Buying a New TV

[MacB]

So it's been about 9 years since our last TV purchase and we're finally starting to run low on hand me downs. Our 25 year old Philips gave up the ghost a couple of weeks ago. We're on the mooch for a bit of an upgrade and have a planned purchase date of sometime in November. Past musing have seen me looking at this site:-

http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/

but it seems to have become a bit of an advertising fest and I feel it's pushing a very limited selection.

My only definite thoughts so far are 40/42" and flat screen. Sports are rarely watched unless I record some cycling, we do watch some movies. Our DVD player is an Xbox and the kids sometimes game on the TV. Our TV feed is via a Virgin Cable connection and a V+ box.

Come on folks, bombard me with a load of stuff I don't understand and then I'll end up buying whatever Crackle tells me to!!!

 

[Steve H]

I find the What HiFi site pretty good for reviews of tv and audio equipment. Have a look at the Best Buys section for tvs. You will find a long list of different sizes / different price. Should give you a short list of tvs to go look at.

If you haven't had a new tv for a long time, you should notice a big difference in picture quality.

http://www.whathifi.com/

 

[PaulSB]

We finally got round to buying a flat screen HD etc. etc. a couple if years back. I spent weeks researching it and concluded the two best brands to consider are Sony and Panasonic - then it comes down to personal taste. We went for a Sony.

I'm sure there are plenty of good brands available but those two came out top time after time to the extent I should have just compared the two.

Having said that within the family, not the house, we have three Technika from Tesco which work very well. We only have the little 17" ones so can't comment on a 42".

The other thing I learnt is the need to sit the correct distance from the screen. This varies with HD and SD and spending a lot of money on a big screen may not be the best solution.

 

[defy-one]

Lots come with 3D.
My brother in law and mother on law bought 2 tv's with the 3D glasses etc.
Number of times used in 6 months =0

 

[threebikesmcginty]

40/42" - that's a flippin' big telly!

 

[MacB]

That's his target waist measurement, not his screen size!

sometimes in jest people can be unerringly accurate

already decided, 3D why??? can't see us ever wanting/needing that.

Sizewise I suppose our range is 37-42", it's quite a large room.

Have now bookmarked WhatHifi for later in depth reading...I know why read stuff you don't understand

 

[defy-one]

Depends on the size of your tv viewing room. I have a 46" Sony. Will probably go with a 50" next time, as we sit 14 feet away.
Check the guides before deciding on the optimal size for your room.
A TV can be too small or too big!

 

[threebikesmcginty]

I think it depends more on personal preference, we've got a 32" in a good size room and I wouldn't want anything bigger. I was asking the guy in the TV shop about this and he said they've put 50" in small rooms and small TVs in big rooms. Go figure, as they say!

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Have now bookmarked WhatHifi for later in depth reading...I know why read stuff you don't understand

Got a spreadsheet going yet Mac?

 

[MacB]

Got a spreadsheet going yet Mac?

might have

 

[ColinJ]

If you haven't had a new tv for a long time, you should notice a big difference in picture quality.

But not always an improvement!

I'm still watching a 12 year old 28" Panasonic CRT set and the quality of its picture beats an awful lot of the more modern LCD TVs that I've seen. I wonder how people put up with awful viewing angles, washed-out colours, lack of detail in dark scenes, a lack of a proper black level in fact.

Admittedly, I have seen a few really excellent new sets. My brother-in-law bought a 50" plasma HDTV (I've forgotten the make/model) and it is absolutely stunning when watching decent HD broadcasts and films on Blu-ray.

 

[MacB]

So, LED, LCD, Plasma or tiny people with lots of spray paint cans and fast hands?

 

[Lee_M]

if all the tech confuses you ,go buy one at Richer sounds

They might not be latest models (usually previous year) but they're good and cheap and helpful

But get lots of HDMI inputs

 

[Lee_M]

ye
[QUOTE 2023359, member: 259"]Richer sounds will also let you look at a few properly if you make an appointment in advance. You can take your own DVD player for reference as well.[/quote]


good point

all my TVs have come from richer Sounds recently - that'll be 4 of them ranging from 32 to 46 inch

and boy the 32 looks small!

 

[MacB]

So what do we think to this one, what's good bad and indifferent about it?:-

http://www.richersounds.com/product/tv---all/samsung/ue40es5500/sams-ue40es5500