Hi,

I'm hunting for a 1080p HDTV.

The size I want is around the 40" mark but would change depending on the prices. Budget is 1k to 2k, obviously hoping to spend as little as possible. Screen type LCD.

Uses would be HD gaming, movies etc, also PC connectivity is a must.

I really don't know what I'm looking for, I've been having a look round the local Comet etc and the difference in picture quality, especially in realation to brightness and colours is staggering. I really want to make best investment.

This is a model that seems attractive, but expensive:
http://www.pcwb.com/catalogue/item/S...e&lead=froogle

I have just taken delivery of the Goodmans badged, Tatung made, 42" 1080p display. There is a 1400 post long thread on avforums.com with the conclusion that it is excellent value for money. Mine was £1050 ish delivere, but people have been buying through Dixons/Currys for £872 delivered using discount codes.

Model is GTVL42W15HD (http://www.goodmans.co.uk/productdet...language=en-GB)

At the moment the only problems are some people with loud backlights and one (newer) firmware issue causing SCARTs to not work with RGB. Plenty of inputs though.

It is not cheap but I'd certainly recommend the Sony 40" Bravia X which I have. Better connectivity than the Goodmans (2xHDMI, 3xSCART, 1xVGA + Component on Sony versus 1xHDMI, 2xSCART, 1xVGA + Component on Goodmans), the picture quality is also far better and the upscaler is excellent - in my opinion of course. The big downside is it will cost about £2000.

Out of interest what outputs a 1080p signal?

XBOX360?
PS3?
HD-DVD players?
Blueray players?

As far as I know Sky/Telewest have no plans to output 1080p.

XBox 360 HD player.

I'm also future proofing.

If you are concerned about picture quality I strongly urge you to choose plasma over LCD.

It may sound counter-intuitive, but a good 1024 x 768p plasma such as Panasonic's TH-42PX600 offers better picture quality than any current 1920 x 1080p LCD. This is apparent even when viewing 1080i HD material side-by-side on well set-up screens. A good display should not be determined solely by the number of pixels; other factors such as black level, contrast, colour saturation and motion portrayal are equally important, and current generation LCDs are still deficient in these areas unfortunately.

The best large screen LCD I have seen is Philips' 42PF9831D. It employs a proprietary strobing backlighting technology (ClearLCD) that dramatically improves the sharpness on moving objects and totally eliminates motion lag (a problem that still dogs LCD, even on screens with the lowest response times). Even so, when compared with the nearby Panasonic plasma the ClearLCD still couldn't quite match up in the picture quality stakes.
Last edited by meltcity : 03-12-2006 at 13:31

Anyone considering buying an LCD now should consider waiting a few more months until the HD Laser TV's come out. They will be alot cheaper and far superior.

Unless ofcourse you urgently need a new TV right away.

1 whats HD Laser
2 it sounds expensive..

Sounds very retro

There is SED on the horizon which is believed to offer HD resolutions in a flat panel design which doesn't have LCD's weakness in response times and black levels and can match Plasma at larger screen sizes at cheaper price points.

Until they appear in the high street it might as well be vaporware, you can choose not to buy now even if you need a new telly in the hope something better will come along but there is always a point where you have to buy

Looks like Q4 2007 before SED TVs will be on the market. The question is ... at what price? Link

Yean no surprise, a staged demo in a consumer fare is a long way from a consumer launch and as for the price well they are no doubt going to hit the large screen/high profit market first.
That of couse means head to head with plasma which is one of the reasons why the PR offensive right now, a product cycle of two and LCD will have competition in their main market.

Has anyone seen the Sharp Full HD range? A 37" LCD can be got for around £1100 and if offers 1080p. Cant find any reviews for it though. How much got a 1080p Plasma?

Hi,

Just wanted to exchange some feedback on the new 1080p Samsung 40F71B - if you're mainly interested in watching original HD content, you will be very impressed!
This display really shines when given Blu-Ray content, but is equally excellent in 1080i/720p.

Hope this gives some food for thought and maybe cuts down the legwork in choosing.

av forum

http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=381973

http://audiovisual.kelkoo.co.uk/ctl/...id=total_price