Hello all,

I've been using the HDR since Jan and so far so good - all the usual well documented 'features' but (touch wood) no lock ups etc.

However, I'm using my trusty 10 year old Sony CRT on SCART and am now thinking it may be time to take the step into an HDTV - and finally take full advantage of BBC HD / ITV HD.

I understand that the Foxsat upscaling is not the best and am looking for recommendations for a TV that delivers both excellent SD and HD pictures from the HDR.

In addition to the HDR I have a standard 10-year old DVD player and am also considering an Apple TV box.

A 40" - 42" screen would be the right size and my budget is £800 - £1,000.

So what are you using with your Foxsat HDR and would you recommend it?

Thanks

Panasonic all the way, excellent quality, great brand, reasonable prices

I think the Sony Bravia LCD range works well with all the Humax products.

Rgds.

Les

I have both of those products and a popcorn, sky+ hd, ps3, BD player all hooked up to my new Pansonic 46" TV which was in your budget.

Please don't forget your audio needs and HDMI input count.

If you have are or getting a A/V HDMI switching amp the TV does not need many HDMI inputs.

Else the TV needs enough hdmi inputs plus room for extra gadgets (or of course auto switch box which are fairly priced now days).

Automan.

I use my HDR with with a Sony Bravia 40" and don't have any of the problems reported by users of other makes of sets.

I bought a Sony 40W4000 which had the best reviews and has been excellent for me.

I would avoid Samsung as my friends one annoyed him so much he thought about selling it after 2 months as it takes over 1 second to switch inputs and when you have 6 or 7 of them, it got really annoying.

hi - I would go for Panasonic or Sony and you can't go wrong really. Both brands have their devotees and difference is small.

I have used a Panasonic pZ81 series (now updated in the range I think) since February. This series is a plasma with a Freesat tuner built-in, so I have three feeds from the dish, two to the HDR and one to the set. This means I can record two channels and watch a third at the same time. It doesn't turn up often, but is useful when needed. It also has an SD card slot in the front so I take photos in 16:9 these days and show them direct on the TV. Although this model has three HDMI inputs, one is on the front which is great for HD camcorders, but not so convenient for BD player etc.

I haven't noticed any real deficiency in upscaling from the HDR for SD programmes, but maybe others have.

I certainly have no regrets with the TV. I am sure I would make the same decision again.

Panasonic Plasma.. No issues.
Tivo series 1. Would not be without it..PLEASE TIVO.. come back into the UK... Your UI is the best I've ever used and your platform is rock solid....
Apple TV - Good product, does have some issues.. but nothing too serious, mostly internal network issues.. once ironed out, it works very well.
AND.. the Foxsat HDR. Unfortunately lots of crashes.. all documented on this forum..
oh yeah.. Xbox360 as well..

Hi,

Might suggest that instead of the Apple TV, go the whole hog instead and buy a Mac Mini: not necessarily a new one, but get one secondhand from eBay (ideally with an AppleCare warranty) for the same price. You then have all the benefits of the Apple TV but a lot more flexibility to add whatever software you want. I have one hooked up to a 40" Samsung and a Sony AV amp. I use Elgato's eyeTV tuner and software to make the combination a PVR; I also have a webcam and Skype account on the box. Connects via the VGA connector and can drive all current HD TV resolutions well. The graphics chipset also does a pretty good job upscaling SD content.

This means I can do all the AppleTV stuff: iTunes content, PVR, video calls etc, DVD playback/ recording, web and email, all from the one box. I also sync my iPod from it, and can use the eyeTV software to copy recordings to the iPod.

I archive recorded SD content from the eyeTV Freeview tuner to DVD on the Mac. When the pennies permit, I'm looking to change over to the satellite version, which has DVB-S2 as well as DVB-S, so that I can record HD.

Recommend though if following this route to consider an Intel Core Duo or Core 2 Duo Mac Mini, not the earlier PowerPC G4 chip versions. Some pretty good setups and tips over at 123macmini.com.

I suggest you take a look at the What HiFi reviews.

On the Sony front some of their LCD models are out in front for PQ (not sure about upscaling) however, there is a clouding issue that has been affecting some and Sony allegedly refuse to acknowledge this as a problem. As the incidence of this appears quite high from the What HiFi forums, you might choose not to take the gamble.

Other than Sony, Panasonic are very good.

Pioneer Kuro plasma's are about the best picture wise and have an excellent reputation for their upscalers, but as all models under 50" have been discontinued, you might find it difficult to get your hands on a new 42" model.

My advice would be google What Hi Fi and then look at their reviews / forum section for professional testing / user feedback.

The problem with the Mac mini is the relatively slow processor speeds on the older models. If you want to use EyeTV to view BBC HD from satellite with an Elgato 310, 2GHz is not fast enough to prevent glitches, you need about 2.5 GHz to comfortably manage it IME.

Thanks for all the suggestions so far - the Pioneer looks good but outside my budget, Sony & Panasonic look like the contenders.

Will also look at the option around using a Mac mini instead of Apple TV.

Thanks again....