Need a new TV

wooky

wooky

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Martyn
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As per the title, our CRT TV has given up the ghost, well it still works but everyone looks like they been tango'd after appearing as an extra on Strictly i.e. everything's a bit orange....

So we're looking a for a new TV, 40" - 47" LCD or plasma, sub £1k budget and the TV will be linked up to Samsung Freesat box with full HD capability.

Any recommendations folks...
 
wooky said:
As per the title, our CRT TV has given up the ghost, well it still works but everyone looks like they been tango'd after appearing as an extra on Strictly i.e. everything's a bit orange.... So we're looking a for a new TV, 40" - 47" LCD or plasma, sub £1k budget and the TV will be linked up to Samsung Freesat box with full HD capability. Any recommendations folks...
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If you can go to john Lewis- decent price and 5 year guarantee. Personally I'd go for a plasma but they don't seem to have any in your price range other than one LG
 
Buy the cheapest you can get, as no matter how good the tv is 99% of the programs are crap FACT

H
 
Craig1912 said:
If you can go to john Lewis- decent price and 5 year guarantee. Personally I'd go for a plasma but they don't seem to have any in your price range other than one LG
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I would have said get LED. Think pany have stopped making plasma so old technology? Agree about John Lewis. Good service and extra guarantee. Best in my limited knowledge are samsung and sony (who use samsung parts).
 
We have a one year old, bottom-of-the-range 42" LG Plasma, a three year old LG 50" (near top-of-the-range) plasma, a 40" LCD Samsung (cheap'ish but recommended on AvForums) and a 32" Panasonic LCD (about a year old).
I don't like LCD because of motion blur and judder. Plasma can be a pain in bright light, but i'd rather draw the curtains, than put up with motion blur and judder.
I find it difficult to tell the difference between our Cheap (around £300 IIRC) LG plasma and the slightly older £700 one - They are both very good. The cheap LG wasn't that great until I used the inbuilt Picture Wizard to calibrate it (it's very easy to do).
LED uses an LCD screen, but with an LED backlight - I wouldn't touch one personally.
 
Found a possibility... Panasonic 42" LCD from John Lewis

http://www.johnlewis.com/panasonic-...freeview-hd-and-2x-3d-glasses/p450103#default

which a John Lewis only model of this

http://www.panasonic.co.uk/html/en_...html?view=angle&angle=2&colourVar=TX-L42ET60B

but with improved audio ('Virtual Surround Plus') over the standard model, 2 pairs of 3d glasses thrown in and 5 year warranty.

Also been browsing a 42" Panasonic plasma as well, but worth the £300 price difference, I'm not sure - picture did look good in the shop mind you ;)
 
fatmarley said:
We have a one year old, bottom-of-the-range 42" LG Plasma, a three year old LG 50" (near top-of-the-range) plasma, a 40" LCD Samsung (cheap'ish but recommended on AvForums) and a 32" Panasonic LCD (about a year old).
I don't like LCD because of motion blur and judder. Plasma can be a pain in bright light, but i'd rather draw the curtains, than put up with motion blur and judder.
I find it difficult to tell the difference between our Cheap (around £300 IIRC) LG plasma and the slightly older £700 one - They are both very good. The cheap LG wasn't that great until I used the inbuilt Picture Wizard to calibrate it (it's very easy to do).
LED uses an LCD screen, but with an LED backlight - I wouldn't touch one personally.
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We bought a 50" LG plasma in June 2012 when our CRT gave up the ghost, and it is brilliant.
You are right though - turn off the lights and shut the curtains, then sit back and enjoy the best picture ever.
 
fatmarley said:
We have a one year old, bottom-of-the-range 42" LG Plasma, a three year old LG 50" (near top-of-the-range) plasma, a 40" LCD Samsung (cheap'ish but recommended on AvForums) and a 32" Panasonic LCD (about a year old). I don't like LCD because of motion blur and judder. Plasma can be a pain in bright light, but i'd rather draw the curtains, than put up with motion blur and judder. I find it difficult to tell the difference between our Cheap (around £300 IIRC) LG plasma and the slightly older £700 one - They are both very good. The cheap LG wasn't that great until I used the inbuilt Picture Wizard to calibrate it (it's very easy to do). LED uses an LCD screen, but with an LED backlight - I wouldn't touch one personally.
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Decent LED TVs don't suffer with motion blur. Not heard or seen anything about LEDs prone to judder? Plasma will soon be a thing of the past, Panasonic have stopped production as they are making losses, and modern LEDs can produce pictures as good, if not better due to lack of image flicker. Check out the Samsung series 6 TVs (I have a 55" one of these, it's simply STUNNING!) Panasonic themselves stated they predict all plasma panel production to have ceased by 2015. Purists like plasma but now there's nothing in it.
 
