tv's. lcd,led,plasma??

[fred]

hi all.
well the tv's died today and after looking online and in argos book i'm now more confused.
so to ask the question whats best?
lcd? led(new to tv's apparently)?plasma?
i have no idea what to get so any advice would be great.
cheers all.

[Krusher]

Plasmas have been around for a while now and when they first came out used to sell for stupid amounts of money, LCD tv's not been out as long and generally will be more expensive because they are newer technology. I have a 42" plasma HD tv and think its great....

[drinksoptional]

i prefered the lcd although there is not much between the plasma an the lcd i thought the picture was clearer an when sittin from the side it was still clear but saying that i was comapring them in the store at the time

[ghosthunter]

Hi , size for size plasma use an awfull lot more power than lcd. My 37 inch panasonic uses 128watts set up the way I like. Modern LCD are very good indeed, mine having a 178 degree viewing angle. The latest LED come in two types. One type uses LEDS to produce the light source, with LCD to produce the picture and the other uses LEDs' to produce the picture itself. They are very slim and power efficient. It appears that Samsung have the lead on LED televisions at present with Panasonic producing the best LCD (according to Which magazine).
You will probably find that watching standard definition tele you will be dissapointed initially with your new Flat screen LCD as the pics are slightly softer, but within a day or so you wont notice. A std CRT television produces a far sharper picture on SD pictures, all studio broardcast cams still use crt because of this and for their superior colour rendition .Where the new ones score is on HD tele where they can be absolutely stunning.
What I will say is go for the biggest you can fit in the space. I had a 28 inch before and bought a 37 inch LCD and I should have gone for 42 inch. Every one I've spoken to wished they had a few inches more! oooo ERRR.
Personally i would go for a good LCD around 37-42 inch, i think LED would be a good choice but they are far more expensive and need a few years to drop in price.
Cheers
Neil

[Popuptoaster]

depends on your budget and how fussy you are, we got a 50" rear projection TV given to use for nothing because the wanted a plasma telly, he paid 2 grand for a TV with less features and a worse picture. nutter

unless you want to put it right in front of a sunlit window these are great tellies, still used by the guys who are really into films, and no longer massive on huge cabinets, ours is about 8" deep, unless your gonna hang the thing on the wall though who cares about the depth, you still have to put your dvd player and sky box somewhere.

Check this out for value. 200 quid and its 55"


http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalo ... DAQ8wIwAg#

[Trugga]

I've had a 32" Samsung LCD TV for a few years and cant fault it

Mine is HD Ready - it has an internal Freeview tuner (but not at HD tuner) and the standard analog tuner - I don't use the internal tuners as it's connected to a Sky+ HD box (I can therefore watch HD TV)

My parents recently bought a 32" Sony LCD that has a Freeview HD tuner (so their TV is Full HD) and they are well pleased (moved up from a 26" CRT)

So there are a couple of examples for LCD, both around the £500 mark.

One tip I got from the Gadget Show - don't buy a supermarket special, as they generally have infeior sound quality - possibly ok for a bedroom, but not so for a lounge.

Also, think about connectivity - HDMI is the new connector (DVD Recorders, XBox, Sky+ HD etc), some also allow you to connect a computer via a VGA connector. Do you need SCART sockets etc.

I hope that helps.

Lawrence

[fred]

cheers for all the info guys.
gonna have a look round the shops today.
thanks again.

[Popuptoaster]

You dont need a special PC connector on a TV, you can use a DVI to HDMI cable as its the same standard, just different shaped plugs, you'll get true HD from your pc that way as well.

[N1ova]

Check this out for value. 200 quid and its 55".Clicked the link and thats for the bulb

[Popuptoaster]

lmao sorry, wasnt quite with it this morning, have look on ebay, you can pick up big projection tellies for 200 quid, my mate saw ours and bought one for 180 odd a few weeks back, bulbs can be bought quite cheap if you shop around, paid 60 for ours and should be good for 3 years.

