I am thinking of buying a new LCD TV, so far i've decided that I want it to be around 40 inches, black or silver and to be HD ready. I've don't know alot about TVs but I want the newest possible model and I'm worried that if I go to my local Dealer they'll sell me last years model. So can anyone help?
I've never owned a TV that large before but I'm sure I read somewhere that plasma televisions are better than LCD at such a size. I don't know if that's a load of twaddle - can anyone confirm/deny?
Ok, large tellies. Thing to look out for things to do.
Going to your local dealer is a good idea, just don't buy anything. Have a look at the screens you like, picture quality, colour reproduction, see what looks good by your eye. Take a DVD, one of your own that you know well and get them to put it on. If they're worth their salt as a retailer they'll let you play it, by doing so you can see how much better/worse the picture is when its not showing the usual instore feed.
Next see what connections it has, HDMI, Scart etc. Remember if you have a PS3, Sky HD and HD DVD player you'll need at least 3HDMI sockets. Do you want to go HD, if so how badly, there are various types and formats of HD, interlaces, progressive, full HD etc. Have a look on Google/wikipedia etc and get a grasp of what is what and what would suit your setup.
Then if you see a set you like, don't buy it, note down its model number, come back home and Google it, you'll find user reviews on almost every set there is and you'll be able to see if its worth its money or if its an older model etc.
Finally shop around, the internet is often a lot cheaper than high street, but if you want the ability to just take it back then high street may be the way to go, find out if they price match again online stores or other high street retailers.
This isn't intended to knock Bail, as his advice is totally valid.
However, the first question you need to ask yourself is how deeply you want to go into it.
If you want to delve deeply, follow Bail's advice; however, if you want it fairly simple and just want a decent telly, go out and buy a Panasonic and you won't go far wrong.
This isn't intended to knock Bail, as his advice is totally valid.
However, the first question you need to ask yourself is how deeply you want to go into it.
If you want to delve deeply, follow Bail's advice; however, if you want it fairly simple and just want a decent telly, go out and buy a Panasonic and you won't go far wrong.
Yep, two years ago we bought a 32 inch Panasonic LCD and we've been so pleased with it. We also have two Sony Bravias - a 20 inch and a 15 inch. They're equally good.
The other thing to remember about buying large-screen TVs is compression. If you're not going to use HD just yet, I'd suggest going for a smaller screen size. If you're planning on just using SD (i.e. Freeview, standard Sky or Cable) the picture can actually look much worse on a larger screen than a smaller one. It's HD where large screens really come to life.
One little nugget I can add to this (since I think Bail and Nick have covered most of the bases) is that Tesco are currently doing a 40" Sony LCD for £600 in the sale -- seems reasonable to me -- Amazon have a similar offer as well.
As a general rule I'd say that Panasonic, Toshiba and Sony are the "big three" companies to go for in mid-range TVs, and none will disappoint. Samsung on a budget (Sony screens are made by Samsung), and Pioneer if you want high-end.
Just avoid Philips whatever you do -- unreliable. In fact that is the biggest issue with LCDs and Plasmas; some of the cheaper sets are woefully flaky.
I wouldn't be too concerned with specification unless you plan to buy BluRay or HD-DVD any time soon. Games consoles and Sky HD will work perfectly well on last year's TVs -- as long as they do 720p and 1080i you'll be fine (resolution of at least 720 pixels vertical). Really no point in spending £6-800 more on a feature you may not need for several years (by which time you'll want a better TV in any case, and it won't cost any more to upgrade than the money you save now).
Yep, two years ago we bought a 32 inch Panasonic LCD and we've been so pleased with it. We also have two Sony Bravias - a 20 inch and a 15 inch. They're equally good.
I recently bought a 26" Sony Bravia and it is brilliant, the quality is excellent and the Freeview on it is very good, I've yet to try it with anything HD.
One thing that surprised me is that I also have a Sony DVD/HDD combination, which is connected to the TV via the SCART output, it's input is my V Box, but amazingly I found that it can also record the Freeview channel I'm watching on the TV, must be a two way SCART thing.
I am thinking of buying a new LCD TV, so far i've decided that I want it to be around 40 inches, black or silver and to be HD ready.
Not [purposely] being patronising, but its worth checking that you know what 'HD Ready' means. It means different things in English, American English and marketing BS.
I am thinking of buying a new LCD TV, so far i've decided that I want it to be around 40 inches, black or silver and to be HD ready.
Not [purposely] being patronising, but its worth checking that you know what 'HD Ready' means. It means different things in English, American English and marketing BS.
In Europe "HD Ready" means a very strict definition of a minimum standard that guarantees it will work with both broadcast HD transmissions in Europe, and BluRay/HD-DVD material.
If you are looking for a 40" display - then it is probably LCD that offers the best option currently.
The £600 Bravias are not "Full 1080" which means that although they are HD Ready, they don't display the full 1920x1080 resolution that some sources can deliver.
Panasonic and Sony LCDs are both good - and Panasonic and Pioneer plasmas (though 37" plasmas are a bit on the low-res side)
If you are going to be watching reasonably close-to, and have a Sky HD, PS3/BluRay/HD-DVD player then Full 1080 is worth having (there are quite a few 40W2000s going cheap at the moment - though the W3000 does add some useful extra functionality - like 24p True Cinema support that stops BluRay and HD-DVD players juddering with 3:2 pulldown - IF your player supports 24p output)
I have both plasma and HD LCD, which i 26 inches and Samsung, SD pictures do look very bad, I wonder what it would like on a 42 inch, HD stuff looks superb, mind you I have only seen what the swiss and germans have to offer HD wise!
> The £600 Bravias are not "Full 1080" which means that although they are HD Ready, they don't display the full 1920x1080 resolution that some sources can deliver.
The $64,000 question though is whether you need the resolution.
1) Some 1920x1080 TVs don't support 1080p, only 1080i. IMO these are a waste of time.
2) Sky HD is 1080i, and looks no worse on a 40" TV than 720p does (which the base HD-ready sets are capable of transmitting, and the Sky boxes do support). Additionally, the US HD stuff is all 720p.
3) 1920x1080 televisions are MUCH more expensive than those which only natively support 1280x720 resolution.
To get a *good* 1920x1080, 1080p TV will cost well over £1500 at the size you are after. I really don't see the point in spending this much if you are not going to use it.
Unless you have a damn good reason to spend over twice as much, just buy the £600 Sony/Toshiba/Panasonic and put the other £1000 away for a rainy day (or a replacement, and doubtless much better TV in a couple of years).