[planets]

hi guys,
i am having to buy a new tv as my old analogue one is finally dying. i know nothing about the new generation of tvs and was hoping someone could recommend something:
28-32 inch
my price range is around £300-£400 tops,
i will only use it as a tv and for dvd playback, no gaming etc
i like "proper" blacks, noisy/green blacks drive me mad and i watch a lot of sci-fi filmed in dark settings i have read some tvs are not good with blacks
freeview is not available where i live until sometime AFTER the digital switch over, i am concerned that most tvs seem to be sold with integrated freeview, are these freeview systems longer lasting than the separate boxes (which don't last very long in the experience of friends and relatives)?
is lcd better than led?
do this generation of tvs work with indoor aerials?
i would really appreciate it if anyone could advise me as i don't have any technical knowledge of the televisons available
thanks in advance if anyone can help

eta also will i have to get a new dvd player i currently have a philips dvd player/recorder dvd3480?

[mac2708]

Have a look at post 3 in this thread
http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1680737

As far as indoor aerials are concerned it depends on your location and immediate surroundings.
They're hit and miss at the best of times

[planets]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mac2708

Have a look at post 3 in this thread
http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1680737

As far as indoor aerials are concerned it depends on your location and immediate surroundings.
They're hit and miss at the best of times

thanks mac, my current tv gets great reception on the indoor aerial and doing the tests that the digital switchover person instructed me to, i got good results....just didn't know whether the new tvs accept the signal or have higher requirements

[mac2708]

Quote:

Originally Posted by planets

hi guys,
freeview is not available where i live until sometime AFTER the digital switch over, i am concerned that most tvs seem to be sold with integrated freeview, are these freeview systems longer lasting than the separate boxes (which don't last very long in the experience of friends and relatives)?
do this generation of tvs work with indoor aerials?

I assume that the current TV signal you're watching is analogue only and I think I may be right in assuming that Freeview may be available in your area from your comments about friends and relatives having problems with Freeview boxes.

There is no reason to suppose that the built-in Freeview tuner (either SD or HD) should give cause for problems and would suggest that your friends and relatives have been unlucky with their separate Freeview boxes.

As a matter of interest which transmitter do you receive ATM.
You may probably be fine with an indoor aerial as the power of (most) transmitters will increase after DSO

Click on your transmitter on this site for more info and predicted coverage
http://www.ukfree.tv/closedown.php

[planets]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mac2708

I assume that the current TV signal you're watching is analogue only and I think I may be right in assuming that Freeview may be available in your area from your comments about friends and relatives having problems with Freeview boxes.

There is no reason to suppose that the built-in Freeview tuner (either SD or HD) should give cause for problems and would suggest that your friends and relatives have been unlucky with their separate Freeview boxes.

As a matter of interest which transmitter do you receive ATM.
You may probably be fine with an indoor aerial as the power of (most) transmitters will increase after DSO

Click on your transmitter on this site for more info and predicted coverage
http://www.ukfree.tv/closedown.php

hi, yes i receive an analogue signal but can only receive channels 1-4, channel 5 is only available here through sky. freeview is not available yet where i live, friends and relatives live in a different dale from me so on an excitingly modern transmitter!....using your link (thank you) i am on the weardale transmitter....

just wondered your views on the difference (ie which is best) between led and lcd i read lcd has better sound but don't know if the picture and sound vary significant;y especially on a smaller screen like a 32 inch...thanks for help!

[mac2708]

Quote:

Originally Posted by planets

just wondered your views on the difference (ie which is best) between led and lcd i read lcd has better sound but don't know if the picture and sound vary significant;y especially on a smaller screen like a 32 inch...thanks for help!

Opinions will vary greatly about LCD vs LED
This may or may or help
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-33199_7...plasma-vs-lcd/
IMHO at the price range you're interested in a good LCD may well out-perform a poor LED

As ar as sound quality is concerned LCD/LED has nothing to do with it.

Which magazine said:
Whereas the picture quality of HD TVs has steadily improved over the last few years, sound quality has generally deteriorated over the same period. The fashion for ever slimmer televisions means there's less space for a good set of built-in speakers.
Though this can be applied to all types of television, LED TVs tend to be the slimmest and tend to perform more poorly in our audio tests.

[TV King]

I can Highly rate Samsung TVs.

I have got a Samsung 55inch Full HD 1080p LED TV non 3D model and it is superb.

In my study I have got my previous TV which I brought in April 2009. It is an Hitach 42inch Full HD 1080p LCD. The model number is L42VP01U.

