Panter
Just call me Chris...
- Location
- Sittingbourne, Kent
User482 said:
Thats one thing that was drummed into me when I was looking, the really cheap specials in places like Asda just aren't worth the money.
LCD TVs - which one to buy?
- Thread starter Maz
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
Thats one thing that was drummed into me when I was looking, the really cheap specials in places like Asda just aren't worth the money.
andyoxon
Legendary Member
- Location
- Punxsutawney-on-Thames
We have our eye on one of these: Sony Bravia KDL-32S3000 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-KDL32S3000-Widescreen-Bravia-Freeview/dp/B000OQBUC2
(apparently second - best seller)
to finally replace our 14" sony at some point.
(apparently second - best seller)
to finally replace our 14" sony at some point.
LordoftheTeapot
Guru
We have a Samsung LCD TV. So good we have ordered another one for the kitchen, delivery on Friday. 
After doing a lot of 'research' both on-line and in shops we found the Samsung LCD TV's are the same, or higher spec then Sony
After doing a lot of 'research' both on-line and in shops we found the Samsung LCD TV's are the same, or higher spec then Sony
simonali
Guru
Remember that the full HD format is 1080p at 24 frames per second (fps). Any HD or HD Ready TV should accept this signal to be fully future proof (for now!).
Even if the TV you buy is 766 pixels high it should still be able to accept this signal and downscale it to fit. A full HD panel is 1920x1080 pixels and are generally 37" or bigger*, whereas anything smaller than this is usually 1360x766.
*Sharp have just released a full HD 32" TV
Oh and if you're looking for a smaller TV don't buy a 19" one as they use PC monitor panels and they don't display widescreen signals properly due to being the wrong aspect! Get a 20 instead.
Even if the TV you buy is 766 pixels high it should still be able to accept this signal and downscale it to fit. A full HD panel is 1920x1080 pixels and are generally 37" or bigger*, whereas anything smaller than this is usually 1360x766.
*Sharp have just released a full HD 32" TV
Oh and if you're looking for a smaller TV don't buy a 19" one as they use PC monitor panels and they don't display widescreen signals properly due to being the wrong aspect! Get a 20 instead.
Avforums are very easy to use and quite a few discount codes knocking around.
Buying anything smaller than 32" is a waste of time imho. Full HD is miles better than standard def on a CRT (sadly you're going to not get this the vast majority of time you're watching tv). Yes in theory CRTs can have a very big colour range but it is rarely utilized. There are quite a few tvs knocking around at the moment with slightly off full HD res to save money and non-16:9 ratios.
P.S. bad looking picture quality in the shops doesn't necessarily mean anything. There are a lot of settings to fiddle around with on better sets and bog standard electrical staff have been known to cock it up completely or leave defaults on. Hell the installer on my V+ box didn't get high def working and he is paid to do that! Saw a Sky HD caravan where they'd messed it up.
Buying anything smaller than 32" is a waste of time imho. Full HD is miles better than standard def on a CRT (sadly you're going to not get this the vast majority of time you're watching tv). Yes in theory CRTs can have a very big colour range but it is rarely utilized. There are quite a few tvs knocking around at the moment with slightly off full HD res to save money and non-16:9 ratios.
P.S. bad looking picture quality in the shops doesn't necessarily mean anything. There are a lot of settings to fiddle around with on better sets and bog standard electrical staff have been known to cock it up completely or leave defaults on. Hell the installer on my V+ box didn't get high def working and he is paid to do that! Saw a Sky HD caravan where they'd messed it up.
OP
OP
Maz
Guru
Cheers, Marin - how important is the 1080p factor? saw some TVs online and they looked very good spec but on closer examination of the 'list of features' it was only the more higher priced models that had 1080p (full HD-ready) box ticked.marinyork said:
What's your take on it? Dont quite follow what you said above. Cheers.
Smeg my post disappeared and I'm getting tired. When tvs get bigger it becomes a lot more noticeable in terms of resolutions. I have a 14" laptop, can play high def stuff on it, and it looks great. I have a 26" tv that 720p stuff looks great on but beyond that size the benefits of a higher resolution become more noticeable.
Material and uses-
PS3
X-Box 360 (ish, complicated)
Blu-ray/HD DVD. One of these days they'll sort these things out and even release more material and people will buy them.
Use you tv as a monitor sometimes, 1920x1080 mmmmmm!
Digital tv will have high def channels beyond sky(initially 720p but 1080i oneday maybe and beyond?). Freeview will have 3-5 channels when a plan to kick other channels off a multiplex kicks in. Freesat will probably have 5 terestrial HD channels. These will be free and available to a very high percentage of the population if they buy the equipment. Unlike sky HD which has very low figures now.
Hopefully your tv will last a good 5-6 years at least and in that timeframe some of these uses will come to fruition. These would look good on a 720p anyway but 1080p is in now. There are a lot of weird and wacky articles on 1080 but most of the subtleties are good points.
Material and uses-
PS3
X-Box 360 (ish, complicated)
Blu-ray/HD DVD. One of these days they'll sort these things out and even release more material and people will buy them.
Use you tv as a monitor sometimes, 1920x1080 mmmmmm!
Digital tv will have high def channels beyond sky(initially 720p but 1080i oneday maybe and beyond?). Freeview will have 3-5 channels when a plan to kick other channels off a multiplex kicks in. Freesat will probably have 5 terestrial HD channels. These will be free and available to a very high percentage of the population if they buy the equipment. Unlike sky HD which has very low figures now.
Hopefully your tv will last a good 5-6 years at least and in that timeframe some of these uses will come to fruition. These would look good on a 720p anyway but 1080p is in now. There are a lot of weird and wacky articles on 1080 but most of the subtleties are good points.
papercorn2000
Senior Member
Yeah, don't make them like they used to...
We had an old telly which must have been 20 odd years old - we inherited it from my wife's gran! Picture was still superb, unfortunately, it only had a co-axial input so it wouldn't work with any peripherals! Still works if you stick a normal ariel into it.
We had an old telly which must have been 20 odd years old - we inherited it from my wife's gran! Picture was still superb, unfortunately, it only had a co-axial input so it wouldn't work with any peripherals! Still works if you stick a normal ariel into it.
simonali
Guru
Aah, but in this day and age, it'll probably be out of date by then! We have OLED TVs on the horizon, which use much less power and will be 5-10mm or thinner eventually.
http://www.oled-display.net/sony-xel-1-oled-tv
http://www.oled-display.net/sony-xel-1-oled-tv
OP
OP
Maz
Guru
Gawd, it's never ending!simonali said:
When is there a 'safe' time to buy a TV?!I bet a rival co. will come up with an alternative technology and they'll battle it out for 10+ years, there'll be a court case and everything!
My kids keep asking me to buy them a PS3. I tell em 'you dont want that, wait for PS4 to come out, it'll be much better' (and so ad infinitum).
Hopefully by the time my Toshiba gives out LCD TV's will be dirt cheap just like CRT TV's were before they were phased out. Things are looking that way. I'm not entirely convinced that new style TV's were not just a marketing scam by TV manufacturers eager to make a decent profit instead of selling cheap, long lasting TVs for next to nothing. I've never seen HD televison, but the new style LCD and plasma TVs don't seem to have better picture quality than CRT TVs to me.
