Sony XEL-1

By Ty Pendlebury on 04 May 2009

Sure, the Sony XEL-1 OLED is ludicrously expensive, but it is also hands-down the most impressive television we have ever seen. Read our Australian-first review.

It's taken 12 months for one of last year's CES darlings, the all-singing, all-dancing XEL-1 OLED panel to reach Australia, and it's not going to be cheap — going for the price of a 55-inch plasma. But was it worth the wait? Is this, indeed, the future of television?

Design

While the Koreans think they've got a handle on design with televisions like LG's Scarlet and Samsung's 9 series, this has only been a recent development. In comparison, Sony knows about design. As proof, the Japanese company brings us the XEL-1. While it may look like a trumped-up itty bitty booklight in the thumbnail, in the flesh it is simply exquisite.

The highlight of the design is the chrome arm that connects the 3mm thick display to the main media box, which is complemented by a piano-black powder coating and further chrome accents. The base is reassuringly heavy and the entire unit feels solid. The display is tiltable by almost 90 degrees, which is handy because the screen itself is quite vulnerable to ambient light.

We really liked the controls on the base as they change depending on whether you're inside the menu system to up, down etc, or to Ch/Vol/Input. It's really cool, and intuitive.

We were also a little amused to see that the display (which can only be comfortably watched at arm's length, at the very most) comes with a remote. It's a credit-card style unit, and comes with all of the functions you'll need. It's actually pretty nifty, and fun to use.

Features

For what appears to be a barebones unit, the XEL-1 is actually quite well featured. While it looks almost identical to the overseas model, there are some important differences. Namely it now comes with a USB port instead of the much-maligned MemoryStick slot, and it boasts a local HD tuner. And while it does away with most input choices, it does have two HDMI ports.

As this is only an 11-inch screen, the resolution isn't so hot — it's not even quite standard definition (PAL) at 960x540, but the screen is so tiny that it's hard to notice. It will accept inputs of 1080p and scale them down to the natural resolution without a problem, however.

Though it lacks 100Hz, it does come with a similar feature called Fine Motion, which seemed to ease motion artefacts like judder somewhat. Of course, as OLED response time is instantaneous, unlike LCD, there is little need for these motion compensation features.

The TV is one of the first to receive an Energy Star rating and we were a little surprised to see it receive only 3.5 out of six — especially considering that Sony repeatedly tells us that OLED uses a lot less power than LCD. In contrast, the recently released Sony WE5 42-inch got an impressive five stars.

Performance

We've seen the XEL-1 on display at previous events before, but usually at an arm's length. It's only when you get a hands-on that you realise the depth of this product. Having attended the Panasonic event last week we saw some "nice" plasmas, but it's only when using a product like the XEL-1 that you realise that plasma technology still can't get near the "lifelike" blacks of OLED. In comparison, plasma's blacks looked over-punchy, and not especially "true". In some way, blacks in video are akin to bass in hi-fi: you need it for a complete experience, but a balanced sound is preferable to an overly boomy one.

Since the Aussie version comes with a tuner, that's where we started. And the experience was fantastic. Sport, in the form of IPL cricket, looked superb and there was no blur or lag in motion, and neither were there any MPEG artefacts nor "jaggies" on edges. Of course, like a high-end hi-fi, the XEL-1 was able to expose a poor quality SBS feed. Yet it still wasn't unpleasant, and could be made less so by tweaking noise reduction settings.

We switched to DVD, and given the SD-like proportions of the screen, 576i content is actually a good fit. And was it ever! We were almost literally blown away by the screen's performance in King Kong. We have never seen this movie look as natural and effortless as we did on the Sony. Blacks were deep yet effortless. Colour effervescent. We only wish this technology would hurry up so we can buy a larger one of these. It puts every other technology to shame!

Surprisingly, and yet not, the OLED screen also performed well on Blu-ray material. With MI3 in the tray we were gobsmacked. This movie had come into its own! The tricky rooftop sequence is a little like watching bats in a mine at midnight on most screens, but here we could discern details we hadn't seen before. There was real depth to the black levels.

Switching to synthetic HD tests and the Sony performed really well, only failing in the Film Resolution test — due, we think, to the screen's apparent lack of support for 24p.

Sound quality was quite good for such a diminutive device. And while you won't get huge "booms" there was a reasonable representation from the latter part of the spectrum. You can also use the optical or headphone output if you want to beef up the sound a bit.

