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Old 03-10-2011, 01:43
Tom_Tit
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Hello all.

Time to upgrade my old CRT JVC.

I want a 42 inch TV. Nothing too fancy, cheaper the better as long as it does the job. I'll be using it for sky TV. And maybe the xbox will go on it now and again.

I have no idea what i'm looking at. Do i go for plasma, LCD? What stand do i need because i wont be putting it on the wall.

Just a basic, reliable TV required. Brand not too fussed.

Thanks all.
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Old 03-10-2011, 01:57
pocatello
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Tv's come with stands, unless you want a stand that includes shelving.
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Old 03-10-2011, 02:02
Tom_Tit
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What kind of stands? I've seen others with glass shelves and stuff to put your sky box on.

The old one i have at the moment has the TV and stand attached onto each other. So i will have no unit at all when this one is binned.
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Old 03-10-2011, 03:14
pocatello
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Flat panels have standard mounting holes in the back, so shelving stands have two vertical rails rising out the back to mount a tv, kind of a wall mount without the wall. It isn't like the old style crt stand where the stand was shaped to fit the specific crt anymore. http://fl2.shopmania.org/files/image...t~22157699.jpg http://cdn2.dascheap.com/inventory/i...pg?w=300&h=300 or simply get a shelf unit without the mount, but then you lose height adjustment and its further from the wall. There are wall mount units with floating shelves under them as well. Honestly unless you want height adjustment and a wallmount like install you can use anything that is the right height. http://www.bz2-img.com/images_custom...26302_full.jpg
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Old 04-10-2011, 23:36
Tom_Tit
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I really don't want to spend much on one.

Will a 400 quid 42 incher be good enough to watch sky on. I see prices going past a grand and don't see the point in spending that amount on a telly.

Plasma? LCD or LED?..Which should i be looking at?

Any help or recomendations welcome as struggling here.
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Old 05-10-2011, 00:08
pocatello
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For the size plasma will give you more for the money, a good panasonic will do.
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Old 05-10-2011, 09:15
Tom_Tit
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Thanks.
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Old 05-10-2011, 09:56
John259
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Most (possibly all) televisions come with a detachable stand, a few inches in height, which allows the television to be placed on any flat surface. (This stand can be removed if the television is wall mounted.) It's then up to you whether you want to stand the television on an existing piece of furniture or purchase a floor-standing stand with shelves, etc. If so, try Tesco Direct. Make sure the description specifies that it can take the size of television that you intend to purchase as some are only rated for 32" televisions.

If you want HD reception, check very carefully because there's an extremely confusing range of names (such as "Full HD") and designations (such as "1080i") by which such televisions are known.
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Old 05-10-2011, 10:19
c4rv
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Make sure the description specifies that it can take the size of television that you intend to purchase as some are only rated for 32" televisions.
Flat screen TV in general are much lighter and I would be surprised if stand was not suitable.

I just use a corner unit from Ikea, cost around 30 quid. Also OP, some TV have base stands that swivel which I find useful. If I am the only person watching then I can turn the TV towards me.

Have a look at Richersounds, they do some goods deals. E.g. this 42" LG plasma for £385 or £425 with 5 years warranty. You will need to supply HD source as its tuner is SD only. However on the plus side it has a USB socket for playing back files via USB.

http://www.richersounds.com/product/...50u/lg-42lk450
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Old 05-10-2011, 22:45
1saintly
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OK here we yet another 'what tv' thread.
No offence to the OP intended
As i have recently upgraded from a old crt to a new plasma i know what you are going through!

Somebody with more experience than me should do a short sticky\pinned thread for this one like on the sky\computing etc threads.
You will get baffled and bombarded with info and stats that will give you a headache and worries.
re recent thread asking same as you
http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1525780

Just to answer some of you're questions..
yes £400 ish will be fine for sky.

i bought a panasonic plasma from john lewis and watch sky SD on it, its a great picture, opted for the plasma as watch alot of sport.

Shop around as already suggested for price match and 5yr warranty
richer sounds
sound and vision
john lewis
all seem to be popular and won't con you with the lcd v led sales pitch


PS Also got a excellent glass stand off ebay for £30 some retailers will charge you a fortune for them so shop around as well for one if you want rid of you're old one.
But as already posted a old crt weighs alot more than a 42'' plasma so you can use you're old one if you want.
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Old 05-10-2011, 23:50
Tom_Tit
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How much did you pay for it? Is it good quality? I've just said £400 as a rough starting point as i am estimating 100-150 for the unit. So all in all around £500 for the lot will do. There or there abouts.

Presumed plasma weren't as good for some reason but i was wrong.
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Old 05-10-2011, 23:52
Tom_Tit
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Flat screen TV in general are much lighter and I would be surprised if stand was not suitable.

I just use a corner unit from Ikea, cost around 30 quid. Also OP, some TV have base stands that swivel which I find useful. If I am the only person watching then I can turn the TV towards me.

