It's always fun to compare different levels of TVs to find out how
much the more expensive and lesser expensive HDTVs differ in quality and
features. The 3 models listed in this article are sure to be some of
the most popular models of 2014 and early 2015. While the Vizio and LG
are not as high a tier as the Samsung, they may be the top models those
companies produce in HDTV 1080p for 2014.
We've compiled a list of what we think are the most important differentiating factors in testing quality of these 2014/2015 LED HDTVs and performed the following shootout based on our findings through some very thorough investigation.
The Samsung H8000 has an elegant curved design with excellent picture quality to complete the package
2nd Vizio M552i – Vizio's new 32 zone LED backlighting design does help to deter contrast loss from side angles by concentrating on contrast up in key areas of the picture. The backlight really pops and there are a significant number of picture quality adjustments for this price range of TV. Tuning the Black Detail picture setting on the High setting really helps bring out a better picture. Contrast degradation begins at 20 degrees off center worsening significantly around 30.
2nd LG LB7200 - very good, but definitely sub quality to the H8000, and a tie with the Vizio. Colors are more muted but also slightly more accurate. Colors do not pop as much, side viewing angles are good as long as you are at perfect eye level, but suffer much more when viewing from top or bottom angles which could be an issue when wall mounting. Light flow-through is not nearly as prevalent from the LED edge lit backlighting. It's a dimmer picture when compared side by side.
The LB7200 is not as bright and the colors are a little more subdued than the other TVs in the shootout. The sense of depth and shadow detail are strong points in the image
1st - Samsung H8000 - This one performed the best in this category bringing Kill Bill, Tristan and Isolde DVDs to life. The light throughput from the H8000 really makes the difference to create more color and contrast around and in images.
This shot from the DVD of Kill Bill Volume 2 really shows why the H8000 wins in this category
2nd – LG LB7200 - With a 480i we liked the LB7200
better as the Vizio offering though it was close. The LB7200's internal
processors were weaker with a 480p signal.
3rd - Vizio M552i - The Vizio did a very nice job with Standard Definition signals and we were impressed with the light throughput on lower def signals.
2nd Samsung H8000 - Samsung's entry is second and still very good.
3rd Vizio M552i - The Vizio can really crank out the volume, but quality is lacking at times.
Samsung 55H8000 – Leave it on the Standard setting with the Smooth Auto Motion Plus feature on. The AutoMotion Plus feature adds tons of depth to 3D images and reduces judder to a non-issue. We also turned the 3D light setting up to High from the low position. Great picture but it does degrade from side viewing angles and is not as strong as the LB7200 3D picture. Changing the picture settings to Vivid and trying different combinations to improve the 3D picture saturation and depth proved fruitless as it created noticeable double images and glowing around figures.
3rd Vizio M552i – The M-series Vizio surprisingly does not have 3D compatibility. We were initially led to believe it would have passive 3D like last years M-series LED, but not so.
Samsung's H8000 - The voice regocnition kept focusing on the word "guide" and would not accurately receive the command therefore displayed the wrong results, also through a Bing browser. It only really works for one word. The new remote is an improvement bringing it closer to LG's level.
3rd M552i - The Vizio M552i of course was extremely slow to browse with due to use of the 5-way controller as the only method of search. The 5-way controller is just too slow to use when browsing to type in searches or URLs even though the browser worked well once you do get it typed in.
2nd – Samsung UN55F8000 was very good with little delay.
3rd – LG 55LB7200 is much improved from last years model with a new processing system.
This is the updated look for the Magic Remote accessory. It's got all of the necessary buttons (even an Input button) and a mic button for engaging the voice controls
2nd H8000 - The H8000 remote has buttons and a
touchpad and a very well thought out layout with an aspect ration
button, menu button, and voice control activation button. It's super
slick, but still does not work as well as the LG remote in speeding up
browsing and control.
3rd M522i - The Vizio M552i as more of a value model of course has a more basic remote with no voice control, point and click or touchpad. It's a long way down from the LG and Samsung. But the remote is functionally fine and does have a Netflix button making that app come up quickly.
1st – Samsung UN55H8000
2nd – LG 55LB7200
3rd- Vizio M552i
The Apps screen in the Samsung Smart Hub has plenty of room for all of your favorite apps and then some
1st LG's 55LB7200 ties for first with it's new cloud
based Smart TV system and is a huge improvement over last years
offering. Loading and playback are fast, and the on-screen menu is
simplified and so much easier to use.
2nd The Vizio M552i does a good job at handling Internet program loading and has a few convenient Smart TV buttons on the remote to get there faster. But it's not as fast at loading or playback as the other two.
