40/42" LCD or Plasma - up to £750 Budget

thatdarnguy

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Hi all, in need of some advice here.

Currently have a Toshiba 32WLT68, while the picture is ok the interface is clunky and not all that ecstatic about the way the AV input channels work either.

So we've come into a little bit of money and are looking to pick up a nice shiny new 40" or 42" set, but we're really not sure what to go for.

Had a look around town today and there were 4 that took our interest;

Panasonic TH42PZ80B Plasma - £749 from John Lewis w/ 5 yr warranty
Toshiba 42XV505DB LCD - £629 from John Lewis w/ 5 yr warranty
Sony Bravia KDL40V4000 - £739 from John Lewis w/ 5 yr warranty
Toshiba 40XF355D LCD - £729 from Currys w/ 1 yr warranty

From what i've read it seems that the Panasonic is the best picture quality of the above 4, but compared to the others, it's a bit of an eyesore! The Toshiba 40XF was gorgeous, but looking at the specs, it doesnt seem to compare so well to the 42XF505DB. As for the 42XF505DB, if I chose this, maybe i'd be better off waiting for the F555 as it has 100Hz and apparantly better motion?

Very confused! Also saw some Sharps that looked nice - havent seen much info around here on these, any reason for that?

Any advice on the above or suggestions for alternatives would be most welcome! Cheers!
 
What will you mainly be using the tv for ?

ie: PS3, blu-ray, Standard Definition Sky, Football etc etc ?
 
Hi there, sorry I had intended to put that info in my post too!

I have a PS3 and use it for games and bluray (my collection is growing all the time), and also SD Sky+, so I would say the set would be 50/50 use for HD and SD material. As for football, not so much, but I am fond of fast paced action movies! :)
 
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Hi there, sorry I had intended to put that info in my post too!

I have a PS3 and use it for games and bluray (my collection is growing all the time), and also SD Sky+, so I would say the set would be 50/50 use for HD and SD material. As for football, not so much, but I am fond of fast paced action movies! :)

Out of your choices,i would keep Panasonic and Sony and leave out the rest. Out of these, Panasonic is definitely good for fast action movies and movies in general and is better than V3000 for SD. HD both will be equally good. Only factor that remains to be considered is your viewing habit.

Do you have a habit of playing games, hours on end, pausing long times with movies and games? If so, go for V3000. If you can be careful with your viewing habits, PZ80 is a rocking set.
 
Out of those I would personally choose the Sony KDL-40V4000.

Now I'm not sure whether or not they price match against Empire Direct Online, but I would recommend phoning up John Lewis and asking them if they do, because I got my 40W4000 from Richer Sounds and asked if they would price match against them and include the free 5 year warranty and they did, so there's a chance you could get the V4000 for much cheaper + a free 5 year warranty. Or of course you could collect in store if one of their stores are near you.

http://www.digitalempireonline.co.uk/model.asp?Detail=Yes&ModelID=2486
 

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