Posted June 21, 2009 ... look absolutely rubbish? I just went to Comet after my fat telly broke down, and was appalled at the picture quality on 99% of them. Fuzzy, out of focus, line-y. I wondered if they'd just not been tuned in properly since they were just display ones, but then i thought about my grandad's lcd - it looks rubbish when playing standard tv channels, and i work in a hotel with 26 lcds in the bedrooms, and they all look awful aswell. It made me wonder if people buy lcds over analogue tellys just because it's the done thing, not because they actually look better. PS: I'm not talking about dvd picture quality, just standard tv. Which let's face it is going to be a large part of your viewing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 21, 2009 My sister bought like a 19" samsung and I saw it hooked up to her VM box, I thought rather similar to you, all a bit pants really. I've been thinking of getting one still anyhow, as I'd mainly be using it for gaming/dvd stuff. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 21, 2009 Standard TV looks absolutely rubbish on all TVs... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 21, 2009 Standard TV looks absolutely rubbish on all TVs... This. DTV (not necessarily HD, just digital) looks better. LCDs can deliver fantastic results, take for instance you likely posted this thread on a PC using an LCD monitor. Of course I still stand-by that Plasma's deliver the best picture. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 21, 2009 I had a 15" LCD TV for a while that my dad got free with a phone. I used it as a TV for a little while, it looked terrible. I used it with a Wii on a scart cable, it looked terrible. But I also used it for a little while as a second monitor for my PC and that was the only time it looked decent. I never had freeview but that would've looked good too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 21, 2009 If you have a digital SDTV box, see if it has S-video or component output on it when hooking up to an HDTV. It looks way better than coax. Its not the TV, just the signal. Also, make sure you change the aspect ratio to 4:3, way too many people don't do this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 21, 2009 In regards to in stores like Currys and Comet and such I did ask my friend who worked at Currys and he said it had something to do with having to split the signal or something. Which is why I think most tend to play DVDs or something. I dunno, mine looks fine to my eyes Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 21, 2009 Stores are a horrible way to judge any tv. But people do it anyway... The top end LCD are quite good but they aint cheap. Best alternative are PDP tv. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 21, 2009 This. DTV (not necessarily HD, just digital) looks better. You are taking the piss, right? Hands down, a good analogue image is far better than digital, looking strictly at image quality. The appalling bit rates used by every broadcaster in the UK are shocking; choosing quantity over quality and simply to squeeze in 2 billion more channels no bugger ever watches. The ONLY reason to switch to Digital is for widescreen broadcasts- thats where analogue can't compete, it simply falls to pieces. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 21, 2009 You are taking the piss, right? Hands down, a good analogue image is far better than digital, looking strictly at image quality. The appalling bit rates used by every broadcaster in the UK are shocking; choosing quantity over quality and simply to squeeze in 2 billion more channels no bugger ever watches. The ONLY reason to switch to Digital is for widescreen broadcasts- thats where analogue can't compete, it simply falls to pieces. No I'm not taking the Piss, I'm talking over the air Analog vs Digital signals. Digital is better. Maybe it's different in the UK, but here ATSC is a clear advantage over NTSC, of course iirc PAL is better than NTSC other than that 50/60Hz thing that I don't understand. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 22, 2009 You are taking the piss, right? Hands down, a good analogue image is far better than digital, looking strictly at image quality. The appalling bit rates used by every broadcaster in the UK are shocking; choosing quantity over quality and simply to squeeze in 2 billion more channels no bugger ever watches. The ONLY reason to switch to Digital is for widescreen broadcasts- thats where analogue can't compete, it simply falls to pieces. He's American. They get decent DVT broadcasts, mostly over cable rather than using our shitty converted analogue equipment. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 22, 2009 He's American. They get decent DVT broadcasts, mostly over cable rather than using our shitty converted analogue equipment. Actually our over-the-air transmissions are now all Digital too. Generally just convertered with a little box at home. I don't know how that looks though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 22, 2009 I've found most electronics stores have pretty dreadful TV setups. There was one in particular, either a Currys or Comet, which had all their TVs showing really fuzzy, snowy adverts for the TVs they sell. The only TVs on display which weren't getting a dreadful signal were the multi thousand pund Panasonics at the back which seemed to have their own little setup going on. The only place where I've been TV shopping and have been impressed is in Makro funnily enough. Every TV was connected by HDMI and was showing the Olympics on BBC HD and it really gave you a much better idea of what the TVs were capable of. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 22, 2009 (edited) Actually our over-the-air transmissions are now all Digital too. Generally just convertered with a little box at home. I don't know how that looks though. The difference over here is the TV companies are cheap. They broadcast everything at really low bit rates making the picture quality very poor. HDTVs highlight this. Combine a really bad TV channel with a cheap 1080p LCD TV and you get an aweful picture. My Grandpa's set is 720p and that's bad enough (feel sorry for him really, he thinks he got a good deal but in reality he god ripped off by a local independant TV store). Edited June 22, 2009 by McPhee Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 22, 2009 I've found most electronics stores have pretty dreadful TV setups. There was one in particular, either a Currys or Comet, which had all their TVs showing really fuzzy, snowy adverts for the TVs they sell. The only TVs on display which weren't getting a dreadful signal were the multi thousand pund Panasonics at the back which seemed to have their own little setup going on. So basically, buying a tv from a shop is a shot in the dark. You've no idea what it's going to look like when it's back home. Great. I don't particularly like the idea of spending £700 on a lucky dip! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 22, 2009 So basically, buying a tv from a shop is a shot in the dark. You've no idea what it's going to look like when it's back home. Great. I don't particularly like the idea of spending £700 on a lucky dip! That's why you ask advice on forums. People will give their personal accounts of the TV's they've used/owned. If you can't do that, you find out the good brands and stick to them. Don't go to cheap on any set, but that doesn't mean go for broke. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 23, 2009 A great forum to visit for advice on TV's or anything Home Theatre and Hi-Fi related is AVForums.com. It's a UK based site I believe so you really can't go wrong. Someone from this forum pointed me to that site (people here are so helpful - I can't stress that enough) and it's been really great. The people are very knowledgable and friendly too. Highly recommend it. Good luck in finding a decent tele. Half the fun can be in the research itself Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 24, 2009 If you're looking for a safe bet try looking in a Richer Sounds. They seem to set their TVs up a bit better than Currys, their staff are more knowledgeable and they'll match any online/offline price in the UK. As for sets, on a £700 budget anything Panasonic would be a good bet. They don't do any budget models and haven't released a bad TV in years, very little chance of getting a dud with them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 25, 2009 If you're looking for a safe bet try looking in a Richer Sounds. They seem to set their TVs up a bit better than Currys, their staff are more knowledgeable and they'll match any online/offline price in the UK. As for sets, on a £700 budget anything Panasonic would be a good bet. They don't do any budget models and haven't released a bad TV in years, very little chance of getting a dud with them. At the end of the day stores arent like living rooms where there is much less light. The default settings on most Tv is to shine bright as possible to stand out in a shop environment. Also the sources are never that great. Yeah Panasonic are quite safe. They have earned their rep. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 25, 2009 At the end of the day stores arent like living rooms where there is much less light. The default settings on most Tv is to shine bright as possible to stand out in a shop environment. Also the sources are never that great. Yeah Panasonic are quite safe. They have earned their rep. You can still check for motion blur and artifacts, which are pretty much the biggest inherrent problems with LCDs. Plus some RS stores have demo rooms that you can book to view the kit you're thinking of buying. I know my local one does. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 26, 2009 You can still check for motion blur and artifacts, which are pretty much the biggest inherrent problems with LCDs. Plus some RS stores have demo rooms that you can book to view the kit you're thinking of buying. I know my local one does. Yeah really dark demo rooms are quite handy. They are rare though. Normal shops like Comet or Richersounds wont cut it though. Its best to check places like avforums where some will run objective tests. Its a shame because offline retailers are wasting the advantage they have over online shops. Would be nice if we could run test footage. But many brands will object to that. Right now everyone plays the numbers game which are complete nonsense. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 27, 2009 Yeah really dark demo rooms are quite handy. They are rare though. Normal shops like Comet or Richersounds wont cut it though. Its best to check places like avforums where some will run objective tests. Its a shame because offline retailers are wasting the advantage they have over online shops. Would be nice if we could run test footage. But many brands will object to that. Right now everyone plays the numbers game which are complete nonsense. People like to see pretty colours, movies playing, shiny effects. People are stupid, they would rather see a movie playing as thats what they will be doing on it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 27, 2009 Well I was recently pleasantly surprised with my Toshiba 32" 1080p TV. Looks brilliant, and perfect for games. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 28, 2009 Well I was recently pleasantly surprised with my Toshiba 32" 1080p TV. Looks brilliant, and perfect for games. Enjoy it. IMO Toshiba are doing a good thing by filling the gaps inbetween. Hopefully this raises quality of certain competitor like Samsung and Lg. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
