Aldi are selling a 32" FULL HD television for £250 from 21 November. Buyer beware - this television (like all the previous ones they have sold), DOES NOT have the all important T2 Hi-def tuner. This means you won't be able to see BBC1, BBCHD, ITV1 & Channel4/S4C in hi-def - only standard definition unless you plug in some kind of external box such as Freesat HD or BSkyB etc.

They also fail to state important tech. stuff such as the response rate & Contrast Ratio. They also fail to show the remote control so you have no idea how clear it is.

Aldi are not alone in selling televisions marked as FULL HD READY but which lack the all important T2 tuner that gives you the main channels for free via your aerial in hi-definition. (This makes a hell of a difference as to picture quality).

Asda are another supermarket chain who only sell televisions with standard definition tuners - well at least the 2 I checked in my area. (Of course, the staff in such supermarkets are clueless as to what you are on about if you request a T2 tuner model).

So, just think how disappointing it will be to drag these things home, unpack, tune in and they say "This programme is also on BBC 1 HD" - you go to channel 50 & nothing!

The two things are not connected....Buying a Full HD ready TV has nothing to do with the HD tuners.
Using that logic you could complain because they don't have Sky or Virgin built in.

Sorry, but a pretty stupid post - most TV's (of all makes) don't have Freeview HD built-in.

It's still very much a minority addition on the more expensive models, and has no bearing to HD Ready or anything else.

That one of the specs I always look for, as I'm toying with the idea of gettin a new telly.

The OP fails to realise that for millions of people who use Sky the fact that it does or doesn't have an HD DVB-T2 tuner is irrelevant.


It won't be disappointing at all as nobody will have bought the TV for HD DVB-T2 broadcasts you numpty.

Actually that's not true.

There are many complaining on this and other forums that the "HD ready" tv they already have with freeview built in turns out NOT to be "freeview HD ready" Extrapolating that over the general population, and I'll bet there are thousands who feel they have been conned.

There IS general confusion amongst the buying public, and many are bitterly disappointed to find they need a freeview HD box in order for their existing HD ready tv to receive HD off air pictures.

IMO the term "HD ready" was ill thought out. Perhaps "HD Capable" might have been a better description?

But irrespective of all that, this is a particularly cheap tv and will suit many, but as with a lot of these cheap supermarket sets, the reliability and serviceability may be dubious.

I dont care tbh. I want to record HD, which means I need a box anyway, and where we are the freeview service since DSO is quite troublesome - even though our system hasnt changed. So I dont care wether a tv has DVB-T2 built in or not.

Most people we know are using Sky+ or SkyHD anyway and they never use the built in tv tuner.

Full-HD has a grreater vertical res and supports 1080p - it does not automatically mean you get a built in FreeviewHD (DVB-T2) tuner. This latter feature is a UK only feature and nothing to do with the HD standards. Eg, our *old* Sony LCD HD-Ready with built in Freeview will work with free to air HD/SD channels in France as the French are using HD over DVB-T1.

I am not a "numpty". I am clarifying the matter for the non-tech heads that make up the majority of the population. Even if you pay BSkyB fees for their HD twin tuner box, it would still be useful to have a HD tuner in the television in order that you can have 3 HD channels "covered" at any one time. (Virgin HD boxes do have 3 channel capability at any one time).

How dumb is it to produce 1080 pixel screens and then put standard defintion tuners in these new televisions? Here we are, in late 2010 with many parts of the country now able to receive Freeview HD and yet the manufacturers continue to churn out sets with standard defintion tuners. Is the assumption that we are all happy to pay Mr Murdoch for the priviledge of having HD pictures or that we are happy to go out and purchase a Freeview/Freesat HD box to plug into such a television? (Of course, this also means extra wires and another remote control).

UK going it alone (so far) with DVB-T2 is the reason. HD ready/Full-HD sets with a plain DVB-T1 chip inside are able to tune into live over air HD broadcasts without a box - its just that in the UK we are switching (again) to a new system (DVB-T2) for our HD broadcasts. As for building sets without this new chip inside - economics - the same reason most cars (which are mostly made outside the UK) dont include a DAB radio. The UK is too small - not worth their effort. Also doesnt help in that the UK prices are higher - we pay more here - hence putting in as standard a DVB-T2 chipset would add quite a bit to the UK RRP and may put people off buying it.

while I can see it will annoy people and I agree that the 'HD Ready' or 'Full HD' given to TV's is misleading (I agree 'HD Capable with suitable decoder' would be a better description), the general public have always made assumptions on technology without bothering to do a little research... such as assuming a 16/9 widescreen TV meant everything magically was in widescreen, or NICAM stereo meant everything was broadcast in stereo, or a HD ready TV meant it got everything in HD... it's nothing new

Now on branded products at premium prices I'd expect some futureproofing like an HD tuner but a bottom of the range no name thing from Aldi or Asda?!?!?

