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Best TV for £600-£1000



B

Brand86

  Mito Sportiva 135
Hi

I know probably a load of threads on this already, but obviously times change and some info may be out of date. My budget is £600-£1000, but (crucially perhaps) I won't be purchasing for about 3 months.

My only criteria are:

- 40 - 42"
- 1080p (assume everything will be in this price bracket)

Not decided over LCD or plasma. All the TVs I currently have are LCD but open minded. I will be using it for a combination of TV, BluRay films and Xbox.

I like Sony products (yes I know, Xbox not PS3 though!) but a few Panasonics I've seen were really impressive.

Thanks
Tom.
 
Tom

Tom

ClioSport Club Member
  EV (s)
How much are the new Sharp Quattron sets? Saw one yesterday and it blew my mind.

Edit £1367. Bit over budget.
 
C

chimpsinties

  Clio 1.2 Grande (2001)
Honestly, this is the best TV you will find for the money Samsung LE40B650

Samsung-LE40B650.jpg


£699 from Richersounds (£770 with 5 yr warranty well worth it in my opinion)

You can get it for about £610 elsewhere online but that's not with a 5 year warranty.

http://www.richersounds.com/product/lcd-tv/samsung/le40b650/sams-le40b650

Like all Samsung TV's this one looks gorgeous. It's 40" with 1080p. It has an ethernet port (and can take a wireless adapter if needed) so you can stream right from your PC or an NAS drive. Also, it has this new upscaling chip that Samsung spent $1billion developing. It's supposed to be the best upscaler around even better than the PS3. That's really important as 90% of the stuff you'll be watching through it will be in standard definition.

Go along and look at one. I'm telling you, you won't be dissapointed.

I'm getting it next week.
 
David

David

  BMW e46 320 Ci Sport
depends on what you use it for and WHEN you use it.

panasonic g series, good for movies primary gaming secondary tv last, mostly at night.
 
B

Brand86

  Mito Sportiva 135
That Panasonic looks good...but this is one area of my new house where I don't mind maxing out my budget as it will be at the heart of my "entertainment monolith" and want it to be sublime.

LED...I heard it only benefitted over LCD or plasma in that it was thinner (not a major issue as it will be against a wall anyway) and better energy efficiency. Or am I missing something?

Ah so many choices, but a nice decision to have to make!
 
SharkyUK

SharkyUK

ClioSport Club Member
Mate, I just bought a Samsung 8000 Series (LED) and it's stunning. It might be a bit over budget but the 7000 Series is in range... and some places are offering cash-back incentives at the moment on some of their range.

It's thin, lightweight and the contrast and colour definition is superb (certainly not inferior as some would have you believe - although it's always worth investing a bit of time setting up and calibrating the device when you get it home). The only downside is that the internal speakers are very weak and lacking in bass range. This isn't a problem for me as I route everything through a HDMI/digital amp but it's worth bearing in mind.

Save up for a top quality HDMI lead or two as well to get the most from your panel...
 
C

chimpsinties

  Clio 1.2 Grande (2001)
SharkyUK said:
Save up for a top quality HDMI lead or two as well to get the most from your panel...
Click to expand...

That's rubbish. As long as the distance between the source and TV is below a few meters it makes no difference if you spend £5 or £500 on an HDMI cable.

DON'T be sucked in by the hype.

It's a digital signal, not an analogue signal.
 
David

David

  BMW e46 320 Ci Sport
if you want the best get a pioneer kuro generation 9 i think it is.
my limit was 1500, but the g series presents the best if youre willing to tinker and given the viewing proofile i set out above.

You may want to check avforums.... led tellys don't tend to get the best reviews because of the automatic dimming which can't be turned off.... read up on it, i initally was soing for a 8 series samsung, but they have terrible reviews, doesn't touch the picture on my g10 imo.

like i said mate if you're serious about it, you'll a)need to do a lot of reesearch yourself and b) go on avforums for advice, not here really

p.s. you might want to consider the fact that 3d tellys are on their way, personally i'd wait as the new panasonic 3d tellys are supposed to rival the old pioneer kuros... according to avforums anyway
 
.Ben.

.Ben.

  S3, Polo
David said:
led tellys don't tend to get the best reviews because of the automatic dimming which can't be turned off.... read up on it, i initally was soing for a 8 series samsung, but they have terrible reviews, doesn't touch the picture on my g10 imo.
Click to expand...

