It's Like A Jungle

MattyMurph

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..and I was told to wander AV Forums to keep me from going under.

I'm looking for a 42" LCD tv and I'm calling on all the good people of the AVF to guide me down the correct path. The tv is mainly just for watching Sky, etc. We don't own a Xbox and were not big DVD/Bluray watchers. I've (alright the wife has) set a ceiling of £650 on the purchase but the reviews are just flummoxing me and my head is spinning.

Anybody out there got any good recommendations? I would compromise and settle for a 37" if it meant getting a decent tv within budget.
 
Hi, and welcome to the forums :thumbsup:

In my opinion there are only 2 TVs you should look at, and their both plasmas :cool:

The Panasonic P42X10 - PANASONIC TXP42X10 at Richer Sounds - HI-FI Separates, Home Cinema, Speakers, MP3 DVD Portables, Plasma LCD, etc. vand the LG 42PQ6000 - LG 42PQ60STARSTAR at Richer Sounds - HI-FI Separates, Home Cinema, Speakers, MP3 DVD Portables, Plasma LCD, etc. In my opinion they will give you the best picture quality for your money, especially on SD TV. Personally I prefer the picture on the LG, and it looks a bit nicer cosmetically, but there is very little in it and if you watch a lot of news programmes (or other programmes with bright images on screen for long periods of time) then the Panasonic is very resistant to image retention and would be the better choice.

The only times I would say that an LCD would be better is if you spent hours at a time watching the news channels or if the room is very bright (the contrast can be washed out easily). In this case you would probably be looking at the Samsung LE40B550 (poor sound from what I've been reading) - Samsung LE40B550 Full HD 1080P Television 40" With Intergrated | Beyond Television or the LG 42LH3000 - Lg 42" | LCD Televisions 42LH3000

If it is an acceptable route to take then 37" versions available to you would be the Panasonic L37S10, Samsung LE37B650 (a little over), Sony 37V5500 (a little over again), LG 37LH7000 or even the LG 37LF7700 which has built in freesat. Again though, I don't think any of them would give as good a picture as the plasmas I mentioned so if you are willing to go down the plasma route then they would be the ones to look at. I would only recommend looking at the 37" ones if the viewing distance allowed though (if you're sat far away then there's no point in getting a better TV because you can't appreciate it!)

All those TVs have their own pros and cons, unfortunately none are perfect! so take a look at them and see which ones you fancy, remember not to be washed away by the numbers on show, most of them are meaningless

Hope that helped :thumbsup:
 
I think Monarch has said just about everything. I disagree with the choice of the LG but hey, that's a personal thing. You can pick up some Panasonics at very good prices these days and if you go for PLASMA, that's definitely the way to go - just for overall quality of build and components if not for cosmetics. For the price-quality you won't beat them.

If you go for LCD, try a Samsung which give you a lot of bang for your bucks or a Sony V4500/5500.

One thing I will warn you about. If you are watching normal Standard TV, make sure you know what you are getting. Go and watch TV at a friend's house and see what LCD/Plasma is capable of. A lot of people are disappointed by their normal TV capabilities. These sets are made for HD inputs and often process SD contents 'badly' (not really badly -just they have double the information to fill than the signal is giving them). A lot of people go for 720p because of this - I don't know if it is better or not though.

Also - don't buy a TV that's too big for your viewing distance. If you do, you will surely be disappointed.
 
My 37" panny PX80 (720p) plasma has excellent SD performance, if its SD you're going for then 37" may be the way to go for a slight improvement in quality over a 42", that said you should be fine with the 42". If you are not a big gamer then why not Plasma?.

Tesco home plus have a few remaining 42" Panny PX80's in for £599, which should just suit you, you can compare them instore as they have LCD's in aswell, See what you think.

:thumbsup:
 
Thanks for the replies and the welcome Monarch and xiuxiuejar (I'd love to know how you pronounce that?) I often use this site, there's a wealth of information to read on here. The tv thing has done my head in though, I've think I've read too many reviews so I decided to register and ask around.

