Please help Guys - Need new TV and am confused by new fangled LCD's

dicy

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Hi Guys

I have been wrestling with all the conflicting advice and stories that circulate around LCD TV and am posting in the hope that you real experts can help me out.
Basically i currently have a Phillips 28" widescreen with SKY digital (not high def) and a panasonic dvd recorder. I keep reading that LCD TV's do not have as good a picture as CRT's (mainly for tv viewing and DVD watching) - is this still true??

My wife is waivering on her no new gadgets embargo and i hoping to use this window of opportunity to invest in a new tv before the pitter patter of tiny feet arrive.

I'd be happy to buy a new CRT, but there aint many about really, so my question is this.: is there an LCD in the £700 - £800 range - 32" (or a bit smaller) that will give as a good a picture if not better than a CRT for standard terrestial viewing (reception is a bit dodgy, but not too bad), SkY digital and DVD/PS2 viewing. Also - HDTV compatable would be nice for the future too!

I really don't want anything that will be a worse picture than the CRt i already have, so could you please help.

Cheers

Rich:lease:
 
see the thing is with sky tv, it is horribly horribly compressed.

CRT's cannot produce a particularly high definition picture, however, in a way this can be a blessing for the garbage that is sky sports etc, becuase the telly adds a kind of anti ailiasing and smooths out a lot of the noise.

a high def lcd is capable of an incredably detailed image.

DVD's, and hi def (aka xbox360/ps3/PC) video games will look superb on it, as will pc text if you use it as a monitor (compared to a crt which will possibly give you a headache after prolonged use as a monitor)

BUT what you say has some truth, as an lcd will show up every single little imperfection of the original broadcast.

bottom line, i personally dont think high resoluition lcd's are for everyone, infact a low def plasma maywell fit your bill better.

in short, go to a DECENT hifi type shop (or a sony shop they seem to be a nice bunch in the ones i have been to)

and demo them yourself and make your own opinion.

what is acceptable to me may not be to you and vice versa.

ps am no techie so sorry if am slightly innacurate ;)
 
ALL LCD's are totally reliant on the quality of the source and the connectivity between especially analogue.
First off if you are in a Freeview area make sure your aerial is up to sratch with mast head amp fitted it necessary this will give the best NON HD picture if the TV is fitted with Freeview on board.
YOUR DVD and SKY box must and already should be set to 16:9 not 4:3 or any other version come to that. And most of all make sure they are both outputting RGB not PAL or Composite. If your DVD player is capable of component (Progressive is better) then go down that route for LCD's/Plasma's. In my opinion SKY+ boxes do seem to give a better picture than a plain SKY box and if you have at least one premiere package it will cost no more each month.
DO use quality SCART cables, this lets down more people and LCD's than anything else, get QED, IXOS or Profigold, not the ASDA/Tesco £5 gold plated specials, THEY DO make the difference.
For a 5 star TV look at the Toshiba 32WLT66 (people seem to get them for around £570 - £630 on the web, £800 in the shops) it is very wife friendly as it's footprint is very small. Then get the wife off looking for the furniture to match (you know a nice new stand for the nice new TV)
 
MikeKay 1976, are you saying if we only watch SD pictures it's best to get a non-HD set? Wouldn't the PQ be the same on a HD set or even better?

I am also lookig for a LCD because a good crt is hard to find, they are available in some online stores but are still too expensive.

There's no point in spending £600 on a crt when you can get a good LCD for that amount.
 
MikeKay 1976, are you saying if we only watch SD pictures it's best to get a non-HD set? Wouldn't the PQ be the same on a HD set or even better?

I would get an HD ready/compatible set, as at least it would be "future-proofed" and you never know what your new-found interest may lead to (this can be an addictive pastime).

I have a Tosh 37" connected to a standard Sky box by (half-decent) RGB Scart cable and the PQ on most channels is excellent.
 
MikeKay 1976, are you saying if we only watch SD pictures it's best to get a non-HD set? Wouldn't the PQ be the same on a HD set or even better?

I am also lookig for a LCD because a good crt is hard to find, they are available in some online stores but are still too expensive.

There's no point in spending £600 on a crt when you can get a good LCD for that amount.

I agree, personally i WOULD go the route of lcd (i have) BUT thats because i see SD TV as in its final years, sooner or later i will go HD however i accept that SD tv will not look as good and i dont mind that.

like i said, go have a look, there is no point spending your money and being upset. Unfortunatly at the moment, 1 way or another compromises have to be made as there is no 1 perfect technology at the moment.
 
Rich said : "I really don't want anything that will be a worse picture than the CRt i already have, so could you please help".

I looked for a LCD for about two years but, because I could not find one that shows football as clear as my CRT, I bought another CRT last week and it is really good. Hopefully it will last while they sort out motion blur. You will be told that there are LCD's which do not have motion blur on fast moving sports, but go and see them for yourself, if motion blur bothers you, and ask to be shown channel 83 (Sky Sports News) on Freeview. See for yourself is the key words.
 
Rich said : "I really don't want anything that will be a worse picture than the CRt i already have, so could you please help".

I looked for a LCD for about two years but, because I could not find one that shows football as clear as my CRT, I bought another CRT last week and it is really good. Hopefully it will last while they sort out motion blur. You will be told that there are LCD's which do not have motion blur on fast moving sports, but go and see them for yourself, if motion blur bothers you, and ask to be shown channel 83 (Sky Sports News) on Freeview. See for yourself is the key words.


I just returned an Panasonic LXD600 LCD that has an rrp of £1500 due to blur and things looking out of focus during fast camera panning. It was less noticeable with standard def stuff but really noticeable with HD stuff during panning like when watching football.

Ive found the same with all the sony range of lcd's too as well as every other LCD ive seen where the broadcast has fast camera panning.

I wanted a HDTV not a TV that only looks HD when the camera isn't moving :rolleyes:

now i don't know what to buy.
 
Motion blur, I have none on my Toshiba 32WLT66

I watched the footy last-night Itv/freeview and it was great better that my old Samsung CRT


Some channels are poorer but not that much to worry about


The best advice I can give is get one from someone like Currys and if your not happy take it back, you have to see it in your home to really know, to me they all look much the same in a showroom

LCD's are over priced but are coming down rapidly Mine was over £1000 6 Months ago, now you can get it for around £600
 
My advice is to wait a while until LCD technology has caught up with CRT, in the meantime buy a low budget CRT to keep you going for a couple of years.
 
There are other advantages to LCD... My CRT gave up the ghost after my 1 year old daughter discovered the power switch. and decided it was great fun to press it on and off continuously....

In my case, one of the priorities for a new TV was to be able to hang it on the wall, out of reach of curious toddlers. Keeps the missus happy too, as we have more room in the lounge. I notice you say the pitter patter of tiny feet is on the way, may be something to concider!In terms of picture quality, as long as you don't sit too close to the set, I find the quality excellent.
 
Chaps

Thanks very, very much for all the advice. I think i'll have to stick with a CRT for the time being, it just seems crazy that if all you want to do is watch normal TV and normal sky and play a few dvd's (which is the majority of the population) then LCD's are not up to the job - but thats all you can buy!

The problem now is can anyone recommend a 28" CRT (32" is just too big in this format, unless anyone knows of a slim one such as the Tosh Picture frames) that is available. Of course if anyone can uncover an LCD that is good with standard Tv - let me know.

Cheers

Rich:thumbsup:
 
Chaps

Thanks very, very much for all the advice. I think i'll have to stick with a CRT for the time being, it just seems crazy that if all you want to do is watch normal TV and normal sky and play a few dvd's (which is the majority of the population) then LCD's are not up to the job - but thats all you can buy!

The problem now is can anyone recommend a 28" CRT (32" is just too big in this format, unless anyone knows of a slim one such as the Tosh Picture frames) that is available. Of course if anyone can uncover an LCD that is good with standard Tv - let me know.

Cheers

Rich:thumbsup:


i must admit, i think you would be mad to buy a crt without even LOOKING at a well set up lcd in the flesh. As i said earlier an lcd may not be for you, but i wouldnt purchase blindly!.
 

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