Buying a TV

[sdb]

Hi folks

OK i'm in the market for a TV, ideally under £300, £500 max but that'd have to be tres special.

What should I be looking for? HD Ready and Freeview are kinda essential I presume. Internet is tempting but is it worth it? Especially if I get a PS3...

Any advice is welcomed. At the mo this is in pole position, but i'm happy to be corrected if it's a bad choice.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Toshiba-32RV753B-32-inch-Widescreen-Freeview/dp/B003FVAIF8/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=IFK618Z9QK3CB&colid=272SJAW5VGKWV

Cheers

[ozleicester]

see the for sale topic yesterday

[sdb]

Yeah I live in Cornwall though so trekking around the country isn't ideal. Plus i'd rather new. I'll look though, ta.

[Unabomber]

I just ordered the 37in version of that Toshiba you posted, it has great specs and reviews etc and you are getting a lot for your money when compared to sony and samsung similar tvs.

[Trav Le Bleu]

In these situations I usually buy the latest copy of What Hifi and TV, find out what they recommend (there are extensive listings of older reviews in the back), see what's good and then see what prices I can get on price comparison sites.

[sdb]

Thanks all so far. Here's another which looks a bargain (below). Better than the one in the OP? Any brands that are especially good?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-LE32D580-32-inch-Widescreen-Freeview/dp/B004S5ZVHK/ref=sr_1_8?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1311348761&sr=1-8

thanks again

[Unabomber]

Thanks all so far. Here's another which looks a bargain (below). Better than the one in the OP? Any brands that are especially good?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-LE32D580-32-inch-Widescreen-Freeview/dp/B004S5ZVHK/ref=sr_1_8?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1311348761&sr=1-8

thanks again

get the 37in that I got and then if it turns out to be shit you know you weren't the only one to get mugged off.

[sdb]

get the 37in that I got and then if it turns out to be shit you know you weren't the only one to get mugged off.

ooo, what was the problem mate?

[sdb]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-UE32D5000-32-inch-Widescreen-Freeview/dp/B004S5ZWJM/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1311349170&sr=1-1

gonna throw 1 more in. Out of the three i've posted, what would people plump for?? xx

[m00nie]

you checked richer sounds?? can usually pick up some decent ones.. do a good 5 year waranty cheap..

theres some ex display ones seen at hotukdeals from there

thread here

LG 47LD450 47" full HD 1080p £399 @ RicherSounds

[Bellend Sebastian]

I'm hoping to buy one soon and I've been helping a bloke in the office with the same thing recently and the conclusion I've drawn is that considering it's something that nearly everybody buys there's a dearth of good information out there and it's often really hard to find decent reviews of current models.

What Hi-fi is pretty good but I wouldn't take what they say as gospel as user reviews (off Amazon etc) can often contradict what they say.

As far as the telly is concerned, make sure it's 1080p as although it will be hard to tell on a 32" that is the best resolution you can get. A quick refresh rate does help, but the figures quoted aren't always reliable and I think you really need to see a telly in action to know how good it is. If you go somewhere like Richer Sounds they should have them set up pretty well so it's a reasonably fair comparison, but in a brightly lit shop it's going to be hard to tell how good the black representation (the colour I mean, not people) etc is, but you should be able to see how good motion is - personally, the juddering you get on slower tellies would do my head in (it's more obvious on stuff like Avatar and Pixar films where there's a lot going on), but the budget you have for the size of telly you want should get you one that will cope well. LED backlighting is good but doesn't automatically equal a great TV- a good LCD telly will still outperform a shit LED one. The way things are going, internet connectivity is the one thing that I think is a must, but most current models will have this to some extent, even if they don't have the dedicated functionality of the latest 'Smart' TVs.

Now I've said all that, in the last couple of years the technology has reached the point where if you spend a reasonable amount you should get a decent telly that should be at least as good as you've watched before, whereas it's not long ago that pretty much every LCD telly I saw was disappointing and a weird backward step from the big old boxes we used to watch. My other half's Dad walked into Comet or somewhere having done sod all research and paid not much for a Toshiba something or other and it's absolutely fine, so unless you're REALLY into it, I don't think it's worth getting too hung up on the details

[sdb]

I'm hoping to buy one soon and I've been helping a bloke in the office with the same thing recently and the conclusion I've drawn is that considering it's something that nearly everybody buys there's a dearth of good information out there and it's often really hard to find decent reviews of current models.

What Hi-fi is pretty good but I wouldn't take what they say as gospel as user reviews (off Amazon etc) can often contradict what they say.

