55LE8500 55-Inch with THX Certification

If you want an LED TV with absolutely the best available picture quality the LG Infinia line will deliver. It has passed the 200 tests required to get THX certification and it offers the best experience for movies of any LED TV.

It also boasts one of the slimmest designs and great connectivity with 2 USB ports for playing back MP3 audio, JPEG photo and DivX HD video files.

Internet connectivity comes courtesy of LG's Netcast.

Sound is high quality too with 20-watt stereo speakers and Dolby Digital decoding. There are four HDMI inputs, so no problem connecting in your favorite entertainment devices.

Best HDTV for Home Entertainment Center?

Vizio XVT553SV- Great connectivity and Features.

If you are looking for a top-quality LED TV as the center-piece of a home entertainment system, this Vixia has all the options for painless hook up.

• Dual-band Wi-Fi or Ethernet for internet connection from VIZIO Internet Apps
• 5 HDMI, 3 USB, 1 Ethernet, 1 component, 1 composite, 1 PC, 1 RF, 1 optical digital output plus 1 audio output
• Smart Dimming to adjust brightness automatically
• Detachable base
• Bluetooth remote with slide-out QWERTY keyboard

Best Value HDTV from 2011 under a $1000?

LG 42LE5400 42-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LED HDTV with Netcast Internet

LG is not the biggest name in TV despite its top LCD's in the Infinia line mentioned above. As a company, LG are still trying to establish itself and that means good pricing for products that often offer more than the more expensive big names.

Their 42-inch LE5400 delivers on picture quality and features as well as price. If you check around the buyer reviews at places like Buy.com or Amazon, some of the comments you will see regularly are 'wow', 'underrated' 'great TV for the price'- all of these apply in spades to the LE5400 which has some of the highest customer satisfaction ratings around.

A few of the features:

• Internet-ready
• Matte screen (why watch TV in a mirror?)
• Top quality IPS screen viewable from a wide angle
• Smart Dimming automatically controls brightness to match room light
• You can find it online for less than $900

The downside? Compared to the most expensive models there is some back-lighting, bleed-through and the TV would never get THX certification.

Other Great Value Models from 2011 Worth a Thought

Samsung LN40C630 40-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV

People love TVs that deliver beyond their expectations. This Samsung does that and it is one of the most popular buys in the sub $1000 category.

It is not Internet-ready, it does not have 3D or THX but it does have a big-screen quality, blur-free video courtesy of a high refresh rate and 1080p technology. Audio is better than most in its price bracket with 10-watts speakers.

Connection options are above average too with:

• 4 HDMI inputs
• 2 USB ports
• PC input

JVC LT-32J300 32-inch LCD TV

A 32 inch model is plenty big enough for a smaller room and recommended if you are going to be sitting closer than ten feet. The JVC here is a great computer monitor and highly recommended for gaming. It will skip between the various resolutions required at speed and has plenty of inputs and outputs.

Best Kids TV? Panasonic TC-L22X2 22 inch 720p LCD HDTV with iPod Dock

For a small room, kitchen or kid's bedroom the 22 inch TC-L22X2 is great value at around $200. There is an iPod Dock to supply personalized entertainment. A single HDMI input limits the TV to secondary roles but then- it is small and light and the picture is pretty good. Video playback is 720p and good enough HD for a 22-inch.