Which tv to buy?

[tyke71]

Choice of 3 tv's to buy.

1-Panasonic 42" hd ready plasma £349
2- Sony 40" Full hd lcd £400
3- Samsung led full hd 40" £549

I have a jvc fixed onto the wall at the moment and it's 32" lcd hd ready, but since fitting to the wall, i have found the screen too small for movies and sport and xbox360. So i have waited untl the sales and would like a new tv. I have set myself in buying a Panasonic 42" plasma, has i have got a Technics system and Panasonic dvd and wanted it all to match with speakers later. Panasonic have never let me down in the pass, so i thought i would upgrade as it's only £349 and 100hz.
But also i have sky hd at the moment and don't found it that impressive, maybe it's because i am using 32" lcd, butgot hd thrown into the sky package for nothing for 12months. So i thought i would buy a full hd, so i wouldn't have to renew sky hd just to watch football and the odd movie and the cheapest is Sony 40" lcd for £399. But for the sake of buying a new tv i was telled by the sky engineer to go for the LED for the hd and seen a Samsung 40" LED full hd for £549. So does anybody know about the tv's and what's best for sport/movie and xbox360 plasma/lcd/led.

[rovex]

Plasma for movies, LCD/LED for games. Its a generalisation, but holds true most of the time. Plasmas don't like fixed images on screen for too long, they can burn in if the image is static for hours, so HUDs on games can be bad. Panasonics are quite resistant to that though. Plasmas are better for movies/TV because they have better colours, faster reactions and are less harsh. Positioning in the room is a factor as well. If in direct sunlight and LCD/LED is better, if not a plasma wins.

If you are willing to spend £549 on the Samsung id say forget that and buy a better Panny Plasma for the same amount. Don't let anyone tell you Plasma is out of date, the best of the new 3D TVs are plasma, because they react faster you get less ghosting and therefore sharper deeper 3D.

[tyke71]

To be honest i don't want to spend that much and the Panasonic 42" fits the bill for me and without being to anal the tv matches my system. But was going to stretch it for the new generation tv LED. Would love a 46" but don't wont to look a chav with the tv overpowering the room. My living room is not that big and i think a 42" is the limit. What's the differance between the Panasonic 100hz and 600hz?

[rovex]

600hz is sub-pixel, meaning each pixel get pulsed with its colours separately rather than all the same time as with 100hz. It doesnt make much difference but is supposed to improve motion.

No such thing as too big, i have a 50inch plasma in my bedroom! LED may be new generation, but it doesnt mean its better. Its better than fluorescent lit LCD, but not plasma. LED for that money just means an LCD with LED bulbs, not OLED where the pixels are LEDs.

[tyke71]

If you have a 50" in your bedroom, doesn't it affect the viewing being too close?

[rovex]

Not at all. It about 9 feet away and it looks great! In fact THX home cinema guideline says to meet THX spec it should be 4-5 ft away! That would be too close for me.. As it is its perfect. For me its better than the cinema because its brighter and sharper.

[piggy22]

I just bought a 50" plasma. 600hz FULL HD top spec 50" thats available......£539

I watch football on it and the ps3 is connected up to it and its fantastic

One guy said they were only good for 40,000 hours of usage as opposed to 60,000 hours for an lcd.....so Im not going to sit infront of the thing for 40,000 hours so why should it matter

Id say shop around alot, especially for tv's.

[NoobCannon]

another vote for plazma here, i find it better for playing games on than an lcd as it seems to react faster.

im an LG man myself, got a 50 inch plazma in my front room and love it

[piggy22]

LG and Samsung ftw

Trusted brands imo

[rovex]

Not really Samsung, certainly not for plasmas anyway. Panasonic are the top of plasmas now Pioneer are out of the market.

[tyke71]

I had a old style 28" Panasonic for 10yrs with no problem and my Technics stack system is over 20yrs old which got replaced by Panasonic and still looks and plays like new, so sticking with Panasonic. Looks like i am going to go for a 46" plasma. Can't wait for the football and forza3.

[NoobCannon]

Not really Samsung, certainly not for plasmas anyway. Panasonic are the top of plasmas now Pioneer are out of the market.

never really liked samsung tbh, the menu/tv guide system on there tv's is Pants with a capital P, takes ages to navigate anything.

[j220 gti]

We just got a panasonic viera 37" plasma, love it so far, also heard there good , and certainly seams better then most of our friends tv's menu wise, ease of use etc. also makes my ps3 look stuff look stunning and i havent even hooked it up with a hdmi lead yet.