So, yes, we think this screen is amazing, but there is one small caveat: it's best watched in the dark. And not because the screen bleaches out in the light as plasma does, because it doesn't. No, the screen's surface is unfortunately quite reflective, despite the appearance of anti-reflective coating, which can be distracting during the day.

Initially, there were problems with getting the blue pixels to behave in early versions of this screen, but we have heard that this is less of a problem now. And we know that we have the freshest batch currently available because the bottom had April 2009 stamped on it under "manufacture date".

Conclusion

So it's not cheap. In fact, it's terrifyingly expensive. But the XEL-1 is still the best display technology we have ever seen. If you can afford it, we envy you mightily. But you'd still probably have to explain to people what it is and how expensive it is. This screen is the very essence of an early adopter's product.

Now, to answer our question in the opening paragraph. Yes, this is the future of television. Unfortunately, you're not likely to see it hit the mainstream for another five years. You see, it's still really hard to make them and while you could shave a few dollars off the price of this one by giving it a plastic, instead of chrome, suit it would still cost you a mint. Plasma may still be the king for the moment in the price/performance equation, but it won't always be the way. Sony is quietly biding its time until it can jettison LCD and wholeheartedly embrace OLED. We look forward to this day.

Other Sony LCD TV products
Sony Bravia WE5
Sony Bravia KDL40E4500
Sony Bravia KDL40W4500
Sony XEL-1

Sony Bravia WE5

By Pam Carroll on 01 May 2009

Sony Australia's first crack at an "eco-conscious" LCD TV, the WE5 cuts power consumption through its new HCFL backlight and a Presence Sensor.

It's an inconvenient truth that our love affair with that flat panel television in the lounge doesn't sit well with a desire to live a more environmentally responsible existence. Fortunately, TV vendors are now coming to the party with "eco-friendly" models that address bad-for-the-planet (and pocketbook) power consumption issues with the big screen beasts.

Upside

Sony's first foray into eco-consciousness comes in the form of the Bravia WE5. Available in 40- and 46-inch screen sizes (AU$3199 and AU$3799 respectively), the WE5 hits the market in May with an as-yet voluntary energy star rating of five stars (out of six) — the highest we've seen so far on the Australian market.

Much of its savings in power consumption come from its use of a Hot Cathode Fluorescent Lamp (HCFL) backlight. Sony claims its HCFL backlight panel uses up to 40 per cent less energy when compared to conventional cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) LCD TVs like the Bravia W4500 model it replaces. A marketing spiel touting that the WE5 consumes less power than two 75-Watt light bulbs — which may be more of an indictment on the inefficiencies of incandescent bulbs — is a pretty impressive ploy.

The W4500 (left) uses twice the power, but has noticeably greater contrast than the WE5 (right).
(Credit: Ty Pendlebury)

And how many households wrestle with "the TV's on, nobody's watching" issue? To combat this waste, the front of the WE5 panel incorporates a Presence Sensor that detects when there is no longer motion in the room and automatically turns the picture off (but leaves the sound on). According to Sony, this instantly reduces power consumption by 50 per cent. If motion is again detected, the picture comes back on. Alternatively, if the Presence Sensor detects no movement after a specified period of time, the set is switched off completely.

The WE5 furthers its green cred by featuring an "energy-saving switch" on the side of the set — also called an "off switch" — to minimise standby power, an Eco pre-set mode, and the use of lead-free solder and reduced packaging.

Lest you're worried about the picture quality, it's still got 1080p full HD capabilities and something missing from its much publicised US counterpart, MotionFlow 100Hz technology.

Downside

We only had a quick look at the media launch, but the contrast seemed slightly poorer than its more power-hungry forebear. Sony didn't include a contrast ratio in the spec sheet, so we'll have to see when we get this model in for testing whether the HCFL backlight actually does cause contrast ratio to suffer or not.

Of course, there's a price premium to be paid for the new HCFL technology too. It remains to be seen if consumers will be willing to fork out an extra AU$300 or so for better power efficiency.

Outlook

The WE5 is certainly one of the best performers energy-wise on the Australian market and kudos to Sony for setting the pace for others to follow. Surely these kinds of technologies and features will become more widespread down the track, but if power conservation is on your list now, this is the model to check out.

