OLED TV, it’s the future. Well that is what we’ve been told for the last 5 years, at least. However, it seems to have taken longer than anticipated for the technology to mature and develop and yet, even now, large screen sizes are still technically difficult to manufacture, with an acceptable lifespan and failure rate. Smaller screen sizes are now a commercial reality with Sony having released a model two years ago and now LG is coming to the fore and launching this 15 inch version at an eye watering £1,900 (approx).

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It feels like it was a few years ago now when I was last excited to this degree with a TV display. The market and the large numbers of TVs we get for review here tend to leave you a little jaded when there is not a lot to separate products these days. The last big thing that got me so enthusiastic was the Pioneer panels and they haven’t been available for quite some time now. This little OLED TV offers a real step forward in terms of picture quality and comes as standard with a slim design. It is frustrating that we have been waiting for OLED for about the last 5 years, or so, with baited breath. This panel shows us what is possible but will we ever get to see it in large screen sizes and will it still offer this kind of performance when added to such large screen sizes? We certainly hope that is the case.

In terms of usability, this panel will be relegated to a kitchen or bedroom monitor for the more affluent of readers. For everyone else, it is a technology preview that proves the concept of OLED technology and just makes us wish that manufacturers would get the finger out and get the large screen sizes into production now!

Philips has had a habit of doing things their own way and releasing TVs with features not seen from any other manufacturer. Just look at their 21:9 LCD TV, for example. But doing things your own way can sometimes fly in the face of how things should be done. So with that in mind we take a look at a new 7000 series TV from the company, the PFL7605.

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It’s clear that Philips want to do things their own way when it comes to HDTVs and that shows with the features included here and the results from them. There seems to be technology for technologies’ sake with this TV yet none of that goes towards producing an accurate image for content reproduction. The Philips really will appeal to those who want to go their own way and have a picture that is personal preference ahead of accuracy.

Most of the technology also seems to exist to help the marketing department. This is frustrating to see as HD finally gives users the chance to see their content as it should be seen. Added to this is the lacklustre image quality in the best out of the box settings and a lack of absolute contrast. This affects the black levels and shadow detailing that should be present, plus, the uneven screen uniformity that is easily seen even in bright viewing conditions. With our retail model there were also issues with light pooling from the edge LED backlight.

The PFL7605 offers a slim design and average image quality. It is a rather uninspiring display that doesn’t offer the AV enthusiast or mass market anything they can’t get elsewhere done better for about the same money. Disappointing.

Having looked at the very impressive budget CCFL based EX403 a few weeks ago we turn our attention to the EDGE LED KDL-40EX703 model.

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As with any consumer TV there are major plus points mixed with some negatives. The out of the box image quality is good with accurate enough colours and greyscale performance. There is a slight blue cast to the image but nothing that will stand out for most viewers and consumers. The design is also slick and the added internet features are actual worth spending some time with.

However we balance this with the issues of uneven screen uniformity that does show up even with very bright images. There is a striping effect to the backlight which shows up as slight banding. Plus the off-axis viewing angles are not the widest and image quality does fall off quite quickly as you move to the sides. As always we would recommend you demo this set to see if the issues are important to you and your viewing habits and environment.

Overall the Sony EX703 offers good image accuracy with strong black levels and good dynamic range when set up correctly and viewed direct. The design is also appealing with a slim body and good looks that won’t feel out of place in most living rooms. Plus the addition of a Freeview HD tuner and some genuinely interesting internet video applications make the Sony an appealing proposition and is good enough to bag our recommended badge. However, make sure to note the slight issues mentioned and demo the TV before purchase if it interests you.

Everybody wants everything these days. Each year the consumer electronics industry feeds us with new reasons to render our latest pride and joy obsolete, which gives us ever-lengthening lists of features that (we think) we need. The problem is that expectations are so high we get upset when we don’t get it. Receivers seem to be bearing the brunt of this, as they, not the TV, are at the centre of our AV systems these days, and this is where the burden of expectation tends to lie.

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I came away with the impression that Onkyo had a big tool-box to draw on when developing AV receivers. They decide what the want for each point in the market, then work within a budget to get the best mix of performance and functionality. With too many features to even list in a review, this must be a difficult juggling act. Receivers are the ultimate jack-of-all-trades these days, but it seems the SR608 isn’t actually trying to be all things to all men. It focuses on being an HD AV receiver, rather than being a stereo amp or a media player or video processor or whatever. It doesn’t try to be good at everything, but gets its act together with what it needs to do – playing movie soundtracks well. It’s also relatively easy to set-up and convenient to use day to day. If you have £450 to spend on a movie-centric AVR that won’t become obsolete in a year’s time, you’re unlikely to regret spending it on the TX-SR608

With all the ‘Quattron’ advertising in the press and online, and with Sulu on the TV, you could be forgiven for thinking that Sharp were repositioning themselves as a high-end, high price, brand. But as you can see from the model we have here for review, the Aquos range of TVs for 2010 also includes the more usual budget fair from Sharp. Gone are the high quality finish, yellow subpixel and enormous price tag and instead we have a TV that will be sold exclusively through Dixons and Currys branches.

