Being a bit deaf I use wireless headphones when viewing. They are connected to RCA Audio outputs on my old Sony Bravia KDL 22EX302 so others are able to listen at a volume they are comfortable with on the TV speakers and I can have the extra volume I need on my headphones.
I'd like a slightly bigger TV with full HD picture (up to 28"). I had a quick look round Currys and could not find a TV with RCA Audio outputs, only headphone jacks (no use because they turn off the TV speakers).
Does anyone know of a TV which meets my spec? Or maybe a different solution to my problem.

Phono sockets (not RCA, which is an American term) for audio out were dropped from TV's a considerable time ago.

Until recently Sony still provided audio out though, from a 3.5mm stereo jack socket, this could be configured as either line out, headphones, and fixed or variable. However, the smallest Sony TV's are now 32 inch (although a modern 32 is pretty well a portable), and certainly 'some' Sony TV's no longer give all the useful audio options, and appear to mute the speakers regardless.

You probably need to go in to a decent shop, and see if they can help you - but many sets no longer even provide headphone sockets - and despite what may be suggested here, you can't really use the SCART socket (if fitted?) for audio out, as it only outputs the internal tuner.

28" is an odd size, you'll limit your options quite alot with that - a 32" will offer you much more choice and probably at a lower cost as well.

My suggestion would be to use the SCART connection (which most TVs do still have, though they may provide an adapter rather than a physical SCART socket on the TV) and then connect one of these to it http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Scart-Plug...oAAOSw~bFWIN20

It does mean if you have anything else using the SCART connector (e.g. DVD player) you'll need to move to a new one which uses HDMI.

Audio Out sockets are increasingly rare on TVs now.

As Nigel says, the SCART may only output the TV's tuner.

That may or may not be a problem for the OP, depends whether other sources are used.

Alternatively, buy a set with a Digital Optical Output (TOSLINK) and connect one of these to it https://www.amazon.co.uk/Neet%C2%AE-...ogue+converter

Yes, it's not the most elegant solution, but it should do the trick.

Serious question Nigel - what happens when the TV is switched to a 'non-tuner' input e.g. HDMI - what is output from the SCART then? Nothing?

Thanks for your responses. Here's another thought....
Looking at the spec. of my present TV it is said to be HD Ready. I never watch TV live these days so if I was to replace my old PVR, which doesn't have HD capability (Topfield) with a new one which can record HD channels, would my present TV display in HD, and would it be good enough to make it worthwhile? I really don't want to get a 32" TV, it would rather monopolise our living room.

You get the tuner audio (and video), at all times - that's what the SCART specification requires.

Yes, it's worthwhile - although it does rather depend on how far away you view from - there's not much point if you view from too far away to see any of the HD detail.

For a 28 inch, you would really need to be viewing from 4 feet away (or less) to get much benefit from HD. For Full HD (rather than just HD Ready) you need to view from considerably closer still to see any difference at all.

As for a 32" 'monopolising' your living room?, as I mentioned before modern ones are VERY small, as there's little surround to the picture.

The frame size of sets has reduced massively, so I think your concern about a larger set overwhelming the room is misplaced.

Example - your set (according to What Hifi) has the following dimensions (in cm)

Height 40.2 cm
Width 55.1 cm
Depth 8.2cm

http://www.whathifi.com/sony/kdl-22ex302/specs

Compare this to this Samsung 32" - other current 32" sets will be similar:

Height 43 cm (about 1 inch taller)
Width 73 cm ( about 8 inches wider)
Depth 5.5cm

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...er/5397574.htm

Last year I replaced a 32" Sony set in my lounge (similar generation to your 22" set) with a new 40" Panasonic set. Whilst you could tell the screen was larger it certainly doesn't overwhelm the room.

To answer your other question - on a 22" screen there's little or no point in worrying about using an HD source - the screen size is too small for you to notice a tangible improvement - again at 32" or 40" it does become noticeable, but not on smaller screen sizes.

As others have said modern 32in sets are a lot smaller than you might think.

A few years ago my mum upgraded her old Wharfedale 26in to a LG 32in set. Despite having a larger screen the LG was barely an inch or so bigger than the Wharfedale. Mainly down to the thickness of the screen surrounds on the two TVs.

So you may find a 32in is far less intimidating than you might believe.

Thanks again for your advice. It seems I might as well leave the money in the bank.

Well that depends on what you're trying to achieve.

If the root cause is the desire or need for a larger set, then suggestions have been made. The key reason for directing you to a 32" set is they are far more common than 28", usually less expensive and in practical terms not significantly larger than your current set.

In fact, here, for completeness are the dimensions for one of the very few 28" sets I could find:

Height - 43 cm
Width - 64 cm
Depth - 5 cm
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/tv-and-...27011-pdt.html

In summary - same height as the 32", about 2" narrower than the 32".

On the need for audio out connectivity - if you choose a set with an optical audio out then you should be able to use the Digital - Analogue converter I provided a link to, which would then feed your headphones - cost, about £ 20.

You've currently got a fairly old, relatively small HD ready set, to get the benefit of Full HD and indeed HD sources, you do need to consider a larger screen. Feeding your current set an HD signal can be done (it has HDMI connectors) but the improvement will be so negligible, that you're hardly going to notice.