I bought a Samsung LED about 6 months ago and while the auto-dimming is irritating, the depth of colour blew everything else - within budget - out of the park, IMO.
 
Jonny1*2

Jonny1*2

  Golf GTD Mk7
Depending on what feed you have to the TV also might give you a bit more scope on the size of the TV. I wouldn't go much further than 40inch unless you have HD or at least a decent digital signal. Same with DVD playing. It becomes very pixilated. I got round this by using my PS3 to upscale DVDs which made a massive difference.

If you can get an LED one for that price range I would as the image quality is amazing. Saying that, my panasonic viera (around £600 when I bought it) I can't fault really. Only gripe I have with it is that the black isn't black enough. Aside from the the image quality is brilliant :) IMO, Panasonic, Phillips or Sony are the main ones, Samsung to a lesser extent (althought the LED ones are brill)

Forgot to add, presonal order of preference would be LED, LCD then Plasma. Plasma annoys me as it has a sort of shadow delay to it when a scene goes dark. Plus they won't last as long as the screens fade. Also, try and avoid 200hz Tv as the image can seem a bit strange, again IMO ;)
 
Last edited:
Pedro

Pedro

  182
Sony are meant to be bringing out 3d 1080p LCD's soon which will work with the PS3.

No price though at the moment.
 
David

David

  BMW e46 320 Ci Sport
pioneer have ended production but you can still get them if you look.

i saw the auto dimming instore at curries, it wasn't for me.
 
C

conneh

This is the thing, you walk into say Comet/Currys/John Lewis and you see a LED tv and think woah. They make the other TVs look dull in comparison - but at the end of the day its down to how the TVs are set up. I would imagine they focus their attention to making the these TVs look better. Only way to see a TV in it's real form is to go to a proper show. I went to a Hi-Fi/TV show in Bristol and its so much better seeing a TV set up properly as you can make a proper comparison.
 
Jonny1*2

Jonny1*2

  Golf GTD Mk7
conneh said:
This is the thing, you walk into say Comet/Currys/John Lewis and you see a LED tv and think woah. They make the other TVs look dull in comparison - but at the end of the day its down to how the TVs are set up. I would imagine they focus their attention to making the these TVs look better. Only way to see a TV in it's real form is to go to a proper show. I went to a Hi-Fi/TV show in Bristol and its so much better seeing a TV set up properly as you can make a proper comparison.
Click to expand...

Not always true, but I understand you sinical views ;) Other way to do it is become a member of which? and read their reviews. They have geeks that watch each tv and maintain the other variables (room, lighting, feed etc) and see what the setting can be programmed to give. In addition, the also give you the "ideal" setup (contrast/brightness etc) to get the best picture from the telly. They are impartial, so worth a look.
 
B

Brand86

  Mito Sportiva 135
Thanks for the advice guys, woll certainly take another look at LEDs when I come to buy then as I hadn't heard many great reviews but maybe I hadn't read enough about the technology. I heard 3d was on the way but I couldn't seeing this taking off, but maybe I should wait and see.

Now got another probably much more important technology issue, see my other thread "PLEASE help"...it's amazing how Dads and technology can make simple tasks complex :(
 
B

Brand86

  Mito Sportiva 135
Ok done a bit of looking and considering this TV:

KDL-40HX80X

Also been looking at surround sound systems now too. I want a 5.1 system, preferably with 2 standing front speakers (possibly back 2 too) and if I get a Sony TV I would probably be sad and prefer a Sony speaker package, plus also got a Sony BR standing by too (so can be a separate amp). Probably about £300 to spend here, any recommendations?

Something like this only without the DVD player in the amp?
 
M

Munson

I've yet to see an LCD based TV match a high-end plasma for a natural look and natural motion. Despite all these claims of 1,000,000hz and 100,000,000,000:1 contrast ratios, a well setup plasma just looks more natural. LCDs IMO look overblown and artificial in comparison. They also tend to suffer from uneven backlighting, although I'm sure that is less so with LED.

It's also a bit of a myth that plasmas wear out quicker. Unless you plan to keep it for 15 years, this really isn't going to be an issue. Although, technically yeah, the panels do degrade over time. Genuine downsides of plasma are: They're heavier. They use more power. You can sometimes see phosphor trails, especially if you blink at a certain moment. Strangely, I have become almost completey immune to phosphor trails. Finally, contrary to modern opinion, plasma does still suffer from image retention. It's short term and doesn't burn, but it does happen.