The Hitachi is a very good TV I payed 599.99 in 2009 but Argos are selling a newer model for the bargain price of £299.99.

Here is a link to the Hitachi TV that Argos are selling.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5298439/c_1/1|category_root|Home+entertainment+and+sat+nav|14419512/c_2/2|14419512|Televisions|14419667.htm

My mate currently has a 32inch Sony LCD TV but he is seriously looking a buying this Hitachi 42inch full HD 1080p TV as he wants a bigger TV and he liked my Hitachi TV.

Argos are also selling an Hitachi 3D model for £100 more at £399.99.

Here is a link for the Hitachi 3D model.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5299218/c_1/1|category_root|Home+entertainment+and+sat+nav|14419512/c_2/2|14419512|Televisions|14419667.htm

As for Samsung TVs not sure which model to go for but they make great TVs so what ever Samsung TV you buy you will get a great TV just make sure that it has the spec you want.

[planets]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mac2708

Opinions will vary greatly about LCD vs LED
This may or may or help
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-33199_7...plasma-vs-lcd/
IMHO at the price range you're interested in a good LCD may well out-perform a poor LED

As ar as sound quality is concerned LCD/LED has nothing to do with it.

Which magazine said:
Whereas the picture quality of HD TVs has steadily improved over the last few years, sound quality has generally deteriorated over the same period. The fashion for ever slimmer televisions means there's less space for a good set of built-in speakers.
Though this can be applied to all types of television, LED TVs tend to be the slimmest and tend to perform more poorly in our audio tests.

thanks for the link....just working what the hz thing is all about!....i appreciate your help, thanks ever so much

ETA the link about led lcd was really good thanks!

[planets]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TV King

I can Highly rate Samsung TVs.

I have got a Samsung 55inch Full HD 1080p LED TV non 3D model and it is superb.

In my study I have got my previous TV which I brought in April 2009. It is an Hitach 42inch Full HD 1080p LCD. The model number is L42VP01U.

The Hitachi is a very good TV I payed 599.99 in 2009 but Argos are selling a newer model for the bargain price of £299.99.

Here is a link to the Hitachi TV that Argos are selling.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5298439/c_1/1|category_root|Home+entertainment+and+sat+nav|14419512/c_2/2|14419512|Televisions|14419667.htm

My mate currently has a 32inch Sony LCD TV but he is seriously looking a buying this Hitachi 42inch full HD 1080p TV as he wants a bigger TV and he liked my Hitachi TV.

Argos are also selling an Hitachi 3D model for £100 more at £399.99.

Here is a link for the Hitachi 3D model.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5299218/c_1/1|category_root|Home+entertainment+and+sat+nav|14419512/c_2/2|14419512|Televisions|14419667.htm

As for Samsung TVs not sure which model to go for but they make great TVs so what ever Samsung TV you buy you will get a great TV just make sure that it has the spec you want.

thanks tv king, i have been basically reading stuff on the forum and looking through amazon reviews and it's really difficult trying to find something and always like to buy on word of mouth recommendation - i will check out the ones you suggest, thanks for taking the time to answer

[Nigel Goodwin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TV King

I can Highly rate Samsung TVs.

I have got a Samsung 55inch Full HD 1080p LED TV non 3D model and it is superb.

In my study I have got my previous TV which I brought in April 2009. It is an Hitach 42inch Full HD 1080p LCD. The model number is L42VP01U.

The Hitachi is a very good TV I payed 599.99 in 2009 but Argos are selling a newer model for the bargain price of £299.99.

Here is a link to the Hitachi TV that Argos are selling.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5298439/c_1/1|category_root|Home+entertainment+and+sat+nav|14419512/c_2/2|14419512|Televisions|14419667.htm

My mate currently has a 32inch Sony LCD TV but he is seriously looking a buying this Hitachi 42inch full HD 1080p TV as he wants a bigger TV and he liked my Hitachi TV.

Argos are also selling an Hitachi 3D model for £100 more at £399.99.

Here is a link for the Hitachi 3D model.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5299218/c_1/1|category_root|Home+entertainment+and+sat+nav|14419512/c_2/2|14419512|Televisions|14419667.htm

Just a couple of words of warning, Hitachi sets are almost exclusively Vestel sets - the same cheap crappy sets as supermarket own brands. Hitachi were a decent make about 35 years ago, but have been rated with Bush, Goodmans, Logik etc. for a great many years now. Samsung have also had severe reliability problems, due to their fitting of sub-standard capacitors - no one really knows yet if they have eventually started fitting better quality ones, but they didn't for a number of years despite knowing all about the problems.