Firstly, we'll be viewing the tv from around 2.4 - 2.7 mtrs so I'm guessing we'd be fine with a 42" but I'd welcome any response to that.

Secondly, I was put off plasma by the fact that a full HD plasma is way over my budget. Are you saying that a 720p plasma is favourable over a 1080p LCD bearing in mind that I subscribe to SKY hd?

I'd also like to know what the power consumption difference is between the two. I've read that Plasma screen use more power but I wonder wether the difference is noticeable or not.

Again, thanks for the advice.

Edit: Thanks Snake, I'll take a look at the Tesco site.
 
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Its not on the site, only instore:). Last few instore at HomePlus, a bargain £599.

42" will not show HD up significantly, hence whack HD through a Full 42" HD TV and you might not see much difference (if any) over say a 720p.

Not sure how much Sky is in 1080p, some will be, but not entirely sure, SD will look good, connected my 37" 720p up to Blu Ray, couldn't see much difference over 'good' (ie none outside broadcast) SD.

Plasma will up the electricity bills though.
 
Thanks for the replies and the welcome Monarch and xiuxiuejar (I'd love to know how you pronounce that?) I often use this site, there's a wealth of information to read on here. The tv thing has done my head in though, I've think I've read too many reviews so I decided to register and ask around.

Firstly, we'll be viewing the tv from around 2.4 - 2.7 mtrs so I'm guessing we'd be fine with a 42" but I'd welcome any response to that.

Secondly, I was put off plasma by the fact that a full HD plasma is way over my budget. Are you saying that a 720p plasma is favourable over a 1080p LCD bearing in mind that I subscribe to SKY hd?

I'd also like to know what the power consumption difference is between the two. I've read that Plasma screen use more power but I wonder wether the difference is noticeable or not.

Again, thanks for the advice.

Edit: Thanks Snake, I'll take a look at the Tesco site.



To be brutally honest, most people don't use the energy saving options on their LCDs as they produce darker pictures so, although Plasmas do use more power, I'm not sure how noticeable it will be - especially with today's technology.

Secondly, the TV Snake has recommended is really very good. Unless you have specific reasons for wanting 1080p, then Full HD below 40" is not really worth it IMO. Even if you receive Sky HD - I don't think it is true 1080p.

As I said, find some impartial advice and if you know people with plasma / LCD - go to their house and play and test EVERYTHING so you know what to expect.

I have just bought the new 32" Sony W5500 which everyone is slating but which I find fantastic. It is sufficient being sat 2m from it and I don't need more. If I had to buy a 37/42", I think I'd go for a Panasonic Plasma. But the most important thing is that you are happy with it, not what all the 'experts' say.
 
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Sky HD is 1080i which is supported by HD ready TVs, 1080p TV wont come in for years yet, if ever, as it takes up twice the bandwidth of 1080i, a 1080p TV can produce a technically better picture than a 720p TV but you wont be able to see the difference. At your viewing distance I would say a 42" TV would be very acceptable, and you can still enjoy the HD aspect, you still wont be able to see the difference between 720p and 1080p though (in my opinion).

The PX80 is a very good TV (I have one!) but I don't see why you would get one of them when the newer X10 is £589 at Richer Sounds, that's my opinion anyway. xiuxiuejar (I would also like to know how to pronounce that!), could you expand on why you wouldn't buy an LG? I have an LG and Panasonic, both from 2008, and the Panasonic just wins in the end, but that's only because of better black levels, which are very similar in the 2009 models. In my opinion the LG just edges it over the Panasonic in its picture quality, although it is a very close call.

The power consumption is an odd one, LCDs do in general use a little less, but it does vary on plasmas because of the way they work. Basically an LCD always uses a set amount of power, to reduce it you turn the backlight down, which in turn makes the picture darker. A plasma creates black by turning off the pixel (effectively) so if you display an entirely black screen the power consumption will be very low (not zero though), so if you watch a lot of movies, particularly with dark scenes, you could find a plasma to be more energy efficient. Overall, on normal TV viewing, you will probably find that a plasma uses a bit more, but the difference shouldn't be huge.
 