Other Sony LCD TV products
Sony Bravia WE5
Sony Bravia KDL40E4500
Sony Bravia KDL40W4500
Sony XEL-1

Samsung UA46B7000

By Ty Pendlebury on 07 April 2009

The Samsung UA46B7000 is a 46-inch LCD television with a bunch of new features including LED-backlighting and MSN internet widgets.

Upside

We're glad that industrial design is now a prime consideration for the designers of flat-panel televisions. And the new series are perhaps the company's most glamorous-looking sets yet. The 7000 series features the latest version of the Crystal Design, and it's very, very pretty. It features a mostly piano-black finish which "bleeds out" to a clear rim. The stand is quite striking as well, topped with a subtle red glow.

Samsung likes to think it's inventing a new category with these televisions — LED — but of course it isn't. LED-backlighting has been around for years, and these are still LCD screens. We think it will be confusing to some customers, who will mistake "LED" for "OLED". And not just the people we've overheard buying tuna with pictures of dolphins on it because they thought it had MORE dolphins in it.

Despite any confusion, there are benefits to be had with using LED — better blacks and colours, higher brightness and better off-axis viewing. In fact, Samsung claims the new screens have a three-million-to-one contrast ratio.

Other features include DLNA streaming and MSN widgets (coming in August 09) — as opposed to Yahoo ones. The TVs also feature four HDMI ports and an optional wireless dongle (AU$99) for making the internet work.

Downside

We have reservations about LED edge lighting, and not the least of which because we don't see the value in having a "thin" television. Especially if it affects picture quality. We had a sneak preview of the new series last week, and were a little nonplussed by what we saw. While Samsung told us the screens were pre-production, there was significant light leakage from the corners when the image was black. It almost looked like the LED was on top of, and not behind, the screen. While the company informs us this will be less evident on the production models, we look forward to trying it out for ourselves.

If you're looking at the FRONT of the thing why does it matter if it's 30mm thick or 100mm? We know that these televisions are designed to be wall-mounted, but at the company's own admission only about one in 10 Australians wall-mount their screens. But Samsung says the new series are different, and overseas the number is closer to 50 per cent — due to the company's new picture-frame mount.

Outlook

We think that Samsung's new range of televisions are attractive, and certainly appear to have the picture quality the company is renowned for. What gives us pause are the company's claims to have "invented" a new category, and the fact that LED "edge" lighting may actually turn out to be inferior to competitor LG's preferred method: "direct" lighting. The proof will be in the pudding when we put these TVs through their paces in the coming months.

Other Samsung LCD TV products
Samsung UA46B7000
Samsung LA52A750
Samsung LA46A850
Samsung LA40A550

Toshiba 42XV560A

By Ty Pendlebury on 10 March 2009

Only a lick of paint separates the Toshiba 42XV550A and the 42XV560A, but do they have the goods to cut it in the wild?

Here's something we don't see very often: Toshiba's new XV550 and XV560 would appear to the untrained eye to be identical. Even skimming down the specs list doesn't give us any clues. The answer? Toshiba is giving televisions with different paint jobs different model numbers. While many companies will give a TV a different name under different regions, outside of the car world a slim, silver trim doesn't justify a new name.

Upside
The impetus behind the new series, it seems, are the addition of a "Gaming" mode and the next iteration of the company's processing engine: "Power Meta Brain". The company's 100Hz Clear Frame technology remains.

On the specs front it's a little light-on with a relatively low panel contrast ratio of 1100:1 and an 8ms pixel response time. Of course, the resolution is 1920x1080p, and there is the generous provision of four HDMI ports. Meanwhile, the 52-inch is a little higher specced with a 3000:1 contrast ratio.

There is one point of difference between the XV550 and XV560 that we need to elaborate on, the XV560 includes a 52-inch model whereas the XV550 only carries a 42- and 46-inch.

Downside
Apart from a couple of small tweaks, we're a little mystified by the need for these new ranges. Spec-wise the older, cheaper XV500 outperforms it — in pure contrast levels alone — by a factor of two. It even looks better cosmetically.

Outlook
Flat panel manufacturers are struggling at the moment — especially companies like Toshiba based in Japan. The Koreans seem to be mopping up at the moment in Australia with favourable exchange rates and up-to-date feature sets. While the XV550 and XV560 look like two perfectly serviceable television sets, the cynics in us think they could be there to artificially inflate the size of the company's range. To "look busy" in other words. Without testing them we can't say for sure, but the XV500 might be a better deal.