[planets]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin

Just a couple of words of warning, Hitachi sets are almost exclusively Vestel sets - the same cheap crappy sets as supermarket own brands. Hitachi were a decent make about 35 years ago, but have been rated with Bush, Goodmans, Logik etc. for a great many years now. Samsung have also had severe reliability problems, due to their fitting of sub-standard capacitors - no one really knows yet if they have eventually started fitting better quality ones, but they didn't for a number of years despite knowing all about the problems.

thanks nigel! i had taken a look at the thread about samsung capacitators and wondered about it.
someone else has recommended panasonic but i've never had any panasonic products so i don't know about them,,,,thanks for your advice though very much appreciated

[TV King]

I have never had any problems with either my Samsung or Hitachi TVs and I can highly rate both.

And yes the Hitachi TVs might be Vestel baged as Hitachi but who cares, I don't as I have had no problems with mine ever since I brought it back in April 2009 and it is still working perfectly.

I am just speaking from personal experience.

I do prefer my Samsung TV more and I would recommend Samsung TVs over any other brand but if money is tight and you still want a good quality big screen TV then for the price the 42inch full HD 1080p Hitachi TV that Argos are selling for £299.99 Can't be beat.

[Nigel Goodwin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TV King

And yes the Hitachi TVs might be Vestel baged as Hitachi but who cares, I don't as I have had no problems with mine ever since I brought it back in April 2009 and it is still working perfectly.

I am just speaking from personal experience.

Personal experience with a tiny sample size, I'm speaking from professional experience in the TV trade - where Samsungs reliability problems and Hitachi's cheap sets are well known.

Incidently, I have an Hitachi/Vestel plasma, and I'm very happy with it - as it was free - but I wouldn't recommend them.

[planets]

thanks guys, someone else had mentioned samsung but when i checked on amazon for the reviews, there were quite a lot of negative reviews......Nigel, are there any brands which have a GOOD reliability record, that fall within my price range? the brands recommended to me here and by friends have been samsung, sony (see above link from mac) and panasonic....i'm no techie so reliabilty, hassle free i guess, would be an issue.

[Nigel Goodwin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by planets

thanks guys, someone else had mentioned samsung but when i checked on amazon for the reviews, there were quite a lot of negative reviews......Nigel, are there any brands which have a GOOD reliability record, that fall within my price range? the brands recommended to me here and by friends have been samsung, sony (see above link from mac) and panasonic....i'm no techie so reliabilty, hassle free i guess, would be an issue.

The two top brands are Sony and Panasonic, and always have been.

Samsung and LG are probably the next behind them, but a considerable way behind.

But you can get Sony/Panasonic 32's at under £400 - and from a Sony/Panasonic dealer they come with a five year manufacturers warranty.

[planets]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin

The two top brands are Sony and Panasonic, and always have been.

Samsung and LG are probably the next behind them, but a considerable way behind.

But you can get Sony/Panasonic 32's at under £400 - and from a Sony/Panasonic dealer they come with a five year manufacturers warranty.

fantastic!!!! thank you so much! i was leaning towards panasonic because of a good deal at my local dealer who will also take away the broken huge massive analogue thing too! thanks nigel i really appreciate your help and advice

thanks to everyone who answered my plea!

[TV King]

Today at work There There was an Argos 7 day offers pull out and inside they had Sony 40inch Full HD 1080p LCD TV for £299.99 and a Panasonic 42inch Full HD 1080p LED TV for £399.99.

Here is a link to the Sony LCD TV.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5298611/c_1/1|category_root|Home+entertainment+and+sat+nav|14419512/c_2/2|14419512|Televisions|14419667.htm

And here is a link to the Panasonic LED TV.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5298570/c_1/1|category_root|Home+entertainment+and+sat+nav|14419512/c_2/2|14419512|Televisions|14419667.htm

Argos also has a Samsung 40inch Full HD 1080p LCD TV for £349.00.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5298556/c_1/1|category_root|Home+entertainment+and+sat+nav|14419512/c_2/2|14419512|Televisions|14419667.htm

Also take a look at Richer Sounds as they sometimes have some great deals on TVs.

And please let us know what TV you buy.

[planets]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TV King

Today at work There There was an Argos 7 day offers pull out and inside they had Sony 40inch Full HD 1080p LCD TV for £299.99 and a Panasonic 42inch Full HD 1080p LED TV for £399.99.