Have a look at Richersounds, they do some goods deals. E.g. this 42" LG plasma for £385 or £425 with 5 years warranty. You will need to supply HD source as its tuner is SD only. However on the plus side it has a USB socket for playing back files via USB.

http://www.richersounds.com/product/...50u/lg-42lk450
Please explain those last two sentences to a novice like me. What do i need to source exactly?

Sorry
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Old 06-10-2011, 00:10
c4rv
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Please explain those last two sentences to a novice like me. What do i need to source exactly?

Sorry
The set does not have freeview HD so if you want to view HD then you will need either SkyHD or get an external Freeview or freesat HD box.


USB support means that if you films. TV programs, photos, etc on your computer then you can transfer them to a USB memory stick and play them on the TV
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Old 06-10-2011, 00:25
Tom_Tit
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Ahh i'm with you. I'll only be using normal sky plus box anyways. No point upgrading to sky hd as not worth it.

Cheers.
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Old 06-10-2011, 01:18
pocatello
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Usb..next to useless check box feature, if you want to do such things there are far better ways involving separate boxes/pc or whatever...just ignore it.
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Old 06-10-2011, 19:29
TV King
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The TV that I use is an Hitachi L42VP01U which is a 42inch LCD TV that has built in SD Freeview. I brought this TV back in April 2009 and it cost me £599.99 and I am really happy with it and I have had no problems with it at all.

Here is a review of the Hitachi L42VP01U.

http://www.trustedreviews.com/Hitach...D-TV_TV_review

And here is some information about the Hitachi L42VP01U on the Hitachi web site.

http://www.hitachidigitalmedia.com/p...g=68&proid=605

In the Trusted Review of the Hitachi L42VP01U they say that SD broadcasts don't look very good on it but I have had this LCD TV for over 2 years now and I can tell you that I find SD broadcast to be very good and I don't have a problem with them on my Hitachi L42VP01U.

I have see that Argos are selling 2 Hitachi 42inch LCD TVs with in your buget.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...9.htm?docname=

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...HITACHI+TV.htm

Out of the 2 Hitachi LCD TVs above I would go for the seconed one that has the model L42VK04 as I think that it is a newer model and I have seen on the Argos web site a photo of the remote control for it and I personally think that it looks really cool and it looks better that the more ordinary remote control that came with my Hitachi LCD TV which I think you can see the remote control for my TV in the Review that Trusted Reviews did which I have posted a link to above.

If my Hitachi L42VP01U ever goes wrong and I need to replace it which I hope I don't as I really like it I would replace it with the L42VK04.

Also I know that both Hitachi that Argos are selling only have 2 HDMI socket which is the same as my Hitachi L42VP01U but if you need more then just do what I did an buy an HDMI switch box with can be brought really cheap now but this is a personally preference of mine and my dad but make sure that the HDMI Switch box you buy is a manual one.

But as you are mainly going to be conecting SD equipment up to the TV then only having 2 HDMI sockets on both of the Hitachi 42inch LCD TVs should not be a problem for you.

But what might be of more use to you is that both the Hitachi 42inch models that Argos are selling have 2 scart sockets as does my 42inch Hitachi where as most new TVs only seem to come with 1 scart socket.

I hope that all this helps and good luck finding a TV that is right for you and please do post back on here when you have found the TV that is right for you.
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Old 06-10-2011, 22:34
Nigel Goodwin
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It might be worth pointing out here that Hitachi sets are almost all (if not all?) just cheap Vestel sets, Hitachi has been a cheap crap brand for decades now, on a par with Bush and Goodmans (and often the exact same sets).
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Old 06-10-2011, 23:26
TV King
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I have found some more information about the Hitachi L42VK04 on the Hitachi web site.

http://www.hitachidigitalmedia.com/p...=en&country=GB

After reading the spec for the Hitachi L42VK04 on the Hitachi web site it looks to me like the information about the Hitachi L42VK04 is wrong on the Argos web site.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...UN&cmpid=COJUN

So go by the information on the Hitachi web site to me this looks like a great TV for not much money. And the remote control looks really cool.

And to anyone who says that the Hitachi TVs are cheap Vestal sets that are baged as Hitachi well I don't care as my Hitachi L42VP01U which I have had for over 2 years now is exellent and I have had no problems with it at all and I would highlly recommend an Hitachi baged TV to anyone based on my personal experience.

And I feel that you get a lot of TV for not much money.

From my experiance I would say go and buy one and you will love it and now they are even better value for money.
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Old 07-10-2011, 08:47
Nigel Goodwin
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And to anyone who says that the Hitachi TVs are cheap Vestal sets that are baged as Hitachi well I don't care as my Hitachi L42VP01U which I have had for over 2 years now is exellent and I have had no problems with it at all and I would highlly recommend an Hitachi baged TV to anyone based on my personal experience.
You are basing that on a sample size of ONE - which isn't statisically significant.

The statistics show that the Vestel clones are poor performing and vastly more unreliable than better made sets.

I happen to have an Hitachi (Vestel) Plasma, and I'm quite happy with - but the price was right (free! ). It was about two years old, and had repeatedly gone faulty - so the owner bought a new Sony and asked us to dispose of the old one.
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