Seriously underwhelmed after a day looking at 23" LCDs

Buelligan · 02-01-2007, 19:18

Just spent an afternoon looking around Southampton for a decent 23" HD/LCD and can't believe some of the rubbish that was on display. Price wasn't always a factor either with some known brands badly pictalating (is there such a word?), virtually all were washed out or colour soaked and prices ranging by £100+ (25%+) for the same model in different shops.

Asked a couple of sales people why they varied so much and how they could sell something with such a bad picture and was told that was the way they came from the factory so that's the way they get displayed! Nice

If LCDs were say cars in a showroom they would be dirty, with bald tyres and starting to rust.

Anyone able to recommend a (preferably known brand) sharp pictured, feature rich TV for sub or around £400? Magazines are surprisingly no help either. Looked through 3 in Borders and found only 1 review in the lot. Why do the magazines think that everyone wants a 40" TV? Mind you I did see a 70" monster today. Crikey!!

Best picture of the day seemed to be the Samsung LE23T51 from Richer Sounds but at £500 (plus it seems to be an old model) seems to be only £100-150 shy of a 32"+ setup.

darkpaw · 02-01-2007, 21:30

Was shopping for a new telly recently and I agree with you. The picture quality of the smaller/medium-sized LCDs were pretty poor in general.

In the end I decided to buy a flatscreen CRT.

David (2) · 02-01-2007, 21:35

I have not seen ANY decent LCD tv for under £600. Even at £700 you are likely to be required to comprimise a bit on picture quality.

Dave

son_t · 02-01-2007, 22:03

Why 23"? An odd size for manufacturers... There are more 20"... There are lots of good quality 32".

How about a Philips 23" for £500 at Argos but for the same price you can get a 32".

Buelligan · 02-01-2007, 22:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by son_t

Why 23"?

Space restriction really. It's to go in a smallish room (12'x15')with a dining table in so space is an issue and it has to sit ontop of a small cupboard. The supboard is the main restriction but might be able to up the screen size If I go for one with speakers underneath.

Amazon are doing the 23PF4321 for £377 btw. but wasn't that impressed with it when I saw the picture quality in Richer Sounds earlier.

niall campbell · 02-01-2007, 22:57

the trouble is that the shops dont have hd signals or hd players to show these pictures off

Buelligan · 02-01-2007, 23:06

You would think they would spend a couple of hundred quid getting it sorted though. I saw two identical screens next to each other, one perfect the other in a pictal storm. Had they been different makes I would have ignored the snowy one and looked more closly at the one with the good picture. Using the car analogy again I would have been suspicious If there was a polished car next to a mud covered one.

Spot · 02-01-2007, 23:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by niall campbell

the trouble is that the shops dont have hd signals or hd players to show these pictures off

Not a very ethical thing to do though when the punter is going to take it home and try to watch SD television on it - although of-course it's exactly what you'd expect from a retailer. Frankly I'm not particularly impressed even when I see these things in stores displaying SD pictures, and I'm quite amazed that so many people are keen to buy them.

ILoveCats · 03-01-2007, 11:18

Hiya,
My 23" LCD tv is Humax (I think you replied to my other post about the remote control).
I am very pleased with it but the picture in the shop was rubbish. I may be wrong but it seems to me they show rubbish pictures on any tv that's not HD ready! So I didn't pay much attention to what was showing in the shop (also Currys allow you to change your mind about a product within 7 days). Now it's home the picture is sharp but, remember my old TV was not an LCD so I'm comparing it to a not so good tv.

The only thing I'd say, apart from the nasty remote control, is that I was disappointed there is no proper on/off switch only standby. So if you worry about using energy you have to pull the plug out which is what I do.

Mine has freeview in it too even though I have a fantastic PVR. I just like to be able to switch on the tv without having to turn on other boxes to get to watch tv!

beko1987 · 03-01-2007, 12:40

Surely these shops can unpack a HD DVD player, get a HD DVD and set it up. Then when finished they could sell the player reduced by 20% as a demo model. They would make back much more than the outlay for the DVD equipment by selling the better marketed TV. And if these people are supposed to be specialists in the products, IE selling them, it wouldnt take more than half an hour to set up. I set up someones DVD/HD recorder last month, never touched one before in my life, took me 15 mins from opening the box to recording a freeview channel.

Euan · 03-01-2007, 15:53

Well the problem in shops is that the 1 signal is getting spilt up between up to 40 different tv's. This destroys the quality of the picture and even the picture on CRT's look rubbish.

Buelligan · 03-01-2007, 15:56

Makes choosing a good TV difficult!

beko1987 · 03-01-2007, 16:52

Exactly. They could do the dvd player strategy to the more expensive/the most expensive tv. Cheeky I know but I'd pick the more expensive one if it was being shown off stunningly than a cheaper one with the cruddy fed signal on it. Our local lakes does it, they have a dvd player on the window display tv's and they look lovely - their the new 30" sony ones.

