golfbluecustard
Head Pro
Do i go Plasma? LCD? etc... our old widescreen Tosh is on deaths door - can complain it's over 10 years old!
It all looks both confusing and expensive?
It all looks both confusing and expensive?
Which new T.V?
- Thread starter golfbluecustard
- Start date
Smiffy
Grand Slam Winner
What size screen do you want?
golfbluecustard
Head Pro
40 inches (ish) if that helps
Macster
Journeyman Pro
I pondered this same puzzle some months back, when I was looking for a replacement for our 32" Widescreen etc.
Was sure a 42" would be required, but finally went for a 46" LG LED , - super slim, awesome picture, and good value at £699 compared to others.
Mind you, its probably £499 now.
Get bigger than you think you need, you wont even notice once its in.
Was sure a 42" would be required, but finally went for a 46" LG LED , - super slim, awesome picture, and good value at £699 compared to others.
Mind you, its probably £499 now.
Get bigger than you think you need, you wont even notice once its in.
toonarmy
Q-School Graduate
To be honest, this is a dodgy forum to be asking this question in!
Go to avforums.com and have a look in there. Much more reliable advice than you're likely to get in here for this topic. I've used them often and you can always get great help in there. That said...
I'd avoid plasma though - the extra running costs and weight offset any supposed picture benefits. If size is an issue, some 37" LCD panels are rubbish in comparison to their 40" equivalent due to the actual manufacturer of the panel being different (e.g. Sony don't make their 37" panel but do make their 40"). Also the advice of 'go bigger' is not especially good advice. You should pick your screen size entirely based on how far your seating area is from the viewing area. No point having a 50" screen if you're only 1.5m away from it. This is not because the picture will be 'too big' but because it will be like zooming in on a crap digital photo. The closer you sit, the easier it is to see the pixels and therefore any flaws.
Also, don't be fooled by 'LED' branded TVs - they're not. They are LCD panels with LEDs around the edge, not full LED panels.
Edge LEDs are not necessarily prone to giving a better picture than a regular CCFL LCD panel, so be wary of any sales talk.
Pop across to avforums and look in the 'Which TV should I buy?' thread ans start from there.
Hope this helps.
Go to avforums.com and have a look in there. Much more reliable advice than you're likely to get in here for this topic. I've used them often and you can always get great help in there. That said...
I'd avoid plasma though - the extra running costs and weight offset any supposed picture benefits. If size is an issue, some 37" LCD panels are rubbish in comparison to their 40" equivalent due to the actual manufacturer of the panel being different (e.g. Sony don't make their 37" panel but do make their 40"). Also the advice of 'go bigger' is not especially good advice. You should pick your screen size entirely based on how far your seating area is from the viewing area. No point having a 50" screen if you're only 1.5m away from it. This is not because the picture will be 'too big' but because it will be like zooming in on a crap digital photo. The closer you sit, the easier it is to see the pixels and therefore any flaws.
Also, don't be fooled by 'LED' branded TVs - they're not. They are LCD panels with LEDs around the edge, not full LED panels.
Edge LEDs are not necessarily prone to giving a better picture than a regular CCFL LCD panel, so be wary of any sales talk.
Pop across to avforums and look in the 'Which TV should I buy?' thread ans start from there.
Hope this helps.
colint
Tour Rookie
another vote for AV forums, I've used it for advice and some people on there really know their stuff
USER1999
Grand Slam Winner
To be fair to Smiffy, this sort of question is right up his street.
Ethan
Money List Winner
What Hi-Fi Sound and Vision is a good source for reviews.
http://www.whathifi.com/Reviews/TVs-Reviews/TVs-Reviews/
http://www.whathifi.com/Reviews/TVs-Reviews/TVs-Reviews/
Smiffy
Grand Slam Winner
I'd also recommend AV forums. I've been a member on there for years and it is has a wealth of information from people who have spent their hard earned cash on a new TV rather than a review by some guy being bunged backhanders by Sony or Samsung.
My advice? 40" or under go with LCD. Larger than that I would choose Plasma. Panasonic Plasmas are some of the best you can buy. Funnily enough, I have one! 50 incher. Love it to bits.
I've had 3 LCD's, two Samsungs and a JVC. Hated the JVC, crap picture. The two Samsungs were very good. No problems at all and brilliant picture quality.
I started out with a 32" Samsung, moved up to the 37" JVC and then went to 40" with the later Samsung. I switched over to Plasma about 18 months ago. I was going to go with another LCD (46" Samsung) but saw the Panny Plasma in the shops, read reviews on the AV forums (really good percentage of positive ones) and bit the bullet. It is superb. It's been replaced now with an updated version but if it went bang tomorrow I would get another Panny Plasma no question.
And take on board the advice of getting as big as your room, and budget, will stretch to. A 40" might seem large when it's sitting in the shop, but put it in your living room and it's amazing how quickly you get used to the bigger size and wished you'd bought bigger still.
Room size is the biggest factor. If you've only got a small living room a whopping 50" Plasma on the wall is going to look crap no matter how much you spend on it.
Ideal viewing distance for something that big is about 10 to 12 feet.
Smaller room than that and I'd stick with 40" or thereabouts.
Rob
My advice? 40" or under go with LCD. Larger than that I would choose Plasma. Panasonic Plasmas are some of the best you can buy. Funnily enough, I have one! 50 incher. Love it to bits.
I've had 3 LCD's, two Samsungs and a JVC. Hated the JVC, crap picture. The two Samsungs were very good. No problems at all and brilliant picture quality.
I started out with a 32" Samsung, moved up to the 37" JVC and then went to 40" with the later Samsung. I switched over to Plasma about 18 months ago. I was going to go with another LCD (46" Samsung) but saw the Panny Plasma in the shops, read reviews on the AV forums (really good percentage of positive ones) and bit the bullet. It is superb. It's been replaced now with an updated version but if it went bang tomorrow I would get another Panny Plasma no question.
And take on board the advice of getting as big as your room, and budget, will stretch to. A 40" might seem large when it's sitting in the shop, but put it in your living room and it's amazing how quickly you get used to the bigger size and wished you'd bought bigger still.
Room size is the biggest factor. If you've only got a small living room a whopping 50" Plasma on the wall is going to look crap no matter how much you spend on it.
Ideal viewing distance for something that big is about 10 to 12 feet.
Smaller room than that and I'd stick with 40" or thereabouts.
Rob
Yerman
Journeyman Pro
Good advice, I have had one simple rule for electrical buying which has stood me in good stead for 30 years - If I need one and Panasonic make it -that's the one I buy.
golfbluecustard
Head Pro
Thanks boys you've pointed me in the right direction
