[Archived] Buying a TV

[Iceman]

Help! , im not looking for one of those fancy 3D tv's, just a standard LCD tv. As I don’t have much space at home, im considering buying a 37 inch Full HD tv instead of those really big sized screens. However, what are the difference between FHD and HD ready. As I understand it, if you doing Blu Ray or playing Xbox or PS3, then FHD works best. If you doing standard tv, then HD ready is good enough.

Now HD ready, is a bit cheaper than FHD, but should I invest in FHD or go for an HD ready tv?

[Derby Blue]

I would invest in a full HD but then it does depend on your budget.

Generally HD ready tv's have a resolution of 720 - the number of vertical lines on the screen.

Full HD has 1080 lines. I think standard definition is about 480 but not sure. I've just got a full HD but not compared it to a HD ready screen so I don't know if day to day viewing is much different.

Best thing is proably to tale a trip to an electrical store and see the 2 different versions side by side. You may think the difference is negliable and not going to make a difference or you may see a big difference. Bear in mind though that the sales person will be probably be trying to seel you the most expensive!

Hope it helps.

[Iceman]

thanks mate, ill do a comparison and see what the results are.

[Paul]

As I don't have much space at home, im considering buying a 37 inch Full HD tv instead of those really big sized screens.

Are you aware you need to sit a minimum of 10 feet from a 37" screen to begin to get the full benefit? I think our is a 26 or 28" and it's more than big enough.

[Iceman]

Are you aware you need to sit a minimum of 10 feet from a 37" screen to begin to get the full benefit? I think our is a 26 or 28" and it's more than big enough.

I never knew this Paul, very interesting. Its not a small lounge area, not massive either, i think i would be seated about 10 feet away. there is the option of a 32 inch, so slightly smaller, which i could look at.

[Biddy]

Generally HD ready tv's have a resolution of 720 - the number of vertical lines on the screen.

Full HD has 1080 lines. I think standard definition is about 480 but not sure. I've just got a full HD but not compared it to a HD ready screen so I don't know if day to day viewing is much different.

SD TV's for PAL are 576 lines, US NTSC is 480 lines. HD Ready TV's (usually) will do 720p and 1080i. FullHD will be 1080p and 24 frames per second. The differences in the p's and i's are how a frame is displayed. p=progressive where the entire frame is show in one go. for i (interlaced) half the frame is shown followed by the other half. Its so quick you can't tell but HDReady don't have the full resolution to do the whole 1080 frame in one go.

24 fps is also quite significant in that all hollywood films are shot at that speed and therefore blu-rays also support that format. There is no problem if the TV can't display at 24fps, but you might see slight judder on long panning shots etc. I wish I had a FullHD TV, however my wife can't see any problems at all.

Are you aware you need to sit a minimum of 10 feet from a 37" screen to begin to get the full benefit? I think our is a 26 or 28" and it's more than big enough.

Nah, the bigger the better!

[Paul]

Oh one other thing get a Sony or a Panasonic. I spent months researching TVs last year and it boils down to a straight choice between these two brands. We got Sony Bravia in the end because it has a thinner frame, whereas Panasonics have quite a bulky frame around the screen. Picture quality is fantastic, controls are a doddle, every time I connect something new it just accepts it with out any bother. I suspect the Panasonic has a slightly better picture though.

Over hear they do some amazing deals, often through independent retailers rather than the big chains. I forget what we paid but it buttons compared to the value we got.

[Dan]

You should have a look on http://www.avforums.com/ there will be lots of reviews on there and the people on there know their stuff.

I don't think you can go wrong with a big brand such as Samsung, Sony etc

[Iceman]

I checked out a few today, and noticed that they have a USB port. Is this now standard on all lcd tv's? Its the 1st time i see this, as ive never gone out and bought an lcd tv. If i can plug my external hard drive in there, then that would be great, as i wouldnt need a media player, or watch movies via a pc.

[MarkBRFC71]

Oh one other thing get a Sony or a Panasonic. I spent months researching TVs last year and it boils down to a straight choice between these two brands. We got Sony Bravia in the end because it has a thinner frame, whereas Panasonics have quite a bulky frame around the screen. Picture quality is fantastic, controls are a doddle, every time I connect something new it just accepts it with out any bother. I suspect the Panasonic has a slightly better picture though.

