Best 40 inch tv

stevetiler

stevetiler

Suspended / Banned
Messages
1,475
Name
Steve
Edit My Images
Yes
Ok people! What are people's opinions as to which is the best 40 inch tv available today? By best I mean picture quality !!
 
I have the Samsung UE40EH5000 40-inch Widescreen Full HD:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B007IHYP5Y/ref=oh_details_o08_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and I'm very pleased with it.

It has 2 HDMI ports and 1 USB port which I've plugged a 500Gb external drive to.

The USB port works with just about any filetype including X-Vid which I normally convert most of my DVDs into.

It can also play a Blu-Ray file of over 30Gbs from the HDD.

The only thing it doesn't do is play a DVD as a continual file but has a long pause while it goes from one .VOB file to the next, but I can easily create the long .VOB file needed in Shrink 3.2.

When playing Blu-Ray the quality is superb as might be expected, but why oh why do they have to only give you a half size vertical pic on most blu-rays(and a lot of DVDs)?

It took me a while to set it up the way I like but once done it looks very good.

The only drawback is a small amount of smearing where there is a dark scene with a light object and fairly rapid movement, and occasionally I get a little bit of blue around an object - again when movement is involved.

But I hardly notice this and it doesn't really bother me.

Oh and I also use it as a super large monitor for my PCs, and find it's also very good for editing my pics as well even set at 1024x768 pixels.

.
 
Thank you for that detailed report Peter! Will check it out- any more contenders?
 
IMHO, there's a simple rule. Best thing for watching real TV = plasma. Best thing for displaying computer graphics = LED/LCD. Consequently, Panasonic 40/42" would be my recommendation - which model depends on the features you want.

If you haven't had a flat panel before, go for the size bigger than you think you want....
 
The best 40" TV is a Panasonic 42" Plasma.
Okay, it's not 40", but it is Plasma, and as we all know, Plasma trumps size.

NO such thing as LED TVs - that's the preserve of big outdoor screen matrixes.
LED is only a method of generating the white backlight LCD pixels use to project their colour and on-off state.
Tech lesson over, LCD can almost match the best Plasma (Panny VT), but the price is more than the Plasma.
For regular prices, Plasma shows LCD how it's done.
 
Panasonic 42gt50 without a doubt, trying to persuade my wife to adopt a 50inch telly as we speak wish me luck!
 
Such a shame Panasonic are going the same route as pioneer and quitting the tv arena.... Fantastic tv's
 
Indeedy, if I hadn't got my last TV cheap off a friend here I would have hunted down a 5090.
 
antihero said:
Such a shame Panasonic are going the same route as pioneer and quitting the tv arena.... Fantastic tv's
Click to expand...

Since when?
They have the biggest investment in Plasma motherglass production, hence they were able to compete against LCD's cheaper cost of production.
 
I've had a panasonic 37inch plasma for almost 8 yrs and if it died the only thing i would change is the size.
 
dtsrules2 said:
I've had a panasonic 37inch plasma for almost 8 yrs and if it died the only thing i would change is the size.
Click to expand...

I've had one for 5 years now, If Panasonic do pull out of Plasma production I'll buy another as a spare :thumbs:
 
antihero said:
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE92H00020130318?irpc=932
Click to expand...

nigpd said:
and what hi-fi's report
Click to expand...

Cheers chaps.
Interesting reading, and whilst indications are as what was said, it's not a complete dead cert just yet.
If they can get on top of OLED with Sony, then they'll have the holy grail of displays, so losing Plasma won't be such a shame after all.
If they simply repackage LG panels with their own electronics and algorithms, then they'll have diluted the appeal of the brand.

With the Kuro tech and engineers they picked up from Pioneer's exiting of the marketplace 2 years ago, they certainly filled that void, and kept the prices to moderate levels (unlike Pioneer who successfully managed to manipulate stock/supply to create a pesudo Apple style marketing strategy - which ultimately cost them their share of the market), but will OLED be back to the likes of the old days when Plasma first appeared, where the admission price was only the preserve of the well heeled?
 
