Anyone know about buying big flatscreen tellies

KIPAX

KIPAX

Seriously Likeable
Suspended / Banned
Messages
21,370
Name
KIPAX Lancashire UK
Edit My Images
No
Want to buy one but getting lost in bumf!

Looking at 40+ inch

Plasma or LCD ? I dunno..

Anywhere I could ask dedicated to this sorta thing?
 
Used to be the case that LCD's weren't good at 40" and the "experts" said go with Plasma.
I've had a three LCD's now (yes I'm a gadget boy :(), starting off with 32" Samsung, then 37" JVC and finally 40" Samsung. I am very happy with mine and have no intention of changing again for yet a while.
Sony make good LCD's and a good source of information on the latest models and user reviews will be found here...
http://www.avforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=155

The av forum is a very good place to register because they have useful information on everything under the sun and are a really friendly bunch of people...bit like here really!!

From a personal viewpoint I would rather pay a little bit extra and get a decent name (Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, JVC etc) than buy a "bargain" make I had never (or barely) heard of.

I would also personally rate Samsung (having had two of their sets which have both performed faultlessly) but have to be honest...I saw a Sony 40" LCD in Comet shortly after I purchased my latest Samsung and it looked superb.

Make sure anything you buy has at least two (preferably three) HDMI sockets too (a bit like USB sockets, you can never have too many ;))

Hope that helps a bit
Rob

PS If you want to go bigger than 40" I would recommend looking at Plasma....Panasonic do a lovely range but they are quite pricey
 
Last edited:
Plasma has improved in recent years but I'd go for LCD - every time. I went through this process earlier this year when replacing a fire damaged Philips LCD and I got the Philips 42" Aurea. An absolutely fantastic piece of kit.

Whatever you decide upon, leave enough in the budget to get it professionally wall mounted.
 
Cheers guys.. all tip top info..

Not going to mount it.. have a place for it on a unit and up against a wall..

I was told not much diff between lcd and plasma nowerdays. But looking at prices LCD is more expensive and I do believe you get what you pay for.. so LCD it is methinks.

Hope to get larger than 42 and certainly going for a named company.. seen 50 inch plasma for 550 ... the price puts me off as too cheap for a 50 inch telly ..

Need to find best place to buy... currys maybe.. ? presume one of the bigger outlets will be better priced.
 
2blue4u said:
Whatever you decide upon, leave enough in the budget to get it professionally wall mounted.
Click to expand...

I was going to wall mount mine, I bricked up a doorway and replastered to give myself a big enough wall to mount it on, but then I saw this....
http://www.allcam.biz/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=73&products_id=584

Absolutely fantastic stand, and at the price a complete steal.
The set looks fantastic on it and it has masses of room on the shelves for all of my other little "playthings" which have endeared me to my gadget hating wife
;)
 
The Aurea has dropped in price by £500 in the last six months ;)
 
KIPAX said:
Need to find best place to buy... currys maybe.. ? presume one of the bigger outlets will be better priced.
Click to expand...

Do your homework, whittle it down to a couple of different models and by all means nip down Currys or Comet to see them "in the flesh"...
Once you have finally settled on a model check some of the more well known "online" companies.
I did this with my Samsung, Currys had it on sale at £949.00 at the time I managed to get it for just on £725.00 from www.beyondtelevision.co.uk

I have purchased all three of my sets online and never had a problem with either the sets or the retailers.
Rob
 
My brother inlaw bought a new TV. He told my sister it was the same size as the old 28 inch one. Comes back with a huge 40 inch Smasung :lol:

Words, not amused come to mind :D
 
I've got a sony 46. its nearly a couple of years old now but I still think the picture is great in SD and HD. blu ray looks stunning as well.

A couple of friends have a newer samsung 40 and whilst is some way it looks better I much prefere the sony. my 3 brothers each have a sony set as well and they all highly recommend them.
 
When you go shopping for LCD TV's ignore the name. From what I remember there are only 4 companies who make the screens & the "budget" TV's either have less bells & whistles or use last years screens.

Find one that suits your eyes & budget then get an extended warranty :D



*and don't mount it on a wall above eye level, you'll get a sore neck watching it.
 
and if you like sports, footy, rugby etc make sure its 100hz minimum, refresh rate.
 
mrgubby said:
When you go shopping for LCD TV's ignore the name. From what I remember there are only 4 companies who make the screens & the "budget" TV's either have less bells & whistles or use last years screens.
Click to expand...


I'd heard the same, most of the screens are made by only a few companies.
 
I'm not a fan of LCDs, preferring to go for plasma where possible. John Lewis are worth a look as they tend to be the same price or cheaper (or will price match) than Currys etc but give you a 5-year warranty against the 1 year that everyone else gives.
 
Matt Sayle said:
My brother inlaw bought a new TV. He told my sister it was the same size as the old 28 inch one. Comes back with a huge 40 inch Smasung :lol:

Words, not amused come to mind :D
Click to expand...

When I got mine I was out shopping with the wife at Asda, as usual I got bored and said I would wait for her in the car.

When she got back with the shopping, the back seat was taken up with a 42" LCD :eek:

I passed it on my way out and the price was soooooo good, I couldn't resist.

Needless to say there was the expected "you'll have to take it back", "we can't afford it" etc. But I got it home, set it up, and she fell in love with it.

I wouldn't recommend trying this again though.
 
Matt Sayle said:
My brother inlaw bought a new TV. He told my sister it was the same size as the old 28 inch one. Comes back with a huge 40 inch Smasung :lol:

Words, not amused come to mind :D
Click to expand...

Been there, done that... had the kicking!
 
its not just the panel that makes a good tv, you need a good sd and hd proccessor. some tvs have good hd but bad sd, the better brands tend to use better parts along with a good panel.
Also look for the viewing angle, a tv with a viewing angle of 170 or lower is a poor panel.
 
