# TV Advice?



## Threddy (May 9, 2010)

I'm looking to buy a new TV. Ideally around £350 but willing to pay £400 if the TV is that much better/bigger. 

I have a shortlist of six so if you know anything about TVs, can you vote on the poll please. 

Toshiba Regza 32RV635DB LCD Full HD 32-inch £349.99 
Toshiba Regza 32RV635DB 32-inch Widescreen Full HD: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo 

Toshiba Regza 37RV635DB LCD 37-inch Full HD £399.99 
Toshiba Regza 37RV635D 37-inch Widescreen Full HD 1080p: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo 

Panasonic Viera TX-P37C2B Plasma 37-inch HD Ready £399.99 
Panasonic Viera TX-P37C2B 37-inch Widescreen HD Ready: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo 

LG 32LH5000 32" Full HD LCD TV £399.99 
LG 32LH5000 32" Full HD LCD TV buy online | Currys 

Panasonic Viera TX-L32S10 32" Full HD LCD TV 
PANASONIC Viera TX-L32S10 32" Full HD LCD TV buy online | Currys 

Samsung LE32B450C 32" HD Ready LCD TV 
SAMSUNG LE32B450C 32" HD Ready LCD TV buy online | Currys 


Basically, the 32-inch Toshiba was the one I was looking at. The question is, do you think it's worth paying £50 more for an extra 50hz(LG) or an extra 5 inches or a good brand name? 

The Plasma is the biggest, has the best dynamic contrast and 100Hz, but plasmas don't seem to be as popular. Thoughts. 

Thanks in advance.


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## Tinsel (May 9, 2010)

HDTV's are much nicer than SDTV's, but since they have higher resolution, you need a bigger picture, so if you just get a 32 inch HDTV, no matter what brand name, it is only suitable for a small room, whereas a 32 inch standard television would work in a medium sized room.

Plasma screens have a different contrast ratio, and are sharper, but you need a darker room, like downstairs, whereas LCD's work in a brighter, sun filled room and basically they look great, so the difference is only slightly apparent.

It all depends on how big the room is, and I can tell you that a 46 inch HDTV is only reasonably large, not huge.


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## Lenny (May 9, 2010)

I've got something of a soft spot for Samsung TVs, but there's no point in thinking about the one on your list - the other five are full HD (1080p) whilst the Samsung is only 720p.

Plasma TVs don't really cut it below ~50", so you might as well cut the Plasma out of the list too.

You're not going to notice any difference between a 50Hz and 100Hz TV - yeah, it sounds nice, but the human eye just won't pick up the difference. There are reasons for building sets that display 100Hz (and similarly 120Hz and 240Hz), but unless you're a proper nut for who has more money than sense there's no point in splashing out on them.

As Tinsel says, a big factor is the size of the room. In a small room, a 32" TV looks huge, but in a medium to large room you'll think it's tiny. Another thing to think about is how far from the TV you'll be sitting.

My advice is to have a nosey at the sets in the shops.


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## Tinsel (May 10, 2010)

I had a 46 inch Sony HDTV sitting here and since I moved it to another area, but when I first got it, it seemed large, but after a few months it was no bigger than the 32 inch SDTV. I think that they are about the same size because the HDTV somehow makes the picture smaller. In another area I have a 32 inch HDTV which brand I have no clue, but if you are sitting more than 6 feet away than you are starting to get too far away from the TV, especially for video games.

You only needed a 720p for video games, and a 32 inch is perfect as long as you set it up where you can sit about 5 or 6 feet away, than that is really nice, but after a game or two you will need to get 5.1 or 7.1 speakers because they make a hell of a difference let me tell you, especially when playing Tomb Raider Underworld.


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## Devil's Advocate (May 10, 2010)

Brace yourself, cuz this is gonna be a long one!



Threddy said:


> Basically, the 32-inch Toshiba was the one I was looking at. The question is, do you think it's worth paying £50 more for an extra 50hz(LG) or an extra 5 inches or a good brand name?


A good brand name is important, but not because of the name; because a device from a reliable manufacturer is always a better bet than a cheaper alternative from someone who built it in their garage. Sure, it might still be an LCD, but it might not have the same quality, the same life, and -- most importantly -- the same product support. However, all the TVs you mentioned are from reputable companies, so that's not an issue.

Now, I have two LCDs at home; an LG 42" in my room, and a 46" Samsung in the living room. Neither is 100Hz, and it frankly doesn't matter. There might be a difference techincally, but you'd be hard-pressed to notice it. In fact, I find some TVs with high refresh rate (120 or 240) annoying. The way the picture moves is weirdly unrealistic, as if everyone is sort of... floating. 

The extra 5-inches, now _that's_ worth considering. As someone pointed out above, unless you have a pretty small room, 32" will seem tiny. And that brings us to:



> The Plasma is the biggest, has the best dynamic contrast and 100Hz, but plasmas don't seem to be as popular. Thoughts.


