3D TV: You Get What You Pay For

27.08.2011

LG 50PZ950: Overall, "Viperwolves" looked great on this set. We noticed mild crosstalk in the foreground plants, but the rest of the scene seemed crisp, clear, and deep. 3D tends to look its best when it's subtly adding depth to the scene rather than randomly throwing things into the foreground, and the 50PZ950 did a good job of showing that. The colors were vivid, which looked good but tended to counteract some of the ominous darkness of the scene.

Sony 46HX820: "Viperwolves" looked good on the 46HX820, albeit slightly less deep than on the LG 50PZ950. One judge commented that she found the motion sequences rather jarring, and that she felt a little queasy while watching; another judge had neither problem. This scene did show off the 46HX820's contrast range quite nicely, though--Sony's set was the only one of the three to do justice to the dimly lit portions of the scene without losing detail.

"Neytiri" is the scene immediately following "Viperwolves." A slow-paced scene, "Neytiri" has a mix of close shots and atmospheric shots that show off the complexity of the Pandora jungle. It culminates with Jake being covered by the seeds of Eywa--floaty jellyfish-looking thingies that, when done right, appear to pop out of the screen.

Samsung PN43D490: The PN43D490 did fairly well with "Neytiri," producing a subtle sense of depth between Jake and Neytiri during their initial encounter. The shots that showed off the Pandora jungle were a bit dizzying, and the scene with the seeds floating around Jake looked a bit less crisp on this set than on the others. All in all, Samsung's TV did a decent job of showing a 3D image without offending the senses.