I'm pleased to read Samsung getting a good send up in this thread, as I've only very recently purchased a 32 ins Samsung LCD telly after my old Sony 28 ins CRT started malfunctioning. :) :) :)
 
Just shows you how the prices have come down over the last few years....

My first Samsung was 32" and cost about £850.00
The 37" JVC was over £1300.00 (and crap)
The 40" Samsung just over £700.00

You can now buy a Sony 40 incher for just over £600..:thumbs:
 
KIPAX said:
Whats the opinion on this?
http://www.currys.co.uk/martprd/sto...m=12&sm=0&tm=2&sku=435062&category_oid=-34812
Click to expand...

Review Here

http://www.homecinemachoice.com/node/7111


Forget currys, have a look at these guys, If you buy a panasonic TV in store you get a free 5 year warranty, it's a panasonic promotion so should be cast in stone if it packs up.

They're in Farnworth near Bolton so not too far away.

http://www.soundandvision.co.uk


I bought a Panasonic TH50PZ80B-CAB
50" Full 1080 HD Plasma + Cabinet INC 5 Year Gtee!!! for £1249 a couple of weeks ago, very pleased with it, I looked at the LCD's but the general consensus of opinion on AV forums seemed to be Plasma was better on the bigger screens, also I didn't like the plastic screens on the LCDs, they looked too easy to damage.
 
Last edited:
Richer Sounds are always worth a look for anything audio and visual.
 
Smiffy said:
Just shows you how the prices have come down over the last few years....

My first Samsung was 32" and cost about £850.00
The 37" JVC was over £1300.00 (and crap)
The 40" Samsung just over £700.00

You can now buy a Sony 40 incher for just over £600..:thumbs:
Click to expand...

Tell me about it..............

Jumobeef said:
Had our 42" Plasma (Panasonic) for five years now!
Click to expand...

We paid £3,300 for ours back in 2003...............
 
wack61 said:
Review Here

http://www.homecinemachoice.com/node/7111


Forget currys, have a look at these guys, If you buy a panasonic TV in store you get a free 5 year warranty, it's a panasonic promotion so should be cast in stone if it packs up.

They're in Farnworth near Bolton so not too far away.

http://www.soundandvision.co.uk


I bought a Panasonic TH50PZ80B-CAB
50" Full 1080 HD Plasma + Cabinet INC 5 Year Gtee!!! for £1249 a couple of weeks ago, very pleased with it, I looked at the LCD's but the general consensus of opinion on AV forums seemed to be Plasma was better on the bigger screens, also I didn't like the plastic screens on the LCDs, they looked too easy to damage.
Click to expand...

Panasonic plasmas get my vote for big screens too. My folks have the older version of this tv and it's excellent.

I'm v-fussy when it comes to tv iq, it took me 18 months to pick my current (crt) one and after looking at stuff at £2k I plumped for £500 worth of Sharp as at the time I felt the 100Hz technology that was in all the top-end stuff wasn't producing iq that justified the price tag, in fact I reurned one £2k tv to John Lewis because of the ghosting on the screen caused by the 100hz technology.

When I (finally) get around to buying a new telly (too many lenses to buy first :lol:) it'll be a Panasonic plasma..
 
my house currently has a 42" pioneer plasma and a 32" samsung LCD and although the 32" is only a couple of weeks old, the Pioneer kicks it ass.

Re the Soundandvision recommendation.....go there !!!

I traveled from Chester to Bolton for mine as I'd met the owner of the shop a few times at car events prior to the purchase. I was there for over 4 hours comparing screens side by side in the shop.......service like that is hard to match.
 
The pioneer Kuro's are fantastic I couldn't afford 2x the price of the panasonic though
 
I know nothing!!!!! :D Keeping my big old heavy clumbersome TV's til they break, will then probably ask for help looking for a new one.
 
Ladybird said:
I know nothing!!!!! :D Keeping my big old heavy clumbersome TV's til they break, will then probably ask for help looking for a new one.
Click to expand...


which is exactly where I am at now... money burning a hole in my pocket.. I ahve to decorate the front room.. new carpets on wed... so need to have a telly in place by next thrursday and its doing me head in..


pretty much set that i want bigger than 42 if I can... so would everyone agree if going bigger than 42 it should be plasma? and the best plasma over 42 are panasonic?
 
I have had loads of panasonic stuff over the years, always been good stuff!
Got a panasonic TV at the moment, bought it second hand for £100 when someone upgraded to a flat screen! was about £1700 when it was new!


If you go to John Lewis you get a free 5 year guarantee too! :D


AND GET THE BIGGEST ONE YOU CAN!!!!!!! :woot: :banana: :woot:
 
All the others on same site samller are more expensive?

its a minefield.. i need a drink or 6 :)
 
It's probably an old model - tesco have two different 50" Panasonics with £300 difference in price,just newer technology
 
The thing to remember is that it may be last years model but if people were happy to pay £1000 last year it can't be all that bad :D
 
wack61 said:
why has there got to be something wrong, i've bought my last 3 TVs from S&V 1st one in 2001, the panasonic I bought last month was in a sealed box with a 5 year guarantee.
Click to expand...

One of mine came from Sound & Vision (I think it was the JVC)...
Good delivery (kept their promise) and reasonably priced.
LG aren't too bad a make, I had one of their PC Monitors a few years ago and it was very good with good customer support when I did encounter problems with it.
They sent me out a replacement the following day (it turned out to be the kettle lead that was faulty and not the monitor :eek:)
It is a bit of a minefield out there I've got to be honest.
 
I am off to sound and vision on saturday morning.... would be suprised if I come away empty handed so to speak.. Cheers:)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top