Best 32inch TV?!

[stig]

Hey,

I'm living in Ireland, and want to invest in a decient 32inch TV - I like the Sony Wega range, but am open to suggestions!!

I've 1000 - 1200 euro to spend!

Thanks in Advance

[jamesb]

that's a difficult question. i would never buy another sony tv from my experience. however there are many people delighted with their sony sets. if anyone here mentions a particular tv.. i think it will probably have people that like and hate them. my advice is just to visit the stores and pick out models that interest you and come back here, do a search, and see what people have said about them and if you can put up with whatever faults or problems other people found.

[stig]

Originally Posted by jamesb

that's a difficult question. i would never buy another sony tv from my experience. however there are many people delighted with their sony sets. if anyone here mentions a particular tv.. i think it will probably have people that like and hate them. my advice is just to visit the stores and pick out models that interest you and come back here, do a search, and see what people have said about them and if you can put up with whatever faults or problems other people found.

Thanks - will do

[Gorecon]

I recently bought a Sony 32DX51U.
This is my first Sony and so far I have been stunned by the picture quality.
I was in a dilemma as to whether to buy a 100hz set. (I looked at the Sony 32DX200U, which was nice)
I even posted messages on the Forum asking for advice.
My main concern was 'smearing' / pixallation etc.
After looking and comparing many different sets I stuck with a 50hz set (the 32DX51U)
Some of the 100hz sets looked truly awful and I could find no real good reason to upgrade to a 100hz.
Yes you don't get flicker but I do not notice any flicker on my 50hz set either.
My belief at that moment is that people are going out buying plasmas etc just because they are the latest thing.
Again even though I was not looking at a plasma some of them gave very poor pictures. (some of the more expense ones £3K+ looked much better)
Was watching Finding Nemo a popular demo disk for shops and I could see dot crawl and other nasty artifacts everywhere.
On my set no such problems. I also accept that Plasmas are 42" as opposed to 32". But I would say them same applies to LCD's, perhaps more so. I mean some 22" LCD's are costing £800! and look terrible!
What gives?
Anyway hope this helps...

[Stewarty]

I had a Sony Triniton 25" Dolby Pro for 9 years and was happy with performance and reliability. I have recently taken the plunge and decided to invest in a new Bang & Olufsen Avant DVD RF 32". I know they are expensive, but when you compare quality of picture, awesome design and build quality I reckon it is a better investment than spending 3-4k on a plasma/lcd. I believe that there will still be a demand for quality CRT televisions , as plasma & lcd cannot match the picture quality of CRT. I think that people will tire of the limited design potential. Lets face it, they all look the same. I also think the arguments about less bulk are weak, as most are positioned on rather large cabinets with all the mess of cables etc. I also think that people will get bored with hanging grey panels on their walls. Long Live The CRT!

[Brainboy]

Gorecon,

Delighted to hear you got a good set - from reading this forum it sounds like you are very lucky!!

I too am debating between 50Hz or 100Hz and Sony TV's and I am very curious why you chose the 50Hz only set over the KD 32Dx200 where you can choose from 100, 50DRC or 50 non DRC? To me 50DRC looked best PQ and the Edinburgh Sony Centre people told me this is the only Sony set where you can get 50DRC. Do you have it on yours, and if you don't did you not think it worth it? I also hate smearing and pixelation so imagine only using 100Hz for slow moving good quality channels and 50Hz for sports (football is my main thing!).

[Gorecon]

Hi Brainboy,

I went for the 50hz for a few reasons. One was costs as it was going to cost me an extra £300. (although I perhaps could have haggled or looked around a bit)
Secondly the demo I arranged was only on some DVD's I brought into a Sony Centre. They could not set it up with a satellite channel etc The DVD's looked very good but I then demo-ed the DX51 with both Sky and DVD's and I was very impressed with it.

I am not discounting 100hz sets entirely (and certaining not the DX200) but for the extra costs and risk of being disappointed with the smearing I felt the 50hz was better for me.
I cannot emphaise how much I personally hate the digital smearing effects. When I see them I find that I am then drawn into looking for more of this instead of watching the film or program!
Thats my personal reason anyway.
One question to you. Why buy a 100hz set if you are going to potentially be watching it in mainly the 50hz setting for footy etc?

Cheers

[Brainboy]

I also hate the smearing and once I see, like you, I find myself watching it rather than the programme!

I did like the 50Hz DRC mode and I could see an improvement over the standard 50Hz (watching a Sony Freeview box input). The Sony Centre guy says the KD 32 and 28 DX200 are the only sets where you get the DRC option - so if you like the DRC you have to buy a 100Hz IdTV set (neither the fact it's Id nor the 100Hz really appeals but....).

I must also confess that I came into some cash recently and want to buy the best technology available and am finding it a bit difficult to really accept what my eyes are telling me; that 100Hz just doesn't work well with anything but pristine digital DVD type inputs and cannot cope with fast horizontal panning! It's crazy but even though I think for football standard 50Hz is still best it feels like old technology and not having bought a set for 5 years it is a little dissapointing that basically there's nothing new. I should add Plasma looks dreadful to me on everything but the Nemo DVD, beloved of TV salesrooms, and LCD's look too artificial.

[Gorecon]

Very much like you said I was very reluctant to go with old "50Hz" technology.
I mean my last TV lasted 7 years. (still not long enough in my opinion!)
But I have yet to find a single reason to go to 100hz screens. Apart maybe from flicker.
If you search the TV forum's which I am sure you have. Not many people say "I could never go back to 50hz screens".

In the end I found the whole expericence of buying a new TV rather painfull.
If it wasn't hard enough to choose a TV format such as Plasma or CRT. Then its a question of 50hz or 100hz?
Then when you are on the forum everyone seems to be moaning (quite rightly) about problems that they are having.
Maybe I have become too fussing since my last TV?
In the end you should just go with what you like best.
I am not a gambling man so maybe I just chickened out and went for something I was famillar with.
However after a intense 2 week search I still feel I went with the correct choice.
Of course this could all change in the near future!...

Good Luck!