[tyke71]

Finally bought one today in the sales. It's a Panasonic 42" hd ready full 1080 400hz for £449. Went for a Panny 42 hd ready 720 100hz for £349 only to find that was xmas day only on the web and went upto £399 today, so not happy with pc world/currys and the only other panny model was a 42" hd ready full 1080 50hz for £449. So i found one in comet with 400hz, but got the full hd for the xbox to enjoy. Watched cars when i got back with the little ones and now happy with the hd quality on a plasma. You're right about the 50" not being too big, as there was a 42 & 50 together and not much differance. But the missis put her foot down and said you're having a 42" and that's it. Not complaining has i got a new telly for football and xbox.

[PJW]

I got a 50" Panasonic Viera Plasma from Comet for £500. Shithot.

I shopped around for a 42" for about 4-500 and the mrs found this on the internet.

[agw_01]

What's the model number of the Panasonic?

I bought a P42X10B about 18 months ago and am so happy with my choice. It's a 42" plasma and I'd read a few things about image retention, but as has been said, the Panasonics seem ok with it. I've been careful, really careful especially in the 1st 100 hours and have had no issues at all.

Great looking TV with superb picture quality and lots of features. SD material looks cracking, HD stuff looks phenomenal.

[C2K]

[tyke71]

It's a p42u20b and very happy with it, especially the xbox360. Not sure how to get the best out of the SD, has all i know is stick the memory card in a view your photo's. Can you do more then that? Also Comet advertised tv as 400hz but after reading reviews it operates in 100hz and only uses the 400hz on certain images, no idea what's thats about. Wished i could have got a 50" as it wouldn't have took much more space, but lucky to get a 42". Problem now i have a Technics 5.1 amplifier, would i be able to buy Panasonic speakers to connect or Technics speakers and would i need to connect a digi lead from the tv into the amp to listen to the programs in surround sound?

[Sheaf]

Personally I think that all the recent flat screen tellys look pretty much the same. Watched Sonys, Samsungs, LGs, Toshiba etc etc and they all just look like a TV tbh.

I went for a Sony first off, spent more than average as it was supposed to be better. Was it? Nope, it was the same as every other.

Next time I went for a Toshiba as it was the best value for money without going to the cheapo brands. Has it been good? Yep, faultless.
Actually, I take that back, the sound on it was a bit poor, however that is now for me (and most others) a non issue as I use the surround sound.

If I was buying one now, I'd want one that either has a ethernet connection or a USB slot to play Divxs. Other than than I doubt many normal people would ever notice the difference between most of the top brands.


Personally I think the samsungs always look good value for money and the look of them is nice in your living room (which is more of a concern now as they're generally rather large), some have glass surround bits which looks pretty cool.

I'm sure many will disagree with the above, but IMO to notice the difference you have to be pretty anal about it. It's a TV, at the end of the day if you're sat there being critical about the exact shade of black not being dark enough or some other such thing I'd suggest that you're probably watching something crap as I can watch really old films of dire quality and as long as the story/film is good you really dont notice.

[roverturbo2007]

i recently bought a sony bravia 46" (KDL46EX403U) i just wanted a reputable brand, not bothered about all the fancy stuff that cw them all, although i think this is pretty good though??
Picture/Display
-46inch Diagonal Screen Size (Inch)
-117 cm Visible Diagonal Screen Size
-16:9 Aspect Ratio
-1920×1080 pixels
-1080p resolution
-1080i resolution
-720p resolution
-720i resolution
-3d combfilter
-24P (Frames Per Second) Playback
-Full 1080p HD

Convenience
-Digital TV Ready
-Freeview
-Parental Lock/Parental Control
-Teletext
-1000 Page Teletext Memory
-Sleep Timer
-Clock
-EPG (Guide Plus+)
-DLNA Certified
-Freeview-HD

Connections
-4(2 Side/2 Rear) x HDMI Connection/s
-1 x Component Video Connection/s
-1 x Composite Video Connection/s
-1 x USB 2.0 Connection/s
-2 x RGB Scart Connection/s
-1 x 3.5 mm Stereo Mini Plug
-1 x Ethernet Connection
-Stereo mini jack
-PC Input

Think im getting a 50" plasma for the bedroom soon, so ill be able to read through all of you're opinions and hopefully be able to decide which
lisa x

[radddogg]

I love the way people get snobbish about the specs then don't set it up properly. My nan has a 50" Samsung that ha never seen a single HD program played on it, not even BBC HD.

[Limecat]

If you have a 50" in your bedroom, doesn't it affect the viewing being too close?

Best responce on this thread by a country mile.

