The following is my opinion on 3 different LCD TV models I have
had experience with in the past 1.5 months.
I went and bought a Sharp Aquos LC52D92U TV. I received it,
and set it up. Wow, what an incredible picture. The colours were
bright and the blacks were...black! Absolutely gorgeous.
However, the drawback was the now infamous "banding" issue.
When I watched a hockey game, there were dark bands that didn't
move on the TV.
So, I exchanged it for a new one. Once
again, beautiful picture, until I watched hockey. This one was
worse than the first. I could actually get vertigo when viewing
a hockey game.
Alas, no more 92U available. So I switched brands to Samsung LNT5271.
Amazing TV. However, the blacks aren't quite as black. The colours
are nice, but the black levels are not nearly the same as the Sharp.
This TV allows me to set different colour, contrast, brightness, etc
levels for each input. The Sharp did not allow that. This TV, unlike
the Sharp and Toshiba I owned previously, does not list the inputs
and then let you select. It figures out what you have plugged in and
then flips through them. I find that annoying.
The other model I looked at was a Sony 52XBR4. Again, a very nice
TV, however, compared to the other two, the colours looked washed
out. I know another who also bought this TV, and theirs too looks
washed out. It is also the most expensive TV out of the bunch.
IMO, Sharp has the nicest TV overall, if they (or you) can get one
without banding. Samsung is second. Sony is third.
ers