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cambsno said:
I would have said get LED. Think pany have stopped making plasma so old technology? Agree about John Lewis. Good service and extra guarantee. Best in my limited knowledge are samsung and sony (who use samsung parts).
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It's not old technology but it's expensive which is why most manufacturers have stopped making them or will be stopping. Panasonic are stopping next year as they are losing millions producing them. The picture quality IMO is superior in every way.
 
Quick demos in shops tell you nothing. I know this because that's exactly what I did when I chose my 40" Samsung LCD tv (bad mistake).
As I said LED uses an LCD panel and cannot do motion as quickly as a plasma. LED (LCD screen) colours are not as natural as plasma either.
Plasmas aren't great in bright rooms and no good as computer monitors (i've tried) but they are better for movies, sport etc.
 
AvForums is the place to go for really detailed discussions. They know their stuff over there!
 
My advice to anyone wanting to purchase a TV, is to go somewhere like JL. Stand about 25 yards back so that every set can be viewed at the same time, I did this and purchased the one in the link below, which, at the time was by far the best TV on display. It's still a fantastic picture and is a pleasure to watch.

When we bought ours nearly two years ago, we paid £1700 including an orbitsound T12 sound bar, but both have now come down in price.


http://www.johnlewis.com/samsung-ue...ice-motion-control-with-2x-3d-glasses/p430250
 
The only problem with AvForums (and lots of other forums) is that the large majority of people are like parrots and just repeat what they've heard or read (I'm not imune to this and am slightly embarassed to admit it TBH) and they usually tell you to buy what they own. I'm sure there are a few guys over there that have tried all the different technologies, so can give a good opinion but most are just sheep following the flock.
Magazines get backhanders from companies so can be a bit unreliable IMO and shop dems mean nothing because the quality of the source is usually different for every tv (A tv could look great in one shop but terrible in another).
Panasonic plasmas are probably the most recommended tv anywhere and are a safe bet, if not necessarily the best value for money.

EDIT:
Obviously I haven't tried every LED/LCD tv, but IF some can now keep up with plasmas for motion, i'd probably say get an LED/LCD because they are cheaper to run, work better in bright light and can double as a computer screen. I'm not sure how you'd know that without finding someone who has lived with both.
 
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me ide go plasma everytime no motion blur and preferably panasonic with more true colour than the others
 
iwols said:
me ide go plasma everytime no motion blur and preferably panasonic with more true colour than the others
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What's this BS with motion blur?! I haven't seen an LCD with motion blur for years. Unless you buy a cheap Tescos special. A cheap cruddy one might, but not decent ones. As I said, my 6 series Samsung LED is better than my old Panasonic plasma and the older Sony LCD I had (which was expected). They really have come on leaps and bounds. Trust me, I have no allegiance to brands, and certainly no allegiance to which panel tech, I'm just a major AV and movie geek, which is why I spent serious money on the 55" Samsung. I could have bought the equivalent 60" Plasma for £300 less but it seriously was not as good My advice to the OP is spend money, don't buy cheap whichever you choose, but this argument that Plasma is better than LCD (or LED as it will be now) is dated and frankly wrong. Oh, and Plasma panels flicker which I never liked!
 
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How old was your Panny plasma Jim? Just wondered because it sounds like you're comparing an old plasma to a new LED. Plasma used to be terrible (grainy), but they have come on leaps and bounds in the past few years. I don't get any "flicker" from either of mine.
 
fatmarley said:
How old was your Panny plasma Jim? Just wondered because it sounds like you're comparing an old plasma to a new LED. Plasma used to be terrible (grainy), but they have come on leaps and bounds in the past few years. I don't get any "flicker" from either of mine.
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It was a 2009 model so yes, a bit older!

I never had any problems with the picture, it was lovely, but it needed a rather expensive panel repair due to a manufacturing defect, hence the new tv (after being quoted silly money which effectively wrote it off).
 
odd jim said:
Plasma panels flicker
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You must have had some bad plasma's as i bought a cheap Panasonic 37 inch one in 2006 and its been on 20 hours a day and ive not seen it flicker once and its still as good as the day i bought it.
 
Bloodrunner said:
You must have had some bad plasma's as i bought a cheap Panasonic 37 inch one in 2006 and its been on 20 hours a day and ive not seen it flicker once and its still as good as the day i bought it.
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Why would I buy a bad one? It was a decent Panny. Pull you're eyes off centre and look at the tv via your peripheral vision, you'll see it flicker. Maybe I'm just more sensitive, but I can see them flicker to high heaven. Very noticeable in currys with them all sat there...
 
