Which 40" for HD

[CDGhunter]

Hi All,
I'm planning to get an LCD TV soon (HD Ready).

Was thinking of getting the Samsung LE40R74BDX until I saw it demo'd in a shop yesterday. They had a whole row of TV's connected to a (single ?) HDMI source. It was playing the usual demo disks and a bit of football (which looked awful).

There was definate "blockiness" in the dark areas of the screen which didn't show up on a few of the other TV's (most were plasmas). It didn't look as sharp as most of the other TVs, there was a graininess to it all.

The assistant turned the brightness down and it looked a bit better, but I still have doubts....

The TV will mainly be used for watching Sky+ (not HD yet) and playing Xbox360 (HD via component cables until I can get a HDMI cable for it).
I like the idea of it having a PC input on the TV and doing picture in picture.

Sound from the TV is not that important as I'll be connecting everything to my Yamaha surround sound system.

So, would you recommend the:
Samsung LE40R74BDX £1150 (approx)
or should I spend the extra and get a:
Sony KDL-40V2000U £1500 (approx)
or something else ?

Cheers

 

[glen8]

My friends has the samsung running from standard Sky and I think the picture is fantastic. They also have one running in my local PC World linked to a media centre box which looks stunning.

I think you can't beat it for the price.

That said, the sony is better but more expensive. It should be notied that the sony only has one hdmi port so this may cause you problems if you get skyHD later and want to use it for your xbox. You could of course go back to component for the xbox tho

The verdict for me is still out on the Toshiba 1080i but it may be worth a look for you. 42" 1920x1080 for £1,400 which has 2 hdmi ports

 

[BurninVermin]

The Sammy only has one HDMI input but you are better playing the Xbox via the VGA / PC input in my opinion. I am a new LE40R73 owner as well as a new 360 and am totally blown away. Graphics are stunning, sky TV pictures when you finish tweeking are amazing and even though people/critics say the sound quality is poor a personally think its not that bad, saying that I do have everything running through an amp as well but for standard viewing I just use the TV speakers.

 

[CDGhunter]

Just been reading about the Philips 42PF9831D/10

http://www.unbeatable.co.uk/news/Philips-42PF9831D-Four-Way-Ambilight-LCD-TV-Launched/281281.html

Seems a bit of confusion, some say it's a plasma some say an LCD ???

Amazon.co.uk list it for £1800 - my spending is going up by the minute
EDIT: ^ that might be an error - they also show it as discontinued :S

I like the sound of the "ambilight" feature.

Is the response rate right (3ms) ?
Response time (typical) : (BEW equiv.) 3 ms
or are they measuring in another unit - well, not unit LOL - standard ?
Most of the others are 8ms ?

Thanks for the swift replies

 

[CDGhunter]

The verdict for me is still out on the Toshiba 1080i but it may be worth a look for you. 42" 1920x1080 for £1,400 which has 2 hdmi ports

That Toshiba looks great
Any idea of the response rate ?
Google gave anything from 2ms - 8ms.
Which is all good

 

[Gordyboy]

I bought a philips 42pf7621d/10 from costco for 1350, think the price may have gone up to nearerer 1500. Personally I love this screen, partic when viewing form HD source (2 HDMI inputs). No ambilight though but pretty decent response time. Worth considering.

 

[CDGhunter]

I've narrowed it down to:
Samsung LE40R74BD
Sony KDL-40v2000
LG 42LC2D
Toshiba 42WLT66
anyone know of any good / bad reviews ?

think the Philips 42PF9831D is great, especially the ambilight - but can you stretch to an extra £1000 for a fancy backlight effect... ?

Cheers

 

[MelodyMae]

I've narrowed it down to:
Samsung LE40R74BD
Sony KDL-40v2000
LG 42LC2D
Toshiba 42WLT66
anyone know of any good / bad reviews ?

think the Philips 42PF9831D is great, especially the ambilight - but can you stretch to an extra £1000 for a fancy backlight effect... ?

Cheers

I too am about to enter the BIG lcd market and after a LOT of research, i have decided to go for the Toshiba 42WLT66. It really shouldnt have the resolution that it has for the price and is one of the only LCD's to have more than one HDMI socket. A big bonus!!.