02-01-2007, 19:18	#1
Buelligan Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: New Forest/ish Posts: 330	Seriously underwhelmed after a day looking at 23" LCDs Just spent an afternoon looking around Southampton for a decent 23" HD/LCD and can't believe some of the rubbish that was on display. Price wasn't always a factor either with some known brands badly pictalating (is there such a word?), virtually all were washed out or colour soaked and prices ranging by £100+ (25%+) for the same model in different shops. Asked a couple of sales people why they varied so much and how they could sell something with such a bad picture and was told that was the way they came from the factory so that's the way they get displayed! Nice If LCDs were say cars in a showroom they would be dirty, with bald tyres and starting to rust. Anyone able to recommend a (preferably known brand) sharp pictured, feature rich TV for sub or around £400? Magazines are surprisingly no help either. Looked through 3 in Borders and found only 1 review in the lot. Why do the magazines think that everyone wants a 40" TV? Mind you I did see a 70" monster today. Crikey!! Best picture of the day seemed to be the Samsung LE23T51 from Richer Sounds but at £500 (plus it seems to be an old model) seems to be only £100-150 shy of a 32"+ setup. Last edited by Buelligan : 02-01-2007 at 19:25.

02-01-2007, 21:30	#2
darkpaw Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: ♂ Posts: 11,500	Was shopping for a new telly recently and I agree with you. The picture quality of the smaller/medium-sized LCDs were pretty poor in general. In the end I decided to buy a flatscreen CRT. Last edited by darkpaw : 02-01-2007 at 21:31.

02-01-2007, 21:35	#3
David (2) Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: S.West England. Posts: 18,037	I have not seen ANY decent LCD tv for under £600. Even at £700 you are likely to be required to comprimise a bit on picture quality. Dave

02-01-2007, 22:03	#4
son_t Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Fife Posts: 4,038	Why 23"? An odd size for manufacturers... There are more 20"... There are lots of good quality 32". How about a Philips 23" for £500 at Argos but for the same price you can get a 32".

02-01-2007, 22:23	#5
Buelligan Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: New Forest/ish Posts: 330	Quote: Originally Posted by son_t Why 23"? Space restriction really. It's to go in a smallish room (12'x15')with a dining table in so space is an issue and it has to sit ontop of a small cupboard. The supboard is the main restriction but might be able to up the screen size If I go for one with speakers underneath. Amazon are doing the 23PF4321 for £377 btw. but wasn't that impressed with it when I saw the picture quality in Richer Sounds earlier.

02-01-2007, 22:57	#6
niall campbell Forum Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Aberfeldy Posts: 7,035	the trouble is that the shops dont have hd signals or hd players to show these pictures off

02-01-2007, 23:06	#7
Buelligan Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: New Forest/ish Posts: 330	You would think they would spend a couple of hundred quid getting it sorted though. I saw two identical screens next to each other, one perfect the other in a pictal storm. Had they been different makes I would have ignored the snowy one and looked more closly at the one with the good picture. Using the car analogy again I would have been suspicious If there was a polished car next to a mud covered one.

02-01-2007, 23:09	#8
Spot Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Norwich, Tacolneston tx Posts: 21,898	Quote: Originally Posted by niall campbell the trouble is that the shops dont have hd signals or hd players to show these pictures off Not a very ethical thing to do though when the punter is going to take it home and try to watch SD television on it - although of-course it's exactly what you'd expect from a retailer. Frankly I'm not particularly impressed even when I see these things in stores displaying SD pictures, and I'm quite amazed that so many people are keen to buy them.

03-01-2007, 11:18	#9
ILoveCats Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Birmingham Posts: 174	Hiya, My 23" LCD tv is Humax (I think you replied to my other post about the remote control). I am very pleased with it but the picture in the shop was rubbish. I may be wrong but it seems to me they show rubbish pictures on any tv that's not HD ready! So I didn't pay much attention to what was showing in the shop (also Currys allow you to change your mind about a product within 7 days). Now it's home the picture is sharp but, remember my old TV was not an LCD so I'm comparing it to a not so good tv. The only thing I'd say, apart from the nasty remote control, is that I was disappointed there is no proper on/off switch only standby. So if you worry about using energy you have to pull the plug out which is what I do. Mine has freeview in it too even though I have a fantastic PVR. I just like to be able to switch on the tv without having to turn on other boxes to get to watch tv!

03-01-2007, 12:40	#10
beko1987 Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Marlow, Bucks Posts: 2,464	Surely these shops can unpack a HD DVD player, get a HD DVD and set it up. Then when finished they could sell the player reduced by 20% as a demo model. They would make back much more than the outlay for the DVD equipment by selling the better marketed TV. And if these people are supposed to be specialists in the products, IE selling them, it wouldnt take more than half an hour to set up. I set up someones DVD/HD recorder last month, never touched one before in my life, took me 15 mins from opening the box to recording a freeview channel.

03-01-2007, 15:53	#11
Euan Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Glasgow Posts: 752	Well the problem in shops is that the 1 signal is getting spilt up between up to 40 different tv's. This destroys the quality of the picture and even the picture on CRT's look rubbish.

03-01-2007, 15:56	#12
Buelligan Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: New Forest/ish Posts: 330	Makes choosing a good TV difficult!

03-01-2007, 16:52	#13
beko1987 Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Marlow, Bucks Posts: 2,464	Exactly. They could do the dvd player strategy to the more expensive/the most expensive tv. Cheeky I know but I'd pick the more expensive one if it was being shown off stunningly than a cheaper one with the cruddy fed signal on it. Our local lakes does it, they have a dvd player on the window display tv's and they look lovely - their the new 30" sony ones.

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Seriously underwhelmed after a day looking at 23" LCDs