Not computer related..but, tis the season..so maybe it'll save someone a couple of bucks?
gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com
OCTOBER 28, 2009, 4:40 PM
LCD TV Picture Specs: Help or Hype?
By ERIC A. TAUB
If you’re a videophile who’s been saving money to buy the best LCD TV available, the one with the fastest pixel response time and 240 Hz refresh rate, here are some words of advice: save your money and buy downmarket.
According to new tests conducted by Raymond M. Soneira, president of the DisplayMate Technologies Corporation, a well-known video calibration and consulting company, the LCD TV specs race means … absolutely nothing.
Buy an LCD TV with higher refresh rates, faster pixel response times, and more sophisticated motion enhancement technologies, and the only thing you’re accomplishing is that you’re emptying your bank account faster, thanks to those sets’ higher prices. You’re certainly not getting a better picture, according to Mr. Soneira.
In a side-by-side comparison of mid- and high-end LCD TVs from LG, Samsung, Sharp and Sony, Mr. Soneira and his evaluators found no real-world difference in the ability of the sets to display motion when watching typical moving video images — the kind you see on TV every day.
When there were differences, it was when still images were swept across the screen; but we watch moving images, not still ones.
In the instances when it looked like some sets blurred moving images more than others, a re-evaluation showed that the blurring was in the actual footage that had been shot; or, on second viewing, the sense of blurring disappeared. The brain also appears capable of compensating, reinterpreting a blurred image to give the perception of increased sharpness.
Nor do blur-reduction technologies reduce blur, as manufacturers claim. Often, the study found, they simply increased other types of intrusive picture artifacts. “The best picture quality was obtained with the motion enhancement processing minimized or turned off,” according to the report.
“We found that there was no visually detectable difference in motion blur performance for current mid- to top-of-the-line LCD HDTVs, regardless of their response time, 60 or 120 Hz refresh rates, strobed LED back-lighting, or motion enhancement processing.”
Mr. Soneira’s advice on how to buy an LCD TV: pick a “reputable” brand, and ignore all the marketing hype around the high-end specs. |