Here is a link to the Sony LCD TV.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5298611/c_1/1|category_root|Home+entertainment+and+sat+nav|14419512/c_2/2|14419512|Televisions|14419667.htm

And here is a link to the Panasonic LED TV.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5298570/c_1/1|category_root|Home+entertainment+and+sat+nav|14419512/c_2/2|14419512|Televisions|14419667.htm

Argos also has a Samsung 40inch Full HD 1080p LCD TV for £349.00.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5298556/c_1/1|category_root|Home+entertainment+and+sat+nav|14419512/c_2/2|14419512|Televisions|14419667.htm

Also take a look at Richer Sounds as they sometimes have some great deals on TVs.

And please let us know what TV you buy.

thank tv king am going out on friday to check out what's on offer will let you know what i decide! thanks for your help, it makes a difference to have a starting point and a bunch of tvs to compare when i know nothing!!!!

[treefr0g]

It is my understanding that LED TVs are still LCD but the LED refers to the way that the screen is lit.

I too love deep blacks and imo LED is the way to go as it allows the lighting of areas to be switched off and imo even in a darkened room produces blacks very similar to CRT.

[chrisbartley]

Quote:

LED TVs are still LCD

correct

Quote:

and imo LED is the way to go as it allows the lighting of areas to be switched off

It can so BUT your standard/average/very thin LED lit set is generally edge lit and you won't get the benefit to which you refer

LINK

[TV King]

I have just seen that you are looking for a 32inch TV and I have been giving you info a suggestens for 42inch TVs.

Today my mate told me that yesterday on his day off from work he went to Tesco and brought a new TV a Samsung 32inch Full HD 1080p LED TV with built in Freeview HD.

He has some money of vouchers and his 10% staff discount so got it a bit cheaper not sure how much cheaper.

This is the Samsung TV he brought.
http://www.tesco.com/direct/samsung-...195&pageLevel=

He brought it to replace a Sony 32inch Full HD 1080p TV which he was not happy with and he had it for a while.

Samsung is deffenatly the make to go for. Most of my friends have Samasung TVs as do I in my bed room and my dad has 1 in the Living room and a small one in a spear room.

[David (2)]

dont get hung up on the LED thing - the tv's is still an LCD, the only difference is the method of backlighting. The laptop pc i am using right now is LED backlighting, but to be honest I didnt even realise until i saw it in the book!

99.9% of sets still have an anlogue tuner built in - there were a couple of sets some time back which didnt.

You can switch between Analogue and Digital (freeview) reception - but the method will vary depending on the make of tv - some have a simple button on the remote, while others require you to go through menus to make the change.

FreeviewHD is also being rolled out as we speak. Now, if you intend to use the set as a standalone device, and you want to have HD (and you will as modern sets display regular pictures - SD - at half the quality - and you will see this even on a 28-32in set regardless what they say in the shops), then make sure you get a set with the FreeviewHD logo (obiously,it can pick up regular freeview and analogue too).....if however, you will have a modern pvr for recording, then you can sign over the HD duty to the pvr (it can provide a live feed to the tv as well as recording a different channel at the same time). So if you go down this route, as long as the pvr is a FreeviewHD one (or you could choose Freesat/cable/sky if you wanted), the tv doesnt need to have FreeviewHD built in. Be sure to connect any HD box/device with a HDMI cable (dont pay a fortune for one as you wont see any difference as its digital).

Black reproduction is tricky on LCDs. Setting the screen up is key to getting the most out of it. Some sets (if not most by now) have picture pre-sets such as FILM, SPORT, NORMAL. I strongly advise you look for this key feature, as from experience the only way to get black to look black on a film is to switch the screen into FILM mode (might be called MOVIE etc on some sets).

As the other post pointed out, audio can often be poor on modern thin LCDs. Earlier ones where not quite so bad. I am quite happy with ours, and the stereo effect is quite pronounced, and the Auto Volume limiter works well too, but our ones are a few years old now and not the thinnest sets. The more thin they make them, the worse the sound will be. Everyone has their own idea of what is good or not, so this really is down to choice. But you really need to try before you buy on this. You may feel the need to spend more money on a sound bar or other external sound system.


