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  • Introduction
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Introduction

We have tested and reviewed each company's flagship models as of 2012, and sorted through the data to find the hands-down best TV. If you want to know more about how we test and rank all of the TVs that come through out labs, check out our How We Test page.

Introduction

A television should never be an impulse buy—it should be an investment. For those that want the very best in TV technology, a company's flagship model is the way to go. Yes, these high-end televisions are some of the most expensive out there, but they showcase the best technology that a company has to offer in terms of picture quality, contrast, and motion performance, as well as design, smart features, and 3D performance. It represents its manufacturer for at least an entire year, and sets the tone for the less-expensive models in any lineup, too.

We have tested and reviewed each company's flagship models as of 2012, and sorted through the data to find the hands-down best TV. If you want to know more about how we test and rank all of the TVs that come through out labs, check out our How We Test page.

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Almost every year, each TV manufacturer builds one model that includes all of the best features that they have to offer. These all-inclusive, top-end TVs are known as flagships. It's usually the most expensive model that a company makes, although the numerous features packed into these TVs are supposed to make them worth the sizable stack of dollars you'll be shelling out for them.

The Contenders

LG LM9600
This LED TV has some of the best bells and whistles, including passive 3D technology and LG’s excellent smart platform. It also features a sleek ribbon-styled base, a super-thin profile, and the motion-controlled Magic Remote. MSRP: $2,999

Panasonic VT50
Panasonic is famous for their plasma TVs, and the VT50 is their current flagship. This spiritual successor to the legendary Pioneer Kuro produces some seriously deep black levels, and impressive colors overall. MSRP: $3,699

Samsung ES8000
Samsung is perhaps best-known for their eye-catching LED TV designs, like that of the ES8000. This TV includes great 3D, voice commands, gesture controls, and Samsung’s Smart Touch remote. MSRP: $3,749

Samsung E8000
We balked at including two sets from the same manufacturer in this roundup, but the truth is that Samsung's E8000 plasma is equally worthy of being considered here as its LED cousin. You'll see why. MSRP: $2,199

Sharp Elite PRO-60X5FD
With an MSRP of $5,999, the Sharp Elite is a TV for consumers with deep pockets. This handsome television, which was released in 2011, is still Sharp's top-of-the-line model. Like the Panasonic VT50, it also has roots in the legendary Pioneer Kuro Elite line. MSRP: $5,999

Sony BRAVIA XBR929
The XBR929 was released in 2011, but Sony still calls it their flagship model. Even though it's a year behind, it still comes with 3D and the same smart features that are on all 2012 Sony smart TVs. MSRP: $2,500

Toshiba L7200U
Toshiba may not have the brand recognition that some of the other companies have in the TV market, but they can still produce a great TV. The L7200U looks amazing—the bezels are barely there. MSRP: $1,899

Vizio CinemaWide
Vizio’s CinemaWide differs from every other flagship because of its 21:9 aspect ratio. The result of this super-wide screen is some of the best 3D we have ever witnessed outside of an IMAX theater. MSRP: $1,999

Literally within an hour of us publishing this roundup, Sony announced US availability of a new flagship, the HX950. We hope to get it into our labs soon, and will update this showdown with the results as soon as we have results.

How We Tested the Contenders

Each of the flagship televisions listed here have gone through the same set of tests we conduct on all the TVs that come through our labs. The slight exception is the Sony XBR929—this TV was reviewed last year, before we updated some of our testing procedures for 2012. But the testing for the criteria considered in this showdown—3D, color, contrast, motion, and smart features—has not changed, so the comparisons will remain accurate. Read more about how we test.

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Color accuracy is the single most important factor in our television rankings. Watching a movie the way that a film-maker intended is an incredibly important, but often overlooked, feature. Every flagship TV should be spot-on when it comes to color.

Color Gamut

The biggest factor in a TV’s color performance is its color gamut, which is the range of colors that a television can produce. In our color gamut charts, we always display two triangles: one black, one white. The black triangle is the industry standard range of colors for HDTVs and the white triangle is the actual color range of a given TV. There is a small circle, which is the white point, and that affects the color temperature of a TV.

Samsung’s signature plasma TV, the E8000, is as close to a perfect color gamut as we've ever tested. It lines up almost perfectly with the industry standard for color, so it's extremely accurate.

The Panasonic VT50 is almost as accurate as the E8000. It slightly oversaturates reds, which means that whenever the peak value of red is shown (true red), it will appear slightly pink.

Vizio’s CinemaWide has the most trouble accurately displaying colors. Performance isn't particularly bad, as most shades are accurate. The deepest blues, however, tend to look purple.

For comparison purposes, we included an example of a very bad color gamut, located to the right of the Vizio chart. While not a flagship, the Panasonic TC-L32C3 exemplifies poor color. The white point is off, meaning there will be a cooler color temperature overall, and the reds and blues are undersaturated, meaning those colors will appear too dull.

The color gamut for the Sharp Elite PRO-60X5FD should be mentioned—and not because it is amazing. The range of colors that this TV can produce is good, but looking at its gamut, we can't help but be disappointed. The white point is dead-on and so are the reds, but the greens and blues will look too vivid. For a TV that costs $5,999, we expect nothing less than perfection and this isn't it.

