Tv for father in-law

H there, the family are looking to get my father in-law a new tv for christmas, they are both in their eighties, probably LD about 39" he likes technology but it doesn't like him!
He has a laptop but his sight is not what it used to be, so do you need a smart TV to get the internet or does it just need to be Wi-fi enabled or cabled for the internet just to use it, we don't know, he has a HD freesat recorder so it's about time he had something that can show HD, any help with this would be appreciated and it would help my understanding of these things.

Thanks in advance

Comments

  • chrisbartleychrisbartley Posts: 1,790
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    He has a laptop but his sight is not what it used to be,
    Simpler to just to connect the laptop to the TV rather then bother with SMART TVs
    Either via HDMI cable if laptop has HDMI
    or a VGA cable + 3.5 mm cable for audio if no HDMI

    Then can have benifit of the bigger screen for PC use too
    Assuming hes already au fait/comfortable using the internet via the PC

    Any web site accessed via SMART tv which requires any text input will be a PIA vai the TV remote
  • iangradiangrad Posts: 813
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    Out of 32" , 39" 42" 47" & 50"

    39" is the dud in terms of picture performance , it does not seem to matter what badge is on the front 39" is poor !
    Having said all that things could be very different by Christmas -- you may a bit ahead of yourself LOL
  • David WaineDavid Waine Posts: 3,396
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    I have a 39" TV and its picture is anything but a dud.
  • iangradiangrad Posts: 813
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    Its good that you are happy with your 39" but its very apparent particularly in viewing angle and colour balance and colour rendition that other sizes from 32" upward have not been dumbed down or "cost cut" in the same way .
  • David WaineDavid Waine Posts: 3,396
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    And your evidence for this is?
  • David WaineDavid Waine Posts: 3,396
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    No new evidence from iangrad as yet, so I will submit some of my own, drawn from personal experience.

    The set is a Philips 39PFL3807T, bought from Richer Sounds for £379 at the beginning of February. I entered the shop fully prepared to pay up to £650 for a Samsung or LG model, only to emerge with this one, having auditioned one against the other, in both HD and SD, for an hour an a half.

    When I got it home and set it up, I discovered that the default settings were all way over the top. This is quite common among modern TVs apparently. Thus began a lengthy period of fine tuning the picture by trial and error. I don't have a calibration disc, but I do have good eyesight and I am not colour blind. I am also very hard to please in picture quality terms. To cut a long story short, I reset everything, item by item, until the set was giving of its best. It may be possible to wring an extra ounce of quality out of it with yet more fine tuning, but it is now just about as good as it ever can be.

    So how good is it?

    Stuck pixels: none.

    Viewing angle: it sits on a stand across a corner of the living room and can be watched comfortably from any of the seats without losing contrast, so it is wide enough.

    Backlight illumination: it is a side-lit LED set. Uneven patches in illumination are not apparent during programmes. When watching a CinemaScope film in its original aspect ratio, the black bars at the top and bottom of screen are uniformly black (no tell-tale brightening in the corners). It is occasionally possible to see the dynamic backlight brightening or dimming slightly during a scene as it adjusts, but only occasionally.

    Black level: very good actually. Not Panasonic plasma black, obviously, but deep enough to look black, not dark grey or blue. Night scenes retain their contrast and shadow areas retain detail. As is typical of LCD panels, it tends to look its best in a fairly bright room.

    Motion blur: none in real world terms. I have been watching Wimbledon, the Confederations Cup and motor racing recently without any problems whatsoever.

    EPG: very basic. Not a problem for me because I have YouView, which has its own fully-featured epg.

    Sound: above average from what I can gather from other reports. I use a Yamaha soundbar, however, so this is not an issue for me.

    'Smart TV' features: some (I know it can access YouTube). These are of no interest to me. I use it to watch TV programmes.

    3D: no. This is a point in its favour if you ask me. I can't abide 3D gimmickry.

    Standard definition: this is what sold the set to me. Obviously it only gives of its best in High Definition, but the SD picture is still very good and perfectly watchable. The set's relatively limited size may be playing a part here in not blowing the weaknesses up so big that they become unavoidable.

    Colour balance: this is the tricky one, which is why I left it to last. At first, it looked like every single colour was turbo-boosted. People had orange faces and grass looked like it had been sprayed with Daglo green paint. It took weeks of careful adjustment, but now the picture looks natural - with one reservation. That is the skin tones of white people. For some reason, the colour of black people's skin seems very tolerant of the settings, and they tend to look more or less right regardless. Not so white people. That took a lot of experimentation. Everything is shot with digital cameras these days, but drama (soaps aside) is usually manipulated to look more like film. On such programmes, I would say that the flesh tones are just about spot-on. Live studio-based programmes, like the News or The One Show, look like video. Here the flesh tones, though still very good, have a slightly bronzed look that I have not been able to eradicate completely. On looking at other TVs, I have noticed that same look, so it may be a characteristic of LCD panels rather than a shortcoming of the set itself.

    So, is that good enough?
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,151
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    you know its only June?! right?!
  • David WaineDavid Waine Posts: 3,396
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    Yes, I am aware of the date, which is why I made no comment on its long-term reliability. In the five months I have had it, it has worked perfectly well. Iangrad stated that 39" sets, regardless of brand, were 'duds'. I think that is too general a claim and disagree that it applies to my set.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,151
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    Yes, I am aware of the date, which is why I made no comment on its long-term reliability. In the five months I have had it, it has worked perfectly well. Iangrad stated that 39" sets, regardless of brand, were 'duds'. I think that is too general a claim and disagree that it applies to my set.

    sorry - but I was referring the OP doing his xmas shopping very early ;)
  • innes_calaninnes_calan Posts: 434
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    sorry - but I was referring the OP doing his xmas shopping very early ;)

    just lookng around, need some input from the family and will check out Costco but buy nearer christmas.

    Thanks for the input.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,151
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    Ah yeah, but problem is its such a long time away... The product range could change dramatically by then

    Although at least you'll be Able to get a good idea of your needs
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