As far as the telly is concerned, make sure it's 1080p as although it will be hard to tell on a 32" that is the best resolution you can get. A quick refresh rate does help, but the figures quoted aren't always reliable and I think you really need to see a telly in action to know how good it is. If you go somewhere like Richer Sounds they should have them set up pretty well so it's a reasonably fair comparison, but in a brightly lit shop it's going to be hard to tell how good the black representation (the colour I mean, not people) etc is, but you should be able to see how good motion is - personally, the juddering you get on slower tellies would do my head in (it's more obvious on stuff like Avatar and Pixar films where there's a lot going on), but the budget you have for the size of telly you want should get you one that will cope well. LED backlighting is good but doesn't automatically equal a great TV- a good LCD telly will still outperform a shit LED one. The way things are going, internet connectivity is the one thing that I think is a must, but most current models will have this to some extent, even if they don't have the dedicated functionality of the latest 'Smart' TVs.

Now I've said all that, in the last couple of years the technology has reached the point where if you spend a reasonable amount you should get a decent telly that should be at least as good as you've watched before, whereas it's not long ago that pretty much every LCD telly I saw was disappointing and a weird backward step from the big old boxes we used to watch. My other half's Dad walked into Comet or somewhere having done sod all research and paid not much for a Toshiba something or other and it's absolutely fine, so unless you're REALLY into it, I don't think it's worth getting too hung up on the details

Cheers mate, that's useful stuff. Appreciate

[Nick57]

Hi I bought a very similar Toshiba from amazon for £319 and it is has a very good picture is full HD ready, gets all the freeview channels, you can plug your laptop/ wi etc into it and overall I am very pleased with it. The only minus is that it takes 1-2 seconds to change channels but I knew that before i purchased it having read the customer feedback on amazon. Hope that helps

[Unabomber]

ooo, what was the problem mate?

nah man I ordered it thurs it has not arrived yet. looks decent though, with freeview HD etc

[Houdini Logic]

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/264958

Done.

Now go get yourself a hooker and some coke with the change

[sdb]

Thanks everyone. You've given me a good headache, like the old 'manager with too many in-form strikers' one.

I'm gonna sleep on it and purchase tomorrow, will let you know. I don't suppose anyone knows on TV + PS3 bundles going?

Much Love, sdb

[Head Honcho]

Get a Sony flat screen with all the hook ups.

Great bargains to be had just now.

I can watch iplayer, lovefilm, youtube etc etc etc on mine.

Quality piece if kit.

[Smudge]

I'm hoping to buy one soon and I've been helping a bloke in the office with the same thing recently and the conclusion I've drawn is that considering it's something that nearly everybody buys there's a dearth of good information out there and it's often really hard to find decent reviews of current models.

What Hi-fi is pretty good but I wouldn't take what they say as gospel as user reviews (off Amazon etc) can often contradict what they say.

As far as the telly is concerned, make sure it's 1080p as although it will be hard to tell on a 32" that is the best resolution you can get. A quick refresh rate does help, but the figures quoted aren't always reliable and I think you really need to see a telly in action to know how good it is. If you go somewhere like Richer Sounds they should have them set up pretty well so it's a reasonably fair comparison, but in a brightly lit shop it's going to be hard to tell how good the black representation (the colour I mean, not people) etc is, but you should be able to see how good motion is - personally, the juddering you get on slower tellies would do my head in (it's more obvious on stuff like Avatar and Pixar films where there's a lot going on), but the budget you have for the size of telly you want should get you one that will cope well. LED backlighting is good but doesn't automatically equal a great TV- a good LCD telly will still outperform a shit LED one. The way things are going, internet connectivity is the one thing that I think is a must, but most current models will have this to some extent, even if they don't have the dedicated functionality of the latest 'Smart' TVs.

Now I've said all that, in the last couple of years the technology has reached the point where if you spend a reasonable amount you should get a decent telly that should be at least as good as you've watched before, whereas it's not long ago that pretty much every LCD telly I saw was disappointing and a weird backward step from the big old boxes we used to watch. My other half's Dad walked into Comet or somewhere having done sod all research and paid not much for a Toshiba something or other and it's absolutely fine, so unless you're REALLY into it, I don't think it's worth getting too hung up on the details

That's an excellent post Mr. B, my company install tv's and audio equipment for some pretty demanding clients; my guys couldn't have done a better job.

I absolutely agree withe the comment about internet connectivity.

[Zingari]

don't bother , there's fook all worth watching anyway , soaps reality tv and inane game shows are just as crap on any tv .

seriously , those amazon and ebuyer deals look pretty good to me

[Smudge]

don't bother , there's fook all worth watching anyway , soaps reality tv and inane game shows are just as crap on any tv .

seriously , those amazon and ebuyer deals look pretty good to me

You make me laff, the only form of electricity you have is a generator you nicked from a set of roadworks traffic lights, how the fook can you watch a a flatty?

[Leicfox]

I've just bought one of these from tesco for the bedroom. I highly recommend as it's a cracking TV/DVD for the price, and it has a USB media centre, which is great for putting films on a USB stick (4gb one is supplied) from your computer, plugging into TV, and away you go. Only tested AVI and MP4 files so far, both play great.

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.208-7086.aspx

£180 it was, in-store.