After a little blue-sky thinking I've decided that a 32" TV might be OK if I were to change the cabinet on which our current TV stands for a longer, lower unit. I won't bore you with the aesthetic considerations, but I think it would look OK.
That said I need to identify a full HD 32" TV which, if it doesn't have phono audio outputs, has the optical output you mentioned. It's ages since I bought a new TV, my current one was passed to me by a relative who no longer needed it. Also I will need to replace my old Topfield PVR with an HD unit.
I'd be glad of any recommendations in respect of which brands to look at with a view to quality of picture/value for money.

Pretty much every modern TV has an optical digital out. So shouldn't be a problem, it's analogue outputs that are as rare as rocking horse droppings

As for TV brands. The top two are Sony and Panasonic with LG and Samsung somewhere in the middle and pretty much all the rest trailing behind. A great many of the cheaper TVs are made by the container load in various Turkish or Chinese factories and you can often find the same TV with various "makers" badges stuck on the front.

Same goes for many PVR brands. As with TVs a lot of the cheaper brands are just clones of each other. Arguably the best brand PVR is Humax, but it has little competition. Panasonic do a couple of PVRs but there is not a lot of choice at the upper end really.

Well, something like this would do what you need for the TV for £270 with a 5 year guarantee.

https://m.johnlewis.com/samsung-ue32...lver/p/2751169

For the PVR I'd suggest this

https://m.johnlewis.com/humax-dtr-t2...rder/p/1599133

There is a cheaper Humax but it only has a 320gb Hard Drive. HD recordings do take up more space than SD, so go for the larger hard drive.

Hope this helps.

The best PVR I found was the Humax 2TB Freeview Play one from Humax Direct,
I know some on here disagrees with me

It has three tuners and a very big hard drive

It costs £299 though so not good if you are short of cash
See here http://www.humaxdirect.co.uk/freevie...251&price=270-

And here for more details http://www.humaxdirect.co.uk/freevie...-2tb-nero.html

Sounds a bit like the new car market. Is there an element of "paying for the badge", or are the name brands genuinely better at what they do than the cheaper "makes"? I'm thinking of the Honda/Hyundai divide. People pay a lot for a Honda but the Hyundai actually does a very good job for a lot less money.
I shall have to go shopping now.... I need three HDMI inputs (I use a Chromecast and a Panasonic DVD recorder with HDD).

It's basically the Big Four brands - two from Korea (Samsung and LG) plus two from Japan (Panasonic and Sony) and anyone else. The two Korean brands seem to be the flavour of the moment in the way that Korean cars have made a good impact. With the Japanese brands there is an element of paying for the badge but they are a bit more reliable. Summary of brands' performance here. http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2177754

Sony and Panasonic make better designed sets, using higher quality components, plus they provide better service than the 'lesser' manufacturers.

Both are considerably more reliable than the middling LG/Samsung sets, and far more so than the cheap makes.

Basically you have a choice, pick what you would like to spend, but don't complain if reliability (and performance) is an issue.

On the Sony web site some models are listed as having an audio out/headphone hybrid socket. Given a helpful dealer, who you intend to buy from, press the home button on the remote control, select settings, then sound then headphones/audio out. This switches the jack on the side of the TV from headphones, with its own volume control, to line out or even subwoofer out. Selecting headphone link to off in the same menu allows headphones and speakers to be used simultaneously. This is from my Sony 32W705B, Nigel will know if later models still have this facility.

If everything checks out OK, take some headphone with you to make sure, buy the set from them. Don't be a mean smart arse, like so many on DS, and buy the set on line. usually resulting in pleading here that you can't make things work and getting silly inaccurate replies as a result.

AnotherBob how do you control the volume on the headphones?
You say you use a pvr, doesn't that have phono audio outputs which you can connect the headphones to? There maybe a slight lipsync problem between the tv picture and sound coming directly from the pvr, you won't know until you try.
I have a sky box connected to a tv by HDMI but I listen through earphones connected via a little volume controller box and long lead directly to the phono outputs of the sky box. I don't notice any audio sync problems and have the tv sound turned down while having the earphone volume high.

My wireless headphones have their own volume control (on the left-hand earpiece). I believe I would find it inconvenient to have to plug the headphones into either the PVR or the DVD player, whichever I might be viewing at the time. I think the solution suggested earlier of using a converter from an optical audio output will be the best solution.

Plenty to think about in getting what I want it seems. I understand the difference in "HD ready" and "Full HD" and I'm inclined to opt for the latter if it's not too pricey. Given what has been written about the distance at which one watches TV, is it likely that I would notice a difference between "HD ready" and "Full HD" on a 32" TV viewed from just about 3.5 metres?

No, you wouldn't see any difference at all at that range - which is too far too get much benefit from HD anyway.

We used to have a Sony 'wall' at work, with all the 32 inch models of the time running from the same HD source - I always thought it was an abysmally poor example, as I couldn't pick out the cheaper sets from the more expensive models, even at sensible HD viewing distances.

If you want to try a simple 'experiment', you can try my 'famous' newspaper test

Hang a newspaper over your TV, then try and read it from your normal viewing position, you will be able to read the headlines (effectively SD), but not the body text (effectively HD) - now move closer until you can read the body text, that's the difference in viewing distances for SD/HD