32-inch LCD TV Shootout

Hitachi L32S02A
MRP - Rs.  41,000                         
MOP - Rs.  33,900

It seems Hitachi has cordoned off all their design ideas and fancies to their Ultra Thin series, as this model is quite a basic looking piece, and could use a bit of pizzazz. It’s got a gloss black bezel, with an old fashioned speaker grille at the bottom panel. Back panel is bare, with the input terminal window facing downwards, another iffy for the lazy. Connections are 2 HDMIs, one VGA in, 2 component ins and a couple of composite video inputs. There is a set of input on the left panel too: a headphone out and a composite video in. The resolution is 1366 x 768, and we have native contrast at 1000:1, with a 500 cd/m2 brightness. Response time is 5 ms, and the main thing with Hitachi LCDs that is advertised in bold - an S-IPS panel. Thus we have better viewing angles and the ability to throw a tennis ball at the screen without contorting the image (not recommended).
Speaking of pure luminance information, we have medium, or average black levels. We had to raise the brightness to get any detail in low blacks. On the opposite side, we have whites which are pretty accommodating, no real clipping or blooming even on higher contrast levels. Colors should be kept at ‘normal’ temperature, and at 50 or less in the color setting. Another good thing about the TV was the detail, and of course the viewing angles. All this combined makes the image really sharp and well focused, from a wider range of viewing.

FOR: Good viewing angles, very good detail and sharpness due to IPS panel
AGAINST: Average blacks

Philips  32PFL5609
MRP - Rs. 47,990
MOP - Rs. 38,000    

Philips is another one of those brands that contribute to the development of a technology on the whole, and series like their Ambilight range had gained immense popularity years back when it came. This model we have is a new 32 incher by them, called the 32PFL5609. It’s from their 5000 series, and this one too is Full HD. The design is curvaceous, with rounded corners and glossy black finish. The power LED is a small simple white one on the left corner, and that’s about it on the bare bezel.
The connections include 3 HDMIs (only TV on this list that has 3), 2 component video, 2 composite Headphone out, and last but not least a USB, that plays MPEG4 video files like DivX etc., also MPEG1 files like .dat and .mpg files, besides MP3s and JPEGs. The panel is 1920 x 1080, brightness is 500 cd/m2, response time is 5 ms, and finally DCR is 50,000:1.
The TV, once switched on, has something very different from the rest: a setup wizard, which runs a set of images in 2 different settings, and you have to choose which one is suitable. The TV then tries to calibrate according to your preferences. It doesn’t do the best job, but it’s really interesting. But then, from here, the UI menu is not so extensive for manual calibration, with not even half as many parameters available as the Samsung. The only slight flaw in performance we encountered was a warmer than normal color hue. Reds seem oversaturated. Otherwise the pure black levels are quite deep and impressive, plus there is an automatic light sensing preset that adjust brightness according to ambient light. This works nicely.

FOR: Full HD panel, very good contrast, Nicely saturated colors, especially warmer hues
AGAINST: UI can be gimmicky

Winner
Samsung wins it. The Samsung LA32B530P7R is not so expensive if sourced at MOP, and performance wise about 75 -80% of the visual parameters we checked came out very good. Few weak points like black levels etc. can be worked out. The Philips TV is close second, as that too was a very good TV.