Color & Greyscale Curves, Color Temperature

We've also tested color curves and temperature performance for each flagship model. While all of them earned solid scores, those two factors don't affect the picture as much as gamut, so we won't dive into the details here. If you're curious to read more, check out the picture quality sections of each TV's individual review.

Color Picks: Samsung E8000, Panasonic VT50

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A television’s contrast ratio is the difference between its deepest blacks and brightest whites. A TV that has both deep blacks and bright whites can produce a stellar image.

Since contrast is dependent on your computer or tablet or smartphone screen, we can only simulate what good contrast and bad contrast look like. The image of the candles above is a simulated example: In the image on the left, the background looks dark and the flame looks bright. On the right, the background is brighter, while the flame isn't as intense. The candle on the left has a higher contrast ratio and looks punchier as a result.

Another important factor when discussing contrast is the ambient lighting in a room. Plasma TVs tend to have deeper blacks, but suffer from dimmer white levels. If your TV is in a room without much light, this won't be a problem. In brighter rooms, though, a TV with limited brightness will be harder to see. Conversely, a TV that doesn't get very dark will light up a dark room even when the picture is mostly dark.

Contrast Ratio

We measure luminance in candelas per square meter (cd/m2). This measurement is logarithmic, meaning that there is a noticeable difference between 0.05 cd/m2 and 0.15 cd/m2 (on the dark end of the scale), but the difference between brighter measurements like 250 cd/m2 and 300 cd/m2 doesn't seem as obvious, despite the numeric representation. So white levels don't exactly suffer from the law of diminishing returns, but it appears that they do, because they're quantified by a logarithmic scale.

To calculate the contrast ratio of a TV, we divide the brightest white level by the darkest black level. Here is how the 2012 flagships performed:

The Panasonic VT50 is the inkiest: We measured a black level of 0.03 cd/m2, which is really dark. The Samsung E8000 did not get as dark, but still had a respectable black level of 0.06 cd/m2. They're both plasma TVs, which tend to have deeper black levels, though their white levels are usually dimmer.

The LG LM9600 was able to get an incredible peak brightness of 436.95 cd/m2, but its darkest level was only measured at 0.15 cd/m2. Similarly, the Toshiba L7200U had a very bright dark level. If these two TVs were placed in a dark room and had an all-black image displayed on them, they would illuminate the room, which is not something to admire.

Contrast Picks: Sony XBR929, Vizio CinemaWide, Samsung ES8000

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After color and contrast, motion is generally considered to be the next most important aspect of a TV’s performance—or if you’re a sports fanatic, it’s probably at the top of your performance checklist.

Motion Interpolation

Motion interpolation—how a TV handles motion-based content—can make or break a TV that is otherwise flawless. Kings and peasants, flagships and budget buys, all of them must be able to handle motion-based content. Nobody buys a TV to watch still pictures.

Dr. Raymond Soneira has some great examples of what makes for good and bad response time and motion blur on his website for DisplayMate, which is also the software we use to test our TVs. That's a great resource for learning about the ins and outs of motion performance. Ideally, you'll never notice good motion performance, but you will certainly notice bad motion performance.

There are four problem areas that TVs face when processing fast-motion content: blurriness, shape distortion, color trailing, and artifacting.

• Blurriness is the common cold of TV motion, and results in a “blurring” of on-screen content, distorting its clarity.
• Shape distortion occurs when an object appears to elongate or compress while moving.
• Color trailing is just what it sounds like—an object leaves smudges of color opposite the direction it is moving. • Artifacting—perhaps the most distracting—occurs when a TV simply cannot refresh its screen quickly enough, and creates false pixel areas with rough edges, or “artifacts.”

The TV that bested these four hurdles with the most grace was Panasonic’s flagship plasma, the VT50. It made short work of our motion tests, showing just a hint of blurring during the most difficult content.

Toshiba’s L7200U also performed very well, blurring just a little more than the VT50.

It’s worth noting that Sony’s flagship, the HX929, boasts of refresh rates up to 960Hz—impressive from a technical standpoint, but not all that useful from a practical one. While we marked off very good motion scores with the CineMotion and Motionflow settings enabled, we also noted some major soap opera effect. Sony’s flagship just doesn’t have the natural motion excellence of Panasonic and Toshiba’s flagships.

On the other side of the spectrum, VIZIO’s CinemaWide would have made Indiana Jones salivate over all the artifacts we saw during its motion performance. There’s only one word to describe this TV’s motion: “Yuck.”

Motion Picks: Panasonic VT50, Toshiba L7200U

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Meet the tester

Liam F McCabe

Liam F McCabe

Managing Editor, News & Features

@liamfmccabe

Liam manages features and news coverage for Reviewed.com. Formerly the editor of the DigitalAdvisor network, he's covered cameras, TVs, personal electronics, and (recently) appliances. He's a native Bostonian and has played in metal bands you've never heard of.

See all of Liam F McCabe's reviews

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