My Philips 25" 4:3 television purchaced new from Comet for £119 in 2005 has been so reliable it has really earnt a place in my heart. Never plays up, always a good picture. I don't know if Philips made them but it is very good - ecvellent even. Perhaps the later widescreen Philips sets got them a bad reputation.

Just seen this advertised on facebook. It looks to be good value to a layman like me, what do you all think?

Asda
Time for a new TV?

This full HD 42in Polaroid TV has passive 3D, smart features and three HDMI connections - and it's just £370. It got a four-star review in What Hi-Fi? magazine who said: "Too often we get small or supermarket brands to review that go horribly wrong, but this stands up against established brands. And to offer this quality for just £370? Tempting." Get it in selected Asda stores now.
Like · · Share · 28 January
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Hallam Rhoades Bob Marshall
Like · Reply · 3 hours ago

Chaz Barker Just to remind you that Polaroid do not make TV panels! So it will have a larger brands panel with Polaroids branding! So I figure it's prob a fairly good TV for the price!
Like · Reply · 4 · 3 hours ago

Maria Thompson Jodie Taylor
Like · Reply · 3 hours ago

Geoff Caulfield very tempting that is
Like · Reply · 1 · 3 hours ago

Rob Crittenden Maybe if it wasn't polaroid and was a known quality brand it would be more appealing to people...
Like · Reply · 2 · 3 hours ago

Stacey Holmes Thomas Trainor
Like · Reply · 3 hours ago

Michael Shaw Christof Thompson? Didn't know if this was any good for you?
Like · Reply · 3 hours ago

John Bradley Elisha Leacock
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Ursula Wainwright Chloe Jonesx
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Michael O Connor Craig Steven
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Dal Clark Chris
Like · Reply · 3 hours ago

Paul Cooke Lee Cooke
Like · Reply · 2 hours ago

Tammy Angela Johnson Dylan Wakefield x
Like · Reply · 2 hours ago

Craig Edwards It'll be a samsung TV panel with Polaroid badges so worth the money
Like · Reply · 4 · 2 hours ago

Trina Dickinson Rachel Prempèh
Like · Reply · about an hour ago

Nicole Robertson Lyndsay Robertson
Like · Reply · about an hour ago

Alan Tammy Kiltie Angela Jolly Coid
Like · Reply · about an hour ago

Kevin Anderson Ian Freeman
Like · Reply · 1 · about an hour ago

Shaun Hett Craig Tonks
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Danny Garry Leigh James O'Driscoll
Like · Reply · about an hour ago

Sarah Hunter Darren Cooke
Like · Reply · about an hour ago

Sasha Brine Basil Sae Ip
Like · Reply · 58 minutes ago

Síle Ní Cáisíde What is passive 3D features mean ?
Like · Reply · 43 minutes ago

Zoe Leigh Bailey Natalie Dadds
Like · Reply · 38 minutes ago

Darren Hempsall It means u can use the 3d glasses u get from the cinema
Like · Reply · 37 minutes ago

Tony Davies I got a 40 inch Sony
Like · Reply · 36 minutes ago

Dave Lewis Tom Mogford here you go mate
Like · Reply · 35 minutes ago

Kevin Melia Looks nice but 370 get a smart tv for that
Like · Reply · 25 minutes ago

Jon Millard Kelly Macklin?
Like · Reply · 24 minutes ago

Tara Howat Casey Frost xx
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Barry John Greg Mear
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Robert Dagg


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It's a cheap crappy TV, as is obvious from the 'non-brand' name on it's front - despite your claim in this thread title crappy brand sets don't normally have decent insides in them (in fact completely the opposite as I've already pointed out).

But as far as this specific set goes, if the price is acceptable to you, and you're not looking for top quality or top reliability, it could well be fine - it's probably exactly the same set as many other supermarket 'brands'.

If 3D is not important how about the Panasonic 42AS500 @ £399

If 3D is important their's the LG 42LB650 @ £429, slightly more but a much better TV.

When you can get mainstream brands just a few quid more than a supermarket brand its a no brainer which you should be looking at IMO....

Just noticed a bush 50" smart tv for £319.99. They are coming down! Give it a year and you will be able to buy a 65" basic set for around £400. If you are buying cheaply it doesn't really matter who's badge its wearing.......
If you pay a premium for a better name you should expect better electronics and screen in it shouldn't you.

Quality of picture, sound, ease of use, etc varies widely between different models from one manufacturer (not same as brand) regardless of price range. This variation applies to many products not just TVs. I don't usually trust a single review but it pays to look for a consensus across those from professionals (for good points) and users (for problems).

It has a brand name - Polaroid. Have you actually even seen one of these, let alone testing one, before making such scathing comments?

A brand of cameras on a TV - hardly inspiring!

It's just a name Asda have bought the rights to to stick on heir cheap TVs.

Asda just lease the name and buy in the TVs from OEMs like Vestel. So it's not the same as for example, the market leader, Samsung, which makes its own TVs in its own factories to its own designs. If you read a Which? report you will see that they are usually quite scathing about TVs from manufacturers outside the Big 4.