Do a Google search and type in HOME CINEMA, they have reviewed it and loved it!.

Nomis1

 

[ferreirm]

The TV will mainly be used for watching Sky+ (not HD yet) and playing Xbox360 (HD via component cables until I can get a HDMI cable for it)

I thought the xbox360 didnt come with an HDMI connection????

 

[MelodyMae]

I thought the xbox360 didnt come with an HDMI connection????

Your right - IT DONT!.

 

[john251282]

I have also been looking into this for an upgrade soon from my current Hitachi plasma, which is great by the way just want HD.

I think I will be waiting for either the 40x2000 or the 40w2000, as they are both Full HD ready and 2 HDMI inputs I believe.

 

[CDGhunter]

I thought the xbox360 didnt come with an HDMI connection????

Not yet - but I'm told it will ???

However, see below... ?

"Todd Holmdahl: Xbox 360 will support HD component video output, which is compatible with nearly every HD-ready TV on the market today. We’re poised to hit the sweet spot of the HD market at launch and as the market matures, and we will provide an HDMI for our customers when it makes sense. The reality is, you don’t need HDMI for HD gaming."

 

[CDGhunter]

I think I'm going to get the Philips from Lewis's with the free 5 yr warranty and might get a free HDD DVD-RW recorder too

Will have to find the best pricematch

Also, what wall mount would you recommend for the
Philips 42PF9831D/10

I think I'd like to be able to tilt it too....

Cheers

EDIT: This one looks good:
click

 

[CDGhunter]

I'm having a bit of a problem finding a shop to pricematch this with, they said that it must be on display in that shop and in stock.

I can find lots of online shops that will sell it much cheaper than John Lewis's but not actual shops with it on display...

Dixons do it cheap, but currys don't
currys display it at these stores:
http://www.currys.co.uk/store_doc/images/GE_Images/ambilight/images/Ambilight_Stores.htm

Anyone help ?

Many thanks

 

[iamnotbanksy]

£1000 for the Ambilight seems a bit much? Can i ask what you have based your decision on? Am also interested in a new 40" and tend to be leaning towards the sony? am i making a mistake?

 

[Woodywizz]

The Philips is a very very good LCD, however if you are simply interested in the 'ambi-light' effect, save some cash and just spend approx 80 quid on a set of home-theatre lighting from here.

 

[Kamakazie]

for High-Def its gotta be the Toshiba... maybe not quite as good at SD as some of the others but the 1080 res is a winner!

 

[CDGhunter]

Thanks for the link to the tv bias (back) light. very interesting, I was looking for one of those but could only find USA products...

I'm drawn like a moth to the light
No, seriously the ambilight on the Philips is dynamic and really looks cool (I think).
I'm not the type to put a neon light under my car but have you seen the demo online ? Flash demo here

The features on the Philips sound good and I've read a few magazine previews of the set, all the online reviews I've seen are good (except for the price @3.5k - but it's about £2600 now - if I can get it price matched )

Pixel Plus 3 HD
Pixel Plus 3 HD offers the unique combination of
ultimate sharpness, natural detail, vivid colours and
smooth natural motion on all qualities of HD, standard
TV signals and multimedia content, for high definition
displays. Each pixel of the incoming picture is enhanced
to better match the surrounding pixels, resulting in a
more natural picture. Artifacts and noise in all sources
from multimedia to standard TV and also in highly
compressed HD are detected and reduced ensuring
that the picture is clean and razor sharp.

Clear LCD
Clear LCD gives you clear and vibrant images even with
fast on-screen motion. The scanning backlight
technology increases the sharpness of motion
reproduction. This unique Philips technology uses high
refresh rates to eliminate any field flicker and retains
the superb quietness of LCD technology. It is combined
with a new backlight module resulting in a high contrast
with larger viewing angle. This provides you with the
best display for the ultimate viewing experience.

As per my earlier posts (when I questioned the ambilight cost), I think it is a lot of money just for ambilight but I think this TV would suit my use better than most LCD TV's (Sky + (standard def) and xbox360), and will cope with SKY HD in the future...

From what I've read, correct me if I'm wrong, but it looks like most HD LCD TV's will be great for HD and poor on standard definition ?