Other Toshiba LCD TV Products
Toshiba 46XV500A
Toshiba REGZA 32C3000
Toshiba 52XV560A
Toshiba REGZA 47WL68
Toshiba 42RV550A
Toshiba 46XV560A
Toshiba 42XV550A
Toshiba 52XV560A

LG 50PG79ED

By Ty Pendlebury on 10 December 2008

The LG 50PG79ED offers an excellent picture for the price and adds a useful, though at times idiosyncratic, digital recorder with 160GB of space.

Design
In the past year, LG has shown that it has some impressive design chops — especially with the weird but pretty Scarlet. Meanwhile, the 50PG79ED takes its style cues from the 42-inch 42PG60UD and features a "bezel-less" design with a single piece of glass stretching from side to side.

The bottom of the "bezel" is quite striking, though subtle, with a faint blue mimicking the "blue" range of Scarlet TVs. Underneath this is the TV's swivel base, which is a handy addition, and around the back is a refreshing lack of blue or red … just a grey back panel. We've never been keen on designer finishes no one will see.

The remote itself is unremarkable, and is the same that came with the earlier LG 47LY3DE DVR model. It's backlit, piano black (of course) and also relatively straightforward to use.

Features
Features-wise, the LG is also similar to the company's 47LY3DE, and includes a 160GB drive and dual HD tuners. The unit also supports the freely-available seven-day EPG, though it was initially reticent to download the data.

The 50-inch panel itself is a full 1,920x1,080 resolution, features an anti-reflective coating, and a contrast ratio of 30,000:1. Though the manual doesn't mention it at all, the television features a 100Hz mode. It's turned on by default, and acts more like the 100Hz mode from CRT televisions, and so there is no way to turn it off. Additionally, the telly will support 24p via its Cinema mode.

If you're looking for a TV that will support USB media then this is one to consider, and while it won't do movie files it will do JPEGs and MP3s.

The LG offers a number of different connection options: the rear panel supports two HDMI, two component, and one composite connection, in addition to a VGA port for PC. On the side is a further HDMI connector, composite, S-Video and a USB 2.0 port. The LG can display photos and play MP3s from external USB drives and memory sticks.

We really appreciate that LG is looking out for the customer with the provision of two separate user picture modes as this allows a higher degree of customisation than you'll find on most sets.

Like other recent LG televisions, the 50PG79ED features an "invisible" speaker system tuned by hi-fi eccentric Mark Levinson — instead of using dedicated woofers, this system converts the entire bezel into a speaker.

Performance
As evidenced by its relationship with Levinson, the company is trying very hard to improve the quality of its products and still provide value for money. And in the LG 50PG79ED, the company has succeeded at both. This is a very accomplished television, and is at last able to rub shoulders with its plasma competitor Panasonic for pure picture quality.

We were particularly impressed by the plasma's ability to reproduce colours — particularly gradients, where one colour blends into another such as in sunsets or smoke. Even our current plasma favourite, the Panasonic TH-42PZ800A had troubles with this.

Detail and movement are also well handled, and the TV performed well in both synthetic tests and real-world disc tests. The LG is equally comfortable with standard-definition and high-definition content, and the on-board tuners are quite good as well.

If you're looking for absolute blacks though, there are better models out there — including the current crop of LED-backlit LCDs from Sony and Samsung, but we'd say it's up there with plasmas such as 2006's Pioneer 5000EX.

If we had any gripes it would be in the integration of the PVR — it's not the best on the market, but as a value-add it's quite good. TiVo and Foxtel both offer more features and are easier to use, especially when navigating through available programs. For example, while you can record you can't pick a show and watch it via the guide — you need to quit out and channel change. Most PVRs, however, will let you do this. Recording quality was good, but some of the shows we lined up didn't record for some unknown reason.

Other LG LCD TV Products
LG 50PG79ED
LG Scarlet 42LG61YD
LG 42PG60UD
LG 50PB2DR

• LG 42LG70YD
• Panasonic TH-42PX8A
• Panasonic TH-42PZ800A
• Philips 42PFL5603D
• Samsung LA40A550P1F
• Samsung PS42A410C1D
• Sanyo LCD-42XR8DA
• Sharp LC-42D83X
• Sony KDL-40V4000
• TCL L42E9ADF