I am looking for a 32inch lcd tv. I have narrowed down to the following 2 tv's -

Samsung LE32R87

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-LE32...8993027&sr=1-8

Sony KDL32S2530

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-KDL32S2...9101610&sr=1-4

Which one should I go for? The sony has the higher contrast ratio, but im not sure if it has fasttext.

Sony, without a doubt.

The Samsung isn't built as well, doesn't have as good picture, has an awful HDMI 'jerking' bug and has shocking sound.

Oh, and they're not very reliable either!

I'd certainly consider the Toshiba 32C3030DB too.

EDIT: The Sony does have Fastext.

Thanks for that, i read through a few reviews and nowhere could I see the sony having fasttext. I want one to play my xbox 360 through, so u deffinately reccommend the sony? I will have a look at the Tosh in a mo...

Certainly the Sony, yeah.

Completely different league to the Samsung.

Think I will go for the sony after payday at the end of the month

You'll be VERY impressed with it if you do.

I went for the Toshiba DB Series. Very happy indeed with it,

C or X series?

The C series is probably the best budget LCD there is out there, certainly the best i've seen or used.

I brought a Sony KDL-40S2000 a couple of months ago...fantastic tv, once i set the settings up (got them from the forum).

The Sony S2530 is pretty much the same, only a minor revision.

the samsung is the better TV, it has a lot higher spec.

Sony have gone way down hill, would not touch them with a barge pole!

There's a reason why recent TVs from Sony tend to get the best reviews and reliability.

The only real difference on the Samsung is the contrast ratio and with there being no industry set standard to measure this by, it's meaningless.

Oh, and sound quality wise, the Sony is miles ahead of the Samsung, as it is with build quality, too.

Hi, tests like these then http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/news/2007/...vs-kdl40w2000/
Or a test of the Samsung http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/Samsung-LE32R87BDX/ unfortunately they don't have a test of that particular Sony, you could go here though http://www.avforums.com/forums/searc...archid=8592607 Trouble is one man's LCD TV may not suit another's, you really need to go and see them..
ChrisC

I know all about the reviews, believe me, i've read endless amounts of them.

I really don't recommend Samsung or Philips TVs, that's about it. Philips are notoriously unreliable, and the Samsung's aren't great either, but twinned with the worst sound quality of any LCD i've ever seen or used, i'll give it a miss. I'll admit the picture quality is fantastic for the price of the sets, features wise they're fairly good too.

But if you're happy then that's the main thing. We're all entitled to our own opinions.

i agree dont go for philips, mine broke!

but i think samsung has a better picture than sony, but sony do have the better sound.

Hi, I think most buyers will purchase a TV from the way they look and the picture quality, or lack of it, and probably be disappointed when they get it home from the showroom. Sound quality will come last and hardly be represented in your average warehouse showroom.

However I do believe, from a audiophiles point of view, that if you are going to splash out alot of hard earned cash on a TV, that a proper, independant, sound system should be strongly considered to get the full HD experience.

BTW, I've had a Phillips CRT in my bedroom for nearly ten years now, and it has been totally reliable.

ChrisC

I agree completely, but a lot of people buy a new TV expecting it to be better than their old one, picture quality they're generally very satisfied with, sound quality is a different matter though.

I'm not saying any LCD sounds *great* but they generally sound better than the Samsung's.

Just noticed your edit regarding Philips.

They were a decent company until a couple of years ago, generally now they're nothing but trouble, very unreliable and they've got awful customer service too.

Their LCD/Plasma TVs are by far the least reliable of any brand, as are their DVD recorders.

How do you define 'a couple of years', Philips have won "worse service of the year" for many decades!