I don't see why you would get one of them when the newer X10 is £589 at Richer Sounds, that's my opinion anyway.

Its relatively simple, the PX80 is proven workhorse, a thoroughbred, with great reviews, the X10 on the other hand can only just manage 3 out of 5 in reviews, not only that, to get the price that low at release somethings got to give, lastly and more importantly, it looks like it's perched on the bog.

Be a marketing mans latest whore, buy an X10, see if I care:rotfl:.
 
In my opinion the X10 is by no means any worse than the PX80 though, it's not a huge improvement but I don't see it being any worse! The X10 gets decent reviews from decent reviewers though, 8/10 at Trusted reviews and 8.2/10 at Cnet (for 50" version). We'll see how the AVF reviewers rate it
 
I like all the panasonic plasmas, old or new. They also tend to be comparatively power efficient. Best of all, there are bargains to be had - I remember when few could afford one. As for LG - a personal opinion based on my own expèriences. Why buy tin when you can have platinum or gold?

And I totally agree - I have full HD and apart from 5 PS3 games from the 50 I have got, everything runs on HD max. Sky signals are notoriously bad and buying a Plasma may and I stress 'MAY' soften any signal issues.

But as I have said often - each to his own. The best advice is to buy what you like and what you are satisfied with.
 
But as I have said often - each to his own. The best advice is to buy what you like and what you are satisfied with.

Agree with that :thumbsup:

And for the record the Panasonics aren't necessarily cheaper to run, these figures are quoted from the Panasonic and LG websites so should be taken with a pinch of salt (whether it will be above or below for you), although I have always seen Panasonic to be a little more optimistic than others. But the P42X10 is quoted as 195Watts, and the 42PQ6000 as 181Watts (both on average).

And personal issues will always affect opinions, but any personal experience with LG can't be taken as a reflection on current products as they are taking huge steps every year, although they don't have the greatest customer service (on the whole, I've always been happy, not that I've needed it more than once)
 
But as I have said often - each to his own. The best advice is to buy what you like and what you are satisfied with.

I agree, but when you buy the 42" with 1080p that looks fantastic playing damn Ratatouille on Blu Ray under a 1000w of strip lighting, just remember one thing, 'you were stitched up like a kipper':).
 
I agree, but when you buy the 42" with 1080p that looks fantastic playing damn Ratatouille on Blu Ray under a 1000w of strip lighting, just remember one thing, 'you were stitched up like a kipper':).

so very true, it'll be an LCD if you do that too, the contrast is washed out of plasmas under the bright shop lights...which is a real shame
 
what is funny is we've gone all 'green' buying our eco-frindly LCDs, only to switch off those damn dark eco-settings and worse, watching DVD/Blu-ray on our energy guzzling, uneconomical PS3. (me included)

I have no real problem with LG - it's just not Panasonic, that's all.
 
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I have no real problem with LG - it's just not Panasonic, that's all.

I can agree with that in 'chunkiness'. I could drop a bomb on my PX80, the same can't be said for my PG6000, although it's not a problem as it's just my bedroom TV (still gets plenty of use!) and is rarely even touched, although it has easily survived a few moves around the house
 
If you go for LCD, try a Samsung which give you a lot of bang for your bucks or a Sony V4500/5500.

One thing I will warn you about. If you are watching normal Standard TV, make sure you know what you are getting. Go and watch TV at a friend's house and see what LCD/Plasma is capable of. A lot of people are disappointed by their normal TV capabilities. These sets are made for HD inputs and often process SD contents 'badly' (not really badly -just they have double the information to fill than the signal is giving them). A lot of people go for 720p because of this - I don't know if it is better or not though.

Also - don't buy a TV that's too big for your viewing distance. If you do, you will surely be disappointed.

Sound advice. :thumbsup:
 
Thanks all again for your replies. After spending all night reading reviews I'm leaning towards the LG PQ6000, especially seeing as Dixons have it on their site at slighty under £520
 
Yes, I stumbled accross the discount code whilst looking for a Dixons storefinder. Stuff it, I've ordered it@ £503. That's if it's in stock of course.
 

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