[jontera]

We've got a Samsung 32'' Lcd think it cost a touch over £400..good picture, good sound..even better with the hdmi link and blu-ray from the ps3..

friend over the road has one of the back projection 50'' jobbies, he got it fairly cheap from someone updating to a 50'' lcd/plasma thing. Down side, it's huge.no hdmi inputs..plus side, it's darn loud and brilliant for movies. if you've got the room then they are well worth it

[westo123]

I have to agree with most comments, a large lcd. But make sure it's 1080 hd ready and has enough scarts etc.

[Roo]

Hi
Found this for you it may help http://www.moneysupermarket.com/shoppin ... vs-c47165/
Cheers
Roo

[jimmybhoy]

Dont buy a Samsung! heres why 50" Plasma has no picture,still has sound, but no picture. I told SAMSUNG & CURRYS the tv was not fit for purpose, under the sale of goods act 1979(ammended). This states that a reasonable period of time, not unlimited, should apply to goods purchased, taking into consideration, value,type of goods etc. On an independent review website (type how long does a plasma tv last) it states " Panasonic was the first to claim the 60,000 hour life span, up from a previous 30,000 just a year prior and now Samsung, LG(same company) and Panasonic claim 100,000 hours to half life." SO YOU GO AND BUY YOURSELF THE TV! Now here is where it doesnt add up!
Purchase date 24/12/07 @1635hrs took home bracket on wall etc, connect to sky etc
start the clock @ 2200hrs! on 24/12/07 (yes it was Christmas present) fast forward 2 years to 24/12/09
total hrs so far 365 days X 2 years X 24hrs = 17520hrs + 7days@24hrs (168) till 2010 = 17688hrs
add 276 days in 2010 till breakdown @ 24hrs =6624 + 17688 Total = 24312 Hrs only.
That is total time in hrs without switching off. Deduct 1/3 of time based on 8hrs/day for sleep,Yes Mr CURRYS, unfortunately i need that as well 16208HRS ONLY thats a maximum, god forbit i switch off tv, to go to work!,so i can earn more money to buy more Crap from CURRYS/Samsung. Even if i was a complete billy no mates, telly addict with absolutely no social life whatsoever, i do not think 16208 hours is a reasonable, time for over £1200, and if SAMSUNG or CURRYS think it is, please print these Lifetime expectancy figures, then see just how many televisions you sell!!!!! Someone`s lying.
Now im not suggesting for 1 minute that these 2 massive companies, between them, have manipulated the life expectancy times, just so they can, fleece the customer & sell more tvs. No that would be CYNICAL. Then they would think of reasons to set up 087 CUSTOMER helplines to get even more of your hard earned, when you had to speak to, not very good customer service. LOOK @ the FIGURES ABOVE DO THE MATHS , even the CURRYS sales person, when i asked him HOW LONG DO YOU EXPECT YOUR TV TO LAST.......can anyone guess the answer........ 4 to 5 years. COME ON. Will any of them exchange or repair it will they F*#*. claimed reluctantly on the house insurance. Since bought a Panasonic (they were announcing 5years warranty @ no additional cost). I also know someone with a pioneer (although expensive) he had a fault after 6 years, they sent an engineer to repair @ his home. the guy walked in saw the tv, removed it from the wall, replaced it with brand new. Didnt ask for warranty,receipt, Nothing just like for like. the engineer said their name depended on it

[hobsey]

LED all the way for me and make sure there is plenty of HDMI sockets.

[MARKSHOG]

Hi ya my experiences are had a 40 inch lcd from tescos lasted 6 months at a cost of £449 but they did refund the money as coundnt replace it,then went to currys and bought a 42 inch phillips plasma this lasted 12 months at the cost of £499 but they did repair it foc.to be honest its a bloody gamble but i did find one thing out all electrical items carry a 2 year warranty by law although they only tell you it has a 1 year warranty

[fred]

hi all,
as the old tv died about a week ish ago been looking for a new one and as the all lcd plasma led stuff i have no idea whats good. every thing looks good it the shops as they have all the tech to make them look at there best.
been looking through argos (as the fools let me have an argos card lol) but still know nowt about whats good. been lookin at these ones..

