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c1973
Guest
I try to keep the missus out of John Lewis........If we go there I'll most likely get no telly and end up with a Denby tea set!!
I try to keep the missus out of John Lewis........If we go there I'll most likely get no telly and end up with a Denby tea set!!
GreiginFife
Money List Winner
No worries, they are a helpful bunch. 5 year warranty as well with them.
Great selection of soundbars and soundbases as well. Fancy a Cambridge Minx system for the spare room.
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c1973
Guest
Anything that lets me listen to some proper old skool on You Tube now and again will do me......if it could deal with my old white labels even better.
Just spoke to the ceo, we'll be making a trip to Glasgow very soon.
What soundbar would you recommend? Not looking for top off the range (might upgrade later though), but I'd like something half decent. Something that can throw out a bit off bass as well as a Hollywood blockbuster without costing as much as the telly.
GreiginFife
Money List Winner
Anything that lets me listen to some proper old skool on You Tube now and again will do me......if it could deal with my old white labels even better.
Just spoke to the ceo, we'll be making a trip to Glasgow very soon.
What soundbar would you recommend? Not looking for top off the range (might upgrade later though), but I'd like something half decent. Something that can throw out a bit off bass as well as a Hollywood blockbuster without costing as much as the telly.
You wont go wrong with a Yamaha IMO. The in laws got this one earlier in the year http://m.richersounds.com/#!/product/YAMA-YAS203-BLK and itsphenominal for its size. Bar itself is wall mounted just under the TV with the sub tucked away next to the AV unit below.
Roth do a good unit as do Orbitsound http://m.richersounds.com/#!/product/ORBI-M9-LX, small but very powerful.
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c1973
Guest
williamalex1
Money List Winner
55" might be a touch to large. Thanks though.
Remember they're measured diagonally , mine is classed as a 55 inch but it measures 48 x 28 inches.
ScienceBoy
Money List Winner
The two obsessions I don't get are TVs and cars!
I do like a bit of techhy talk though
My parents have a whopping Sony thing and it seems to fit all their needs. As brands go I've always gone the Samsung route as they make good display units... Not necessarily great TVs but great for multi purpose route.
One thing is everyone I know who was a smart TV has a HDD drive hooked up to it somehow and has a sound bar.
I do like a bit of techhy talk though
My parents have a whopping Sony thing and it seems to fit all their needs. As brands go I've always gone the Samsung route as they make good display units... Not necessarily great TVs but great for multi purpose route.
One thing is everyone I know who was a smart TV has a HDD drive hooked up to it somehow and has a sound bar.
Smiffy
Grand Slam Winner
I've recently purchased a new 4K telly (Sony 49") together with a soundbar (Sony) and a matching 4K Blu-ray player.
Went over to a soundbar because the wife was getting fed up with the dust gathering properties of our surround sound system.
Very limited 4K material around at the moment, but what I have seen (via YouTube) has been absolutely fantastic. Blown away by the picture quality.
Sound quality from the soundbar is okay, nowhere near as good as my surround sound system, but perfectly adequate for our small(ish) living room.
Thing is, it all looks a lot neater with nowhere near the trailing wires we had before.
The TV I purchased was this one.. (and yes, I paid the higher price!)
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/tv-and...smart-ultra-hd-4k-49-led-tv-10124057-pdt.html
Soundbar was this one....
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/tv-and...und-bar-10124540-pdt.html?intcmpid=display~RR
With the TV now being reduced to £799.00 you could just about get both for around your budget.
As I say, picture quality from the TV is spot on, standard broadcasts are good, HD is fantastic.
The only problem with the TV is that the built in EPG is useless, not able to "marker" a programme for later viewing, but I watch most of my TV via a seperate Humax FreeSat box, which does have a fantastic EPG.
Very pleased with my purchase despite this little niggle, it looks smart (with it's very thin bezel) and integrates with the soundbar and player beautifully.
Went over to a soundbar because the wife was getting fed up with the dust gathering properties of our surround sound system.
Very limited 4K material around at the moment, but what I have seen (via YouTube) has been absolutely fantastic. Blown away by the picture quality.
Sound quality from the soundbar is okay, nowhere near as good as my surround sound system, but perfectly adequate for our small(ish) living room.
Thing is, it all looks a lot neater with nowhere near the trailing wires we had before.
The TV I purchased was this one.. (and yes, I paid the higher price!
)http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/tv-and...smart-ultra-hd-4k-49-led-tv-10124057-pdt.html
Soundbar was this one....
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/tv-and...und-bar-10124540-pdt.html?intcmpid=display~RR
With the TV now being reduced to £799.00 you could just about get both for around your budget.
As I say, picture quality from the TV is spot on, standard broadcasts are good, HD is fantastic.
