127-132cm TVs review

See part two of our home theatre video.

Brands and models tested 

How we test

Picture quality Our tester, Scott O'Keefe, sets up all the on-test TVs in our specialised test lab and adjusts their controls to get the best picture quality possible. He keeps the lighting in the room low and the sound muted, and three experts watch a variety of footage (from HD broadcast TV, DVD movies and Blu-ray) simultaneously on all the screens. A special reference test Blu-ray disc and two reference DVDs are used to provide test patterns and movie scenes to determine how well each TV produces accurate colour, and solid blacks and whites without a colour shift. They play movies and other footage to check the screen’s ability to produce images without colour-banding, jerkiness, blurring or vibration. They also check for colours bleeding in high contrast or very intensely saturated parts of the image, and that there are no trails behind fast-moving objects on the screen.
Ease of use Scott uses the remote control, front panel controls and onscreen display to perform a number of common tasks, such as channel- and volume-changing, setting up favourites and re-scanning channels.
He looks for logical menus and clear labelling, and buttons and controls that are easily identified and can be used without interfering with other controls.
Sound quality Scott listens to movies and music to check for rattles, hums, hisses or distortion, as well as to judge how well voice as well as the high and low sounds are produced.
Energy score If the set has a power rating of less than 1.5 or more than six stars, Scott uses a calibrated power supply and power meter to measure the power consumed by the TV when in use and on standby. This is done using out-of-the-box settings as required by the new mandatory power rating standard, to check the manufacturer’s claim. To date, our TV-testing experience suggests most manufacturers are providing reasonably accurate measurements.
Viewing angles Our testers stand square to the screen and walk sideways as well as moving above and below the screen until a drop in image quality is noticed.

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