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/p ... 6IN+TV.htm

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/p ... 6IN+TV.htm

around that price are they good? which ones better and how do you tell?

any advise would be great.
cheers.

[stretch]

wow 46" your not messing around are you

Do you have a richersounds near you? as you can always pop in for advice and from my experience they won't try and sell you the most expensive thing their unlike other well known stores, plus their 5 year warranty is excellent value.

Richer Sounds is offering on all plasmas and LCDs a comprehensive at home warranty at only 10% of the product purchase price. With all LCD and plasma TVs the warranty is for 5 years.

This page is intended to demonstrate the incredible value of our 5 Year TV Guarantee. Under recent legislation, we are obliged to point out that you obviously do not need to purchase an extended warranty at the same time you purchase your electrical goods and are entitled to shop around. We have been encouraging our customers to do just that for years because, not only are our prices significantly cheaper than our competitors, but just look at what else we include:

* Full parts and labour cover If your unit goes wrong we'll fix it. No quibbles and no fuss.
* Pick up and drop off at your home Carting a screen around can be a tricky business. To save you any unnecessary hassle, should your screen need repairing, we'll pick it up from your home and return it as soon as it's ready. (LCD under 32" return to store)
* Like for like machine replacement if unit is unrepairable If, for any reason, we are unable to repair your unit, we'll replace it. Naturally, models do change so, while we can't guarantee that it will be the same model, we do guarantee that it will have equivalent specifications.
* 45 Day Cooling Off Period If you're not happy with our 5 Year TV Guarantee package just ask for a full refund - no questions asked. After 45 days, providing no claim has been made, you can also terminate the agreement and receive a pro-rata refund.

They've got a nice LG which is £100 less than the argos ones http://www.richersounds.com/product/lcd ... lg-47ld450 also look for deals on moneysupermarket etc.

For the money your spending you obviously want Full 1080P with more sockets than you can shake a stick at and a nice contrast ratio (note with this the highest number isn't always best as different manufacturers have different ways of working this out), the way I fond my TV was to find ones I liked and then to read the reviews on it. Also think about mounting as if you want to stick it on the wall it'll need to have VESA fixings on the rear, although nervous I put mine on the wall and it's great as keeps boys grubby fingers off it

Don't know what it's like but found this Samsung LE40C530 40" 1080p http://www.dixons.co.uk/gbuk/samsung-le ... 5-pdt.html and if you use code DIXON5 you can get it for £357.03 which is a bargain.

[Rifleman]

The big differences in prices reflects the resolution in the screen too.
Get the highest resolution you can, especially if you are purchasing a large screen, or you will see a lot of pixling.
My brother has a very large LG tellybox, and i have to say it is rubbish.
So look at the tech details that go with the telly.

[Retro Pedro]

One of the guys posted link to Richer Sounds. I'd recommend them because of the extended warrenty deal.
Having been caught a couple of year's back for buying a 'cheap' Polaroid that gave up to ghost a couple of months after the 12 month manufacturers warranty ran out I tend to go for the 5 year warranty at 10% purchase cost (Richer Sounds). My LED should have cost me £65 for the extended warranty, whereas Comet and Currys where wanting the £285 mark for the extended warranty. I say should have because they didn't put the payment on my credit card invoice - result.
Like the guys say, if you want detail in the picture (HD etc.) would strongly advise going for the 100 Hz.
Want I can see about it, the LED is back light technology which results in the screen being very narrow.
Personally, I'm a Sony fan, but had a look at them in various shops, and to my eye, the cheaper LG that I bought had a far cleaner and sharper picture.