Want to know which TV to buy? Start here.

[Stuart Wright]

Since the LCD TV forum is the single busiest forum at AVForums, I have decided to make it a little more manageable by creating a sub-forum specifically for people to ask and receive advice on which LCD TV they should purchase.

So if you are in the market for an LCD TV, ask in this forum. And if you have advice to give, reply in this forum.
Thanks

Ok, first bit of useful advice:


Never, NEVER buy a TV based on what it looks like in a shop UNLESS it has been set up correctly. Ask them whether the TV has been ISF calibrated. If it hasn't, ask why not and how it has been set up. Frankly, there is no excuse for not correctly calibrating a display TV. How are you supposed to make a purchasing decision on something which costs hundreds/thousands of pounds without being able to adequately judge its performance? It's like being asked to test drive a car in first gear only.

[jondy1]

sorry if i sound ignorant but what does isf calibrated mean/stand for and can this be done by the buyer:thumbsup:

[Curly99]

sorry if i sound ignorant but what does isf calibrated mean/stand for and can this be done by the buyer:thumbsup:Some good reading here (http://www.audio-advice.com/isf_calibration.html).

Curly

[Fordy]

how much can ISF Calibration cost and who is recommended by AVF please?

[smithyzx9r]

[/quote]
Hi guys, I'm in the market to upgrade my 2 year old Philips 37" lcd think its a 768. I've narrowed it down to the Samsung LE40M87 or Toshiba 42XV505 thinking the Tosh as I'm gaining 5".................please help:lease:

[gooser1974]

help.....total techie novice here....my brain is fried after looking and tens and tens of lcd and plasma tv's, contrast ratio's, 1080p, 50 or 100hz, etc etc etc.

here's the deal, i am looking at buying a tv, at least 40" for use with a PS3 and home cinema system, and sky (not hd, but i do wanna watch blu-ray films through the PS3) i've got around £700 to play with (could possibly stretch a bit more) and don't care if it's lcd or plasma. My mate has a Samsung, which people rave about but I always notice the picture blurs when the camera pans or there's any great deal of motion in the shot, so I want to avoid that if possible.

Any help would be really really appreciated.:thumbsup:

Thanks

[Yemeth]

help.....total techie novice here....my brain is fried after looking and tens and tens of lcd and plasma tv's, contrast ratio's, 1080p, 50 or 100hz, etc etc etc.

here's the deal, i am looking at buying a tv, at least 40" for use with a PS3 and home cinema system, and sky (not hd, but i do wanna watch blu-ray films through the PS3) i've got around £700 to play with (could possibly stretch a bit more) and don't care if it's lcd or plasma. My mate has a Samsung, which people rave about but I always notice the picture blurs when the camera pans or there's any great deal of motion in the shot, so I want to avoid that if possible.

Any help would be really really appreciated.:thumbsup:

Thanks

You could shell out £780 for the Samsung 40" A656: http://stockchecker.co.uk/PriceComparer.aspx?productId=50822. Its got 100Hz tech so is forgiving when it comes to motion handling. Feel free to make your own thread in this forum, its there to be used. :)

[gooser1974]

thanks.


:thumbsup:

[niklas_hanssen]

Hi Guys, I've posted this in another thread and no response yet. Since I need a quick answer, I'm posting this here too, hope no one will mind that.

I have read tones and tones of reviews and materials posted and still cannot make up my mind as to what is best to choose in terms of quality, price etc etc...

Initially I was tempted of buying a Samsung 40A656, then I heard and read about Panasonic 42PY80...then....looking at the prices, I was tempted by the Panasonic 42PX80...

Still, the age-old question remains - which is better overall, LCD or Plasma? I have seen plasmas on the same wall with LCD's and the latter seemed clearer and brighter but I guess that was due to shop's policy to sell LCD rather than the cheaper plasmas, therefore setting the LCD to look better. Never seen the 40A656 and the 42PY80 though and I cannot find a shop where to try them, so I guess I'll be forced to go blind here, and make my choice only based on your advice and on the specs...

I'll use the TV for movies (PC and bluray) and TV (digital cable TV). I also want the TV set to be as "future-proof" as possible.

In about 1 year I guess HDTV will be widely available - can the Panny PX80 cope with that? can it properly display HD material?

Now, please help me make up my mind - does the Samsung 40 A656 and Panny 42PY80 really worth the price difference when compared with the Panny 42PX80?

Here a Samsung 40a656 is about Euro 1300 and a PY80 about 1250, while the 42PX80 is around Euro 900.

Can anyone give me solid arguments to buy one of the above models instead of the others?

I have to buy the TV tomorrow and I would very much appreciate your support here.

Thanks a lot!

When I wrote PY80 I meant PZ80...

[niklas_hanssen]

Anyone? Please, I need to make a decision today!:lease:

[Yemeth]

@niklas: without going into detail, I would recommend the Samsung, hands down.

[niklas_hanssen]

@niklas: without going into detail, I would recommend the Samsung, hands down.


Thanks!

I think I finally made up my mind. Yesterday I went to a big local retailer and watched the PZ80/PY80, it was displayed on the same wall with several other Panasonic LCD and plasmas. Just above it was a 37LZD70 LCD.

Well, all tv's were running the same presentation material from Panasonic. I was stunned by the image quality of the LZD70! At the same time I was surprised to see that the PZ80's image quality was well below that of the LZD. Even after about 1 hour of playing and messing with the settings of both TV's, the PZ80 was a lot worse than the LZD...Incredible poor image quality in all respects...

I also watched a Sony V4000 and messed a bit with the settings. Again, I was pretty surprised to see it was well below an "old" Samsung 40M86 which was playing the same material right next to the Sony.

So I guess I'll go for the Samsung 40A656, as I've read lots of good opinions about it. The specs look also very promissing.:thumbsup:

I know I shouldn't make my choice based on what I see in the stores but after having played quite a lot with the settings and given that the plasma and the lcd were playing the same material, I guess I cannot be wrong here.

[JDM121]

I agree don't buy a tv based on what you see at the shop. I went to a shop yesterday and the saleswoman wasn't even helping the customer, all she said was look at the remote and play with if see if you like it. The customer had no idea what to look for in a tv, and the sales floor was so bright, it was hard to even tell the difference between the high end tvs and the low end.

[niklas_hanssen]

Just bought the Samsung 40A656, delivery is expected this evening. I'll come back with first impressions...Cheers!

[bobbybox45]

Hi guys,have a budget of between £450 and £600 and will be running a sky plus box and a dvd player through it.Iam looking for a 32inch lcd and have found a couple that look reasonably priced.One is the samsung le32a558 and the other is a panasonic tx32lxd85.Not sure which of these would be ok and if there are any cheaper alternatives,any help would be greatley appreciated.

[SmileyOctober]

I've got the Sony KDL40V300 and the picture quality is pretty mint, plus it has three HDMI connections which I think is very important! I have my LG - DVX392H HD Upscaling DVD player using one and I plan to get Freesat and a PS3 (need to justify both to my live in girlfriend first though!).

[I'mStuckInMyTV!]

Has anyone got this one?

https://www.dixons.co.uk/martprd/product/557737?int=Samsung-4-series-HD-Ready-digital-LCD-TV#productInformationSection

If so, post your opinions and tell me how much warranty it came with.

[Yemeth]

Has anyone got this one?

https://www.dixons.co.uk/martprd/product/557737?int=Samsung-4-series-HD-Ready-digital-LCD-TV#productInformationSection

If so, post your opinions and tell me how much warranty it came with.

Dixons dont provide a free warranty (except for the bog standard 7 days DSR), Samsung give you 1 year afaik.

Have a look at this main thread for that model: http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=736601

[bobbyloch]

I've been looking to buy a new tv and thought a lcd was better than a plasma. I saw the Sony KDL-46V3000 priced £999.00 at John Lewis with a free 5 year guarantee but then a review in PC Mag gave it only 50 out of 100 and altho it initially praised the tv went on to say "Sadly, despite an otherwise strong showing, when displaying scenes depicting lots of motion, the KDL-46V3000 was among the most smear-prone sets I've seen."
Can anyone tell me anything about this? Is this a good tv? Is a lcd better than a plasma at 46"?
Also a review on amazon.co.uk said that they could not get it linked up to their Sky+
Does anyone know anything about this?

Thanks
Any help would be appreciated

[puneet2008]

My personal experience say that you should go for Sony....Sony's picture quality is really awesome with many other specifications.Try this one http://www.checkcost.co.uk/lcd-tvs/c/4329/ .....It's really awesome. I bought it recently and its really amazing. I can say onething that sony is better as compared to other models and that's for sure.

[I'mStuckInMyTV!]

Since the LCD TV forum is the single busiest forum at AVForums, I have decided to make it a little more manageable by creating a sub-forum specifically for people to ask and receive advice on which LCD TV they should purchase.

So if you are in the market for an LCD TV, ask in this forum. And if you have advice to give, reply in this forum.
Thanks

Ok, first bit of useful advice:


Never, NEVER buy a TV based on what it looks like in a shop UNLESS it has been set up correctly. Ask them whether the TV has been ISF calibrated. If it hasn't, ask why not and how it has been set up. Frankly, there is no excuse for not correctly calibrating a display TV. How are you supposed to make a purchasing decision on something which costs hundreds/thousands of pounds without being able to adequately judge its performance? It's like being asked to test drive a car in first gear only.



But if it looks fantastic, chances are it's been set up correctly? I have seen screens where the picture is awful, grainy and everything!

[lewi63]

Hi Guys, My mother-in-law's main TV has blown and therefore I am looking to buy a 22in LCD TV with integrated freeview tuner and integrated DVD too, preferably in silver (or black & silver) although I have told her that may not be possible. Her budget is £250-£300.

Any recommendations?