What HDTV to buy?

[G~MAN]

Hello PCR,

I know I made a similar post a while back, but that was then and this is now!

Basically the parents have agreed (With a little bit of persuasion) to take me out and buy a nice new TV for Christmas.

I'm looking for a mid sized TV, around 26 - 32 inches and I would like it to be as future proof as possible. I think 1080p is the latest HD craze, but I need a good value for money TV.

My budget is around £350 at the very most, the cheaper the better really. Does anybody have any suggestions or any personal experience they can go on to get me a sweeeeeeeet as TV for my room!

I will be playing 360 mainly on it, as well as some DVD's / freeview ...

Thanks for the help

Geo

 

[Waynos_Face]

Hiya mate,

Will have a look for TVs in a bit,

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Disp...-G+HG281DP+Widescreen+Monitor?productId=33242

 

[Waynos_Face]

http://www.dixons.co.uk/martprd/sto...m=null&tm=null&sku=400411&category_oid=-21226

Think you will struggle getting a 1080p TV for £350, have had a Samsung 32" LCD 720p and upgraded recently to a Toshiba 37" 1080p.

Both great TVs, Toshiba was £600.

 

[psd99]

Hello PCR,

I know I made a similar post a while back, but that was then and this is now!

Basically the parents have agreed (With a little bit of persuasion) to take me out and buy a nice new TV for Christmas.

I'm looking for a mid sized TV, around 26 - 32 inches and I would like it to be as future proof as possible. I think 1080p is the latest HD craze, but I need a good value for money TV.

My budget is around £350 at the very most, the cheaper the better really. Does anybody have any suggestions or any personal experience they can go on to get me a sweeeeeeeet as TV for my room!

I will be playing 360 mainly on it, as well as some DVD's / freeview ...

Thanks for the help

Geo

are you able to hold off untill 2009? I envisage a slight price drop early 2009.....

I learnt a few things 3 different types of HD so far, 720, 1080i (interlaced) and 1080p (progressive)
with the latter being the best although I reckon the difference between the last 2 might not be so visually significant when comparing it against 720.

 

[G~MAN]

How about this one? Is it 1080p? Looks quite a good TV for a good price

http://www.play.com/Electronics/Ele...descreen-LCD-TV/Product.html?searchtype=genre#

 

[Waynos_Face]

Its 720p but thats a good price, its the 32" version of my TV, good TV, really good picture, easy to setup and looks really good in glossy black.

On the resolution you need to look for 1920 x 1080 to be 1080p, 1368 x 768 is 720p, to be honest mate, the picture isn't a lot sharper because of whether its 720 or 1080 its the contrast as well that counts as thats where all the bright colours come from.

Great TV for the price.

You can see mine here.

 

[V_R]

If you aint gonna be watching a lot of HD content and sticking with 360 and SD tv etc ten stick to 720p as it will give a better picture quality for SD content.

You wont get a 1080p for £350, not at the mo anyway...

 

[G~MAN]

How about a standard 1080i TV? I think that is the one lower down from 1080p??

Ideally I would like 1080i over 720p

Are there any makes that stand out when it comes to TV's? Are Sony for example better than Samsung etc etc

 

[G~MAN]

This looks alright -

http://www.misco.co.uk/applications...ils.asp?EdpNo=331714&Sku=150253&sourceid=3300

Not to sure about the make though, any thoughts

 

[Waynos_Face]

Sony is just a name when it comes to TV,

Samsung used to make the screens for them but they fell out.

I'm pretty sure that most HDT are now Toshiba insides with a LG screen.

Can't really go wrong with either Toshiba, Sonny, Samsung or LG.

Hopefully this will help,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-definition_television

Or probably not, you won't see a difference between 1080i and 720p on a 32" screen anyway, you might as well go with the TV that has the highest contrast ratio for the price.

 

[Abarbarian]

Save money . Wait till after christmas to buy.

 

[V_R]

Pannys for the win.

Am looking for a good 1080p TV myself atm, as i ordered Sky HD the other day, install date is the 18th Jan, thats the earliest i could get!!

From what i've read, although i dont have or want a 360 it seems the 360 dont do 1080p anyway without a software DL from live, and even then its not al that? I dunno, only seen a bit about it. I'll probs get a PS3 anyway.

Just a quickie: as mentioned here and here, Microsoft has announced, ahead of the Tokyo Game Show, that Xbox 360 is going to get 1080p support via a free software download. Currently, the console is only able to display a HD signal in either 720p or 1080i.Predictably, it seems there are no plans to release games that run in 1080p. Instead, the software update will allow DVD movies to be scaled up to 1080p and will also handle HD DVD releases. Sony, of course, has made much out of PS3's status as the only console capable of coping with 'True HD'. Although limited numbers of first-party games will attempt to exploit the resolution, most PS3 titles will stick with 720p/1080i.

An interesting little announcement there for Microsoft, ahead of a key PR-saving event for Sony...

LINK

Going by all the reading i've done, it looks like 720 for SD TV. Saying that i'm looking at seriously getting the Panasonic TH42PZ80B soon. http://www.johnlewis.com/230478377/Product.aspx

The Panasonic TH42PX80B is the 720p version and is arguably the best 720p tv and a big big favourite over at avforums.com

http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/news/panasonic-th42px80b-review-20080310101.htm

 

[floppybootstomp]

Hannspree are not very good, they make monitors as well and they're economy models.

Any TV 32" and under, it's not worth going for 1080 as you'll find it very hard to see the difference between that and 768.

I favour Samsung and Sony and I've been looking at loads over the last few months. I'd avoid Hitachi, most I've seen look a bit crap compared to Sony & Samsung.

Here's one at Richer Sounds

 

[guest_9323wk]

Hi,

Check this one out,

 

[crazylegs]

The Panny's and the Samsungs are the tv's to go for at the moment if your looking for quality..

That Tosh Regza is bloody good value though, and a decent contrast ratio into the bargain..

 

[G~MAN]

Heya - well i've waited untill after xmas and a I noticed there are a lot of deals atm!

I saw this on play.com

http://www.play.com/Electronics/Ele...Widescreen-LCD-TV/ProductReviews.html?cpage=3

The reviews look pretty good and I like the TV itself, can I get better value for my money at the moment or should I just go for it?

Cheers!

 

[floppybootstomp]

Heya - well i've waited untill after xmas and a I noticed there are a lot of deals atm!

I saw this on play.com

http://www.play.com/Electronics/Ele...Widescreen-LCD-TV/ProductReviews.html?cpage=3

The reviews look pretty good and I like the TV itself, can I get better value for my money at the moment or should I just go for it?

Cheers!

If you have a Richer Sounds near you you can get it for fifty quid less or £330.00 with a five year warranty Link

And yes, looks like a good TV, although it seems it will be discontinued soon.

My Mum's in the market for a 32" TV, might just get her that one.

 

[G~MAN]

Nice one, im just not sure if buying old tech is good in the long run.

I've seen an LG 1080p on sale for £350 around, may get that one! I'll give it a couple of days me thinks and see for any new offers

 

[crazylegs]

The W's are the ones to go for in the Sony range..

I did point one out in MadX's thread somewhere on the forum..

 

[Belloni]

Buy from Richer sounds, awesome company, my brother has bought all his stuff from there.