HDTV selection

[mr Mag00]

lardyboy, yes i know i need an HD box, that will come in time, primarily for tv and xbox then blu-ray next.
shedy yes i will buy a mag
User, damn i wish i knew that before i like richer sounds i buy all my stereo kit there and i have a nice surround system not expensive but ok.
i may speak to the insurers, is there any legal jargon i can throw at them about limiting me to certain stores???

 

[Mr Pig]

Comet or Currys I forget which has a special set up with LG that they aren't allowed to tinker with.

Ahh, that explains it. Every time I've been in a shop the LG tellies have always had good pictures, the best in the shop.

 

[Disgruntled Goat]

Get one of these bad boys:

http://www.hdtvorg.co.uk/reviews/lcd/Panasonic_TX32LXD85.htm
http://www.hdtvorg.co.uk/reviews/plasma/Panasonic_TH37PX80.htm

Giving them away at Dixons



I am planning on going down at the w/e but can somebody answer me this:

Most of my viewing will be standard definition so is there really any point going from a nice 23" CRT to one of the 'HD Ready' sets?

Screen is bigger yes but is it necessarily going to be any better quality with SD broadcasts?

 

[marinyork]

Well if mr mag00 can get a cheque the advice we'd have given would be very different. Some places are aggressively selling other sets like new samsungs. The panasonic 85 is a very nice tv though.

 

[Disgruntled Goat]

What about SD viewing Marin?

 

[marinyork]

I think SD looks better on things like the Panasonic 85 or the LG6000. Depends what SD you're watching. BBC1 on freeview or sky sports on satellite looks very different to say Scuzz or Magic on Satellite or Setanta. The channels I watch are moderately acceptable UKTV bitrates aren't too bad considering and BBC channels and c4 look all right. ITV1/2/3/4 don't look great though.

Also depends what you're got it plugged in through. HDMI or even component (still not as good) are vastly superior to scart. It's a bit easy forgetting what it looks like through scart. If you're really interested as to what SD will look in a worst case scenario on a 37" just wonder into some of these shops! Above 32" tends to be the size where people say they can clearly tell a difference, something I don't think but there's obviously a size diff people notice at.

 

[mr Mag00]

Disgruntled goat whenyou say giving them away how much lower than other ppl?

 

[Plax]

my TV has just died so I've bought a 32" Tevion LCD TV at Aldi yesterday. I think it's really good. Similar spec to the equivelent brands at Curry's etc that go for £400-£500.
It's fab - got the PS3 hooked up via HDMI. Wow, so much better than the scart on a normal CRT tv.
Prob a bit too late to mention now as they'd have probably sold out.

 

[mr Mag00]

thnx, no good to me read OP

 

[Disgruntled Goat]

Disgruntled goat whenyou say giving them away how much lower than other ppl?

Scouting around, they seem to offer the lowest prices. Having said that RicherSounds are hard to beat. As are Currys

Dixons are offering the Panny lcd for £480
The Panny Plasma for about £570

This site is good for price comparisons www.stockchecker.co.uk

 

[mr Mag00]

ty chaps for your help

 

[jonathan ellis]

DG

CRT is still the best option (ignoring organic LCD)
If you are happy with your CRT then keep it !

LCD hdtv looks great but up-rezzed sd broadcast ain't great

 

[Disgruntled Goat]

Thanks Jon, a bigger TV would be nice but I'm trying to weigh up if it will be worth it at this stage.

 

[marinyork]

It's not worth it unless you want a bigger tv or it's broke. That said I think widescreen is a big deal if you haven't got that. It also depends how good the CRT is. I was never someone who had a £1000 CRT and then upgraded to a cheap LCD. I had an (n-1)th generation CRT and the upgrade to LCD was an upgrade in every sense of the word. I know someone who's just gone from a 21" CRT through RF to a 2nd hand LCD and they are very happy indeed with it.

My v+ upscales some stuff very well, all right it's not as good as the upscalers that cost hundreds of pounds for DVDs but that's not very likely with broadcast bitrates vs DVDs or spending hundreds of pounds. Setanta, ITVs and music channels still look awful but hey.

There won't be much domestic HD for sometime. It won't be well into 2010 that millions of people can get freeview HD and that involves you guessed it, going and buying another box. Blu-ray are cranking up releases a lot but there is usually little info beyond 3 months in the future.

 

[jonathan ellis]

I'd wait and see if they can get the OLCD to work on a big screen
its a fantastic picture.

I had a preview of the 3D starwars et al (they are making the old and new films into 3D)

its pretty much fantastic. Way better than Imax, with a refresh rate of 150 times in each eye per sec
you have to wear glasses still

perhaps we should wait for that! which is only around the corner as some Tvs (in the USA) can display at this speed...

on the blu-ray front playstation3 is the best deal.
but this is grandma and eggs probably.

right i'm off for a beer