2nd - Vizio M522i - Has a dedicated picture mode for gaming. This is for optimal performance when it comes to input lag. The TV responds fairly well in our tests. We measured input lag at 40ms. That's not too bad at all for the average to hardcore console gamer. Shooters, racing, and action games play just fine on this TV. 30ms and below are considered excellent measurements, so this Vizio stands with the best of them.
3rd – LG LB7200 - The LB7200 is not a top choice for a gaming TV. The Gaming picture setting reduced input lag, but motion blur and judder were overly distracting. Using the Standard setting with TruMotion on reduces input lag but gave an overall worse result with motion blur and judder. 3D was about the same as the Samsung.
Gran Turismo 5 looked great on the curved display of the Samsung H8000
2nd LG's 55LB7200 at $1400 and a super attractive frameless design and great remote and Smart TV system, we can overlook the fact that it does not have the best picture.
3rd Samsung UN55H8000 the best picture quality and appearance but of course demands a hefty price for that "collectors" item curved screen at $2200.
We've compiled a list of what we think are the most important differentiating factors in testing quality of these 2014/2015 LED HDTVs and performed the following shootout based on our findings through some very thorough investigation.
The Samsung H8000 has an elegant curved design with excellent picture quality to complete the package
Picture Quality
1st H8000 – From front and center definitely the strongest contrast and color performance though not as deep a picture as the some of the excellent plasma TVs or OLED TVs of today. There is slight contrast loss from side angles at 35 degrees off center, but the super bright backlighting and rich blacks still allows for a good picture. The new curved design is somewhat effective in reducing the contrast loss from side angles.2nd Vizio M552i – Vizio's new 32 zone LED backlighting design does help to deter contrast loss from side angles by concentrating on contrast up in key areas of the picture. The backlight really pops and there are a significant number of picture quality adjustments for this price range of TV. Tuning the Black Detail picture setting on the High setting really helps bring out a better picture. Contrast degradation begins at 20 degrees off center worsening significantly around 30.
2nd LG LB7200 - very good, but definitely sub quality to the H8000, and a tie with the Vizio. Colors are more muted but also slightly more accurate. Colors do not pop as much, side viewing angles are good as long as you are at perfect eye level, but suffer much more when viewing from top or bottom angles which could be an issue when wall mounting. Light flow-through is not nearly as prevalent from the LED edge lit backlighting. It's a dimmer picture when compared side by side.
The LB7200 is not as bright and the colors are a little more subdued than the other TVs in the shootout. The sense of depth and shadow detail are strong points in the image
Upconverted Picture Quality from 480p and 480i Standard Definition
If you watch a lot of Netflix streaming or normal DVDs this is still a very important category.1st - Samsung H8000 - This one performed the best in this category bringing Kill Bill, Tristan and Isolde DVDs to life. The light throughput from the H8000 really makes the difference to create more color and contrast around and in images.
This shot from the DVD of Kill Bill Volume 2 really shows why the H8000 wins in this category
3rd - Vizio M552i - The Vizio did a very nice job with Standard Definition signals and we were impressed with the light throughput on lower def signals.
Sound Quality
1st LG LB7200 - The LG LB7200 clearly has the best sound quality of the three. Sound is richer, deeper with more bass and great clarity. It's a good thing, since the TV now measures about 3 inches in depth to accommodate the LB7200s much larger speaker on the bottom back of the TV.2nd Samsung H8000 - Samsung's entry is second and still very good.
3rd Vizio M552i - The Vizio can really crank out the volume, but quality is lacking at times.
3D Viewing Quality
1st LG 55LB7200 – Pop the settings to Standard and leave the TruMotion settings on the Smooth setting to get a fantastic image with tons of depth and almost no contrast degrading from the side angles. Even passive 3D glasses look exceptionally deep with this TVs picture enhancements. Since its 3D we're going for maximum Umph!Samsung 55H8000 – Leave it on the Standard setting with the Smooth Auto Motion Plus feature on. The AutoMotion Plus feature adds tons of depth to 3D images and reduces judder to a non-issue. We also turned the 3D light setting up to High from the low position. Great picture but it does degrade from side viewing angles and is not as strong as the LB7200 3D picture. Changing the picture settings to Vivid and trying different combinations to improve the 3D picture saturation and depth proved fruitless as it created noticeable double images and glowing around figures.
3rd Vizio M552i – The M-series Vizio surprisingly does not have 3D compatibility. We were initially led to believe it would have passive 3D like last years M-series LED, but not so.