......
Reception on an indoor aerial. Well the signal needs to be strong for it to work at all. Also, if your getting reception from a relay transmitter (eg, you dont get CH5 via the aerial), then the freeview you get will be "FreeviewLite" (also called "Halfview"). This service has only half the channels, but can carry the basic channels in HD where this is being rolled out. If this is the situation, then the only way to get the full version of freeview is by changing the aerial to (most likely) an oversized monster of a high-gain one on the roof, with (most likely) some sort of amp, with said aerial pointing to a more distant mast, and with no gurantee of it working (reception may fail randomly, maybe only on certan channels, maybe all, later on too, due to weather changes).

Going back to the indoor aerial, it works just like analogue (there are no actual digital-aerials - just a marketing ploy, and often the wrong type of aerial for best results in either weak recpetion zones or areas subject to duplicate channels being picked up from other areas). The only difference is that with digital the cpu decoder either has enough signal to decode or doesnt - so perfect picture or nothing at all. No gradual fall in quality (grain/snow) as with analogue. Do cater for weather changes you need to have enough extra signal in hand all the time, so even in the bad weather when the signal is cut in strength you still have enough to stay above the min required level. If you dont, the picture/sound will breakup and then go off. The same goes for satellite reception too. This means things like aerial cables, and plugs, wall sockets all become rather critical. if you have a wonky connection the effect is similar to printing out from your pc while holding the USB half out the socket. You cant afford to have any weak links in the system. In some situations its poss that a bad connection will even stop some channels from being decoded and wont appear in the channel list, even when the signal from the aerial is high/very high in strength. For example, press Number 3 for ITV1, and nothing happens.

[planets]

Quote:

Originally Posted by David (2)

dont get hung up on the LED thing - the tv's is still an LCD, the only difference is the method of backlighting. The laptop pc i am using right now is LED backlighting, but to be honest I didnt even realise until i saw it in the book!

99.9% of sets still have an anlogue tuner built in - there were a couple of sets some time back which didnt.

You can switch between Analogue and Digital (freeview) reception - but the method will vary depending on the make of tv - some have a simple button on the remote, while others require you to go through menus to make the change.

FreeviewHD is also being rolled out as we speak. Now, if you intend to use the set as a standalone device, and you want to have HD (and you will as modern sets display regular pictures - SD - at half the quality - and you will see this even on a 28-32in set regardless what they say in the shops), then make sure you get a set with the FreeviewHD logo (obiously,it can pick up regular freeview and analogue too).....if however, you will have a modern pvr for recording, then you can sign over the HD duty to the pvr (it can provide a live feed to the tv as well as recording a different channel at the same time). So if you go down this route, as long as the pvr is a FreeviewHD one (or you could choose Freesat/cable/sky if you wanted), the tv doesnt need to have FreeviewHD built in. Be sure to connect any HD box/device with a HDMI cable (dont pay a fortune for one as you wont see any difference as its digital).

Black reproduction is tricky on LCDs. Setting the screen up is key to getting the most out of it. Some sets (if not most by now) have picture pre-sets such as FILM, SPORT, NORMAL. I strongly advise you look for this key feature, as from experience the only way to get black to look black on a film is to switch the screen into FILM mode (might be called MOVIE etc on some sets).

As the other post pointed out, audio can often be poor on modern thin LCDs. Earlier ones where not quite so bad. I am quite happy with ours, and the stereo effect is quite pronounced, and the Auto Volume limiter works well too, but our ones are a few years old now and not the thinnest sets. The more thin they make them, the worse the sound will be. Everyone has their own idea of what is good or not, so this really is down to choice. But you really need to try before you buy on this. You may feel the need to spend more money on a sound bar or other external sound system.


......
Reception on an indoor aerial. Well the signal needs to be strong for it to work at all. Also, if your getting reception from a relay transmitter (eg, you dont get CH5 via the aerial), then the freeview you get will be "FreeviewLite" (also called "Halfview"). This service has only half the channels, but can carry the basic channels in HD where this is being rolled out. If this is the situation, then the only way to get the full version of freeview is by changing the aerial to (most likely) an oversized monster of a high-gain one on the roof, with (most likely) some sort of amp, with said aerial pointing to a more distant mast, and with no gurantee of it working (reception may fail randomly, maybe only on certan channels, maybe all, later on too, due to weather changes).

