TV advice - £500ish budget

[Deeg]

Looking at picking up a new TV in the next few days. This one has caught my eye, with reasonable reviews:

http://www.johnlewis.com/panasonic-...-42-with-freeview-hd/p231889200?colour=Silver

http://www.richersounds.com/product/tv---all/panasonic/viera-txl42e6b/pana-txl42e6b-bk

Requirements:

42" ish (42 being the max). I don't need bigger. I'm in a terraced house, sitting about 10FT away.
​HD (Can you even get none HD TV's these days?)
Not 3D. 3D can f**k itself. I have no interest at all, and no plans on changing.
Brands - I'm not a brand snob, I've had Samsung, LG and unbranded, and all have been decent.
Retailer - Would rather pick it up from JLP or Richer Sounds. I want nothing to do with Currys etc if I can avoid it.

So, any further suggestions?

 

[Daniel]

I have nothing to offer this thread, but I'm amazed at how cheap decent TV's are nowadays. When I bought mine is was pretty mediocre but still £900!

 

[Scattle]

My friend recently bought that exact TV from John Lewis, picture looks very good from what's I've seen. He got it from JL as it comes with 5 year guarantee. His was originally £579.99 6 weeks ago, seems to have come down quite abit since.

 

[Deeg]

RS comes with 5 year warranty too, and I've used RS' warranty before and been pleased with their service, so that's no deciding factor.

 

[Cookie]

I was about to post one, then I realised it was your second one

I'd advise going into RS and asking to see sets. Tell them your budget and size restriction and they'll sort you out.

 

[Deeg]

I was about to post one, then I realised it was your second one

I'd advise going into RS and asking to see sets. Tell them your budget and size restriction and they'll sort you out.

This is what I did, and this was the suggestion.

They're both the same set, are they not?

 

[Cookie]

I didn't click on the first link tbf

 

[cat171]

I bought us a Samsung UE40E5500K it was about £500 last June from John Lewis. They do it in bigger sizes too, ours is 40 inch, nice size for the room.

RS comes with 5 year warranty too, and I've used RS' warranty before and been pleased with their service, so that's no deciding factor.

I think you have to pay for it, but you get the money back after five years if you don't use the extended warranty. I've also found that they never have the item you want in stock!

John Lewis have a five year one as standard.

 

[LiamR172]

My boss bought a 40" 1080P off Play.com for 200 quid. The deal of the day thing.

I dont think its a brand name but he said its good, built in Samsung freeview along with the other usual stuff.

 

[Deeg]

I bought us a Samsung UE40E5500K it was about £500 last June from John Lewis. They do it in bigger sizes too, ours is 40 inch, nice size for the room.

I think you have to pay for it, but you get the money back after five years if you don't use the extended warranty. I've also found that they never have the item you want in stock!

John Lewis have a five year one as standard.

The RS TV is the same as the JLP TV, so they're offering the 5 year guarantee to price may h JLP.

I'll have a look at Samsung, cheers mate.

Good to see you knocking about again

 

[Munson]

Be aware that Panasonic IPS LCD panels really struggle with black levels. As in - silver.

 

[Deeg]

Be aware that Panasonic IPS LCD panels really struggle with black levels. As in - silver.

I read a bit about that, and it said this is reasonable when viewed straight on (how it will be viewed) but struggles at angles.

 

[Munson]

I suppose it depends on your expectations, but more importantly your viewing habits. If you watch movies in a darkened room, I think you'll be disappointed by the blacks. Samsung's LCD sets are much better in this regard, although still not as good as plasma.

 

[Deeg]

Tends to just be 'normal' living room viewing. The odd black out film night.

 

[daveski]

We've got a similar TV, think its the E5B rather than the E6B that you're looking at.

Very happy with it. We bought it from Richer Sounds as they did us a deal with some speakers at the same time and still had the 5 year warranty

 

[Deeg]

The plan is to stick with my Onkyo 1 box set up for the time being, then upgrade the amp and speakers in a few months time.

Looked at doing it with RS as a group buy on all 3 at the same time, but there's no incentive.

Pleased it's got some decent feed back anyway.

Was just wondering if there was an equivalent LG, Samsung or Sony worth considering. This seems to have better reviews than the equivalent LG.

 

[cat171]

The RS TV is the same as the JLP TV, so they're offering the 5 year guarantee to price may h JLP.

I'll have a look at Samsung, cheers mate.

Good to see you knocking about again

Thanks mate.
Yeah RS will match them.

Let us know how you get on.

 

[Deeg]

Well, I think I'm more confused than when I started. I have 4 to chose between:

LG42LN575V - £472.95 (incl 5 years insurance)

Panasonic Viera TX-L42E6B - £499 (incl 5 years insurance)

Samsung UE42F5500 - £499 (incl 5 years insurance)

Sony Bravia KDL42W654 - £549 (incl 5 years insurance)

I'm going to head down to RS tomorrow and check them out, assuming they're in stock. But any thoughts from the various AV nuts on here will be much appreciated.

 

[Jay.S]

Out of those I would go for the LG.

I've got the 47" and the picture quailty is brilliant especially in HD mode and the smart tv comes in use for BBC iPlayer, Loveflim etc. The LED screen helps a lot and makes it stand out from the rest.