The manufacturers continue to churn out sets with standard definition tuners because of cost and supply issues with the new DVB-T2 tuners, as has been explained numerous times in numerous threads. Granted it would make sense for HD tuners to be included these days, but that adds to the cost at present.

And those saying not everyone is interested in whether a TV has Freeview HD built in are correct, not everyone is as they use Sky HD or Freesat HD for their high def viewing.

The set is still HD Ready, because it is still capable of producing high definition images from a set top box, BluRay player or games console.

By the way, Samsung, LG, Sony, Toshiba and many other manufacturers all still produce sets with standard definition tuners built in, why single out Aldi?.

You're under the misguided impression you're clarifying the matter for the non-tech heads. No your not. Your post is a thinly disguised attack on Aldi (and Asda) for selling a 32" TV for £250 which is something that clearly annoys you. Neither of these companies are specialist electronics retailers they're food retailers who also sell non-food related products so why also have a go at the "clueless" staff?

Irrespective of any technical or pseudo technical arguments there are better 32" LCD's with better brands out there today for similar money.

To be clear, if I bought one of these and plugged it into a Sky+ HD box, would I have had a good buy?

Without any specific knowledge of the Aldi TV in question, my immediate thought is that it is probably cheap and cheerful. No problem with that but if you're going to fork out on an Sky HD subscription (£60-70pm?), then a £250 TV will not do it justice. For starters, unless you are watching in the downstairs toilet, 42" and upwards would probably be a better idea.

I am sure that many people bought a HDTV a few years ago and they assumed { or were told by salesman } it would pick up Freeview HD { when it was launched } but at this current time I doubt many people would expect a HDTV with a Freeview HD tuner for under £ 300 .

My Cousin in Scotland two years ago did think he was watching HD from a standard freeview tuner mainly because he had nothing to compare it with but I explained that Freeview HD Set-top Boxes would be launched in February 2010 { which was the same time that Black Hill transmitter started sending out HD }

As for is the Aldi set being good value ?

You can buy a Toshiba 32AV713B 32-inch Widescreen HD Ready set for £ 230

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Toshiba-32AV...dp/B003JMECYQ/

I own a Toshiba 32RV635DB and its a cracking set but it is over 50 % more expensive .

Add a bit more and you can get the Toshiba 32RV753B 32-inch Widescreen Full HD 1080p with Freeview HD - £ 301.49 + £12.00 shipping

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Toshiba-32RV...dp/B003FVAIF8/

but as I have Virgin cable V+ box a set with built in Freeview HD is a waste of money

At the end of the day - you get what you pay for.

[quote=zandar;45792023

How dumb is it to produce 1080 pixel screens and then put standard defintion tuners in these new televisions? Here we are, in late 2010 with many parts of the country now able to receive Freeview HD and yet the manufacturers continue to churn out sets with standard defintion tuners. Is the assumption that we are all happy to pay Mr Murdoch for the priviledge of having HD pictures or that we are happy to go out and purchase a Freeview/Freesat HD box to plug into such a television? (Of course, this also means extra wires and another remote control).[/QUOTE]

Pretty well all the mainline HD TV's do have HD tuners. They simply are the generally universal mpeg4 (h264) DVB-T ones that work throughout Europe. TV makers don't normally make set's designed to work only in one country. Because of the limited bandwidth allocated to HD as a result of our governments decision to sell of large chunks of the UHF spectrum a new and more efficient system DVB-T2 is used in the UK. Large scale volume production of DVB-T2 chips is just getting under way. As a result of limited quantities these are still at a premium price.

To expect a cheap HD box to have a T2 tuner is naive in the extreme. I have a small Samsung in my study it has a sticker on the front that say HD Tuner (it has a HD DVB-T tuner).

The HD Ready and Full HD specification were defined years before DVB-T2 was even thought of and when the only source of HD broadcast material was experimental satellite transmissions using DVB-S. No sets at this time had HD tuners of any description so the spec merely specifies the capability to display HD material sourced externally.

Sweden has started DVB-T2 broadcasts. I believe South Africa is about to.

Incidently these Aldi TV' s don't have MPEG 4 decoders in them either and they are selling them in Ireland. How dumb is that. There is a discussion about it on Forums IE.

