The Search for a Thin Bezel Flat Panel

I'm interested in buying a new TV. At this point I'm just looking/researching, which is half the fun. :)

What am I looking for:

At least 50", 55" would be nice
1080p
VGA input
Good picture quality
No need for any features such as tuner, speakers, ethernet, photo cards etc

Basically just a display panel.

Its not too big a deal finding some TVs that match those specs. But, my next deciding factor is appearance. I would really like a panel with a very narrow frame/border, e.g. very minimalist, nothing but screen.

This is hard to find it seems. It seems to be called "thin bezel". Here's what I've found so far:

Samsung 460UTn-UD

The 460UTn-UD series of panels is made by Samsung, and is one of their Professional Displays, it looks like their marketed to businesses, and one of their key features is their thin bezel that enables them to be mounted next to each other and have large images composited across many panels without much interruption at the borders.

Yes, they have a ultra thin bezel
Unfortunately they only come in this one size, 46"
They only support 720p, not 1080p

LG 55SL80

The LG 55SL80 looks very promising. It was announced this summer and according to what I've read should be available now, but it looks like its not yet widely available at retailers. The 55SL80 is one of a series of brand new LCDs from LG that have a super narrow bezel, and look like they support all the latest features such as 240Hz, 1080p, etc.

Yes, ultra slim bezel
Three sizes available: 42", 47" and 55"
1080p, 240Hz
Single layer design - seems to refer to a single surface on the front

And thats it... So far I can't seem to find much else.

Got any tips?

Oct 23, 2009

roberthahn said...

No tips, just a question: why 1080p? I've seen a lot of discussion on whether it's even worth going that high in some circumstances - I think the logic is that if you are sitting about 'yea' far from the tv, and the tv is 'yea' big, then your eyes can't even resolve 1080p's worth of resolution.

Ivan Lukianchuk said...

This is one of those interesting problems that most people don't have, which makes it much harder to research!

I'd did a lot of TV research a few months ago so I know what position you are in. One suggestion would be to stop in at Gibson audio visual on Columbia, take a look at what they have and ask the guys there if they know of any, or what other words you could search for. You may get some info, you may not, but they seem to know some of their stuff. I know they have a specific type of tv that has a glass panel that goes over everything so it looks like there is no bezel at all, and they look pretty slick, but it really depends on the reasoning of the no bezel, or if illusions will do the job. That might be the single layer design you mentioned above.

It doesn't look like you can get much thinner than that Samsung without paying more than the fortune that thing probably already costs.

To reiterate, I'd definitely say it's worth it to hit a few stores where the salesman rely on knowing the brands, differences and whats coming. It will be very hit or miss depending where you go, but they might give you insight on what exists or what they know is coming soon, or specifically what company specializes in thin bezel. It is their job after all to at least appear that they know what they are talking about. It might save you a few hours of endless surfing.

I was so close to buying an LG 60" plasma price matched at $2000, even though it wasn't that great, it would be good enough for the price, but we ended up getting a sweet deal on an open box 65" sharp aquos LCD with free delivery, install, and $250 off a stand for $2500!

I don't have a bluray and my xbox doesn't have hdmi, so I'm not sure if it's pumping out more than 720p even though it's set to 1080. It all depends on the distance you sit away from your TV. By the end of all my research I tried to look at it realistically and say, am I going to get a bluray player? no. Do I care if it lasts 10 years? No, because in 2-5 years there will be something incredibly better out for the same price or less, and by then maybe I'll actually have some bluray player.

to note, my friend has a 1080p projector and a bluray player and it looks like you can walk through the wall onto the set.

Alex Black said...

@Robert: I have a few weak reasons :)

1. My current TV (and any future replacement) would be hooked up to my Windows Media Center PC. Most of the time I use the 10ft 'media center' interface with a remote, but sometimes I drop back to Windows and browse the web, or run software, and which point 1366x768 resolution ends up being pretty limiting.

2. Emotionally I find it hard to buy 2nd best (720p) if the best is affordable :)

I'll have to figure out what the rule of thumb is for resolution and distance to see if it would make any difference.

@Ivan, great suggestions. I do plan to drop by Natural Sound on Victoria St, they are known for having high end stuff. I'll check out Gibson's too. The problem I have with those places is they usually only carry a few brands. Although, I agree, its great to talk to a real person, and see some products in person.

I do have a BluRay player, and my Xbox360 has HDMI, so presumably I might be able to notice a difference with 1080p.

Oct 26, 2009

Mark Feeney said...

Not that it seems to be a problem yet, but you could drop the VGA input requirement by using a VGA-to-DVI adapter ($1.80 at Monoprice). I'm making an assumption that all new TVs will have DVI input, but possibly not VGA input.

@Mark, yeah that might work. Actually my media center PC has DVI out, and I've got a DVI-HDMI cable, but I get really poor results with my existing LCD.

When I use the DVI-HDMI cable, the image doesn't fit well on the screen and doesn't look sharp. Conversely, when I use the VGA cable, the image fits perfectly on the screen and appears to be very sharp.

I imagine the DVI-HDMI problem is due to a shortcoming in my drivers (Nvidia 8600), or perhaps in the LCD...

I had the same experience hooking my Xbox 360 up to another LCD, it looks much better with VGA than with HDMI.

Nov 01, 2009

Panasonic is releasing a new thin plasma called the Z1: http://hdguru.com/panasonic-2009-prices-leaked-part-ii-the-z1-plasma-and-more-hd-guru-exclusive/395/

However, at $6,000 its a bit pricey!