Samsung Series 5 vs LG Scarlet

Long weekend coming up, so why don’t I sign off with a bang? The latest LCD TV models from Samsung and LG have already been reviewed by us, and while they proved competent, neither was perfect in all respects. So it should be fun to play god and pit the 42-inch LG Scarlet against the 40-inch Samsung Series 5. On we go…

Aesthetics and Form
The LG Scarlet has become quite famous for its red back panel, which no doubt looks beautiful, but it’s at the rear! Are any consumers going to fall for this? There’s no sensible explanation for putting the most striking design element where it’s least likely to be seen. It must be some inside joke on LG’s part.

The on/off button on the Scarlet is an awesome piece of work – no doubt about that. It’s a hole carved through the bezel’s bottom panel, which has a transparent ridged rim. It is touch-sensitive, and lights up subtly when on. On the other hand, the Series 5 is basic, with the high gloss black finish all over and a thin metallic strip on the left and right borders. The bezel is narrow and straight up.

Both have hidden speakers and flush, touch-sensitive buttons, but the Scarlet looks distinctly better. LG has clearly made an attempt to go one up on Samsung when it comes to aesthetics, so it wins our opening round.

Winner of Round One: LG Scarlet

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Features
While reviewing the TVs I remember clearly that the spec sheets boasted some insanely high numbers for contrast. After checking up we have Samsung Series 5 at 30,000:1, which doesn’t quite match up to the LG’s 50,000:1 contrast ratio. These are dynamic values, so I’d not give this too much importance.

The brightness of Scarlet is at 550 cd/m2 which is respectable, while Series 5 hasn’t stated it anywhere as far as I could see. Both have similar connectivity options – a commendable 3 HDMIs, 1 USB-in (for pics and MP3s), plus some nice factory presets in the menus.

Speaking of software menus, LG gets one point here, as its proprietary Intelligent Sensor preset automatically calibrates images according to the ambient room conditions. It doesn’t do a perfect job, but it’s decent. Samsung runs neck-and-neck, with much to offer in terms of control, including gamma correction, and a host of on/off features like black level, DNIe noise reduction and more.

This round ends in a tie, as both TVs have a comprehensive set of features. Calibrating them was pretty much fun.

Winner of Round Two: (Tie)

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Performance
When you have two calibrated TVs running in A/B mode (side by side playing the same content), it’s not too hard to pick out differences. I saw a Blu-ray disc (Ratatouille) and DVD (I Am legend) and used HQV HD benchmark to check.

The Samsung Series 5 offered deeper blacks, and better contrast and brightness. The movie preset of Samsung is better than the LG’s; it gives a nice warm tone to the picture. Speaking of colors, on a straight-up comparison Samsung is warmer, with enhanced reds, and other colors around that wavelength. The LG was more neutral and (for me at least) that is a positive.

Sharpness is fatally flawed in the Samsung panel, due to haloing. For the DVD, both TVs did quite an average job at upscaling; some artifacts were visible on both. My PS3 made a guest appearance too and nailed in some extra jaggies and edge distortion for the LG. Motion was also smoother and finely renderied in Series 5.

So Samsung takes this round, thanks to its impressive performance – the contrast levels are better, and a plethora of menu options allow power tweaking.

Winner of Round Three__: Samsung Series 5

Price
The Samsung costs Rs 80,000 whereas the LG wills et you back by a whopping Rs 1,09,000. Frankly, this is such a blow below the belt that anyone would flinch and close their eyes if it were a real fight. Agreed, the LG looks awesome, even though the main ‘awesomeness’ (Kung-fu Panda hangover) is hidden away at the rear. But would you want to pay Rs 29,000 more for jazzier looks? I wouldn’t!

Our match is over, and Samsung wins, mainly because of its much lower cost and slightly better peformance.

Winner of Round Four and Overall Champion: Samsung Series 5!