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40"+ LCD telly - what do I need and what is sales bumf?
Mark Allanson - 1/2/10 at 04:40 PM

Exactly as the title really, I think I need 1080p and thats about it.

I found several 50hz, do I need 100hz for action viewing, is 24p the same as 100hz (I thought it was until I found a 50hz with 24p)

Can anyone unconfuse me, or recommend a site with good FAQ's. I also get 10% off at Tesco's and Argos - any recommendations in the £5-600 bracket.

Thanks


James - 1/2/10 at 04:46 PM

After Xmas PCWorld were doing a nice looking Panasonic 40" for £400 or £420 IIRC.

I know the staff themselves considered it a very good deal as I heard the talking about it! lol.

Sainsbury's were doing the same one for £500 IIRC.

Cheers,
James


RAYLEE29 - 1/2/10 at 04:52 PM

what you need is a samsung our 40" one is so good we bought a 32" for the bedroom
seriously go look in the showroom at the picture quality
some are crap
dont get a plasma at least an lcd or led is the latest
its a bit of an eye opener at first! i didnt know the blonde one on the bill was so hairy till we got our 40" samsung lol
Ray


UncleFista - 1/2/10 at 04:55 PM

Just to confuse you more, are you sure you need 1080 ?

If you sit close then go for 1080 but if you watch from across a large room it's just added expense for no benefit.

AVforums has some good advice (if you wade through the people with their heads stuck up their HiFis).


Mark Allanson - 1/2/10 at 05:01 PM

This is what was looking at, if you at the specs, it says 50hz and further down it says 'True 24p Cinema Playback - Yes' - can both these claims be true?


stevebubs - 1/2/10 at 05:12 PM

quote:
Originally posted by James
I know the staff themselves considered it a very good deal as I heard the talking about it! lol.



Call me cynical but I'd put as much trust in their staff recommending a peanut as I would a TV....


stevebubs - 1/2/10 at 05:14 PM

quote:
Originally posted by UncleFista
Just to confuse you more, are you sure you need 1080 ?

If you sit close then go for 1080 but if you watch from across a large room it's just added expense for no benefit.

AVforums has some good advice (if you wade through the people with their heads stuck up their HiFis).


I beg to differ, if I'm sat just 6 feet away, I can see the difference.

The other side of the coin is that if it's that size and not offering 1080p then it's likely to be an old panel so should be cheap as chips - 1080p is becoming standard on TVs with panels as small as 22"....


carpmart - 1/2/10 at 05:17 PM

I disagree with the don't buy plasma advice.

Go and look at the pictures in a showroom and compare them all. I did this just before Christmas and my daughter ended up with a plasma for her new house. I 100% think LED is tops then Plasma then LCD last.

The plasma won purely on the picture quality.


UncleFista - 1/2/10 at 05:20 PM

quote:
Originally posted by stevebubs
quote:
Originally posted by UncleFista
Just to confuse you more, are you sure you need 1080 ?

If you sit close then go for 1080 but if you watch from across a large room it's just added expense for no benefit.

AVforums has some good advice (if you wade through the people with their heads stuck up their HiFis).


I beg to differ, if I'm sat just 6 feet away, I can see the difference.


So can I if I sit just 6 feet away, but if you sit further away you can see less and less difference between 720 and 1080. It's nothing to do with the TVs it's your eyes


AdamR - 1/2/10 at 05:48 PM

The first bit of sales bumf to discard is that you should buy an LCD rather than a plasma. At your pricepoint plasmas will almost certainly have much better picture quality.

I have a Panasonic 37" plasma which is a year or so old now, so certainly not cutting edge, and I've yet to see any LCDs that even come close for black levels or lack of motion blur. The difference is especially noticeable when watching standard definition stuff, which is 90% of what most people watch.

Just my 2p.


Liam - 1/2/10 at 05:51 PM

If you can stretch a little - Richer Sounds have the panasonic 42" G10 plasma for only £650 which is an amazing price for an awesome plasma TV. I also disagree with the anti-plasma comment. Only the very very latest and best LED LCDs with local dimming (eg samsung 8 series) can really claim to match a decent plasma in terms of contrast, motion and accurate natural tone, and they are massive money. I find most LCD TVs set up eye burningly bright in the shops to grab your attention, which might fool you into thinking they look 'better', but if you compare their images to something properly calibrated (say a panasonic V10 plasma in THX certified mode) you realise that that is not how the pictures are really supposed to be!

