26" LCD TVs: Are They Ready for Prime Time?

Samsung LT-P266W: Basic Fidelity

The set's performance was average everywhere, but the Delta E was rarely above 2, which is quite good for a TV set. But it seems to be hard to reconcile high brightness and proper control over the color display. The darkest colors are also difficult to reproduce.

The black level was fairly good, with values very close to the Sharp TV we tested above. The white level was 229 nits, which is well suited to standard TV use.

Spatial Uniformity

The Samsung panel showed fairly good uniformity - better than the Sharp and Philips sets. The profile was similar to that of the Sharp, with the lower part of the panel less bright than the upper, but the spread wasn't as wide.

In short, we found the static qualities of the Samsung LT-P266W convincing The color fidelity wasn't exact, true, but the black level was really good and the brightness well calculated.