One own brand TV did get good reviews - John Lewis. These are made by LG and this is confirmed on the John Lewis website "Created in collaboration with renowned manufacturer LG"

Yes I've seen them - and it's NOT a brand name as such, just a badge used by Asda on any cheap crap they can buy in

Not at all It was 40+ years ago that under a McMichael or Sobell TV you found one GEC (although made in Sobell's factory in South Wales). Or under a Baird, Ferguson, Ultra, DER etc TV you found a Thorn-made item. Or under a Ferguson Videostar you found a JVC. Or under an Invicta or Ekco, you found a Pye. Or under a Murphy, you found the same set as a Rank or a Bush (RBM Group - Rank, Bush, Murphy). At least under a pre-Tadung Decca you actually found a Decca.

It's not been news for more than 50 years or more, and this is nothing new at all.

The TV manufacturing industry will find a way out of the current state it's in, much like it was in 1962/63, when there was a disastrous downturn in sales of TVs that saw off the likes of many manufacturers (like many of the above, who were taken over by, or merged with, other manufacturers in that period.) By 1964 and with the advent of 625 lines on BBC-2, TV sales and rentals of new models began to get back to how they were in 1959/1960.

I don't think 'Rank' was ever a TV brand

Wasn't it just the parent company?.

Incidentally, it later became RRI (Rank Radio International).

This article says that the LCD panel in a television represents 70 to 80% of the total cost and that it is the soaring cost of these that is reducing profitability for TV manufacturers:

http://www.rapidtvnews.com/201502073...#axzz3R3jH3CKF

True although in many cases a little differrent slightly perhaps in that Thorn EMI owned the various brands that it sold their TV's such as Ferguson, Baird, Ultra (wasn't DER a Thorn EMI owned rental chain?) or with Ferguson / JVC video recorders it was a joint operation, J2T, whereas what we're really talking about here is some big brand having their name stuck on something made by another company or used under licence as seems to be the trend with Blaupunkt, Sharp, Philips and now Sony?

I guess rebranding products has probably been going on since the early days of product brands.

Absolutely, largely due to economies of scale.

We probably have more knowledge of it these days thanks to the internet; previously, it would only be known within the trade or to readers of specialist magazines.

Yes, that's very true and something we probably take for granted, the ease of finding things out nowadays. Pre internet and you'd have to read about it in trade or hobby magazines or by word of mouth I guess.

[quote=Orbitalzone;76875817]True although in many cases a little differrent slightly perhaps in that Thorn EMI owned the various brands that it sold their TV's such as Ferguson, Baird, Ultra (wasn't DER a Thorn EMI owned rental chain?)

{/quote]

Yes DER was owned by Thorn, and usually used the Baird badge on their sets.


Only in the much later years, J2T was a late development, previously Thorn just bought VCR's from JVC (who in turn sometimes bought TV's from Thorn ).


No sign of Sony doing so, although if they do cease TV production it's certainly possible the name would be leased out to someone?.

Currently they have simply stopped making anything smaller than 32 inch.


Depends on what you consider 'rebranding'? - often back then it was simply a manufacturer using different names they actually owned (such as Thorn) - now it's more a matter of deliberately trying to deceive the public as to what you're buying.

With Thorn for example HMV was usually the 'better' end of the market, with nicer cabinets etc. With RBM Murphy was used for White and Coloured sets (Outrageous Orange anyone ), where Bush didn't do that.

Yep, pretty much what I said although wasn't sure about the J2T timing and as for Sony, well I won't hold my breath that they'll be making their own products for many more years.

Can't help but think the consumer electronics industry just can't help but shoot itself in the foot time after time after time, such a shame.

Currys, Comet, Tempo & the other extended warranty bandits that made sure sales people either had, or used to have to sell a warranty on a high percentage of items they sold.
We've had people coming in saying they told about the gas problem, a leakage problem is the plasma bubbles burst, having to flip the TV over occasionally to redistribute the gas & warnings about the gas being dangerous if it leaked out. All total rubbish but if it's repeated enough people think it's fact.

I wouldn't touch cheap branded tv's as far as I could throw em! Lousy picture quality, lack of socketry, flickery 50Hz pictures, shitty 3D capability, lousy build quality, remotes that go nuts or fail, absolute dire depressing sound quality (and little option to route this out to an external sound system either meaning you put up with tinny crappy sound that's as lively as a mouthful of socks). Cheap and cheerful ISN'T the way go at all be it crappy Bush, pants Alba and dire Goodmans or cheap and nasty Tevion sold at Aldi and supermarket Tecknika etc. LG and Samsung upwards for me followed by Japanese brands second.

Not everyone is either as picky or concerned as you are about their TV.

In terms of picture - the cheap LCDs aren't bad - agree they won't worry a Panasonic or Sony, but they're usually 2/3rds the price.

Build quality - how do you define 'build quality' the feel of some of the branded remotes is equally poor - but then you might ask yourself how you can buy a replacement Sony branded remote for £ 20 - the answer, because it is cheap.

