Big pictures stand out from the crowd

IT IS hard to stand out from the crowd in the highly competitive flatscreen television market. While companies attempt to give their products a point of difference with styling and design, under-the-hood specs such as full high definition and decent picture quality are all now quite common.

But manufacturers are channelling more money into research and development to come up with technology’s latest trick. Some of these breakthroughs are starting to surface in displays such as LG’s Time Machine and the new Samsung LED series.

LG Time Machine 50PS80ED

Price: $3699

LG IS not only still supporting the popular plasma format, it has also built in added features and intelligence to make it an even more tempting proposition.

Called the Time Machine, this screen has a built-in 250GB hard drive that can stop and move backward through time. It is part of the DVR (digital video recorder) that, along with the help of the digital tuner, can pause and rewind live TV.

Instead of taking up another shelf in your entertainment system with a DVR, LG has incorporated this feature into the full high definition 1920×1080, 127cm (50-inch) panel.

The 250GB storage is enough room for 23hours of high-definition recordings or 57hours of standard definition programs. Other advantages of a built-in DVR are the need for less cables and not using up another point on the powerboard.

From an aesthetic point of view, the LG Time Machine has a stylish frameless design so the glass covering the screen goes from edge to edge.

For our testing we connected the LG 50PS80ED to full high-definition sources such as a Blu-ray player and agaming console — and we were pleased to see the natural colour that plasma is known for.

With a listed contrast ratio of 2,000,000:1 we expected the contrast to be first class and it was, although no better than panels with much lower-listed contrast ratios. But watching free-to-air high-definition TV, we noticed a little noise in the picture, leading us to believe the tuner on our review unit was letting the team downslightly.

There were no other complaints, especially watching sports with a smooth picture providing a fine viewing experience. A USB 2.0 connection means users can also display content from a thumb drive or view pictures and videos from a digital camera.

LG’s other models in the range — the PS70 — available in 127cm (50-inch; $3299) and152cm (60-inch; $5999) might not have abuilt-in hard drive but come with Time Machine Link.

This means owners can add their own hard drive with a capacity of 40GB and above and enjoy all the features of LG’s Time Machine.

For convenience, the LG Time Machine will be an attractive option for customers looking for a quality all-in-one solution.

Samsung Series 7 LED

Price: $3899 101cm (40-inch); $4699 116cm (46-inch); $5799 139cm (55-inch)

When Samsung introduced its LED panels to the market, it labelled them as a new breed of television. The new technology is mainly the result of a redesigned backlight system, which does away with the fluorescent lamps used with LCD panels and replaces them with white LEDs (light emitting diodes). White LEDs use less energy while offering more brightness for more precise colour and contrast. Adding a new concept to this, the Samsung engineers positioned the lighting system around the edges of the screen instead of behind the panel.

This means the screen can be much slimmer less than 3cm thick, in fact. And what makes that even more impressive is that it can still achieve a waif-like appearance, even with the full HD tuner on board.

The thinner design also makes it an easier option to wall-mount the panel and a new mounting system makes that task as easy as hanging a painting.

In the looks department, the Samsung Series 7 LED is a stunner — with its crystal design framed by a transparent edge which was inspired by the reflective qualities of a water drop.

But it is when viewers switch on the Series7 that the real quality is seen.

The black levels were as good as we have ever seen on a LCD screen and up there with the finest plasma panels.

Contrast was also exceptional, with life-like colours and an even, natural colour distribution that wasn’t over-compensated with too much brightness.

And with 100Hz motion-plus technology behind the screen, we saw smooth pictures even when watching sport.

We noticed only the slightest motion judder but this was negligible when considering the overall picture quality.

Even though it is thin, the Samsung Series 7 LED still boasts excellent connectivity with four HDMI slots, a USB 2.0 and Ethernet connection. Having the panel connected to a router means it can access information such as weather and even YouTube.

Ninemsn content will be available through the panel from next month.

Another benefit of having the TV on a home network is that, through DLNA (digital living and network alliance) compatibility, it can access content from other compliant devices such as other computers and network hard drives.

There is also a built-in content library aboard the Series 7 so viewers can access a variety of things including a gallery of beautiful images and paintings, recipes, games and even fitness programs.

The Samsung Series 7 LED panel is a winner for anyone looking for quality in all departments, from design to picture quality.