People have just banged on about TV specs without taking use into account. You spec a TV to your room just as you do a turbo to an engine. Most people can't do either so just pull the biggest out of thin air then wave their winky about.

[rovex]

Sorry Limecat you are wrong. It only affects viewing if you are so close that you can see the individual pixels. On a 50inch full HD set you would need to be about 5 ft away for that to happen and it would need to be an LCD (plasmas are slightly less harsh, reducing the pixelation effect). My TV is about 8-9ft away. At that distance even a 720P HD ready TV is fine. My TV is used almost exclusively for HD viewing now that there are HD versions of most of the major channels and i have a BR player and HD capable PC.

Digital cinema and IMAX screens would have a much lower pixel density within a persons field of vision than that. Anyway, my bedroom is set up like a home cinema.

[radddogg]

As well as the 32" sammy in the front room I also have a 19" LG monitor for my xbox, as it is barely 3' away from my gaming chair I didn't want anything bigger plus it can easily be slung out the way when we need to move it.

[marc9584]

Sorry Limecat you are wrong. It only affects viewing if you are so close that you can see the individual pixels. On a 50inch full HD set you would need to be about 5 ft away for that to happen and it would need to be an LCD (plasmas are slightly less harsh, reducing the pixelation effect). My TV is about 8-9ft away. At that distance even a 720P HD ready TV is fine. My TV is used almost exclusively for HD viewing now that there are HD versions of most of the major channels and i have a BR player and HD capable PC.

Digital cinema and IMAX screens would have a much lower pixel density within a persons field of vision than that. Anyway, my bedroom is set up like a home cinema.

Same as that mines setup like a home cinema to, i recently upgraded my tv to a Sony 3D one its a great tv having freeview HD built in and wifi built in but im finding the lack of 3D content annoying at the minute especially at the price for the technology in the first place.

[PJW]

What's the model number of the Panasonic?

I bought a P42X10B about 18 months ago and am so happy with my choice. It's a 42" plasma and I'd read a few things about image retention, but as has been said, the Panasonics seem ok with it. I've been careful, really careful especially in the 1st 100 hours and have had no issues at all.

Great looking TV with superb picture quality and lots of features. SD material looks cracking, HD stuff looks phenomenal.

Pff theres a question.. (has a look) its this one:

http://www.comet.co.uk/p/Plasma-TVs/buy ... -TV/645206

Now £599. It is shithot, ive got no problems with it. It is heavy and i wouldnt fancy putting it on the wall. Ours is about 8 foot away and i dont notice any pixellation. I havent actually had anything HD through it as ive not bought a PS3 to gt into it yet, but it wont be long.

Incidentally i reckon the only downside to the above TV is that it has an SD card included but its useless for anything other than Panasonic HD Camcorder SD cards.

[Limecat]

Sorry Limecat you are wrong. It only affects viewing if you are so close that you can see the individual pixels. On a 50inch full HD set you would need to be about 5 ft away for that to happen and it would need to be an LCD (plasmas are slightly less harsh, reducing the pixelation effect). My TV is about 8-9ft away. At that distance even a 720P HD ready TV is fine. My TV is used almost exclusively for HD viewing now that there are HD versions of most of the major channels and i have a BR player and HD capable PC.

Digital cinema and IMAX screens would have a much lower pixel density within a persons field of vision than that. Anyway, my bedroom is set up like a home cinema.

I'm not talking about seeing pixels or whatever, I am not that sad to sit so close to a TV.

I am talking about what you can take into your field of vision. a 50" TV at 5' away is not right for the room, just as it isn't at 8-9' away.

It amazes me the amount of time people spend watching TV and yet they just go out and buy the biggest they can when your peripheral vision (may be the wrong term?) cannot take it all in.

I used to watch Heroes religiously and now all I watch is Grand Designs. I'm not big on TV.

I watch it on a Sony Bravia, no idea if it can milk a cow or has a World peace setting but it's the right size for my room. Not only can I take everything in that is on the screen but it doesn't over power the room and make me look like my life is sitting on my arse watching soaps. A TV should be an addition to a room, not the sodding focal point of it.

[rovex]

THX home Certification: The THX certification standard specifies a range rather than just a minimum angle. THX requires the back row of seats to have at least a 26 degrees viewing angle and while the nearest seating position should correspond to an angle of view that is no more than 36 degrees.

It is believed that within these viewing angle limits, the viewer will enjoy a more immersive viewing experience. These subtended angles correspond to a TV viewing distance that varies between 2.17 and 1.54 times the screen width.

[radddogg]

Yeah, I've got rows of seats in my front room too.