Liam

[Edited on 1/2/10 by Liam]


RAYLEE29 - 1/2/10 at 06:24 PM

Just a small point but has anyone felt the heat that comes off a plasma tv compared to a similar size lcd
the plasma that my father in law has feels like a radiator
its got to be using a lot of watts do put out all that heat
I know this thread is about pic quality but its worth considering the electricity consumption if its going to cost a lot to run
Ray


bigfoot4616 - 1/2/10 at 06:43 PM

would of thought that the extra running costs of a plasma would be so small its not even worth thinking about.

agree with everything liam says above.
currently thinking about getting a 42" G15 to replace my 37" Panasonic plasma(which will go on the bedroom wall)

for good picture quality and value for money you can't beat a panasonic plasma


iscmatt - 1/2/10 at 06:49 PM

I was in Currys the other day and the LED TVs are amazing! some of them actually not over expensive either. Can't go wrong with a modern day samsung. And have to agree and disagree with some on here. for 40" quality - LED > LCD > Plasma


phoenix70 - 1/2/10 at 06:57 PM

Another vote for Plasma. The LCD look nice and bright in the showroom, but at home in a dimly lit living room that brightness can get a bit extreme. My two penny worth.

BTW I went for a nice 42" 1080i Panasonic Plasma and the picture looks great (Sky HD is worth having too)


Mark Allanson - 1/2/10 at 06:58 PM

I might put plasma back in the possible list, back to LCD, does the 50-100hz thing make a lot of difference?


prawnabie - 1/2/10 at 07:07 PM

you you go to comet etc, have a look at how the tvs are plugged in, they one by me has them all old co-ax cable!!!


bigfoot4616 - 1/2/10 at 07:09 PM

sounds about right, never judge a tv by how it looks in comet, currys etc.


jake_truck - 1/2/10 at 07:30 PM

Plasma all day, unless you spend your time waching toy story or wall-e.
But thats just my opinion. Look at every screen you can, and remember, what it looks like in the shop with ultra bright lights is nothing like your own home. LCD in my opinion can't handle a moving picture like plasma or crt. I've tried watching football on a 40"1080p sony lcd, it was painful.
You won't spend your life watching blu rays, and sky till broadcast in 720, as far as I know.
One tip is to turn the contrast and brightness settings to about 50%, the shops tend to have them as high as possible.
And buy a panasonic plasma, you won't regret it, I promise

john


ashg - 1/2/10 at 07:44 PM

i couldnt decide so i got an LG 42inch lcd for the living room and LG 42inch plasma for the bedroom.

as far as i can see the plasma has more natural colours but produces a lot of heat which is an issue in a bedroom in the summer. on the plus side the lcd in the living room is a lot brighter and definatly sharper.

i would agree that sd is best watched on the plasma but from what i can see the lcd kicks its ass in hd especially on films with 3d fx (seem to be most films these days).

one thing i have noticed is that when I run the plasma on the media centre screens for a long time playing music etc there seems to be a bit of a residual shadow in the blacks when you change it back on to tv although it does go away after a few mins. the lcd doesn't do this.

if i had to pick i think the lcd may just win but there is naff all in it


stevebubs - 1/2/10 at 07:48 PM

quote:
Originally posted by UncleFista
quote:
Originally posted by stevebubs
quote:
Originally posted by UncleFista
Just to confuse you more, are you sure you need 1080 ?

If you sit close then go for 1080 but if you watch from across a large room it's just added expense for no benefit.

AVforums has some good advice (if you wade through the people with their heads stuck up their HiFis).


I beg to differ, if I'm sat just 6 feet away, I can see the difference.


So can I if I sit just 6 feet away, but if you sit further away you can see less and less difference between 720 and 1080. It's nothing to do with the TVs it's your eyes


Doh! teach me to speed read...


MikeRJ - 1/2/10 at 11:13 PM

24p is essential for getting the best out of your TV if you are planning on buying a Blu ray player (or already have one).

If your TV doesn't support this, then you either get the movie played back at a higher than intended speed with a 50Hz display (i.e. each 24p frame is displayed twice, but at a 25Hz rate), or if you run the TV at the 60Hz NTSC rate you get a horrible juddering effect due to the scheme called 3:2 pulldown.


Liam - 2/2/10 at 01:52 PM

quote:
Originally posted by RAYLEE29
Just a small point but has anyone felt the heat that comes off a plasma tv compared to a similar size lcd
the plasma that my father in law has feels like a radiator
its got to be using a lot of watts do put out all that heat
I know this thread is about pic quality but its worth considering the electricity consumption if its going to cost a lot to run
Ray


I've certainly felt some heat coming off older plasmas, but they are much better nowadays. I dont feel any significant heat coming off them browsing in a showroom for example. In particular the panasonics I mentioned above have a new very efficient panel. With calibrated settings (i.e. not stupid bright) the 42" panasonic plasmas run about 200W average, so not bad at all. LCD would run around 120W or thereabouts. Not really worth worrying about.

Liam


UncleFista - 2/2/10 at 10:36 PM

Also re. the power consuption difference between LCD and plasma, LCD uses the same amount of power all the time, a plasma uses more power the brighter the screen. It makes manufacturers power consumption figures even more difficult to compare.


Jasper - 3/2/10 at 12:22 PM

Panasonic Viera Plasma for that size and price range, nothing beats them for picture quality.