Which 42" TV - £800 Budget - HELP PLEASE!

lampshire2005

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Hi all,

£800 budget for new TV. Number 1 requirement is picture quality, will be used for Sky HD & SD, Blu-ray watching and PS3 gaming.

Settled on LG 42LM760T but after looking on here got a bit scared by possible picture issues. Am coming from an LG 37LG5010 so whatever I get I am expecting to see a huge improvement in picture quality.

Passive 3D would be my choice over active.

All responses GREATLY appreciated! Many thanks.
 
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Hi Vickster, thanks for the ultra quick response.
Have ruled plasma out as passive 3d doesn't seem to be an option there. Also forgot to mention, purely for aesthetics, I'm after a minimal bezel
 
ET5B then or the ET6 once it is widely available
 
Hi
I'm in shopping mode too.
I can tell you my research results.
If you need passive 3D then you should choose between the following IPS screens:
-LG LM670/760/860
-Panasonic L42ET50/60, L42ET5 (as I understood there is no ET6 model) L42E6 has different VA screen (with better blacks, but other issues) and no 3D
-Philips 42 phl6007/6008

Bleeding/Clouding issues are common to almost all LCDs, your (our) task to get the best on the market. I hope that Philips and Panasonic is better, then if you don't plan to calibrate your TV out-of-the-box performance is important then philips and panasonic are good.

I don't have answer to your question cause I'm still searching. I don't have requirement for passive 3D so I go for Samsung/Sony... so it is even harder to choose for me.

Nick
 
Vickster & Nick, thanks both for your input.
The Panasonic ET5 (according to the review) seems to be not so strong in low light and I like to watch movies with the lights off.
I don't know if it's just me, but if I'm going to spend £800 on a tv, I expect a decent picture!
 
Movies in low light - plasma is a no brainer

Buy Panasonic Viera TX-P42GT50B Plasma HD 1080p 3D Smart TV, 42 Inch with Freesat/Freeview HD online at John Lewis

Panasonic GT50 (TX-P42GT50B) 42 Inch Full HD 3D Plasma TV Review | AVForums.com - UK Online

Unfortunately, a TV that meets all your needs doesn't exist....LG & Panasonic passive LEDs don't have the best blacks and contrast

£800 is still very much mid range for a 42", this is the time to buy something like the plasma, which cost not far off double that at launch

No more ideas from me. You could wait a few months, save up some more and see if the new crop of Panasonics and LGs are better
 
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Vickster, you (and plasma) have won me over. I can live with active 3D for the amount I probably won't use it. I was kind of coming to the conclusion what I want doesn't quite exist, which is why I posted here initially.
With the 5 year guarantee at John Lewis and my requirement for picture quality from Blu-ray watching, it is as you say, a no brainer.
My thanks again to you and Nick for taking the time to assist me, which you have :clap:
 
I'm happy that you made up your decision.
Unfortunately I can't get plasma because I'll watch news/broadcast channels most of time and I think that channel logo will be burned in soon.
Continue to search. Looks like ANY TV is a compromise and lottery! :)
 
Burn really is a non issue these days, you may get image retention, but this is temporary and the risk can be reduced by being sensible with settings
 
That raises a key point for me which I neglected to mention :facepalm:

My missus is pretty hard of hearing and as consequence we have subtitles on a LOT. Am I likely to run into burn or image retention issues with a plasma? I'm particularly referring to the "black box" which surrounds the subtitles :confused:
 
That raises a key point for me which I neglected to mention :facepalm:

My missus is pretty hard of hearing and as consequence we have subtitles on a LOT. Am I likely to run into burn or image retention issues with a plasma? I'm particularly referring to the "black box" which surrounds the subtitles :confused:

Image retention is nowhere near the issue it was in the past.
Subtitles are constantly moving, too, so the chances of any kind of retention are even slimmer.
My old plasma used to have news channels on frequently - little to no issues afterwards, if there were any, they wore off quickly after a few minutes of normal tv viewing.

Just make sure your picture settings aren't on Dynamic!!! :lesson:
 
That raises a key point for me which I neglected to mention :facepalm:

My missus is pretty hard of hearing and as consequence we have subtitles on a LOT. Am I likely to run into burn or image retention issues with a plasma? I'm particularly referring to the "black box" which surrounds the subtitles :confused:

My mates the same and has no problem with his G15 plasma.
 

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