Going back to the indoor aerial, it works just like analogue (there are no actual digital-aerials - just a marketing ploy, and often the wrong type of aerial for best results in either weak recpetion zones or areas subject to duplicate channels being picked up from other areas). The only difference is that with digital the cpu decoder either has enough signal to decode or doesnt - so perfect picture or nothing at all. No gradual fall in quality (grain/snow) as with analogue. Do cater for weather changes you need to have enough extra signal in hand all the time, so even in the bad weather when the signal is cut in strength you still have enough to stay above the min required level. If you dont, the picture/sound will breakup and then go off. The same goes for satellite reception too. This means things like aerial cables, and plugs, wall sockets all become rather critical. if you have a wonky connection the effect is similar to printing out from your pc while holding the USB half out the socket. You cant afford to have any weak links in the system. In some situations its poss that a bad connection will even stop some channels from being decoded and wont appear in the channel list, even when the signal from the aerial is high/very high in strength. For example, press Number 3 for ITV1, and nothing happens.

thanks David, for answering my many many questions!!!
i am a fellow middle of nowhere inhabitor, and i contacted the digital switchover people to do the aerial tests and my indoor one gets decent reception (10/10) at least for now, a local aerial installation firm said the signal will be getting stronger where i am after the switchover but i will check about cable when i am out today - thanks for that info. it's not something that would have crossed my mind!

also good advice about freeview hd, freeview (of any sort!) isn't available here until after the switchover, but it's worth planning for the future; i hadn't thought about the freeview hd thing at all i will keep it in mind and look out for the logos!

i really appreciate all your advice thank you very much

[2Bdecided]

Those bottom of the range "cheap" TVs from well known "decent" brands aren't "bargains" - you get what you pay for.

Most of the TVs from cheap brands have atrocious picture quality on SD.

You might find that you don't notice.

Most TVs have stupidly high levels of contrast and garish colours as set up in the shop. They won't look like that at home (unless you set them like that).

I find the motion portrayal on some Samsung TVs to be particularly poor.

Cheers,
David.

[David (2)]

yes, i have not taken the risk so far on a cheapo set from the supermarkets, but as money appears to be getting tighter, next time (hopefully not too soon!) this risk may have to be taken. So far, i can say that,

I like the picture on a older HD Ready Sharp (42in) - its not for its super high res image or anything, but rather the picture looks very natural.

The now defunct Sony 23in sets (replaced by 22in and 24in models currently) have a good SD reproduction, with half decent audio, but only (due to age) 1 HDMI port.

The newer (still current, maybe) 26in Sony's are good, but the remote control needs a perfect line of sight with the sensor (bottom right hand corner of the set) with good battery in order for it to work well. otherwise you press a button and nothing happens. The HD picture is better than on the 23in, but SD is not as good. Sound is also slightly worse. Anyone who findsn these sets switching into Standby on their own, should buy a Surge protected ext board, as these sets appear to be very touchy on power suppply. But with the Surge ext board all seems well. Such problems might also suggest a faulty wall socket (as I found out).

Disapointed by what I have seen of a 40in Toshiba. Picture lacks detail much of the time. Colours appear to burn out on bright areas (eg the sky goes all white when in reality it isnt). Even DVD doesnt look great. Better on HD (bluray used as example) but still not upto HD on other sets. Works best on games.

Impressed by picture on Philips, was thinking about one esp after seeing it side by side with the Sony. We bought the Sony, our friend bought the Philips. She does have a slightly sharper, slightly richer picture, but, the sockets are all upside down, so the plugs keep falling out. She now uses sticky tape to hold them in. This again is a slightly older set (HD Ready).

Quite impressed by Samsung, using a HD Ready 32in as an example on plain FreeviewLite, the picture is nice to look at. The only fault i can find is that maybe the picture doesnt look quite as natural as it should, but most of the time you wouldnt notice. Nice sound effects in the software too. A neighbour also has a 32in sammy and thats got a line down the screen, so the panel has failed. Aside from this the picture is good.

We have a small 15.5inc 16x9 Grundig in the kitchen running Freeview Lite. As you might expect the picture on plain freeview Lite is quite sharp (if a bit small). Poor audio due to tiny speakers, but in a kitchen it doesnt matter. Even supports HD via the single HDMI port. Never goes wrong, but software is limited. EPG can only display the content of the channel you are switched to........
......i have also used several times, a cheap small (17in?) Tevion LCD. This is far better than our Grundig, both in terms of picture, software, and audio (which is infact quite good for a small set).

The best larger set i have seen and used is a 32in Sony FullHD (but no freeviewhd tuner). Using built in freeviewLite, FreesatHD (Humax via HDMI), and Sky (SD on rgb scart) this provides the best overall picture. The only thing i dont like is the PS3 type interface which is way to complex for a tv (and not the same as the interface on the other Sonys mentioned above).