Over hear they do some amazing deals, often through independent retailers rather than the big chains. I forget what we paid but it buttons compared to the value we got.

Agreed entirely .... except I went for the Panasonic plasma! It is pretty much a straight choice between those two brands although Samsung are getting as good now. It's worth reading reviews online, then going to a store to check them out for yourself. In the end I thought the picture quality on the Panny plasma was just better than the equivalent Sony LCD. As ever, there is an amount of personal choice - the plasma picture will likely look darker to those used to a bright LCD screen, whereas the contrast level on a plasma (i.e. how 'black' the 'blacks' look) is usually much higher.

[Biddy]

I checked out a few today, and noticed that they have a USB port. Is this now standard on all lcd tv's? Its the 1st time i see this, as ive never gone out and bought an lcd tv. If i can plug my external hard drive in there, then that would be great, as i wouldnt need a media player, or watch movies via a pc.

Seems to be going that way. I didn't realise it was so wide spread but I've just been talking to a colleague who has a Samsung with USB and Ethernet port and he can play HD MKV files (although without DTS sound but he's hoping a firmware update may resolve that). He can also stream from the PC using a DLNA capable media player and watch youtube videos etc.

wish I had one!

[BuckyRover]

Panasonic Viera all the way

[Iceman]

Does it have to be a specific usb port? The one i saw, only indicated jpeg and mp3. However, when i bought my dvd recorder, it said the same thing, but after formatting my hard drive to fat32, it played my avi files.

[Biddy]

Does it have to be a specific usb port? The one i saw, only indicated jpeg and mp3. However, when i bought my dvd recorder, it said the same thing, but after formatting my hard drive to fat32, it played my avi files.

Different TV's could do different things. Some might only do pictures (my old Panasonic has an SD card reader that only show pictures and records from freeview very badly), cheaper models might only do SD divx/xvid whereas I know the new Samsungs do HD MKV's . You would need to read all the docs on them. They will brag about what they can do.

Best yet, fill up a hard drive of different types and take them to a show room if you can find one. Last time I was over there I had a discussion with some guys that had just opened up an AV shop in a new mall in East London. They would have been happy for anyone to try things out. I couldn't believe the prices though. At last 50% dearer than here.

[Iceman]

What are prices like on 32 and 42 inch LCD's over there?

[Biddy]

What are prices like on 32 and 42 inch LCD's over there?

Depends how rubish a make you go down to. Ebuyer have a 32" at £233 but you can get bargains at Tesco for less than that sometimes. But then you go heavily up in price for Panasonics and Sonys.Cheapest known brand 32" at ebuyer is an LG at £289. Cheapest 32" Sony is £100 dearer.

Granted that is online and you probably can get cheaper online rather than in shops where you are. I am still stunned by the fact that the last Dan Brown book had just come out in hard back when I was over there (about a year ago). I got it from Amazon for £5 and it was in all the shops there for about £15 (eqiuvalant).

Food etc was fairly evenly priced but I couldn't believe you high street prices on luxury items. Almost as bad as China!

[Iceman]

To be fair Biddy, most of the retailers uses local suppliers, who act as a middle man. The local suppliers, will become authorised resellers, and will import, and then sell to those shops or companies. Majority of companies, prefer to avoid direct imports, as they feel its less of a hassle. The problem with this is, that the middle man or local supplier, will charge extra, as they need to make a profit themselves. In turn, the shops will up their prices, based on the cost prices which they have been quoted at in order to make a profit. Its a real pain for us consumers, as we are the ones who suffer. So you are right, when you say its probably cheaper to buy online.

[BuckyRover]

You can make massive savings online. Bought my 32 inch LCD viera for £600 online while it was £900 in Argos and bought my 42 inch for £620 from Amazon when in the shops it was over £800.

[LeChuck]

You can make massive savings online. Bought my 32 inch LCD viera for £600 online while it was £900 in Argos and bought my 42 inch for £620 from Amazon when in the shops it was over £800.

The only exception to that rule is Richer Sounds.

Easily the best place to buy to buy a television. So cheap that a lot of places exclude them from price match promises.

[Paul]

The only exception to that rule is Richer Sounds.

Easily the best place to buy to buy a television. So cheap that a lot of places exclude them from price match promises.

For anyone who is local similar comments can be made about Sound and Vision in Bolton. When I bought our Sony they were by far the cheapest and offered the longest guarantee.