New HD TV quandry

[PinkoCommie]

I have recently come into a bit of cash, and have decided that it's time to upgrade my TV.

Until yesterday I was pretty much decided on a Samsung UE40B8000 or UE46B8000 (so either 40 or 46" 200Hz LED).

That was until yesterday when I went for a bit of a nose around Currys just to check out the screens. While the picture on the 8000 series Samsungs is stunning, they had a UE40B7000 next to a UE40B8000 and I couldn't seem to tell the difference.

The difference between a 50Hz LCD and a 100Hz LED is very noticeable (or at least it was to me when they were playing Wall-E side by side), but i was staring at the 100Hz/200Hz for about 15 minutes and couldn't tell any difference.

Is it really worth the extra £2-300 for the 8000 series?

Saying that, is it worth the extra £500 over a Plasma?

I am pretty much leaning towards getting the UE46B8000 along with a HT-BD1250 or HT-BD1255. Will this setup keep me happy for a couple of years, any horror stories about the setup?

Can anyone suggest a better setup for the same ballpark price of about £2-2500?

I'm pretty much set on a LCD/LED based system, but if anyone has thoughts on Plasma then reccomend away.

 

[dk]

i'm going for that exact setup, its going to be hard to beat.

 

[PinkoCommie]

Sweet, at least I'm not going down a totally nobby route.

Now just to find the place that'll give me the best deal. Bizarrely dixons appear to be the cheapest for the TV.

 

[Cookie]

Plasma > *

No matter what dk says/thinks

 

[dk]

Plasma > *

No matter what dk says/thinks

LOL, theres always going to be the people who long to cling onto the old technology, don't like change and all that

 

[Cookie]

Older tech is often superior

 

[Chili Red]

I thought plasmas didn't last as long?

 

[Cookie]

I thought plasmas didn't last as long?

No, complete and utter b****cks

 

[dk]

No, complete and utter b****cks

its not b****cks, they just last long enough not to worry the average consumer for the length of thime they are likely to keep them.

 

[Revels]

I think some people are faaar too critical.

I also wouldn't base a decision on what a tv looks like in Currys or something.

Mine is great for what I want. I don't sit 3 inches from it and although all the g33ks on AVF said the speakers are pap, I don't have any problems with them.

 

[dk]

yeah, speakers in tv's are always poor as they are designed to be used with cinema surround systems. They only really include them as a must, having a 1080p picture and then built in speakers for sound is FAIL really, you really need a 5.1 system to get the full experience. Plus with TV's getting so thin there is nowhere to actually house anything decent. I'm amazed the Samsung LED ones actually have any!

 

[Revels]

Oh I have a 5.1 system but what I'm saying is that the standard speakers aren't as bad as they make out.

 

[Cookie]

its not b****cks, they just last long enough not to worry the average consumer for the length of thime they are likely to keep them.

It's b****cks

Latest gen plasmas have near identical MTBF's to LCD's

 

[Gavin.]

i was told it was approx. 10 yrs for a plasma and 15 yrs for an lcd in which case i would have a new tv within 10 yrs anyway.

if im taking sh1te feel free to let fly

 

[PinkoCommie]

I personally prefer the picture type from the LCD over Plasma. That was all I really based my decision on, then having decided to go down the panel route I thought I might as well get the best one out there which, by all accounts, appears to be the Samsung LED ones.

Also, I have a habit of leaving the channel selection bar up on virgin by accident and then buggering off to do something else, like surf the net for 6 hours, so, even though I know they suffer from burn in a lot less these days, I thought I'd go down the less chance of burnin route :S

Though if others have a compelling real word arguement about something better, then I'm all ears.

anyway, either way I'll only have to live with it until OLED's become affordable :star: (yeah i know, in 5+ years time)

 

[Alex_X93]

Pioneer kuro 5090?

 

[dk]

pioneer have pulled out of the tv market.

they may still have stock around but i'd prefer to go with a manufacturer who is still around.

Samsung have been making some of the best lcd's for years. My M series is now about 4 years old and has never missed a beat, it is still perfect, can't fault it apart from the fact its only 720p.