New TV £1000 budget

bluetooth

Established Member
Joined
Dec 26, 2006
Messages
170
Reaction score
4
Points
45
Hello everyone !

i am looking for a new tv, and i have cometo the decision LCD is best. i was considering that 55" 1080p sony dlp, but i don't like the short bulb life of them, and i don't know about them. With plasma i'm worried about burn in.

Budget : £1000

requirements :

At least 40"

Good brand ( pana, phillips, sony, sammy, tosh etc )

good connections ( vga for xbox 360 dvd upscaling and hd, hdmi connections, etc )

1080p ( not absolutely needed, yor opinin really, if you think i'll need at at this size tv )

pc input would be nice

i would pref. to buy from the big uk retailers, currys or comet or that kind.

go ahead ! youknow more then i do !

thanks alot
 
At the top of this forum's page are a list of tellies & prices. Make a note of those there that are 40" & larger and in your price range and then read the appropriate thread for that model. You don't have to read the whole 5,000 posts in each thread, but if you click on "last" and then go back 5 or 10 pages and read all of those then you'll get a pretty good idea of whether that model is any good or not and the current issues that owners have with it.

I've recently bought a Sharp LC42XD1E 42" which I'm very pleased with. It meets you criteria & I'm sure you wouldn't go far wrong if you bought one.
 
costco do the 40" Sony KDL40S2530 for £822 with 3 yr warranty
 
Thanks for the help, but i can't seem to find this list of tv's. Iv'e looked a while now, but i have no idea where it is.

Also, what is anyone's actual opinions ? should i go 1080p ? what is the sweet spot in mid/large screen size ?

thanks
 
Maybe one of the new Samsungs M86/7, might set you a few quid over budget though.
 
Thanks for the help, but i can't seem to find this list of tv's. Iv'e looked a while now, but i have no idea where it is.
It's right in the middle in this screenshot. You might have hidden it in your user options - click on "My Settings" at the top of the page, then "Edit Options" on the left hand side, then "Product pricing display" is at the bottom. Either that or you're overlooking where it says "Today's offers" in big bold letters. ;)

Also, what is anyone's actual opinions ? should i go 1080p ? what is the sweet spot in mid/large screen size ?
Um... I don't see the point of getting HD if you don't get 1080p, myself. I made some more comments about this in the 42XD1E thread the other day. I mean, in some ways, if you're only watching Freeview and size is important to you - you said you originally wanted 55" - then buying a secondhand SD telly might well be the best buy. HD tellies are said to be generally not so good at SD material. I also don't discriminate against DLP screens for the reason you mentioned - price:size they're the best value for money and I think you get about 8,000 hours out of a bulb, which is several years at my usage.

Basically in the 40" - 42" LCD arena you can generally get at the moment a 720p for about £850 or a 1080p for £1050. I did notice the difference going from a 44" to a 42" TV, so I'd be inclined to avoid 40" myself, but then again you'll probably be used to whatever you choose within a day or two and never notice it again after the first day.

I recently bought the Sharp LC-42XD1E and am very pleased with it. I think it's a gorgeous set, and although now people are talking about the better "contrast ratios" (WTH does that mean??) of its successor I can't imagine a better picture than I get out of mine.

Ideal for you might be the 47" LG which Aldi are having as a "Thursday Special" next week. It's a 1080p LCD with Freeview tuner, 2x HDMI & a 3-year warranty (although if I know Aldi you'll have to pay shipping should you ever need to use the warranty). Downside is no component input, but if I hadn't just bought my Sharp I'd probably consider this - I very much doubt you'll find another 47" 1080p LCD for £1100 and Aldi seem to have a good returns policy (I once took back a car CD player because my motor didn't have the right connector to fit it). To get this you'll have to be queuing at the store before it opens (I'd be there an hour early, myself) and the ad says "Please arrive at store with suitable transport". Let me know by PM or email if you want a copy of the email flier - the full spec wasn't available on Aldi's website when I looked.

Stroller.
 
Thanks :) i found it now.

I am fairly sure i don't want rear projection. I don't like the maintainance of it ( TV will be on long hours a day ) and it doesn't look to great either.

Leaving me with plasma, and LCD. I am fairly sure i want 1080p, and as much as i love the new pana viera plasma's, they don't have it. Leaving me finally, with LCD.


I'm going to look around, and shortlist a few TV's for a while then i'll come back and see what you have to say about them.

Any more opinions very much appreciated :)
 
At £1k its a straight shoot-out between the 40" F series Samsung and the Sharp XD1E LCD's imo. Keep in mind though that these high resolution LCD's only look great with a HD feed. SD can be disappointing.

I spent a very long time in my local Comet Superstore yesterday testing screens - both Plama and LCD. I know the guys in there very well - although i'm still yet to buy anything !! lol

This time they let me take their Toshiba HD DVD (HDE1) player and move it from TV to TV to try 1080i/720p out on any HDTV i fancied (using HDMI) as they were very busy. I don't think they expected me to be there trying every model in sight for 2 hrs !! lol

Anyhoo, long story short, the best LCD's i saw were the '1080p' screens from Sharp and Samsung. The Sony screens were good too, even the mid-range ones - but they are a touch over-priced imo (The 40" W series was priced at £1800 !!).

The Sharp XD1E i saw had no banding or buzz problems at all. When fed a 1080i signal from the HD DVD player its pin sharp detail and vivid real life colours were superb. Black levels were pretty good too. Nice screen - if you can find one without any of the 'issues' people have had on here its a good buy imo.

The F series from Samsung was great too. It had a PS3 attached to it. Running the Ridge Racer demo (over HDMI) it looked stunning - with strong vibrant colours and pin sharp detail.
No motion blur that i could see either and, again, it had decent black levels.

The best mid-range (720p) LCD's i saw were the new Toshiba (C3030) range - which had a nice rich colour pallete and decent black levels. The 37" is excellent vfm at around £680 online - as is the 42" at around £800.


Choosing a TV is a very personal decision though - and although asking on here can help draw you up a 'short list' to look at its essential that you go and see the screens 'in the flash' before making a decision.
 
...its essential that you go and see the screens 'in the flash' before making a decision.
Is that a reference to 100Hz technology?! :D ;)
 

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom