which 32" lcd for 1300.00 approx

chris210972

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i have taken a toshiba 32wl48p back (awful IMHO) :thumbsdow

i have approx 1300.00 to spend on a 32" lcd

can anyone recommend any of these

samsung le32a41b
sharp - 32ga5e
philips - 9976
jvc - lt32c31
panasonic 32lxd

thanks
 
chris210972 said:
i have taken a toshiba 32wl48p back (awful IMHO) :thumbsdow

i have approx 1300.00 to spend on a 32" lcd

can anyone recommend any of these

samsung le32a41b
sharp - 32ga5e
philips - 9976
jvc - lt32c31
panasonic 32lxd

thanks
Samsung - Unproven, little data - could be a Dark Horse. Unlikely though.
Sharp - No HDTV abilities - poor spec compared to earlier Sharps. Pretty good PQ.
Philips - Slightly less spec little bro to the almighty 9986. Prettier, PP1 and no Ambilight though. Fully HDCP compliant.
JVC - Crummy spec and picture is unremarkable.
Panny - No. Old spec screen, 15:1 aspect no HDTV abilities. Good PQ.

Best of the bunch mentioned is the Philips. I've had a few contacts from people with this set and they seem mighty pleased. It is virtually the same as the 9986 as far as picture production is concerned with the main difference being the lack of PP2. It has got PP1 however and if you want to run high quality feeds into it then this will be of little importance. It can produce pictures on a par with 9986. Pretty looking thing too...

http://www.tvandvideodirect.com/product.php?xProd=1148

Wee bit expensive?

Jimmy
 
There's probably a bunch of reasons why it wouldn't be practical for you, but in the end after loads of faffing and time at Dixons / Curries / Sevenoaks I decided not to buy a lcd tv but instead a (lcd) projector for £1000 (Hitachi TX100). Now I've got used to 50" movies and 'tv' (rgb scart from freeview) it's kind of addictive :thumbsup:

Pros. Big picture (50"-90"). Takes 1280*720 dvi perfectly from my computer - photoshop and games never looked so sharp. Shows 50Hz and 60Hz dvds fine. Did I mention the picture is big?

Cons. Need to project onto a smaller screen during the day (about 45" with the curtains open) to maintain brightness and the contrast isn't as good then. Need to remember not to switch back on straight after switching off. The noise is slightly pants, but I reckon that a sound baffle diy thing should pretty much solve that. I can put up with a £150 lamp lasting for 2000 hours (7.5 pence an hour), but I hope the rest of the projector gubbins last at least 5000 hours.
 
WonkyEwok said:
There's probably a bunch of reasons why it wouldn't be practical for you, but in the end after loads of faffing and time at Dixons / Curries / Sevenoaks I decided not to buy a lcd tv but instead a (lcd) projector for £1000 (Hitachi TX100). Now I've got used to 50" movies and 'tv' (rgb scart from freeview) it's kind of addictive :thumbsup:

Pros. Big picture (50"-90"). Takes 1280*720 dvi perfectly from my computer - photoshop and games never looked so sharp. Shows 50Hz and 60Hz dvds fine. Did I mention the picture is big?

Cons. Need to project onto a smaller screen during the day (about 45" with the curtains open) to maintain brightness and the contrast isn't as good then. Need to remember not to switch back on straight after switching off. The noise is slightly pants, but I reckon that a sound baffle diy thing should pretty much solve that. I can put up with a £150 lamp lasting for 2000 hours (7.5 pence an hour), but I hope the rest of the projector gubbins last at least 5000 hours.

how does the picture quality with the projector compare to crt/plasma/lcd?
 
- The contrast (dark black blacks, bright white whites) isn't quite as good as my Toshiba 28" widescreen CRT was. But I'm not using a proper screen; they're expensive but might make a big difference. Maybe putting on a non-reflective black velvet border will trick my eyes into thinking that things are better. It is amazing how much of what we see isn't really there.

+ I can see more detail now (maybe just because the picture's bigger) - I've been re-watching some dvds and I keep seeing things I never noticed before.

+ It's much smaller than my crt was, which is handy as the room's quite small.

+ It handles fast motion just as well as a crt - no ghosting that I can see.

+ For computer display it is much, much, much better than my crt TV. I prefer it to my 19" crt monitor too, because it's clear and big :)

I think that the picture (except maybe the contrast ratio) is as good as or better than the lcd tvs I've seen at Curries / Dixons including the Sonys.

I've not seen plasmas enough to compare.

CHoice: If I could get a 2" thick 60" 1280*720 lcd / plasma for £999 with no ghosting / burn-in I think I might go for that instead. I'm thinking that this projector will last 4-6 years until things have stepped forward a lot and I can choose again. If I had kids I'd probably either wait or buy an lcd tv now which does 720 and 1080 at 50 and 60Hz and accept the smaller picture for the robustness. Sharp ga3/4, apparently samsung le32a41, Toshiba 32wl48. I've not seen any of these though so I can't comment on their picture.

Happy choosing!
 
I don't get this projector thing at all!

OK in a room dedicated to watching cinema, but for day to day usage it must be absolutely hopeless!. You'd need curtains with double lining etc to get the room dark enough to make the black levels even close to being tolerable.

Not an everyday solution. And Wonky, please don't compare your home setup with anything on display in Curries! Sheesh...

Jimmy
 
I've been looking at 32" + flat panels for myself and family.

I can strongly recommend the Panasonic TX32LXD1 (integrated Freeview) and Sony KLV-32M1 (no Freeview). They both have superb pictures and nice styling. The Sony has slightly better contrast and blacks, but whether this is worth the extra £50 without Freeview is a tough decision.

I'm trying to locate a Sharp LC-32GA3E on display, ever since I saw the LC-26, which is the best LCD I have ever seen, period. From a normal viewing distance, it truly is marvellous. I was surprised as it is a quantum leap from Sharp's old LCD models - none of this washed out, tired picture at an extortionate price that still managed to get 5 star reviews! So this may or may not be a 3rd option to consider.

Hope this is of some help. The Panny and Sony should be everywhere - my local Currys has a magnificient collection of LCDs, all fed a very good aerial (switch the channel from the Currys 'promo' channel!). Just go and see for yourself, you really shouldn't rely on my or anyone else's word, especially as picture quality can be such a subjective thing!

PS I don't like the Philips or JVC 32" models, and wouldn't recommend them blindly. The Sony and Panasonic offer a much better picture in my humblest.
 
jimsan said:
I don't get this projector thing at all!

OK in a room dedicated to watching cinema, but for day to day usage it must be absolutely hopeless!. You'd need curtains with double lining etc to get the room dark enough to make the black levels even close to being tolerable.

I wasn't expecting to buy a projector either :laugh:.
Black levels: It depends what you call 'tolerable' . As HornyDragon (I think) said, it's an inverse square law; project onto a smaller area and things get brighter, bosting contrast level with respect to ambient lighting. For my requirements, on my budget, with technology where it is now, I'm happy (least unhappy?) with this choice. With more dosh / different home conditions I'd buy a tv too / instead. As they say, your milage may vary. I just made my original post in this thread as an 'off-the-wall' comment, not a suggestion "don't buy a lcd tv they suck yeah projectors are ace". Apologies if it was easy to interpret otherwise. :cool:

I've attached a couple of pics taken at 1.30 this afternoon, projecting about a 38" diagonal. Curtains open, room painted 'barley white'. They show the picture and the picture compared with the surroundings, both taken at same iso/f/time. You can see that the camera has stopped down a bit (focussed on the screen) to bring it's brightness into the mid-range, which shows the brightness of the room in comparison. It's not fantastic, but I can watch stuff this way, happy-ish that the more perfect viewing will be at night or with the curtains shut. Apparently a grey screen would handle this better too (rather than my piece of white card :) )

jimsan said:
Not an everyday solution. And Wonky, please don't compare your home setup with anything on display in Curries! Sheesh...

Jimmy

I thought I'd already tried to communicate that it had drawbacks? Sorry if that didn't come across. I know Curries normally have rubbish setups, but my local one must have slipped up - they had some lcd tvs individually cabled via rgb scart to dvd players + the remotes were there to change settings, so I did get to have a reasonable view.

One thing that you can check, even with a dire signal, is whether blacks are black (or blue) on and off axis as long as the material has some black bits. (Assuming the tv's not in megablast bright mode and you can't change it with remote / front panel buttons).

All this is only in my opinion based on what I know currently...
 

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superpixel said:
I've been looking at 32" + flat panels for myself and family.

I'm trying to locate a Sharp LC-32GA3E on display, ever since I saw the LC-26, which is the best LCD I have ever seen, period. From a normal viewing distance, it truly is marvellous. I was surprised as it is a quantum leap from Sharp's old LCD models - none of this washed out, tired picture at an extortionate price that still managed to get 5 star reviews! So this may or may not be a 3rd option to consider.

My local co-op (!!!) has the LC-32GA4E on display. Maybe a national thing?
 
Wonky Ewok,

Sorry if I was a bit brash with my comments on projectors. The PQ you have there looks OK and if that is what it looks like in daylight with the curtains open then there is definitely case to be made for them! I have seen demos of these things on a number of occasions and have never really been terribly impressed. I think the problem with these demos is that they have always tried to show too big a picture - resulting in a very low contrast low definition image.

The size of image on your setup helps immensly. Like you say, it is still not as practical for day to day stuff as a 'telly' but I could see it in a bespoke cinema room much more easily now..hmmm.

Chris, Superpixel has suggested a couple of LCD's for your consideration. The Sony wasn't on your origional list, but suffers similarly to the Panny - No HDTV ablity. They are both perfectly decent sets, but you need to decide if HDTV is of any interest to you when it emerges next year. It is what LCD's are specifically good at.

If you are interested in HDTV however, the only one on you list able to perform this task is the 9976.

Jimmy

Sorry again to Wonky for being ignorant.
 
the only problem i have with the philips 9976 is that its been taken out of philips product catalogue for this year, so i'm assuming its no longer being made.
old model now i suppose.
it's only approximately 400.00 less than the 329986 too.

if hdtv isn't important them maybe the sharp is the best?

at the end of the day i need the best possible picure from cable as that is 90% of its use.
 
chris210972 said:
the only problem i have with the philips 9976 is that its been taken out of philips product catalogue for this year, so i'm assuming its no longer being made.
old model now i suppose.
it's only approximately 400.00 less than the 329986 too.

if hdtv isn't important them maybe the sharp is the best?

at the end of the day i need the best possible picure from cable as that is 90% of its use.
I always thought the situation with the 9976 is that it missed the catalogue as it is a late release! Not a withdrawn one.

YOU have to decide as to the importance of HDTV to YOU. Certainly if it is of little interest to you then the range of TV's available becomes considerably enlarged.

The Sharp referred to in the earlier post is HDTV compliant, but in very short supply. I think if it is available at the Co-Op in decent numbers at a decent price, there'll be a stampede. Just for interest sake, I did a side by side with the Sharp GA3E and the Philips 9986 early in December as these two were 'The Finalists' in my quest for the ultimate LCD! The Philips won because of its ability to produce good pictures from poor sources - the Sharp suffering from more picture noise...close run thing though...I expect both of these are above your target price however...hence the 9976.

Jimmy
 
hehe - at this rate, we're gonna recommend the whole shortlist!

the Sharp, Philips, Sony and Panasonic are all a similar price, anywhere from £1400-£1500 at the moment.

jimsan's HD consideration is a good one, and his advice on wether its important to YOU is very sensible and reasoned. I've only been on this forum a few days, but such comments are rare! For me it isn't on the shopping list at all, especially not for a 32" screen. For Jimsan, its a feature he values a lot. Thank god someones not inflicting their views on others for a change. At least the plasma forum hogs haven't crossed over here...you might end up deciding to waste your money a panasonic th42 from avsales instead! :laugh: just a joke by the way, guys/gals! honest.

As for the Co-Op surprise, I'll go and investigate! It's a dangerous game to extrapolate from one screen size to another, especially when its £1500 for a telly! :laugh: I have to admit, I have a thing for the Sharp GA3 design! after all, aren't flat panels all about style? :clap:
 
I have the panny tx32lxd1. I think it's fantastic! The only draw back being no HDMI inputs. I bought it before the awareness of HDTV was kicking off so I doubt I would buy the panny now. If that is not a concern for you though I highly recommend it. PQ is superb.
 

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