37" LCD HD Ready 720p for SD - is this the right choice - 2nd opinion please

[cjb22]

2nd opinion please -
I posted a question a couple of weeks ago and I had some advice from this forum - just like to get a second opinion.

The recommendation was to go for a 37" 720p LCD

I was looking for a new tv - upgrading from a 27" CRT - and budget sub £580
Viewing habits will be mainly SD broadcasts and freeview digital from a rooftop aerial.

Unlikely that broadcasts will be received from a satellite due to signal obstruction from trees.

Occasional DVD from a standard DVD player
NO games played

Viewing distance 4metres to 7metres

I was worried about the image degradation caused by upscaling from SD to a 1080p and this is the reason I was going for a 720p (as opposed for example to a 1080p 42" or even a 1080p 37")

many thanks

 

[wokeye]

From my limited experience I think that a 720p 37" TV would be much better for SD signals than a 1080p TV. I have been dissapointed by SD content I have seen so far on 1080p sets that friends and family have. Although these sets were 40" and 42" which would make the SD picture worse. And from those viewing distances I doubt you would be able to tell the difference between 720p and 1080p anyway. I have a Samsung 720p/1080i 37" LE37R87BDX that I bought blind without auditioning just over a year ago. I was really worried about what the SD picture would be like. After adjusting the picture settings as it was dire out of the box I was, and still am very pleased with it's SD performance. Sky SD is extremley good, freeview from the inbuilt tuner is pretty good but not as good as Sky SD. Whether this is because the inbuilt tuner is not to great I do not know, or that freeview is not as good quality as Sky SD. I sit around 8 feet away from mine and also use it for PS3 gaming, blu-ray and Sky HD. I am also really impressed it with it for it's HD performance. It was either this TV or a 37" Panasonic 720p plasma. After reading about the pro's and con's, and also at the time this TV was cheaper I went for the LCD, and I do not regret it for one minute. My set cost me £550 at the time the newer version of this TV the Samsung LE37A457C (I believe the LE37A456C is the same set too) can be bought for around £440 now. Panasonic's and Sony's seem to be very popular on here, but I am very happy with Samsung's and am awaiting delivery of an LE32A456C for my bedroom. Best thing is to audition TV's (if you can that is) and also think about the Panasonic 37" plasma as they are supposed to be better than LCD's for SD. I have also read on here that Sony's have better scaler's for SD content, again I am more than happy with the Samsung's. But given your circumstances I would go for the 720p screen, sure other's will maybe disagree though as the price differential has dropped a lot for 1080p tv's. But at your viewing distances and using it for SD viewing I think a 37" 720p set makes a lot of sense. Also at those viewing distances you could get a larger 720p set, the picture may be softer for SD but maybe you would not see it as you are a long way from it.