What a stupid post - in the first place you ONLY ever buy a TV from Aldi if you're not clued up on technology, are tight on funds or want to buy something basic for the kids bedroom. What on earth was your expectation level to then post on a specific forum board concentrated on HDTV and home entertainment technology that buyers should 'BEWARE' and then have the nerve to complain about a cheap TV not having a HD tuner! If the TV blew up in your face as soon as you pressed the power on button then obviously this would warrant a forum posting with the words 'BEWARE' to back it up. Words truly fail me....

Jegg, you are being a tad unfair to the op,the forum he posted on says this
Discuss TVs, home theatre setups, DVD and Blu-Ray, and other home entertainment devices here

Note it says TVs, so he his correct to post, the op thought he was doing a favour,but will now realise DS is full of assassins, it costs nothing to be polite, not all of us shop at Harrods.

JO

Sorry, have to disagree with you on this. I'm with ]egg[.

The OP was claiming ALDI were somehow misleading people over the capability of the TV they're selling - yet there's no evidence to support that.The Full HD terminology has been around for a couple of years and does not mean a set has a built in HD tuner, merely that it is capable of processing and displaying an HD signal (from various sources).

Secondly, Aldi, like LIDL are known discounters and the electrical products they sell are usually 'unbranded' or 'budget' branded and sold at a rock bottom price.

Whilst many on these boards criticise Tesco, Sainsburys, Argos and others for selling budget brands, they also sell a range of main-stream brands. Customers can view the products and make their own mind up whether the products are any good.

If customers want more information than these sellers can provide, then there is the option of going to one of the electrical chains (DSG, Comet) or an independent - which most towns have.

So there's plenty of choice for purchasing such an item and any customer who is unsure about what they want is best going to a retailer where they can actually speak with somebody about the product - something which nether Lidl or Aldi usually have. That, I believe, is the point ]egg[ is making.

Lastly, the tone of the OPs post did him no favours - he showed his knowledge to be lacking through the claims outlined above. There are many people who post on these boards and no shortage of contributors who try to help or provide practical advise when it's sought - I'd like to think I try to be constructive in the advice I give and belive others such as Nigel Goodwin, John Currie do the same. The problem is there are no shortage of people who genuinely don't know what they're talking about and post utter rubbish and take umbrage when they are corrected.

But it does not excuse responding in a rude or urban slang way, I agree there are experts who help & assist, Nigel Goodwin you mention is often the respondent of nasty comments, yet if its Sony, he is the expert.

I agree Lidl/Aldi/Netto are bottom end discounters, but do sell quality stuff like Comag. But Tessie Cohen sells her own brand of cheap & nasty also.



see you JO

I am well aware of the technology and the way in which I stated the original post.

I visited a relative last weekend who had purchased a new "FULL HD READY"Hitachi 42" TV from Argos back in April for £400. I happened to take my Freesat HD recorder with me in order to show them how the HD channels would come out on their screen. On arrival, they said "that we already have HD". They were convinced that watching BBC 1 on Freeview channel 1 was in HD. Of course, when they saw the stunning pictures of BBC 1 HD & ITV HD coming from my box, they had to agree that what they had in fact purchased was a set with a HD capable 1080 pixel screen that had a tuner that was SD only.

These are not the only people that I have come across who have got this matter incorrect regarding the availability of HD. To all those people who criticise me regarding this post, go and ask your non tecky friends, neighbours & relatives if they know the difference between Freeview HD & "FULL HD READY". I think it is important that the public can make this distinction.

Welcome to the murky world of product marketing. Sometimes it's in the manufacturers' interest to be "economical with the truth" or to over-simplify things for consumers.

How many times have you bought something that didn't live up to the marketing hype? Should car manufacturers have to qualify the top speed of their vehicles with "*only possible on private land or German Autobahn"?

To be fair to the TV manufacturers, the product cycles are pretty short now, as technology advances rapidly. "HD ready" or "HD capable" are a good stab at describing the product. If they also had to indicate "HD source required" would the non-techie person really know what that meant or take any more notice?

With the amount of knowledge available on the internet, many people should be able to clue themselves up a bit before committing to a large purchase. Eventually, all of the transmission and playback technologies will converge into one product; but in the meantime people have to tread carefully and weigh up the pros and cons of assorted systems before they buy.

At least your relatives were fortunate enough to have you take the time to demonstrate the difference, and show them what they were missing out on.

The only problem is, I'm sure you'll be getting a call for advice before they buy any techie stuff in future