http://www.hdtvorg.co.uk/news/articles/2008010501.htm
Best LCD TV's for Standard Definition
Tuesday, 02 February 2010 12:55 UK
While there is nothing to compare with the pristine quality of High Definition pictures on your LCD TV, for most of us, the majority of our viewing schedule will will be in Standard Definition (SD).
Having seen a demonstration of High Definition programmes at their local electrical retailer, many of us have been disappointed when the same TV displays Standard Definition pictures.
The choice of TV is a very personal and often subjective choice and our top ten LCD TV's for Standard Definition represent those screens which in our opinion offer the best combination of price and performance.
We strongly recommend that you compare as many TV's alongside each other with SD and HD material on screen. Any trustworthy retailer will go out of their way to help. It might also be worth noting that;
(i) Viewing distances usually differ with SD and HD for the same screen. HD will invariably be better viewed close, while moving away from the screen will produce better results for SD.
(ii) Ultimately, the picture processing technology employed on a TV will be the single most important factor which determines how good the SD and HD picture is - again, we would like to stress how important it is to compare as many TV's as you can with SD and HD material
The Top ten:
http://www.hdtvorg.co.uk/guide/top_ten_sd_lcd_tv.htm
THE WINNER:
Samsung LE32B450
The LE-32B450's Standard Definition performance undoubtedly benefits from the fact that the human eye perceives on screen detail more uniformly on smaller screens. Despite this, and testament to the effectiveness of DNIe + image processing, the B450's SD performance puts many a high end flat panel TV to shame.
While many flat panel TV's struggle to convert the 576 or so line of Freeview to something resembling a decent on screen picture, Samsung's LE-32B450 had no such troubles. The clarity and sharpness of SD pictures is nothing short of a revelation at this price level. Yes, there is a very small amount of video noise and blurring on the fastest on screen action, but you have to look at paying twice the amount you would on the B450 to even match its performance in this respect.
You will never be able to match the pin sharp realism of 1080p material on a Full HD screen, but the LE-32B450 still impressed with its High Definition (HD) abilities. It is no match for a larger Full HD (1920 x 1080) screen but you do get a level of detail and sharpness that reminds you of what HD material is all about.
