Aneres11 Posted September 30, 2012 Posted September 30, 2012 Hey y'all. I know people do this thread a lot, and I thought about resurrecting an old one... but with how quickly the TV market tends to move I thought I'd just whack another one in here. Basically my current TV is not really doing it for me. It's a beast at 37'" (which in my small bedroom is huge) and although it's flat screen and HD ready with built in free sat etc - it's a very very basic set. It is a Sony and it was one of the first to include the freesat built in. As such it has no USB ports, it's really rather bulky, the motion blur when watching sports is horrific (even in HD) and it's feeling very dated. I have had it a good few years now - and I got it at an absolute bargain price of around £300? My mum and dad are having it off me for our spare room for a small fee (family rates an that haha), and I will put that toward the new one. Now the Wii U is round the corner (and I am going to be redecorating my room soon so it'll be going on the wall), I am looking at replacing the TV with something smaller. It's way too big for me to sit playing games in front of for lengthy periods of time. I have had a scout at TV's on the usual Currys, Argos etc but I am not getting anywhere. It seems like the bigger the TV the better the picture. Companies don't seem to want to put great specs in a smaller set - which is quite distressing to me ha. I may be wrong saying that, but it seems that only 32" up is where the real technology begins. I am so not into 3d - I haven't even really contemplated it. Would it be silly to just dismiss it? Also, I understand LED TV's are better quality than LCD. So what about this whole plasma business? Is plasma a good choice now? So many questions. Has anyone bought a TV recently that they're made up with and could recommend. Ideally 32" is the biggest, but preferably I'd love a 26-28 inch TV that is smart looking, has a razor sharp picture and great colour saturation. Not botherd about it having freesat / view due to it being hooked up to a SKY HD box. Any help would be lovely!
Cube Posted September 30, 2012 Posted September 30, 2012 Don't ignore 3DTVs. You can completely ignore the 3D, but many better TVs just come with 3D at the moment anyway.
LegoMan1031 Posted September 30, 2012 Posted September 30, 2012 I love my TV which I got a year ago! (which you already know all about...) <Pointless Post>
madeinbeats Posted September 30, 2012 Posted September 30, 2012 My advice is to keep a close eye on Hot UK Deals for deals on TVs at Marks& Spenser. Good deals and you get that 5 year guarantee with it for free!!!
Aneres11 Posted September 30, 2012 Author Posted September 30, 2012 I have been looking for about an hour or so at the different TV's on offer. I have seen 3 different sets that are around the same price range (£500 ish). They are 32 inch and all have 3d built in along with some other Smart TV features. http://www.techradar.com/reviews/audio-visual/televisions/plasma-and-lcd-tvs/panasonic-tx-l32et5b-1071496/review/page:1#articleContent http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/sony-bravia-kdl-32hx753bu-full-hd-32-led-3d-tv-12309605-pdt.html http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/samsung-series-6-ue32es6710-full-hd-32-led-3d-tv-12848064-pdt.html I have been looking at some reviews from tech websites and some of these TV's feature but others don't - which makes it difficult to know how it performs. For instance, a review of the Sony model says that it offers fantastic 3d performance (as well as 2d), but there is a worrying amount of input lag on fast paced games... And that is just not what I want haha. Shame really, as that set was looking very very promising until I read that. But it may well be one of those above. The Panasonic one has a great 2d picture and performs very well with Blu-Ray and console games (image wise), but it's 3d is not as strong as other models. Fair trade off though given I don't intend to use the 3d at all really. At least I don't think I will... I shall continue!
Dcubed Posted September 30, 2012 Posted September 30, 2012 (edited) If you can still find it, go for the Samsung D5000. I just bought the 40" version a month or so ago and it is a cracking set! (You'll also be glad to know that it has less than 16ms input lag - making it the LCD TV with the lowest input lag out there currently) Here's a review from HDTV Test... http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/news/samsung-ue32d5000-ue40d5000-201112121567.htm Picture quality is stunning after calibration (blacks look truly black!) and it also does a brilliant job of upscaling a Wii image (without introducing any input lag at all!) It's a bit feature light, but if you value image quality and game performance over App support, fancy streaming features and 3D, you can't go wrong! : peace: Edited September 30, 2012 by Dcubed
Aneres11 Posted September 30, 2012 Author Posted September 30, 2012 Ooh thanks @Dcubed ! I'll give that a butchers!
Cube Posted September 30, 2012 Posted September 30, 2012 I didn't even realise Samsung were even considered to be "up there" with the likes of Panasonic and Pioneer in terms of quality (but the go-to brand for cheap TVs). Things must have changed in the last year. One thing I do have to say about Panasonic: I don't know how they do it, but quality BBC iPlayer app is magnificent. If I watch the iPlayer on my PC it looks dreadful and blocky and pixellated, yet it looks amazing on the app installed in my Panasonic.
