Tesla Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 Hi all looking to buy a new TV for when me and other half move in together. any recommendations / what brands to avoid? looking at around 40", preferably with freeview HD, not fussed about it being "smart", as we have a roku stick. Seen a 42" LG that looks quite good... LG 42LB550V 42-inch Widescreen Full HD 1080p LED TV with Freeview HD: Amazon.co.uk: TV dislike Samsung, Other half's Mum and Dad (seperated) have both bought samsung tvs of late, and the sound is absolutely dreadful, with the bass sounding incredibly distorted when not even particularly loud (Don't want a soundbar....yet) ebuyer and a few other places seem to have cheap Digihome Tv's.....im guessing these are cheap for a reason? (though reevoo reviews seem ok...)
difinity Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 Avoid the Digihome. They are Vestel TVs which are notoriously cr@p. 1
3s-gtech Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 I have bought a large number of LG screens of late, all have been good. Fitted a similar 47" version into an IT suite last Friday. The thing with LG sets is they seem to be good at everything - not outstanding but they often work out as the best choice, especially where sound is important. Most Samsung sets I've used have had poor sound. 1
rich_tech Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 LG are not a bad make from what I have seen of my dads, he bought a 56" TV last year and its going well with their sky, sound is decent too (had to be my dad is going deaf) - power saving can be a PITA with some new TVs because of EU regs now and you may have to push the remote to keep it on (my dads LG you could disable all that thankfully) I bought a Toshiba 40" TV just before our son arrived nearly 2 years back and it was "OK" too, not brilliant, sound is fine on it, but I am a bit annoyed now that the picture seems to have developed black lines in the picture under certain colours (blue/green and lots of white and it becomes visible) 1
sllorep Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 (edited) I recently brought a new Panasonic Viera TX-42AS650B (42") TV just before the Christmas Hols (So that I had a nice new/bigger screen to play the PS4 over whilst I was off - replaced a really old 28" screen, but this 42" has the same footprint/physical size as the old one!!). I ordered it from John Lewis, they delivered it in good time and no damage - They seem to be just as competitive pricing as anywhere else and you know that their support should be good if anything goes wrong. I can't fault it yet! Built in Bluetooth (for the headphones), and wireless. Casting from Android to the TV's YouTube, Netflix, BBC iPlayer etc works great). Viera link is also a massive plus for me as it links nicely with the Panasonic surround sound amp/BluRay player - So only one remote needed. Sound without the surround sound is fine though!! I've plugged a 250GB USB2 HDD that I had sitting around into it and can now pause/rewind TV, but the only thing that lets it down is there is no recording from the TV Planner!! Also, there is only one tuner, so no recording and changing channel. I have a Humax FreeSat box for all my recording needs, so I don't really record on the TV anyway. Link to JL page: Buy Panasonic Viera TX-42AS650B LED HD 1080p 3D Smart TV, 42", Freeview HD with freetime | John Lewis Ash Edited February 23, 2015 by sllorep 1
arwen Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 I've got a 3/4 year old Sony Bravia 40". It is fantastic, sound quality is acceptable for the thinnss of the tv. It worked great in my small living room, and then my large bedroom when I moved to a flat share. But now I am in a house with a reasonable sized living room, I feel it is on the small side. So have a think of how far away from it you will be sitting and compare it to the guide - We sit around 8-9' away from the TV. It is 1080 40" one and I think we could do with a bigger one. 1
mac_shinobi Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 (edited) Ive just recently gotten the LG 47 LB650V from Richer sounds and great tv set but not had a smart telly before and maybe just me being impatient but find doing anything using the remote control can be a bit slow, maybe thats normal for smart tv's Got it when it was on offer for aprox £470 It is 1080P , smart 3D TV and I believe has an IPS Screen which is great !! Edited February 23, 2015 by mac_shinobi 1
w-clarke101 Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 Buy W8 107 cm/42 inches LED TV with Full HD Display & View Prices | Sony UK Sony do some good TV still. 1
mac_shinobi Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 On Richer Sounds site ticked the LG Option, Then Ticked the option for screens between 39" to 45" and sorted by price : All TVs | LCD TVs | Plasma TVs | Televisions | Richer Sounds 1
sonofsanta Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 Avoid the cheap brands because you will suffer with the interface. We had a cheap Technika TV from Tesco once and it honestly took about 5 minutes to get from BBC1 up to the other end of the channel list to see what was on - each channel took around ten seconds to load and it wouldn't let you go through the EPG without loading the channel. Proper brands are worth the money, I promise. LG are fantastic for the money - got a couple at home and been delighted with them. 2
