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Old 09-09-2008, 12:20
Tekkytyke
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Looking to spend £300-£450. Can i get a decent LCD tv for this now?
Im keen on Samsung and Sony but not sure what to go for. Id reckon a 32inch screen would do as i live in a flat and dont want it taking over the room.
I quite like the LCDs but have found the ones ive seen to be a bit dissapointing regarding sound as they dont have the boom that CRTs have.
I currently have a 26 inch CRT Samsung Plano which has done me proud so far and will be moved into the bedroom to replace the Toshiba that is now on its last legs.
Any ideas?
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Old 09-09-2008, 12:42
Nigel Goodwin
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If you're worried about sound quality, then drop the idea of Samsung - they generally have the worst sound quality of all sets.
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Old 09-09-2008, 12:52
Tekkytyke
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I'll bear that in mind.
Can anyone explain what is most important to look out for feature wise?
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Old 09-09-2008, 17:43
It's only me
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I'll bear that in mind.
Can anyone explain what is most important to look out for feature wise?
Good blacks, high contrast ratio and the engine that decodes(bravia etc)and colour quality
if you have blu ray and want smooth playback then get a set that supports 1080p24
I've got a sony kdl40w4000u which i think is great but the Samsung LE40A656 is also a great set which i almost got but the sonys picture just tipped it for me(but it was a very close thing)

p.s.
connections you will need for your equipment etc
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Old 10-09-2008, 09:12
LozPR
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I've got a sony kdl40w4000u which i think is great but the Samsung LE40A656 is also a great set which i almost got but the sonys picture just tipped it for me(but it was a very close thing)
The Sony KDL40W400 costs £794 from Digitech Electronics (CNET review gave it an 8.7) and the Samsung LE40A656 is a little cheaper at £746 from Electrical Experience (Trusted Review gave it an overall score of 9/10 on thier review)

Hope you find some of this useful
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Old 10-09-2008, 22:32
AlanO
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Looking to spend £300-£450. Can i get a decent LCD tv for this now?
Im keen on Samsung and Sony but not sure what to go for. Id reckon a 32inch screen would do as i live in a flat and dont want it taking over the room.
I quite like the LCDs but have found the ones ive seen to be a bit dissapointing regarding sound as they dont have the boom that CRTs have.
I currently have a 26 inch CRT Samsung Plano which has done me proud so far and will be moved into the bedroom to replace the Toshiba that is now on its last legs.
Any ideas?
I'd suggest going out and taking a look at some at various stores.

Generally it seems Panasonic and Sony are the most highly rated - though that is usually reflected in their prices - Sony more so than Panasonic.

Samsung seem to get good reviews and are less expensive. Others have recommended Toshiba or Sharp.

Ultimately it's personal choice, by all means consider what posters here are saying, but at the end of the day you'll have to live with whatever you buy - what I think is a good picture may not be what you think.
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Old 11-09-2008, 21:20
David (2)
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from experience......

The current range of Sony LCD's are good - same panel as the Samsung, but with different electronics inside (better at handling normal "SD" pictures as a result). From what I have seen the Sony's appear to have a slightly better pic than the samsungs overall.

Dont think Sony's will cost the price of a house - on the smaller LCD's there's roughly about £50 difference - infact the Samsung version of my Sony costs £50 more.

Key issue's with HD-Ready LCD's.....
Dont sit too close (you will see all the defects of SD material on a HD ready LCD).

Dont have the biggest screen in the world (it will show up all the defects of SD progs).

The better the picture you put into the set, the better the results will be (on SD) - hence normal SD DVD playback (eg, shop bought dvd's) can be quite impressive even though its not HD quality.

With LCD tv's you usually have more picture adjustment options, and you may need to spend some significant time tuned into a half decent live tv channel like BBC News or Sky News to find the best settings for you. Beaware that the Sony (and I guess many others) have further "on the fly pic adjustements" for "presetting the screen to a setup designed for certain content - the most ovbious being film based content. All of these settings are required in order to get the blackest blacks, etc.

Having seen quite a few now, I would always say that Sony's are beaten on picture by Philips - but I hope a Sony would last a bit longer, and on our neighbours Philips LCD 32inch, the scart sockets are upside down, so the scart plugs keep falling out.

From what I can see, you get what you pay for. Sharps are quite good as well from what I have seen of them.

I can confirm that you may well suffer in terms of audio - my Sony LCD sound is nowhere near as good as on my old Sony CRT. The thin LCD sets simply dont have the space for the boxy speakers that are needed for "punchy" sound.


Dave
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Old 12-09-2008, 09:48
Nigel Goodwin
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from experience......

The current range of Sony LCD's are good - same panel as the Samsung, but with different electronics inside (better at handling normal "SD" pictures as a result). From what I have seen the Sony's appear to have a slightly better pic than the samsungs overall.
This isn't quite true - 'some' Sony sets use S-LCD panels, made by a consortium of Samsung/Sony - many other Sony's don't, they use a number of different panels. Also, due to increased demand, and Samsung wanting a larger share of S-LCD's production, Sony are adding Sharp panels to their range as well.
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