Sound quality is poor on most LCDs - this is by no means a trait solely shown by the cheap sets. Small (i.e. <32" screen) sets from any brand are much worse in this respect because of the speaker units shoehorned into the small cases.

As for 'lack of socketry' most sets have 2 x HDMI and 1 x 'AV' at the least which is more than enough for many people's needs (Blu-ray / DVD player and SKY / PVR box). It's not that many years ago when 2 x AV sockets was all you got.

I'm not suggesting 'unbranded' sets are cutting edge - they never have been - but for less discerning customers, or customers on a tight budget, or customers who just want a cheap TV because they've got better things to spend their money on - they're fine.

And people seem to want to upgrade more frequently than they did in the past.

I can remember selling 25" NICAM CRTs from the top brands for £ 500 over 20 years ago. Even the 'unbranded' ones were about £ 350. Whereas less than £200 buys you a 32" unbranded LCD and £ 300 a branded one. Times have changed and TVs have become much, much cheaper in real terms.

A good spec budget TV should have;
4xHDMI,
A side AV input of HDMI, stereo phono AV input, headphone socket,
A 21-pin RGB scart socket,
2x30watt onboard stereo speakers with ambience wide mode for wider stereo imaging,
A digital optical and digital coax out,
Freeview HD tuner,
1080p full HD quality,
100Hz scanning for a smoother picture,
A comb filter to separate colour and luminance signals for fringe free HD detail, (you still get some colour fringing on HD pictures with stripes and check patterns if you watch carefully),
Dolby Digital transcoding of HE-AAC multichannel bitstreams on Freeview HD services which is passed out to suitable AV amps and home cinema systems on the coaxial and optical digital sockets,
HDMI ARC socket for equipment that can use this,
Automatic MPEG Noise Reduction facility to reduce blockiness and noisiness on regular SD Freeview services,
Colour Transient Improvement circuitry (CTI),
Luminance Transient Improvement circuitry (LTI),
A full function remote control,
An 8 day Freeview EPG,
Dolby Digital and DTS audio input via HDMI,
And a decent 5 year warranty by the manufacturer.

This budget set would be of a good enough specification and feature tag for anyone's home. And it would be far better than the rubbish fit-for-the-bin cheapos that are currently gracing the market.

I guess you'll find it depressing that few budget TV's have those features then

Many mid priced TV's don't either.

A Comb Filter is only of use where the incoming signal is in composite video. Even then, it can't fully undo the damage done by mixing Chroma and Luma in a colour under system (e.g. PAL or NTSC), no Comb Filter can. Not even the one's in a Teranex or S&W Interpolator.

If colour fringing occurs in a HD signal then it's either an artefact because the signal originated in an SD format that has passed through a composite video process somewhere in the edit stage (D-2 tape editing for example), or it's some other issue either in chroma upsampling or the TV's scaling engine. A Comb Filter won't fix that.



These are both "sharpening" circuits that work by adding noise to the original signal. The result may appear "improved" at a casual glance, but once you know the signs to look for then it becomes obvious how both Luma and Chroma detail is being masked by the noise that the circuits add in the transition areas.

LTI is better known as the Sharpness control. CTI is called various things by different manufacturers but it's all under the guise of colour enhancement. Whatever each is called though, they should both be set to a minimum/neutral position to let the detail of the source signal show through unadulterated.


A poor signal is a poor signal. Freeview SD channels with low bit rate high-compression artefacts aren't ever going to look pretty on a 40+" screen. Part of the problem though is LTI and CTI.

Sharpness and colour improvement circuits are set too high on most TV presets. Their action makes MPEG artefacts and other picture noise issues look much worse. In trying to fix something with CTI and LTI the TV manufacturers simply succeed in breaking lots more other things. Trying to then cover up those problems by smearing the picture with noise reduction is like being in a hole and trying to get out by digging down. It's never going to work.

The simple answer is to get rid of CTI, LTI and MPEG Noise Reduction because they do more harm than good. However, like kids with toys, TV owners (especially us blokes) are never happy unless there's lots of complicated-sounding settings that we can pretend to know what they do. TV makers know that. It's basic psychology,


Power really isn't the issue. I could talk about how TV speaker wattages are already measured at incredibly high distortion rates to inflate the figures, but instead I'll just say that CRT TVs got by with 5 or 10 W quite happily and the sound was significantly better in every respect. The problem is that ultra thin TVs have no room for decent speakers. Throwing big wattages at poor speakers isn't going to work.


Don't despair. There are some good suggestions in your list...

* Freeview HD tuner,
* 1080p full HD quality,
* 100Hz scanning for a smoother picture,
* HDMI ARC socket for equipment that can use this,
* a decent 5 year warranty by the manufacturer

...and more HDMI inputs and DD- and DTS- pass-thru from HDMI to ARC and Optical out would be useful too. Unfortunately many of these features cost the sort of money that elevates a TV from budget to mid-range or higher.