Best Picture HDTV

By Shifali Rao . Last updated Aug 2, 2013.

High definition television is innovating so fast today that it's getting quite hard to catch up with, and the whooping 1080p is no longer the highest res in the market. The picture quality of an HDTV depends on several factors including the resolution of the TV as well as the content being displayed and the majority of television content right now is either 1080i or 720p although there is some 1080p stuff too. Since most HDTVs are full HD, there's no doubt that your HDTV can upconvert all that into 1080p but remember that this only content that is scaled up to look better than its original form. It can not compare to the picture clarity of actual 1080p content.

This article is dedicated mainly to customers whose primary concern is the picture quality of their television, so we'll deal with just LED and plasma TVs since LCD sets don't really enter the competition. LED TVs use Light Emitting Diodes as their backlight and are the best TVs for bright rooms. To try and match their plasma TV competitors in terms of picture contrast, LED manufacturers began to use a feature called Local Dimming in their televisions. This mechanism gives your TV control over separate groups of LEDs rather than the LED panel as a whole. so they can be dimmed or even turned off to bring in a richer contrast. This is definitely a must have feature if your want good display. Furthermore, depending on how these LEDs are placed on the panel, LED TVs are of two types: Direct-lit and Edge-lit. Direct-lit LED TVs have the diodes placed directly behind the screen while their Edge-lit counterparts have the LEDs placed all around the frame of the TV. Direct-lit televisions score over edge-lit ones due to their ability to handle local dimming much better and consequently offering a more accurate picture. The one downside to an LED TV is that really fast action scenes like in sports sometimes come out blurred because of a comparatively lower refresh rate. However, LED manufacturers are promising that the newer models boasting a refresh rate of 240Hz have managed to eliminate this issue.

Plasma TV's need no backlighting and are lit by the plasma that acts as a light source. Plasma TVs are best for dark rooms and produce high contrast ratios consequently giving splendid images. Plasma TVs have a formidable 600Hz refresh rate making them brilliant for any sports you like. On the downside, plasma TVs often tend to bounce of a lot of ambient light if placed in bright rooms and incidentally, they also have a pretty high power consumption.

The best picture quality really depends on the reliability of the brand and type of technology that suits your home. Panasonic and Sony are known to pay great attention to image and sound quality above all else.

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Panasonic VIERA TC-P ZT60

Panasonic VIERA TC-P60ZT60 60-In 1080p 3D Smart Plasma TV

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	Panasonic VIERA TC-P ZT60	Samsung PN F8500	Panasonic TC-P ST60	LG LA8600	Panasonic TC-P VT60


	[?] ReviewGist Score	[?] ReviewGist Score	[?] ReviewGist Score	[?] ReviewGist Score	[?] ReviewGist Score
Release Date	Aug 2013	Mar 2013	Jan 2013	Mar 2013	Apr 2013
Digital TV Standard	HDTV Television	HDTV Television	HDTV Television	HDTV Television	HDTV Television
Contrast Ratio	1 : 6, 000, 000		1:5, 500, 000		1 : 6000000
Flat Panel Type	Plasma TV	Plasma TV	Plasma TV	LED TV	Plasma TV
Screen Size	60.0 inch	51.0 inch	50.0 inch	55.0 inch	65.0 inch
Aspect Ratio	16:9	16:9	Widescreen (16:9)	16:9	16:9
DLNA Certified	DLNA Certified		DLNA Certified	DLNA Certified	DLNA Certified
3D-ready	3D-ready	3D-ready	3D-ready	3D-ready	3D-ready
	For those who can afford it, the Panasonic TC-PZT60 comes closer than any TV yet to picture-quality perfection. At this point, I've said a lot about this TV; however, the only thing that needs to be said is that it's the best. Is it leagues and leagues better than anything else you could buy? No - but neither is it leagues more expensive. Sure, the 65-inch model is demanding four thousand of your hard-earned greenbacks, but any home theater enthusiast would be lucky to own this grade-A plasma. The bottom of the line is that the ZT60's price-to-performance ratio is higher than average. Finally, let's address the question of which is better: ZT60 or VT60? To answer, let's look at the three key differences between the two. The ZT60 does better in rooms affected by sunlight, while the VT60 has superior sound and comes with a camera for Skype and facial recognition. Which is better for you will depend on your priorities, but for us, the ZT60 is worth the extra $500 or so.	Samsung's best-performing TV ever, the PNF8500 series pushes the plasma picture quality envelope, especially in bright rooms. While we can't claim that the F8500 is the new reference TV in picture quality, it looks to be one of the best 1080p televisions ever. Each screen size in this series is fairly expensive, and they should be: There is only quality here. The F8500 has royally surpassed one of the biggest drawbacks of plasma tech-their dimness when compared to LCDs-giving those with the funds to pursue it every reason to do so. The Samsung PNF8500 series is a top-shelf plasma HDTV line that delivers outstanding color quality, solid 2D and 3D imagery, and very dark blacks. You'll shell out some big bucks for this model though, and you may want to pick up a universal remote while you're at it.	The midlevel price and outstanding quality of the Panasonic TC-PST60 series make it our strongest TV recommendation ever. The TC-P50ST60 is one of the best value TVs for this year. At $1100 it will be a great seller and the price may get a bit better before the year is over. It's got good 3D, great blacks, a simple but effective remote control, ample Smart TV features, and pretty good looks. Samsung PN51F5500 is one competitor, though I prefer the ST60. The Samsung UN50F6400 is an LED competitor. All in all, I found the new look to strike a good balance, offering more options on the screen (so less navigation is required), but presenting everything a clean, logical way.	Although its lovely frame is packed with well-executed features, the flagship-priced LG LA8600 series LED LCD TV has the picture of a midrange model. We really enjoyed the LA8600, even with its slight color temperature issue and yawn-worthy black levels. And while we easily say this is a terrific display, its huge asking price of $2,699.99 for a 55-inch model is a bit steep. Yes, you get a beautiful TV that will make your in-laws jealous, but you can also do that with Panasonic's DT60 and Samsung's F7100 for less. If supermodel-thin bezels are your thing, definitely consider the LA8600 if you find it on sale. Otherwise, do some comparison shopping. The LG LA8600 series of HDTVs offers beautiful aesthetics, sharp 2D and 3D imagery, and rich color reproduction at a premium price. You get lots of features with this series, some of which are of questionable value.	The Panasonic VT60 has one of the best pictures of any TV we've ever reviewed, but it's soon to face some tough competition. Here is where quality and price converge and man, these top end plasmas are up there this year in price. The TC-P65VT60 is around $3399 - no bargain basement TV and $1000 more than the 55 inch version. Yes, it has best in the market black levels that rival the best ever. In a dark home theater type environment the picture quality is astounding.