Quackers Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 I would always lean towards Panasonic or LG. Panasonic if you want quality above anything else, LG if you want a few more toys on the TV. Also i would always get a surround system to go with them if its the main TV, as TVs are so thin now the sound aint that great, with things like Viera Link you only need 1 remote instead of 1 for the TV and 1 for the Amp. 1
CHR1S Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 Horses for courses, always had Samsung myself at home and LG at work. LG seem to be the jack of all trades and Samsung always won the side by side vs price challenge when I was buying. If I was buying today I would avoid all the smart crap and just go for the very best screen in my price range in the nicest looking package. I do already have a decent AV setup so sound etc does not matter. 1
Dos_Box Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 Avoid the cheap brands because you will suffer with the interface. We had a cheap Technika TV from Tesco once and it honestly took about 5 minutes to get from BBC1 up to the other end of the channel list to see what was on - each channel took around ten seconds to load and it wouldn't let you go through the EPG without loading the channel. Proper brands are worth the money, I promise. LG are fantastic for the money - got a couple at home and been delighted with them. Sounds like they used the same people Virgin used to program their Tivos! 1
cpjitservices Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 I have a Philips Series 8. With Ambilights. Nice TV. 42" - good sound and great screen - 4 HDMI Ports which is handy.
Tesla Posted February 23, 2015 Author Posted February 23, 2015 just seen this.... much better spec than the one i posted originally but only £35 more... D: LG 42LB580V 42-inch Widescreen 1080p Full HD Wi-Fi Smart TV with Freeview HD: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics looks like LG is the way to go... thanks people.. (still hope they have this in a store somewhere so i can look at it myself before buying) 1
mats Posted February 23, 2015 Posted February 23, 2015 I'd suggest you play with the UI before you buy. Turn it off and on, see how long before you get a program guide. How many button presses before it tells you what it's showing? It the UI (and the remote) fiddly or non-intuitive to use? These are the things that would likely have made me buy something other than our current Phillips. Nice enough screen & audio (not that I'm an expert), crap UI. The smart stuff is so awful I bought a Roku streaming stick which I have no complaints with - except that it was effectively another £50 on top of the cost of the TV. 3
Tesla Posted February 24, 2015 Author Posted February 24, 2015 had a look in currys last night, LGs look good, they had quite a lot of JVC tvs? don't hear about them much anymore, anyone able to shed any light? Thanks
CHR1S Posted February 24, 2015 Posted February 24, 2015 TV's made by AmTRAN Video Corporation Just licenced the JVC name. 1
difinity Posted February 24, 2015 Posted February 24, 2015 Sadly JVC are now more Vestel cr@p. I started repairing TVs a year ago and nearly all of the no name TVs are Vestel. Some of the old well known names too, such as JVC and Toshiba. The power supplies are made as cheap as they possible with flaws in the design that almost seem like they are designed to fail. I'd personally avoid Currys and look in Richer Sounds. They offer a 5 year warranty and their staff usually have more of a clue. 1
Novalee Posted February 24, 2015 Posted February 24, 2015 Just had this emailed from eBuyer - £299.99 for private buyer. Digihome 49" LED Full HD Freeview TV - Televisions at Ebuyer Says 10/10 on Reevoo - but I just looked and that's for 2 reviewers haha. 1
Tesla Posted February 24, 2015 Author Posted February 24, 2015 Yeah, i think Digihome is a cheap and nasty one, so will probably try to avoid, i did notice it in the newsletter too though ha.
mats Posted February 24, 2015 Posted February 24, 2015 One more thing - your local Richer Sounds is likely to be staffed by people who study TVs like we study pc hardware. Always impressed by the service and knowledge levels in the Leicester branch. 1
Tesla Posted February 24, 2015 Author Posted February 24, 2015 (edited) I have seen that LG TV is also available at Richer Sounds, and they do price matching... hmmmm Edited February 24, 2015 by Tesla LG, not JVC, D'OH!
difinity Posted February 24, 2015 Posted February 24, 2015 I have seen that LG TV is also available at Richer Sounds, and they do price matching... hmmmm and free lollipops !!
Joanne Posted February 24, 2015 Posted February 24, 2015 El to the Gee FTW also Richer Sounds for the win. You can haggle and ask them to throw in a 5 year warranty too. I <3 Richer Sounds! (Preston one is excellent anyways).
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