Dcubed Posted September 30, 2012 Posted September 30, 2012 I didn't even realise Samsung were even considered to be "up there" with the likes of Panasonic and Pioneer in terms of quality (but the go-to brand for cheap TVs). Things must have changed in the last year. One thing I do have to say about Panasonic: I don't know how they do it, but quality BBC iPlayer app is magnificent. If I watch the iPlayer on my PC it looks dreadful and blocky and pixellated, yet it looks amazing on the app installed in my Panasonic. Oh yeah, Samsung do great LCDs - their plasmas are generally average though (Right now, Panasonic are the go to brand for Plasmas) Though there's obviously much more to TV choice than just going by the popular brand...
Aneres11 Posted September 30, 2012 Author Posted September 30, 2012 I didn't even realise Samsung were even considered to be "up there" with the likes of Panasonic and Pioneer in terms of quality (but the go-to brand for cheap TVs). Things must have changed in the last year. One thing I do have to say about Panasonic: I don't know how they do it, but quality BBC iPlayer app is magnificent. If I watch the iPlayer on my PC it looks dreadful and blocky and pixellated, yet it looks amazing on the app installed in my Panasonic. I used to think that myself actually re Samsung. But last year my sister got a Samsung TV and it was very good quality. Pioneer I have heard of - they're meant to be the brand leader in terms of quality, right? Though I think it's more of an American brand than a UK one? I am still looking. Part of me doesn't know whether to take a chance with a 3d set and see if it has a positive impact in some way (doubt it, but I can't comment due to never having an experience of a 3d TV), or just stick to a solid standard set up as per Dcubed's option. EDIT - Oh and re Panasonic. My parents have a 47" plasma (or whatever size they are in the 40's ha) and that's years old now - but my word it offers a fantastic picture. So Panasonic are definitely a brand I would have no hesitation buying into.
Cube Posted September 30, 2012 Posted September 30, 2012 Ah, it was probably because I was looking for a plasma. There's a great home cinema shop in Wrexham and the guys there constantly recommend Panasonic, even though they don't sell Panasonic TVs (to sell Panasonic TVs, you have to sell X amount of their products throughout a year at cost price - which is the RRP).
Dcubed Posted September 30, 2012 Posted September 30, 2012 (edited) Generally speaking, most newer (quality) sets will have 3D as a simple bullet point feature - so you're not getting a better 2D picture by avoiding a 3D capable set. I'm assuming that input lag is a big factor for you... in which case, you're not gonna find a lot of newer LCD sets that have low input lag without resorting to the absolutely ghastly looking "Game Mode" that most sets come with... If you're after a Plasma set, then you've got a bigger choice of low latency sets (and as luck would have it, that's a sticking point that Panasonic are generally good with - so you may wish to look up their sets) Me personally, I prefer LCD (ugh, phosphor trails...) and given that all I wanted was a TV that delivered on great image quality and low latency (didnt give a toss about the TV's sound quality or streaming tech - as my Reciever handles all that anyway) it was the best choice for me. Your requirements may vary, but I'm assuming that we're looking for similar things here. Generally speaking, best thing to do is define a set of features it absolutely MUST have (low latency, certain number of HDMI inputs etc) and draw up a short-list - then go to town on doing research on each of them. Edited September 30, 2012 by Dcubed
Mandalore Posted November 2, 2012 Posted November 2, 2012 Thought I might as well use this thread too as I'm looking into getting a new HDTV for when the Wii U comes out. Until now I've used my 22" PC monitor for my Xbox 360, and a crappy old 19" for the Wii. This Samsung is top of the best sellers list on Amazon. Can anyone see anything wrong with this TV, or would it be a good budget HDTV to have for my Xbox 360 and future Wii U? And if it's bad, what are my best options with a limited budget?
Dcubed Posted November 3, 2012 Posted November 3, 2012 (edited) Thought I might as well use this thread too as I'm looking into getting a new HDTV for when the Wii U comes out. Until now I've used my 22" PC monitor for my Xbox 360, and a crappy old 19" for the Wii. This Samsung is top of the best sellers list on Amazon. Can anyone see anything wrong with this TV, or would it be a good budget HDTV to have for my Xbox 360 and future Wii U? And if it's bad, what are my best options with a limited budget? Based on a quick search, it seems alright. Input lag is around 33ms supposedly (a good result by industry standards and shouldn't be too noticable - Game Mode supposedly does nothing in this set so just leave it off) There are some issues with backlight bleed and screen uniformity though - meaning that black levels aren't the best and will appear slightly blue-ish) Pic from AVS to demonstrate... Also be warned that there are multiple panel types for this TV, with some being better than others (The Samsung S-PVA Panel is supposedly the best one and can be identified by a version number on the box that goes something like T203 - or some other number that follows; so long as it has T, you're fine). If you really care a lot about the image quality, you might want to try and ask what code it has on the box... Txxx means Samsung S-PVA Panel Axxx means AUO A-MVA Panel Bxxx/Cxxx means CMO S-MVA Panel Hxxx means Sharp Panel (This is supposedly the bad one - avoid it) Colour reproduction and motion handling are good, at least with the non Sharp ones, so it should look fine in normal circumstances (i.e, not in dark scenes) For that price, it's not a bad set. As long as you're not expecting the world with it, go for it Edited November 3, 2012 by Dcubed
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