Who cares? You're not looking to win a popularity contest; you want the best TV for your money. The fact is, dollar for dollar, Plasmas are flat out better than LCDs.

Don't be fooled by the artificial brightness of LCDs in showrooms. The picture quality of a good Plasma is something that none but the highest-end LCDs (like the new LEDs) can match. That's a *fact*. You might hear some people try to argue that point with you; I suggest you ignore them. I did weeks of research before buying my own TV*, so I know what I'm talking about. Compare a Plasma and an LCD showing the same video side-by-side and you'll see what I mean. The blacks are blacker, the colours are richer, and the picture is simply more realistic. Unlike LCDs, which are just 'brighter', so give the _illusion_ of quality.

Now, you might be wondering why I bought LCDs, then, if I'm here defending the virtues of Plasma. Look, in the end, it all comes down to personal preference. Both LCDs and Plasmas are good enough; you're not gonna go wrong with either. But there are some downsides to Plasmas, the primary (for me) being that they have very reflective screens. LCDs are usually finished in a matte plasticky screen, while Plasmas have a glass covering over their display. This makes the latter a problem if it's in a room with backlighting.

So you have to see the setup of your room. Where are you going to place the TV? Will it be in a location where there is a light source directly facing the screen, like a window, or a bright wall-lamp? If the answer is yes, then you might want to consider the LCD.** That, in a nutshell, is why I got LCDs rather than Plasmas. That, and the fact that I was getting a better bundled offer with it, and the TVs also looked better.***

Like I said, in the end it all comes down to personal preference.


* I'm quite indecisive, though that usually helps me when it comes to buying goods.
** And yes, the extra 5" is worth the additional 50 pounds.
*** I mean the design, not the picture quality.


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## Devil's Advocate (May 10, 2010)

Oh, and one more thing.

Regarding the HD resolution -  ignore it. 720p, 1080p; it doesn't matter. Unless you have a pretty big TV (think 50" and above), 1080p will make absolutely no difference to your viewing pleasure. For the most part, it's just a marketing gimmick.

720p is still high-def, and is more than good enough for anything you'd want to watch.


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## Tinsel (May 10, 2010)

HDTV programming here uses 1080i but not 1080p, not yet anyway, and most HDTV's that only go up to 720p also support 1080i but not 1080p.

Your video games run at 720p rather than 1080p, but you will run into problems with blu-ray videos that are made for 1080p, if you do not have Full HD (1080p).


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## Devil's Advocate (May 11, 2010)

No, you won't run into any problems. It just won't play at the full 1080p, being scaled down to 720p, instead.

And since, as I said before, 1080p on a small- to medium-sized screen makes effectively no difference, there isn't really any point in spending money on it.

Obviously, if you can get a 1080p within your budget, then go for it. There's nothing 'wrong' with it; but if it's a trade-off between 1080p or 720p in a larger size, the latter is the far better option.


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## Tinsel (May 11, 2010)

What I actually want is a computer monitor that has the HDMI input, so that I can use it both as a laptop monitor (so long as the laptop is HDMI capable) and also used as a game console HDTV. That would solve a lot of problems for me, and in that case a 32 inch would be fine.

I want a remote keyboard in that case too that works with the laptop.


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## Devil's Advocate (May 12, 2010)

Well, you could just use an HDTV for that. It doesn't have to be a computer monitor, as such. I know people who've hooked up their LCD to their computers like that.

Otherwise... Well, you do get some high-end monitors (like the Apple Cinema Displays), but I'm not sure if they have HDMI. Even if they do, though, I'm not sure I would recommend them. They're extremely expensive, and are really only meant for certain specialised users, like professional graphics designers and the like.


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## Tinsel (May 14, 2010)

We'll see what happens. I noticed that there are monitors at Costco for around $200 with HDMI ports and 23 - 24 inch screens. My laptop doesn't have an HDMI port, that is my main problem so I am stuck with my 15.4 inch screen. I'm not sure if a 1080p HDTV has high enough resolution to use as a computer monitor so I'd wait until the monitors catch up which should not be long now. I saw a wireless Microsoft keyboard recently but it didn't help me without the newer laptop because I would have that keyboard and be trying to look at a 15.4 inch screen, which would be crazy.

If they did to a 32 inch monitor however I'd go for a 32 inch screen otherwise it is small as an HDTV unless it is for the bedroom TV or else for a smaller living room area.

I was also thinking that if I ever went with a huge 60 inch, I'd go for a wall mount rather than have that take up floor space. I don't watch enough TV to justify that size of HDTV.


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## Threddy (May 14, 2010)

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I reckon I'll stick with my original choice (the Toshiba 32") and I'll let you know when I buy one.


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