TV's

[Newton]

In the new year I plan to treat myself to a new TV and Xbox, now the Xbox isnt a problem, the TV is

Im think 42" Plasma full HD, that is the limit of my knoweldge of TVs and anyone offer advice?

 

I dont have sky, but have have generic satalite, and it will be mostly use for the xbox and watching TV (strange that), am considering pluging in a spare PC so I can catch on the unmissable, that I've missed.

[jj99]

I have a similar predicament, i want to upgrade my my 30inch CRT to a 40-42 inch plasma or LCD for genereal telly watching and the wii for the kids.

 

I have looked at many websites the best one i found was which.

LCD and plasma TVs - Which? Reviews

 

However I am still undiceded whihc one to go for. I have wnadered many a electrical superstore look at which ones i like. LCD seem a lot cheaper but I dont like the movement ghosting and teh fake colours on them unless you go for one with a high resoloutioin and contrast ratio the new 100hz Full HD 1080p look amazing, however they get expensive!!!

 

Plasma are duller but the picture qualitly looks better. They are little more expensive however I have heard horror stores of plasma gas bubbles bursting and them needing refilling.

 

How much were you looking to spend?

[broc]

I voted for Plasma a year ago.... 42" 1080P Panasonic with a 5 year warranty.

 

I believe Panasonic have an offer at the moment which includes 5 year warranty depending upon where you buy from.

 

I am surprised you found the plasma sets dull, this has not been my experience. The blacks are much darker on plasma than LCD (or they were last year).

 

You can tweak the image quite a bit to suit your tastes & room ambient lighting. We have Sky+ and a PS3, the PS3 with Blueray is very good. The 42" plasma makes a very good projection screen for HD video (also Panasonic) or still photos streamed from my Windows Home Server acting as media server to the PS3

 

My daughters boyfriend tried Sky HD and sent it back because the audio signal was out of synch with the video signal. Apparently there's loads of discussion on the www about this. He said the picture quality was excellent but couldn't cope with the sound problems.

[Spitfire]

If you pause the picture or have static backgrounds then go for LCD as plasma suffer from "Plasma burn" where eventually the screen becomes burnt with images. The higher the "contrast" number the better, the best are acheiving 20000 at the moment. There are supposedly only 3 factories producing LCD screens so take your pick from the manufacturers but "Samsung" are the leaders in this field. Rumour has it Plasma will not exist in a couple of years time, all down to costs.

[RabbieBurns]

Pioneer have already stopped making plasma screens I believe.

 

I went for a 46" Bravia LCD about Feb or March and its been great.

[jj99]

Hmm... Sorry to have take over your thread Newton!

 

The one i have been looking at the most is the LG scarlet 42 LCD, anyone seen any thing on these or got any recomenadtions on it?

 

I also thought the plama burn is sorted on new plasma as they have a automatic gas refresh?

 

Iwas also told that its not allways the contrast ratio that goves the best picture its the software matrix ability to refresh in time? Thats why the viera and bravia ranges are so good or am i being spun a line.

 

I want to spend arround 600 quid on mine but dont want to end up with one i hate!!

 

Id be alright if it was a pc lol

[tmcd35]

My brother used to work for Currys. Apparently the returns rate on LG's left something to be desired. At the other end of the spectrum, Samsung's and Philips are very nice TV's.

[richardp]

Hi, I just purchased a Sony 40W4500 (40" LCD) for similar reasons. I can say having used it for approx 2 weeks now that it is worth the money. Standard Definition TV looks great and is much better than I expected. PS3 games look fantastic with no lag that I can see. Blu ray films look excellent and are definitely worth the extra cost over dvds, although upscaled dvds also look a lot better. I have a HTPC hooked up to it also and the desktop is very usable at 720p, good enough to use as a monitor even.

 

A really good source of info is AVForums.com and I would recommend thinking about purchasing from john lewis as you get free delivery and a 5 year guarantee (they will also price match so long as you match against a store that has a proper shop not just online) plus a 30 day no quibble returns policy.

 

Richard

[Sirbendy]

I'm no fan of big TVS....the MIL has a plasma, big bugger it is too. HORRIBLE to watch. Pixelation, aspect stretch, image tearing, and the energy usage? Equivalent to a 2 bar

fire. Ridiculous in every sense.

 

I have a 20something inch Tosh CRT, does the job lovely. Any replacement will be TFT, not more than 20-25 inch, and a power usage of 50watts or less. Or I might use my freeview stick and our retired Vaio..heh..that'd work quite well..

[apeo]

My brother used to work for Currys. Apparently the returns rate on LG's left something to be desired. At the other end of the spectrum, Samsung's and Philips are very nice TV's.

 

I hate LG (as anyone who knows me will tell ya) because everything (and i mean everything) I've ever had of them has been rubbish so as a general rule i dont buy anything LG.

[sidewinder]

I'm no fan of big TVS....the MIL has a plasma, big bugger it is too. HORRIBLE to watch. Pixelation, aspect stretch, image tearing, and the energy usage? Equivalent to a 2 bar

fire. Ridiculous in every sense.