Go in store and have a play with all the models see which one you like best, layout, picture, sound quailty etc

3hdmi & USB ports come in handy, although it says you can't connect a pc you can link them up wirelessly to access your movies/music.

 

[jenic]

I have the 42f5500, bare in mind they don't make it anymore but the 40f5500 is the same price.

It's a great set, the smart features are brilliant and it connected to my seriously dodgy NAS easily. PQ is very good and sound isn't bad for a flat screen.

For me it was a toss up between this and the panny, they are pretty evenly matched but I think the Samsung smart system is better.

 

[Munson]

My only advice is definitely stay away from the Panasonic.

 

[Harbinger]

Shame you don't want bigger, I bought a 51" Samsung Plasma in currys for £449, has 2 HDMI ports and Optical out if using surround sounds, 3D too I know you don't care for 3D but might be worth having for future use BBC docs in 3D are epic.
Not sure why Roy doesn't like Panasonic, expensive but their Panels are among the best, also note only around 4 Companies actually make the panels, such as Sony are made by LG I think so same picture quality but double the cost.

 

[Stu_F]

Not sure why Roy doesn't like Panasonic, expensive but their Panels are among the best

Completely agree - I've got a 2 year old TXP50GT30, and the picture quality for the price is only surpassed by its replacement models! It's EPICALLY good.

 

[Deeg]

Went for the Panasonic in the end. Reviews were decent, which swayed me.

Ignore the state of my house, cleaning up is on my to do list.

As you can see, clearly don't need any bigger because of the size of the place.

Cables will be getting sorted once I get my amp back from RS, and get rid of the Sony loan amp.

Expect to replace the Onkyo 1 box in the coming months, probably for another Onkyo amp along with maybe a Tannoy speaker sets, but that depends how much money I have at the time.

 

[cat171]

Cool!!

Nice surround system too.

I was going to say if you went for the Samsung TV, you need to buy a dongle to get it online, but it's bloody hard to use, you have to use the remote as the keyboard (the letters come on the screen & you have to use up down, left, right etc) the keyboards they were selling at the time weren't compatible

 

[banther]

CBA to read the thread but if you dind it cheaper elsewhere (that has at least one physical location) then (link) is your friend

https://www.johnlewis.com/never-knowingly-undersold

 

[jenic]

Cool!!

Nice surround system too.

I was going to say if you went for the Samsung TV, you need to buy a dongle to get it online, but it's bloody hard to use, you have to use the remote as the keyboard (the letters come on the screen & you have to use up down, left, right etc) the keyboards they were selling at the time weren't compatible

The F5500 range has built in wifi so no dongle required. It also has the latest version of Samsungs smart system.

 

[Deeg]

CBA to read the thread but if you dind it cheaper elsewhere (that has at least one physical location) then (link) is your friend

https://www.johnlewis.com/never-knowingly-undersold

I price matched the JLP price at Richer Sounds, which includes 5 year warranty. Used the RS warranty before and always been happy with their service and getting a loan unit if there is an issue.

 

[Harbinger]

Richer sounds do look after their clients though, much better than JL where you'll get some mizer boy you off and not to mention impossible at times to get someones attention in there ( kingston branch being my experience ) Solid buy though, will provide many years of enjoyment until the next phase of TV comes out and makes this redundant ( 8K )

 

[Daz.]

I couldn't live with a silver tv when the rest is black!

 

[banther]

Yeah better way round.

I used to buy all my stuff at RS but now 15% discount for me on electronics at JL has swayed me.

Personally never had any problem with them. replaced my current TV for a green pixel haha.

 

[Jay.S]

I couldn't live with a silver tv when the rest is black!

Exactly what I just thought.

Looks a good tv though

Your drinks cabinet is ace!

 

[Deeg]

I couldn't live with a silver tv when the rest is black!

Meh, I don't care tbh.

There'll probably be wood speakers around it before long.

I might have a look for a black base.

Cheers all.

I do like my globe, lol.

 

[Cookie]

Grats on the purchase Deegus \o

 

[JaredHasNoBrain]

Can't read.

 

[Munson]

I'm not knocking Panasonics at all. They are undoubtedly very good. My advice to stay clear is based only on my preference for deep black in a dark room. For most people it isn't a necessity, but I can only comment on my own experiences. In a dark room, as in pitch black, this tv will struggle to deliver deep black and shadow detail, but if that's only an occasional concern for deeg, then I'm sure he'll be happy.

Looks nice btw.

 

[cat171]

The F5500 range has built in wifi so no dongle required. It also has the latest version of Samsungs smart system.

I didn't know that! Everywhere I looked (inc AV Forums) said it needed one to go online :banghead: I got it off ebay as it was cheaper than in shops, still a complete waste of money though!
It's only been used twice.

The TV is from last June.

 

[Deeg]

My modem is next to the TV, well behind it in fact, so it's hard wired to the modem, as is the TiVo and PS3.

However, can't see me using the smart features that often. Nice to have though.

Putting YT videos onto the TV from the phone is quite nice when watching music videos. Need to hook the optical lead from the TV to the amp, which I'll do once I've got my amp back.