FFS! And this is how it all ends up :lol: To the OP, Martyn decide your budget get yourself down to your nearest store, look at what is in your price range, choose one you like and buy it :thumbs: There is absolutely jack to choose between any like for like featured product nowadays.
 
Don't go to a big box store, go somewhere more dedicated. Richer Sounds can setup any TV you want in their viewing room and let you demo it properly if you ask.
 
Digitalize said:
Don't go to a big box store, go somewhere more dedicated. Richer Sounds can setup any TV you want in their viewing room and let you demo it properly if you ask.
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...and then go online for the best price! (As much as I love Richer Sounds!)
 
odd jim said:
...and then go online for the best price! (As much as I love Richer Sounds!)
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Yeah of course, but I think they match online? I can't fully remember.

I still stand by Panasonic Plasma, best on the market, and are stopping production soon so get them while you still can, usually can get a 5 or 6 year warranty with them too. Had mine 4 years faultless, parents got the top of the range one this year and it's superb.
 
odd jim said:
...and then go online for the best price! (As much as I love Richer Sounds!)
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They'll match any price (including online) so long as it is in stock at the place their price matching (looking at the website, or they'll discretely ring the place up to ask whether it is in stock).

I managed to get a fairly nice set of Tannoy speakers (left, centre and right) for about £80 less than they were selling them when they matched an online price (plus I saved £20 on the postage compared to if I had got them online).
 
I bought a 50 inch Panasonic plasma less than two months ago. The reason I bought the Panasonic plasma is because the picture quality when it comes to the deep blacks, it is deep black. The lcd or led whichever you want to call it do not get anywhere near. My demo was a side by side demo with the Panasonic lcd and a Samsung lcd in a semi dark viewing area. In a movie viewing environment there is no comparison.
 
dekeyboy said:
I bought a 50 inch Panasonic plasma less than two months ago. The reason I bought the Panasonic plasma is because the picture quality when it comes to the deep blacks, it is deep black. The lcd or led whichever you want to call it do not get anywhere near. My demo was a side by side demo with the Panasonic lcd and a Samsung lcd in a semi dark viewing area. In a movie viewing environment there is no comparison.
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Well that depends on the way it's set up. My LED has perfectly black blacks, but there is a specific setting for the black levels which always needs tweaking. That's the first thing that surprised me with the 6 series Samsung, the fact the blacks are perfectly black

Also the default backlight brightness settings on Samsungs is 100%. This needs to be lowered to around 40% for normal viewing, something which the shops never adjust, that can also make the blacks look washed out.
 
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Why do hi-fi buffs say "running" instead of 'got'?

I've got a Panasonic 46" plasma and it is very good. I got it because prior to that I had a 37" plasma and that was good too. That got sold to a friend of a friend and is still running well after at least 8 years.
Is mine better than current OLE/LCD tv's? No idea. If I went in to a shop I cant really memorise what mine looks like at home so how can I tell really unless the one's in the shop are dire, its going to be impossible to say.

One thing I would say when looking at reviews of telly's is ignore anything said about how they sound. You really want to pair up a big telly with surround sound ideally or a sound bar at minimum Id think. [although if you can only hear through one ear this is not so crucial :( ]
 
Well I tried to shop local despite the fact it was going to cost me about £150 more than online and was looking at a couple of 42" plasma's.

Went back into the shop tonight to ask 'em a few more questions and get a second look to be told by the staff basically if you're not buying we're too busy to answer any questions you've got.

Suffice to say with that attitude I told that if they didn't want the money I'm sure John Lewis wouldn't have an issue as the better half had spied a couple of TV's she liked... so I've saved £150 and have a 47" LED arriving on Friday.

Daft part of it is, for the the sake of 5 minutes discussing things with the shop staff I'd have bought locally despite the extra cost but not with the attitude of the shop - there's a lot to be said for customer service.
 
wooky said:
so I've saved £150 and have a 47" LED arriving on Friday.
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Will be interested to hear how you get on with the new tv. My mate has decided he wants a new tv (possibly LED), so we are going to have a look tomorrow night.....



I don't suppose anyone knows of any tv video tests that I can download and put on a USB stick? I'd like something to test for judder and motion blur.
 
fatmarley said:
Will be interested to hear how you get on with the new tv. My mate has decided he wants a new tv (possibly LED), so we are going to have a look tomorrow night..... I don't suppose anyone knows of any tv video tests that I can download and put on a USB stick? I'd like something to test for judder and motion blur.
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Or you could just ask to see a Bluray on it?
 
Found this but didn't bother taking it to Currys. My mate has decided to have a look at the Currys in Cribbs Causeway because he thinks they have a bigger selection than the one in Cheltenham.

There was a 60" LG Plasma that caught my eye but only because is was a third of the price of other 60" tvs on display (£999).
 
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