Large LED TVs and Clouding

[Preston]

I'm shopping for a 60-65 inch TV for the family room. I've read a lot of reviews that talk about LED 'clouding'.

How common is clouding on larger LED TVs? Should I be concerned?

Also, any recommendations? This TV will be the main TV for the family (AT&T U-verse, Nintendo Wii, and an HTPC). As far as features, I just want the best quality picture and reliability. 3D is not a necessity.

[EzyStvy]

For people like me that don't know what clouding is:

What Is the LCD HDTV Clouding Effect?

Almost all LCD owners will notice some degree of clouding effect on their HDTVs during dark or completely black scenes. What is the clouding effect? It’s a varying degree of brightness visible across the screen. HDTV reviewers tend to describe the clouding effect as “poor screen uniformity.” It can be caused by different sources, most often from uneven backlighting or flaws in the LCD’s matrix of thin-film transistors. Clouding is most noticeable when a single dark color is shown on the screen, eg, black or dark blue. Other terms for the effect are backlight bleed, flashlight effect, cloud effect, and mura or the mura effect. Mura is a Japanese word meaning an unevenness, blemish, or inconsistency. The clouding effect is generally limited to LCDs because plasmas have a different back light technology.

One way to combat this effect is to avoid watching your television in completely dark rooms. Turn on a lamp with a low light setting to keep a small amount of ambient light in the room. Some LCD manufacters offer ambient light built in to their television, most notably Philips Ambilight.

[Preston]

I know that you have to take reviews with a grain of salt (especially at Best Buy), but I noticed a lot of people complaining about clouding on the 60-65 inch Samsungs.

I haven't shopped for a TVs for a while (and never shopped for one this large), so I wasn't sure if there was something I was missing. I know that Plasmas will give you a better black, but this clouding talk was new to me.

[David M]

I would just go into the big retail stores and have a look. I don't think it is going to be much of an issue unless you are watching a particularly dark movie. I wouldn't rent Batman.

[rwest]

Originally Posted by Preston I know that Plasmas will give you a better black

That's been well addressed today. Not much of an issue as it was with the earlier LCDs.

If your going to use it for gaming too, you will want to look for a faster response time. I think currently 2-3ms is considered fast. My Vizio is 5ms and that was good when I bought it 3 years ago.

I just noticed you mentioned LED whereas EzyStvy mentioned LCD, got a prefference? I ask because I think your longetivity may be in the LCD and the better picture may be in the LED. I'd reseach their pros and cons to be sure.

[Preston]

I'm interested in an LCD with LED backlighting (as opposed to the LCD with the CCFL backlight).

--Man, that is a mouthful to say and type--

[rwest]

Way too many acronyms going on there... It's almost a tounge twister.

I knew there is a difference but wasn't sure of what or how, as I haven't shopped for one recently. Just thought I'd point that out- there is a difference. Seems like you got a handle on it though.

[glc]

LED backlighting eliminates the CCFL tube and inverter - less power consumption, less heat, longer life.

[Planefreak]

Go with an OLED... currently available in Korea or about $9k for a 55"

Just kidding, but I would stick with the LED from a reputable brand. If you haven't heard of the brand don't buy it.

Also, I was told to stay away from Westinghouse and I think Panasonic because of the high number of failures. Not sure if that's true.

[Preston]

Originally Posted by Planefreak Go with an OLED... currently available in Korea or about $9k for a 55"

I'll wait until the Newegg Shell Shocker Deal for that one!

After a lot of research, I went with an LG 60in LED TV (60LM7200).

I'm very happy with it. No clouding issues, beautiful picture, good 'smart' tv features, thin, and much more.

[Planefreak]

Looks good to me. I've been looking for one as well. I hope yours didn't break the bank.

[freakitchen]

This is arbitrary, and just my opinion, but I'm not impressed by the quality of my folks' 46" LED Samsung. I suggested they get it based on a 32" version of the same model, but the larger screen size makes SD pictures 'cloudy' as you describe. HD looks excellent, but it seems the ability to deal with an SD picture isn't as good as my older, similarly sized 40" LCD panel, and indeed the 32" LED I saw previous to recommending it!

[Nucious]

If you're really worried about bad specs pick up a Samsung, LG, or Sony... In that order.

I recommend OLED LCD, LED LCD, LCD and then Plasma in that order :P.

LED LCD tend to have the best quality in almost every aspect as all LEDs or most of them in those 3 brands are SMART TVs, so they have pretty top of the line hardware.

[Nucious]

Originally Posted by Preston I'll wait until the Newegg Shell Shocker Deal for that one! After a lot of research, I went with an LG 60in LED TV (60LM7200). I'm very happy with it. No clouding issues, beautiful picture, good 'smart' tv features, thin, and much more.

That TV seems one of the best in the world. At a whopping 1.6k, you should be expecting all the visuals to be surreal!