Best Internet Browsing Option
1st LG LB7200 - The LG LB7200 easily trumped in this area with the voice control assisting to quickly and accurately bring up almost anything we could think to say. A good test, “LCD TV Buying Guide” gave the voice command control no problems. I tried it twice just to make sure and it nailed it both times with the Bing browser pulling up the search results for our site perfectly.Samsung's H8000 - The voice regocnition kept focusing on the word "guide" and would not accurately receive the command therefore displayed the wrong results, also through a Bing browser. It only really works for one word. The new remote is an improvement bringing it closer to LG's level.
3rd M552i - The Vizio M552i of course was extremely slow to browse with due to use of the 5-way controller as the only method of search. The 5-way controller is just too slow to use when browsing to type in searches or URLs even though the browser worked well once you do get it typed in.
Best Wifi Connection Playback
1st – The Vizio M552i took first in this area surprisingly with flawless execution of streaming content.2nd – Samsung UN55F8000 was very good with little delay.
3rd – LG 55LB7200 is much improved from last years model with a new processing system.
Best Remote Control
1st LG 55LB7200 - The voice control feature on the LG 55LB7200's Magic Remote wins for coolest feature and helps carry the LG in this category. When there is a hot signal coming into the LB7200 the arrow courser pops readily up on the screen ready for action. One drawback to the LG is that there is no quick menu button for settings. You have to click on the Smart TV button and then point and click the Settings icon tab in the bottom left of the screen. This brings up the Picture and Sound settings and other adjustments. It's an extra step. LG added an Input button to the Magic Remote for 2014/2015 which was badly needed for toggling between devices.This is the updated look for the Magic Remote accessory. It's got all of the necessary buttons (even an Input button) and a mic button for engaging the voice controls
3rd M522i - The Vizio M552i as more of a value model of course has a more basic remote with no voice control, point and click or touchpad. It's a long way down from the LG and Samsung. But the remote is functionally fine and does have a Netflix button making that app come up quickly.
Appearance and Design Quality
Both the Samsung UN55H8000 and the LG 55LB7200 have a slightly more frame-less appearance with only a thin strip of metal surrounding the TV. The Samsung H8000 has the slighly curved screen which adds, if nothing else, a Wow factor that the other two do not have. The LB7200 is a beautiful looking screen as well. The Vizio has a very thin bezel and a metal stand that adds some nice class to the TV and “gets the job done” in terms of grading as an attractive piece. But there is no question which one of these TVs brings more of a punch to the design arena.1st – Samsung UN55H8000
2nd – LG 55LB7200
3rd- Vizio M552i
Smart TV Options, Features, and Functionality
1st Still Samsung Smart TV (UN55H8000) with a few more relevant useable Apps but not a lot. Add SEC network, HBO Go, and a few others to the list. Loading and selection wasnt too difficult and I like the new menu with lots of space to add all your Apps in one view.The Apps screen in the Samsung Smart Hub has plenty of room for all of your favorite apps and then some
2nd The Vizio M552i does a good job at handling Internet program loading and has a few convenient Smart TV buttons on the remote to get there faster. But it's not as fast at loading or playback as the other two.
Gaming Performance
1st Samsung UN55H8000 - This TV had the best results in terms of input lag and motion blur. The AutoMotion Plus feature got rid of judder without a drastic change in the time to register an input from the controller. 3D gaming was a low point.2nd - Vizio M522i - Has a dedicated picture mode for gaming. This is for optimal performance when it comes to input lag. The TV responds fairly well in our tests. We measured input lag at 40ms. That's not too bad at all for the average to hardcore console gamer. Shooters, racing, and action games play just fine on this TV. 30ms and below are considered excellent measurements, so this Vizio stands with the best of them.
3rd – LG LB7200 - The LB7200 is not a top choice for a gaming TV. The Gaming picture setting reduced input lag, but motion blur and judder were overly distracting. Using the Standard setting with TruMotion on reduces input lag but gave an overall worse result with motion blur and judder. 3D was about the same as the Samsung.
Gran Turismo 5 looked great on the curved display of the Samsung H8000
Best Value
1st The Vizio M552i at $899 is a keen value choice for 2014. It gets right many of the most important aspects of what is needed in a good HDTV while eschewing some of the fancier features.2nd LG's 55LB7200 at $1400 and a super attractive frameless design and great remote and Smart TV system, we can overlook the fact that it does not have the best picture.
3rd Samsung UN55H8000 the best picture quality and appearance but of course demands a hefty price for that "collectors" item curved screen at $2200.
Samsung UN55H8000
- 1st Place Finishes – 5
- 2nd – 4
- 3rd - 2
LG 55LB7200
- 1st Place Finishes – 5
- 2nd – 3
- 3rd - 3
Vizio M522i
- 1st Place Finishes – 2
- 2nd – 4
- 3rd - 5
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