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It truly is the first time in a long while that I have been utterly exasperated at the resulting image quality of an HDTV. Every model we have looked at so far in 2010 has had at least very basic calibration controls and one preset where an attempt at an accurate colour gamut has been made. After all, if you want to watch content as it should be seen that is the main aim of any TV. Just not this Sharp; which has a poorly performing panel in terms of colour gamut and no adjustment control available at all. And it is the skewed gamma that kills the image dynamics. Very poor. It may be cheap but it is also one to avoid if you value image quality that is accurate and natural.

Phil Hinton tests the flagship 3D LED LCD from LG and is pleasantly surprised at the results…

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The LX9900 is an impressive display for a number of reasons. It is a beautiful object to look at with its slim design and super thin bezel, plus it has neat features like the magic motion remote and full calibration controls. It uses the latest LED technology that doesn’t impact on image quality in any great way, and it can produce some pretty solid, accurate looking images. It is also the first 3DTV to be released by LG for consumers and offers a very good 3D experience with a range of content that only occasionally suffers from artefacts like crosstalk.

However, as with every TV on the market, there are issues to be aware of. The glass screen can be extremely reflective in a bright room, there are issues with backlight banding on some uniform images, and off-axis viewing can produce halo effects that are visible from about 30 degrees or more to the screen. These issues may not be a big deal for the vast majority of users but if you consider yourself a videophile, who has to have a screen for absolute accurate viewing, you may be better looking elsewhere for absolute image quality.

The other issue to think about is the value of the 3D playback of this TV. If you are just not interested in 3D, but want the same slim design and image quality, you are probably better looking at the LE8900. This is basically the same TV but without the 3D technology, although the LE8900 does also have the more accurate THX picture preset out of the box, which the LX9900 doesn’t offer. As they say the choice is yours.

Overall I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of 2D image on offer from the LX9900 and its good 3D playback skills. It’s not perfect, and it does cost a lot, but if you want good accurate images, a nice slim design and 3D to boot, we recommend you go and demo the LX9900.

Over the last few years I have been impressed by LG’s attempts to both produce more accurate displays and include comprehensive calibration controls. Obviously LG has had no choice but to jump on the same band wagons as the other manufacturers and this has seen them introduce 200Hz processing, LED backlighting, ultra slim designs, localised dimming and internet functionality. However LG has also tried to keep the image as accurate as possible and this has led to them introducing ISFccc controls, 10 point greyscale calibration and colour management systems. The 47LE8900 represents the best of LG’s 2D design and as well as all the previously mentioned features, it also includes an IPS panel, a Freeview HD tuner and THX certification, so let’s see how this impressively specified display handles our rigorous review process.

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The LG 47LE8900 is an attractive and well designed display that not only has one of the best out of the box performances I have ever measured but is also capable of a reference quality image after calibration. LG are to be congratulated for concentrating on image accuracy instead of unnecessary marketing gimmicks, it’s a shame that more manufacturers don’t take this approach. LG should also be applauded for including both a THX preset and full ISFccc controls for those that want a professional calibration. The 47LE8900 is also remarkable for managing to include a full array of 240 locally dimming LED backlights into a chassis less than 4cm deep, resulting in excellent blacks and a very uniform backlight. In addition the off axis performance is excellent thanks to the use of an IPS panel and the menu system is also very well designed.

In fact there really isn’t much wrong with the 47LE8900 and my only real complaints relate to issues such as slight banding on some material, the failure to detect 2:2 cadence correctly, the slightly inferior video deinterlacing, limited internet capabilities, slightly high input lag for gaming and the positioning of the rear inputs.

In conclusion the 47LE8900 is an excellent display that combines attractive looks with one of the best images I have seen from a LCD TV and it is definitely worth a demo if it’s in your price range.

At the inaugural National Hi-fi Show, in 2009, there were some impressive demonstrations, in what was a stereo hi-fi dominated show. It wasn’t without its AV highlights with several traditional hi-fi, plus some more naturally AV focused manufacturers, demoing full multi-channel systems to varying degrees of success. As I wrote on the AV Enthusiast Blog, the top performing room of that list, by more than a small margin, was the Anthem/Paradigm/Sim2 room.

