Tested out Sony, Samsung, Panasonic and LG!

[Maximus]

So, I went to an event set up by one of the above companies to promote their 3D TVs.

It was a very small, private event, no journalists allowed, only industry people I think.

So, impressions:

Samsung:

55" 9000 Series - Excellent picture quality, 3D lacking, too much crosstalk and ghosting, this turned out to be a big problem for all of the Samsung TVs there. Extremely expensive, the most expensive on show.

55" 8000 Series - Again, excellent PQ, but 3D had the same problems, Samsung need to work on their engine because the TV is actually very good.

63" 7000 Series - Good PQ, 3D much better but it needs ideal conditions with respect to lighting. You couldn't watch anything when there was even a bit of light in the room with the 3D glasses on. In cinematic conditions this is a winner though, but for sports it won't do.

Panasonic:

50" VT20 - Awesome PQ, 3D very good, I think Panasonic have put a lot of work into their 600Hz engine and it really does show. It has the same problem as the Samsung plasma though, it is no good for daylight watching in 3D. It all becomes too dark, even in cinematic conditions it is a bit dingy, still watchable though. Joint best 2D PQ. Best 3D PQ for movies.

Sony:

52" HX903 - Absolutely astounding PQ. Blacks are on par with the best I have ever seen. 3D PQ is the best in LCD, but it doesn't keep up with the Panasonic, there is some ghosting and some crosstalk. Not a lot though, but enough to notice in a darkened room. For daylight viewing of sports in 3D this is the winner, doesn't suffer from ambient light issues or because of the 3D glasses. 3D only optional though, so even after spending over £3k on the TV you will need to spend £250 for a transmitter and 2 pairs of 3D glasses. A bit cheeky I think. Joint best 2D PQ. Best for 3D in daylight.

60" LX903 - Very good PQ, best edge lit LED display I have come across. 3D has problems though. A lot of problems. I'm not sure why, but it has a lot of crosstalk and a lot of ghosting. It's also quite expensive, the 63" Samsung is a better bet in this size range.

LG:

55" Infinia LX9900 - Very good PQ, surprisingly good. The LED backlighting is not as smart as Sony's though. It's too aggressive, sometimes it completely blacks out parts and you miss detail. 3D was good. Some crosstalk, and some ghosting, enough to live with, but it could be distracting if you are sensitive to it.

47" LX6900 - Not so good in the PQ department, a bit cloudy. 3D was generally OK, but best to avoid unless you are on a budget. Even then I would recommend saving up for a more expensive Samsung.

Final thoughts - 3D is awesome, the best thing is gaming. Second best is sports and lagging way behind is movie watching. If 3D sells it will be down to gamers and football. The difference I saw when watching a movie was rarely enough to warrant spending over £3000 for a new TV set, but it was just about big enough for gaming and sport.

Best overall performance is a tie between the Sony HX903 and the Panasonic VT20. It all depends on what you want, if it's sports then go for the more expensive Sony. It is worth the money, but for movie watching the superior 3D performance of the Panasonic just offers better value as conditions will be more suited to the plasma. Gaming is good on both, I'm not particularly sensitive to input lag so I'm probably not the best person to judge it though.

Anyway, I hope I was helpful. I tried to be even-handed. The company that ran the even would like to remain anonymous as a lot of people have been left out (really a lot, I think there were less than 200 people attending such a well organised event!).