Samsung LN40B530

JVC LT-42P300 Summary
• The JVC LT-42P300 has an iPod dock • Samsung LN40B530 is a better performer
	Vs RCA L40FHD41	Page 14 of 18	Vs Samsung LN40B650

Value Comparison Summary

The JVC LT-42P300 has a few tricks that may entice, but the Samsung is the all-around better performer. JVC has certainly not been shy about advertising the built-in iPod dock, allowing the TV to interface with the world's most popular media player. But it failed to live up to expectations in our core performance tests. 

	Comparison Specifications
	Samsung LN40B530	JVC LT-42P300
Size	40 inches	42 inches
Price	$899 (MSRP)	$1149 (MSRP)
Type	LCD	LCD
Format	1080P	1080P

Blacks & Whites

This was an area where the JVC LT-42P300 did particularly poorly. The TV was not capable of achieving a good, dark black. The contrast ratio was also quite poor. 

Blacks & Whites Comparison Chart
Samsung LN40B530 Score: Black Level: 7.12 Peak Brightness: 9.2 Contrast: 7.71	JVC LT-42P300 Score: Black Level: 5.04 Peak Brightness: 8.36 Contrast: 5.65

Color Accuracy

Color temperature consistency was one area where the JVC LT-42P300 performed well. The RGB curves, which indicates the smoothness of color gradients, were not as good as the Samsung. 

Color Temperature Comparison

Samsung LN40B530 Score: 7.1

JVC LT-42P300 Score: 9.79

RGB Comparison

Samsung LN40B530 Score: 8.23

JVC LT-42P300 Score: 6.33

Color Gamut Comparison

Samsung LN40B530 Score: 5.75

JVC LT-42P300 Score: 6.45

Motion

The JVC LT-42P300 was knocked in its review for very poor motion smoothness and artifacting. The Samsung was far from perfect, but outperformed the JVC. 

Viewing Effects

The JVC LT-42P300 had the best viewing angle of the four TVs in this comparison group, allowing a decent picture as wide as 34 degrees from center. 

Viewing Angle Comparison
Samsung LN40B530 Score: 5.78	JVC LT-42P300 Score: 6.57

Connectivity

The JVC LT-42P300 has a strong advantage over the Samsung LN40B530 when it comes to ports. It has one additional component AV, one additional composite AV, a USB port for photo playback, and most notably, an iPod dock. Is that worth an extra $250? Considering you can buy a component AV cable set from Apple for $49, maybe not.