Whilst plasmas are meant to be the best in terms of picture quality, they are by far the worst for power consumption so that may be a factor if you have it on for long periods of time.

I've had a 40" Samsung LCD for over 3 years now and IMO the picture quality is second to none! I bought it just before smart TVs became popular and the only reason I'd consider replacing/upgrading would be for a newer smart TV and I'd definitely stick to Samsung based on experience :)
 
ChrisH said:
Had my Panasonic plasma for about 5 years, I'm another that would just get the same again.
Click to expand...

I've had my 50 inch viera for 7 years and its as good today as it was 7 years ago. Will be a shame if panasonic stop making them.
 
Russ77 said:
Whilst plasmas are meant to be the best in terms of picture quality, they are by far the worst for power consumption so that may be a factor if you have it on for long periods of time.
Click to expand...

Sorry, but that's sheer fallacy and old wives' tale.
The difference in power consumption is negligible in reality.
Plasma cells aren't backlit, so they only draw power when not displaying a black level.
LCD displays on the other hand, have a backlight on permanently, and it's the twisting of the LCD pixel that permits light through or not.
That's the CCFL type (read as low rent versions), and with the edgelit LED and local dimming versions (read as high end/price LCD TVs), you do benefit from reduced power consumption.
But at the end of the year, with average viewing times and content, the sum total most people will end up paying, is about £25 (give or take) more.
That's nothing to write home about when all's said and done.
 
After having an HD ready Samsung for five years without any problems. I decided I would change to a new smart L.E.D. 3D T.V That was a year ago and I have been amazed by the quality of the picture especially in HD. The model is the UE40D7000. I linked it up to a Humax PVR HD recorder which is a great combo.
As usual with any of these ultra thin TVs you need to have it linked to an external sound outlet to get the best audio. I would certainly recommend Samsung T.Vs.
 
I'd add to an above post, don't worry too much about the sound quality from a TV now, I'd link it to a sound bar or sound box. As TVs are getting slimmer and slimmer, the sounds suffering.

Best advice is as with "which camera too buy" go and see what you like the look of ...
 
I'm a Panasonic man myself having 3 of them in the house.

What I would say is John Lewis !! All the way, research your model, find it cheaper & get them to price match.

When I bought our 52" saved £195 & got a 5 yr guarantee as well :)

Rob
 
What's the situation with OLED at the moment? The last I read (which was a while ago) was that this technology could produce better images than plasma. Assuming that was/is true I think the other issue was producing big enough panels at a consistent quality. Are we still a way off that?

I've also had a Panasonic plasma for nearly 5 years and will need to get another large TV in the next year or so. So get one of the last of the Panasonics or wait for OLED?
 
Spuff said:
I've also had a Panasonic plasma for nearly 5 years and will need to get another large TV in the next year or so. So get one of the last of the Panasonics or wait for OLED?
Click to expand...

Buy one of the last Panny Plasmas, and give OLED 5 years to mature and allow manufacturers to ramp up production to bring the cost down to a somewhat bearable level.
All you achieve with OLED is Plasma-like PQ, in a very thin design. If like current small OLED displays, the power consumption will be similar rather than lower than both LCD and Plasma.
If they all come curved, then builders had better start building curved chimney breasts!
 
Maybe there's scope to make them cylindrical, have (say) three copies of the image on screen at the same time and slowly revolve it. Then you could just hang it from the ceiling in the middle of the room and sit where you like! Or ideal for airports/stations etc... :tumbleweed:

I'll stick with plasma, as you say....
 
Downgraded my 52" to a 42" LG flagship LCD 3D model...space a bit of a premium here in Hong Kong, and even then I wanted the narrow bezel of an LED panel so it is as least intrusive as possible.

Good TV, blacks aren't as good as my old panny plasma but you know that is the tradeoff. The passive 3D is genuinely pretty good and worth watching. Not used any of the Smart TV features as I run everything through a HTPC.
 
id have to echo what others have said, panasonic plasma (since pioneer bowed out of the tv market theyve had the best offerings).

my 7+ year old retro 43" pioneer plasma is showing no signs of dying but its what i would do.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top