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Reference Status. There, I said it. You can’t mark it down for being hard to move because so is my wife and I still keep her about. Like the wife, in just about every other respect, it’s just so damn easy to live with. Whereas other subs may have you fiddling about with separate movie and music settings to bypass their deficiencies, you just plug the Sub 1 in, tune it once, put the microphones away and sit grinning like a nun who’s found the soap; for hours on end. I never thought that movies needed a bit more bass or that music sounds a little bloated – It just did accurate bass, as loud or low as you could want, and then stopped exactly when it wasn’t being asked to anymore. It never drew attention to itself in an unpleasant way; it turns itself on and off without missing the beginning of an effect; and looks gorgeous in any front room. If only it was a bit bigger and more powerful, so as to go a bit deeper, then it would achieve as close to bass perfection as I can imagine. Oh dear! Paradigm may have; with 10” drivers and 3400/7000w of power and called it Sub 2. I think I may actually be scared…

With so much fuss made about the launch of Apple’s latest gadget, Andrew Mogford sat back for a week with his own iPad to give us his in-depth thoughts; so what was the outcome?

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Despite these flaws the iPad is an absolutely gorgeous device that has attracted envious glances from everyone I have shown it to. The problem for Apple when positioning it in the market is that it is very much designed to be the second device in peoples’ homes. It will not replace the laptop or PC – it is quite simply incapable of doing so. What it will do very nicely though is bring web browsing, simple document creation and editing, and media consumption to the sofa and the bedroom. If you are the kind of person who will entertain the possibility of reading your daily paper on the device, will surf on the way to work, is prepared to transfer your reading habits into the digital world, and struggles to get time on the PC in your home then this is the device for you. But realistically, in a time of recession, I do not feel that the iPad is yet ready to reach out into the mass market. Unlike the iPhone which revolutionised a market and was always likely to attract a wide user base, the iPad is likely to remain a niche market for the next year at least. A gorgeous, exciting, sexy, well designed niche for sure. Whether it will ever break out of this market will depend on either adding extra functionality or dropping significantly in price.

Apple have astounded the early adopters – the question is where do they go from here? I look forward to finding out.

Panasonic, like many other manufacturers, has begun to roll out their 2010 lineup in anticipation of this month’s World Cup and the TX-L37V20B is one of the most anticipated. The TX-L37V20B represents the apex of current LCD display design incorporating as it does an IPS panel for improved off-axis performance, LED Edge backlighting, Internet TV, Freesat HD and Freeview HD. With features like that the TX-L37V20B can certainly be considered a flagship model but does its performance measure up to the specs, let’s see.

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The Panasonic TX-L37V20B represents the apogee of current LCD display technology and incorporates many performance enhancing features. The use of an IPS panel means that the off-axis performance of the TX-L37V20B is much better than those using standard VA panels and the LED backlighting results in a ultra thin and energy efficient display. The out of box performance is excellent when using the True Cinema preset and is in fact the best I’ve seen to date on an LCD TV. When you include the ISFccc controls you can calibrate the image of the TX-L37V20B to reference standard and for this Panasonic is to be congratulated; it is good to see a company delivering excellent images along with all the bells and whistles. As far as the bells and whistles go the TX-L37V20B is an embarrassment of riches which includes Freesat HD, Freeview HD, Internet TV, DLNA certification, DivX VOD and Dolby Digital Plus. Panasonic even include a WiFi dongle which is a nice touch.


The TX-L37V20B isn’t perfect of course, as is often the case there is always a compromise somewhere along the line. The use of an IPS panel means that the off-axis performance is much better than most of LCD displays but the black levels could be a little better. Also the use of LED Edge backlighting might mean the display is ultra thin and energy efficient but the backlight uniformity could be a little better too. Given the otherwise excellent video processing it really is time that Panasonic fixed the cadence detection issues that plague all their displays. My only other complaints are fairly minor ones relating to the position of the rear inputs and making the menus more calibrator friendly.

Ultimately though the TX-L37V20B provides some of the best out of the box images I have seen to date from an LCD TV and this coupled with the excellent features and very reasonable price means that I have no hesitation in giving this display a Best Buy award.

The final jigsaw piece in Panasonic’s high end plasma line up has arrived for review at AVForums. The V20 Plasma sits just under the flagship VT20 3D TV and above the G20 in this year’s range. So what are the differences between the models now we finally have the V20 available and is it just a VT20 with the 3D stripped out?

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The Panasonic V20 plasma has lived up to its made for movies marketing by producing some of the best images we have seen this year on any TV. If you want this picture quality and 3D together then you should certainly look at the VT20, which we reviewed last month, but if it’s just the best quality TV and film playback you want – with the deepest black levels ever seen on a Panasonic plasma, this is the TV for you.

It has its little issues here and there, which I have mentioned in the review above, and, of course, we are still not sure exactly what the effects of any black level rise will have on the 2010 screens. However, with all that said, the V20 equals its big brother in the 2D TV picture stakes and only narrowly misses out on pipping our reference Kuro screen.

If you want deep blacks, accurate colours and excellent motion resolution then the V20 offers these things in spades. It’s one of the best TVs currently available for accurate picture quality and comes highly recommended.