viewing as well. e LCDs’
backlight controls (set to 3 for the
Samsung, 1 for the Sony) kept
their output levels in check.
e Sony and Panasonic LCD
sets oer motion-compensation
features that add interpolated
frames to upconvert 24-fps or
60-fps sources to the sets’ native
frame rate of 120 hertz. is
interpolation feature, which gives
lm-based sources a smooth but
video-like look, was turned o for
the tests.
All of the sets provide the
option to display JPEG photos
and some types of videos. ese
features were not tested.
I camouaged the sets as much
as possible to conceal the brands
and models. But a fully blind test
was not really possible. Most of
our panelists know that LCDs
look worse o axis, so that was a
giveaway to the technologies
involved, at least by pairs. Editor
Shane arranged for the review
samples, so he knew the entrants
and their sizes, although he didn’t
know where they were positioned
(and he later admitted that he
guessed wrong on which of the
LCDs was which). Also, Scott
uses the same studio for his work,
so there was no way he could
avoid seeing the setup in progress.
(I was tempted to play with his
head by suggesting that I might
have moved the sets around the
night before, but I hadn’t, and I
didn’t.)
The Program Material
We began with excerpts from two
dierent standard-denition
DVDs: Legends of the Fall
(non-Superbit) and Shakespeare
in Love. ese ran at 480p from
the players. (Many Blu-ray play-
ers, including the two Panasonics
we used here, will not output 480i
over HDMI.)
Following that, I showed two
to three short clips from each of
the following Blu-ray Discs: A
Passage to India, e Incredible
Hulk, Hidalgo, Madagascar,
Stargate: Continuum, and
Mission: Impossible III. e rst
four of these were sent to the sets
at 1080p/24, the last two at 1080i
(converted to 1080i in the player
from the discs’ native 1080p/24).
In the aernoon session, the
panelists also requested to see the
opening belowdecks scenes from
Master and Commander: e Far
Side of the World (shown at
1080p/24).
All of the sets can display
1080p/24 as a direct multiple of
24 fps: 120 fps in the Samsung
and Sony, 72 fps in the Pioneer,
and 48 fps in the Panasonic. I ran
the Pioneer, Samsung, and Sony
in this mode. But the Panasonic
also oers the option to display a
24-fps source at either 1080p/48
or 1080p/60. I chose the latter.
e Panasonic’s peak-white
output at 1080p/48 drops by
about 30 percent at 1080p/48,
which limited its ability to match
the other sets’ peak brightness
settings. e Panasonic also
displayed noticeable icker at the
48-fps setting.
The Judging
For the composite scores
presented for each TV, our
panelists judged the sets in four
specic performance categories:
black level, shadow detail, color,
and overall detail (resolution).
ey judged the h category,
value, only at the end of the
testing, when I revealed the price
of each set. In the composite
scores for each set, I weighted the
rst four categories equally. I
didn’t include value in this
performance rating but kept
it strictly separate. I rounded o
the raw scores to the nearest half
point on our ve-point (ve-
star) rating scale. Incidentally, the
references to he and she in the
comments are random and do
not necessarily provide a clue as
to the identity of the judge.
We didn’t rate the sets’
eciency in the tests, but their
power draw is shown in the chart
on page 42. Power will depend on
the image displayed and the set’s
setup. ere’s no single source or
setup that is completely represen-
tative. I used two dierent test-
pattern sources here, with the
same settings on each set that we
used in the panel tests. e power
at 100-percent peak white, full
eld, is a worst case. e power
used with a 100-percent white
window is more typical of average
program material.
Let the games begin…
www.hometheatermag.com
The Pioneer looked great on pretty much
everything. I want one.
Michael J. Nelson