I know many AV geeks and movie buffs, and we all use plasma. The more casual family types favour LCD. That's my experience. The next technology is going to have to be a lot better than LCD/LED to convince me to ditch plasma.
 
Gally

Gally

Formerly Mashed up egg in a cup
ClioSport Club Member
I'm a plasma fan above 32" tbh. And who would buy a tv that's less than 32"

There was a 60" samsung in a shop the other day, what a ridiculous size, I still want!




Tv and too big should never be used in the same sentence.
 
C

conneh

I have played various COD4 sessions on our G10 panel plasma and have never had any sort of screen retention. I would imagine a really really long session may cause abit of burn.
 
M

Munson

It will be there dude but you probably won't ever notice it unless you're in a pitch black room and there's been a white square on the screen for a few minutes and the gone back to black. It's so minor that in 99% of situations, you never see it, but it is there. It gets washed away in minutes by other colours. I have a previous gen 42PZ800B, and if I've been watching a 2.35:1 movie in a totally dark room, then kill the input at the end, you can see where the image has burnt a hole in it and left two black bars. It washes out very quickly and isn't even visible in a lit room.
 
M

Munson

Ja. It's not something that concerns me but it's definitely something that LCD has an advantage over. That's the only reason a I brought it up in my comparison opinion.
 
riz

riz

ClioSport Club Member
  Jaguar XFR
I much prefer the natural look of a plasma. Thats imo of course, so i would say a Panasonic Viera, mine is 5 years old and there isnt much that can convince me to upgrade.

LCD's look fake especially in movies, i just detest the colours and movements compared to a plasma.

Plus plasmas are cheaper!!
 
C

conneh

Still can't beat the Panasonic CRT we got at home! Can't remember what model it is, but it was expensive back in the day.
 
David

David

  BMW e46 320 Ci Sport
Roy Munson said:
I've yet to see an LCD based TV match a high-end plasma for a natural look and natural motion. Despite all these claims of 1,000,000hz and 100,000,000,000:1 contrast ratios, a well setup plasma just looks more natural. LCDs IMO look overblown and artificial in comparison. They also tend to suffer from uneven backlighting, although I'm sure that is less so with LED.
Click to expand...

is even worse on LED
 
C

chimpsinties

  Clio 1.2 Grande (2001)
David said:
200hz does not mean it's 3d compatible.

have a look on avforums for reviews and explanations, here's an example of the samsung ue46b8000. plus i've seen a few in the flesh. don't think they've offically reviews the model you mentioned yet.

http://www.avforums.com/reviews/Samsung-UE46B8000-LCD-HDTV-Review.html
Click to expand...

But that TV you point out is still the B model. They've stopped making them now and have moved onto C.

Also, 200Hz is one of the precursors to 3D. I'm sure I read somewhere that the C750 was 3D compatible. The C650 isn't (still a great TV) but then again it's £300 cheaper too.
 
C

chimpsinties

  Clio 1.2 Grande (2001)
Having read that review of the Samsung LED (#cough#) TV I'd probably avoid it. Sounds like they really didn't manage to get it right at all. I've read much better things about their LCD tv's without LED side lighting so I'd stick with them for now til they iron out the problems.
 
David

David

  BMW e46 320 Ci Sport
maybe they've cured it with the C series then, i've not read a review on it but up till the last time i read up on it, couple of mnths ago, they all suffered similar issues. there are a number of people on avofrums with them so ask on there.

ave a read of this too mate,

http://www.avforums.com/forums/3d-tvs/1215969-ss3d-guide.html

a couple of exerts taken from the above guide

Why do I have to buy a new TV? Why not release an adapter to enable my flat panel to become 3D?
The so –called non-3DTVs have several limitations that prevent 3D viewing, which include:
 The inability to accept 120Hz and 3D protocols via HDMI
 Frame-Sequential S3D requires a transmitter to sync with the glasses, which cannot be done due to the lack of interface (on the display) and the availability of the hardware
 Polarized system requires modification of the interior components and a polarized filter must be applied directly onto the panel
4. I have a 120Hz (240Hz) display? Why I can’t I have 3D?
The 100Hz+ displays are not designed to enable 3D. 100Hz+ is achieved via a method known as Motion-Compensated Frame-Interpolation (MCFI), which creates new frames from existing frames to reduce hold-time, thus enabling better motion detail.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
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