The only problem with the TV is that the built in EPG is useless, not able to "marker" a programme for later viewing, but I watch most of my TV via a seperate Humax FreeSat box, which does have a fantastic EPG.
Very pleased with my purchase despite this little niggle, it looks smart (with it's very thin bezel) and integrates with the soundbar and player beautifully.
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c1973
Guest
I've been told 55" will be fine now........And she told me size wasn't important!
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c1973
Guest
Thanks for the advice folks. :thup:
@Smiffy That's one of the set ups I was looking at yesterday. Very nice.
The lack of 4K material is a consideration, but I'd assume that more will eventually be available as it's sure to become the standard.
Smooth integration with the soundbar will be a factor too.
Plenty for me to ponder.
@Smiffy That's one of the set ups I was looking at yesterday. Very nice.
The lack of 4K material is a consideration, but I'd assume that more will eventually be available as it's sure to become the standard.
Smooth integration with the soundbar will be a factor too.
Plenty for me to ponder.
Phil2511
Global Moderator
Very very little you can use 4K TV's full potential for yet,
As for brands, I like my father before me, was always a Panasonic owner, even had a Hoover and Microwave by them at one point lol
But when looking for LED I found the LG (Who are or were owned by Sony) very hard to go passed, I've had it 4 years this Xmas, 3D never gets used, Smart bit never gets used either, though it's on pretty much 16-18hrs a day every day with kids around, for sound I have a Denon AV receiver and Boston Acoustics 5:1 speakers.
Total cost was about £1400 at the time.
Personally I'd be waiting for the curved screen 4K TV's and make sure you get one with a high PQI, PMI rating as this is the new version of the 50,100,200,400hz refresh rate, the higher the number the better fast moving action movies or sports will appear.
An AV receiver means you can go for lower requirements on the TV, such as only needing 1-2 HDMI inputs as opposed to 4 or more as everything connects to the AV receiver. Which Denon actually have an iPhone app, so basically an extra remote.
Try AV Forum to get more technical advice maybe. But these days you don't need to spend megabucks on getting good quality value for money stuff.
As for brands, I like my father before me, was always a Panasonic owner, even had a Hoover and Microwave by them at one point lol
But when looking for LED I found the LG (Who are or were owned by Sony) very hard to go passed, I've had it 4 years this Xmas, 3D never gets used, Smart bit never gets used either, though it's on pretty much 16-18hrs a day every day with kids around, for sound I have a Denon AV receiver and Boston Acoustics 5:1 speakers.
Total cost was about £1400 at the time.
Personally I'd be waiting for the curved screen 4K TV's and make sure you get one with a high PQI, PMI rating as this is the new version of the 50,100,200,400hz refresh rate, the higher the number the better fast moving action movies or sports will appear.
An AV receiver means you can go for lower requirements on the TV, such as only needing 1-2 HDMI inputs as opposed to 4 or more as everything connects to the AV receiver. Which Denon actually have an iPhone app, so basically an extra remote.
Try AV Forum to get more technical advice maybe. But these days you don't need to spend megabucks on getting good quality value for money stuff.
MegaSteve
Tour Winner
Still remain unconvinced by my Panasonic... Perfectly good for documentary stuff and sports but despite playing with settings still poor for movies/drama... Other downside, of the Panasonic, is that it doesn't support itvplayer which, for me, would be useful... And, yes I should have done my research better...
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c1973
Guest
Cheers Phil. All advice appreciated. :thup:
I just can't see myself going back to LG, Even though (as mentioned) the pic quality on the ones I've looked at was nothing short of stunning, best in the shop (without getting the shop to tweak things to my liking) by quite a bit.
Always been a big fan of Dennon amps but I'm looking to get away from speakers dotted around the room. I'll have to compromise on sound a wee bit but a soundbar or soundbase will be the way forward on that score.
Not that sure about the curved screens. They do look good, but I think it might be a bit gimmicky..........that and the boss has said we're not getting one!
Provided the pic quality is good I think we've decided on the Panasonic that GreiginFife highlighted.
Just need to go up and have a look in Richer Sounds and see what bar/base to run with now.
Pretty certain the rack will be this one here.
http://www.richersounds.com/product/tv-stands/alphason/new-ambri-1350/alph-new-ambr-1350-b
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c1973
Guest
Would you say that it's letting you down on sound or picture quality Steve?
SwingsitlikeHogan
Major Champion
I've heard that the 4K/UHD screens aren't so worth it if you viewing position is from a longer distance in a room (I have no idea what sort of distance that means) a good 'normal' HD screen being as good - though definitely worth it if your viewing is relatively close to the screen. But that is just one person's view so not representative of anything other than that - but maybe worth considering.
MegaSteve
Tour Winner
I invested in a soundbar [Yamaha] as previously recommended on here...
Think that's more or less a must with any of the flatscreens...
