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Watch closely (colour depth and balance, any colour seepage, blur with fast moving images) and you’ll spot what differences exist. If you can’t spot any then the more expensive ones have to justify their extra cost with brand, warranty and reputation, and maybe even aesthetics. Sound? Seriously, if you don’t have a good soundbar or hi-fi to plug your new telly into by now you’ll probably be happy with whatever it dishes up. Mostly it’s high, hard and raspy, even when the manufacturer says it has been hand-crafted by the enchanted dwarves of Nibelheim.
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You’ll easily pick the improvement of OLED televisions over any incarnation of LCD, no matter how many acronyms their manufacturers invent to fend off the superior tech. The picture is deeper, the colour better balanced and softer, the detail breathtaking. They’re not as bright as their neighbouring LCDs but they’re noticeably better in low light with superior contrast.
Harder to pick, very hard indeed, are the differences between OLED brands and here the retailer’s preference for one brand became obvious. Maybe the margins are better. The brightness of the two major competitors was reduced while on the one they wanted to sell it was maxed out. Once all evened out I decided I’d likely go for a Panasonic, but any of them would be welcome at my place.
What blew me away was just how sharp the prices have become. I saw a 140cm Panasonic OLED for $2495 and a 165cm for $3495. There were some cheaper and some more expensive, including better featured Panasonics for a couple of grand more, but those had the same picture quality as the less expensive Panasonics, at least to my eye.
And I came away from this exercise asking myself why anyone would buy a projection system when 2.15-metre LCDs can be had for less than seven grand. The big LCDs don’t need the maintenance, they’re brighter, sharper and only 38cm smaller than the most popular screen size in projection. Big OLEDs are available too. Panasonic has a stunning 1.95-metre for $15,995 and Sony has a 1.9-metre coming October.