 

I have a 20something inch Tosh CRT, does the job lovely. Any replacement will be TFT, not more than 20-25 inch, and a power usage of 50watts or less. Or I might use my freeview stick and our retired Vaio..heh..that'd work quite well..

 

I dont really like them either. My flatmate has his 32" LCD in our front room and Im not going to complain about that, but I've still got my old 28" CRT at my parents which will be my main TV if/when I live on my own. Far better at displaying anything that isnt HD (and I dont own anything that can produce HD anyway)

[Newton]

Don't worry about Highjacking the post, its all good info.

 

Looking to spend £700 tops not including xbox.

 

 

 

Edit: Brother just told me I owe him £65 for his xmas presents, and jsut way to much on tires for car

 

 

Sorry just wanted to use it:troll:

[crc-ict]

We've got a 32" Toshiba Regza LCD and that seems pretty good and was reasonably priced. No complaints at the TV quality from the built in Freeview, Wii looks good on Component and XBox 360 is stunning on HDMI.

[Anon]

I bought a Samsung 32" full HD LCD [[ame=http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-LE32A457C1DX-LCD-Freeview-tuner/dp/B00179WGP0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1228241252&sr=1-3]Very similar to this model[/ame]] last year and I've had no trouble at all. Even considering stopping the £5 a month insurance from Curry's, but you know what will happen as soon as I do that...

 

Overall I've been very pleased with it. 360 games look fantastic and the DVD up-scaling breathes new life into old DVDs (but that’s a console thing).

Standard Def TV varies depending on the channel but the ghosting/trailing experienced with LCD is minimal and you don't really notice it after a couple of days.

 

I'd recommend Samsung LCD and if I was shopping around for one now and I would look for one with a wireless connection to stream stuff straight off the network.

Edited December 2, 2008 by Anon

[mrcrazy04]

We have a Vistron 32" HD LCD we got from ebuyer for £300.

That is sufficiently large for our lounge, and the xbox 360 looks great on it - as does sky.

We also have a desktop hooked up to the PC - and that is one of the best things, however the flash iPlayer doesn't look that great.

The only problem with the Vistron is that there are no sky remote codes for it, so we have to use the TV remote for adjusting volume etc.

[antoeknee]

OK to start its well worth checking John Lewis as they will price match and a 5 year guarantee is included. Don't look at prices on thier site as it doesn't reflect prices in store. I bought a Panasonic and the store was matching a local retailer which meant the price was £50 lower than anywhere else.

 

For some discussion/advice see here: LCD Televisions - AVForums.com

 

Hopefully you'll be able to make a decission then. From personal experience I know how difficult this can be and I wish you luck.

 

Another site worth a look http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/

Edited December 2, 2008 by antoeknee

[jj99]

I have just seen this on next wifes buy now pay later friend

 

Next - Special Offers - Page 1.2 - Televisions - Electricals its £250 cheaper than in the book?

 

Anyone got any opions on it?

 

Forogt to add on my origianl post that my DVD player does HDMI upscalling and I think would be a shame for me not to use it, however i have heard that people dont get much difference with it!

 

The TV maze continues....

[Andrew_C]

I have just seen this on next wife's buy now pay later friend

I'd be careful. The catalog companies often have specials made for them by the mfrs. One letter different in the code, and a lot lower in quality/features (personal experience of washing machines and Zanusi).

and the energy usage? Equivalent to a 2 bar fire. Ridiculous in every sense.

2kW!!??? F my best boots! That is insane! You'd never watch it in the summer. Edited December 2, 2008 by Andrew_C

[john]

I got a Samsung 40" Full HD one for someone this summer and boy oh boy was it amazing, brilliant quality. We have hung it on a Voguel wall mount and its brilliant, they are so pleased with it, and even with the Wii on it it looks brilliant, very impressive bit of kit, I know Samsung kit is good I have a small HDTV by them myself so was expecting no less and I wasn't disapointed. Very good kit and well worth the money at the time.

[Daleus]

Telewest (Virginmedia) give anyone with a tv box access to full iplayer for free. However the channels are limited unless you are willing to pay, but you get iplayer and an on demand service which just rips sky apart.

 

I think you can buy a phone line from them for £9/month and get free tv, or just get the basic tv package for about a tenner a month.

 

However, if you live in the back end of nowhere, looks like your stuck with sky and plugging a pc in!

[Newton]

Telewest (Virginmedia) give anyone with a tv box

However, if you live in the back end of nowhere, looks like your stuck with sky and plugging a pc in!

 

 

Shropshire (only had mains water in 1966)

[MK-2]

Our old 28" CRT has gone mental so I've just ordered a Samsung 32" LCD.

I was torn between that and the LG 32" but the thing is, LG tout their one as having 50,000:1 contrast ratio which is just ridiculous.

I usually check sites that sell them and also do customer reviews. I know a lot of reviews are very specific (i hate this tv cos the remote control is blue not black) but you get a general idea.

[gwendes]

I vote projector. Got an Optoma HD65 last night and the image at 100" is beautiful... I killed so many people on CoD4