Picture is fine if you are happy seeing the world in 'ektachrome' [all brightly illuminated colours, bit 'surgical']...
I prefer to watch drama in 'kodachrome' [colours/lighting a bit more true to life]...
A bit of depth in the blacks/shadows... Not all washed out...
Yes, there are 'movie' settings but even using that and playing further manually with the final values still can't quite get what I am looking for... I work with 'old fashioned' film so have a fairly pre-set idea of how I want image to look... Much preferred my previous plasma Panasonic...
SwingsitlikeHogan
Major Champion
I'm moving house and I'm looking to upgrade from our trusty Panasonic to a Smart TV as a wee moving in present, but unsure what I should plump for.
Im willing to spend up to, or around, the £1K Mark but for that money I will be looking to invest in a soundbar as well, as I'll be getting rid off my surround sound system.
I'm looking at Panasonic, Samsung and Sony. LG is a non starter as I've had problems with their merchandise previously.
Around the 50" mark would be preferable, but I'll go a couple of inches either way.
Ideally I'd like the telly and soundbar to be integrated (wireless?), but it's not a must.
Unsure about the whole UHD/4K thing, would perhaps go Sony if I went down that route? If I got UHD/4K it would need to be a 2015 model (compatibility issues with future SKY sports content according to what I've read?)
I would want an OLED as opposed to an LED telly assuming it is better.
All I'll be looking to do is watch my SKY, play DVDs/Blu Ray and access Netflix and You Tube (so a good sound for music as well as movies is a must), Amazon Prime would be a bonus but not a necessity, oh and perhaps view the odd USA only series from a usb thingy as well.
I think I'm leaning toward Sony, but in the shop Samsung seem to have a better quality pic (yes, I know the signal is quite possibly boosted). I like my Panasonic, but nothing is jumping out at me.
Any pointers or advice would be greatly appreciated as it's a bit of a tech maze for me (even after reading up and doing my homework).
Edit: Being able to fire my iTunes through it would be a bonus.
Thanks.
I'm in same situation and looking for same advice - so following this thread - and my thanks also for the advice that's been forthcoming as I hadn't a clue - what to do.
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c1973
Guest
I've read this myself SILH.
I may be wrong but my take on it so far is that you get a more immersive experience (like the pictures) with a bigger screen (50"+) when viewed from an optimum distance (around 2M).
Kinda like the pictures where the best seats are a certain distance from the screen. I think it's to do with cutting down on peripheral vision interference.........fair chance I'm wrong though!
BUT, you still get a better than normal HD picture regardless, even if it's not the optimum one available to you.............I think.
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c1973
Guest
I think I know what you mean. I'll keep that in mind when looking. I'm more worried about the kind of watery black that some tv's can have.
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c1973
Guest
Well I popped into Richer Sounds today and came out a wee while later with this little set up on order.......
http://www.richersounds.com/product/tv---all/panasonic/viera-tx50cx680b/pana-tx50cx680b
http://www.richersounds.com/product/soundbars-sound-base/yamaha/srt1000/yama-srt1000-blk
http://www.richersounds.com/product/blu-ray/panasonic/dmpbd83eb/pana-dmpbd83eb
http://www.richersounds.com/product/tv-stands/alphason/new-ambri-1350/alph-new-ambr-1350-b
Once again thanks for the pointers and advice folks, much appreciated.
Im looking forward to getting this little lot fired up.
The Yamaha soundbase throws out one helluva sound, thought i was at the bloomin cinema!
Extremely helpfull and knowledgable staff.
EDIT: For those who were following the advice themselves, can i just say the OLED screens for LG tellys were amazing; astonishing picture quality.
I plumped for Panasonc over LG (in part) due to previous experience, but trust me the picture was astounding, dont let my experience put you off if you are still in the market.
Anyone wanna buy a 2nd hand home cinema surround system??
http://www.richersounds.com/product/tv---all/panasonic/viera-tx50cx680b/pana-tx50cx680b
http://www.richersounds.com/product/soundbars-sound-base/yamaha/srt1000/yama-srt1000-blk
http://www.richersounds.com/product/blu-ray/panasonic/dmpbd83eb/pana-dmpbd83eb
http://www.richersounds.com/product/tv-stands/alphason/new-ambri-1350/alph-new-ambr-1350-b
Once again thanks for the pointers and advice folks, much appreciated.
Im looking forward to getting this little lot fired up.
The Yamaha soundbase throws out one helluva sound, thought i was at the bloomin cinema!
Extremely helpfull and knowledgable staff.
EDIT: For those who were following the advice themselves, can i just say the OLED screens for LG tellys were amazing; astonishing picture quality.
I plumped for Panasonc over LG (in part) due to previous experience, but trust me the picture was astounding, dont let my experience put you off if you are still in the market.
Anyone wanna buy a 2nd hand home cinema surround system??
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