TVs

[green_amber]

REcalling that TV in Soton is nearly dead, I have searched Argos, JL, Dixons, PC World, Richer Sounds and this seems bst value:

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/product/seo/441051

Any views?

I know when I posted about this before people recommended me to buy a cheap CRT TV. However they don't even seem on sale now except as small bedroom or portable tvs! and I want a reasonably large screen (tho 27/28 would have been fine.)

Comments

[daveon.livejournal.com]

It looks like a bargin, but it doesn't have a built in digital tuner, if that's not an issue i.e. you have a Humux/Sky/Cable etc... then that's fine, but if you actually want the free to air stuff, this is a good opportunity to lose the extra box.

[moral-vacuum.livejournal.com]

Indeed - switchover will be completed by summer 2012, which ain't that far away.

[(Anonymous)]

CRT is essentially dead now and will soon not be stocked anywhere.

The model you've picked is certainly cheap but I'm somewhat dubious as I've not come across Polaroid as a TV maker (and PC World, like Comet etc, tend to stock some pretty random brand names). According to the detailed product spec there's also no widescreen (16/9) option and no auto-tune so this feels pretty basic. I also googled the model name and found some pretty poor reviews (always a useful check). I think you'd be better off paying a little more for a good brand.

Amazon currently list these which should be worth considering: they also have a built-in Freeview tuner which the Polaroid doesn't.

Toshiba 32C3035 - 32" Widescreen HD Ready LCD TV - With Freeview £430.

Sony KDL32S3000 - 32'' Widescreen Bravia HD Ready LCD TV - With Freeview £490.

Colin

[moral-vacuum.livejournal.com]

And DO NOT BUY A PHILIPS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.

[blue-condition.livejournal.com]

We have most of the decent brands of flat-screen telly at work.

For all our demo and presentation areas we use Sharp Aquos LCDs - very nice sets indeed. We used to use Hitachi plasmas; they had fantastic colour but seemed to have a slightly 'soft' picture.

(I have a slight and historic prejudice against plasma screens as they used to have a much shorter life than LCDs, they ran hot, and they were susceptible to screen burn, though I understand things have improved somewhat).

I've got a bunch of Samsungs (surprisingly good) and Panasonics (at first impression, great when you're looking at menus or STB user interfaces but once you start watching TV you realise it's processing the image far too aggressively and loses detail) at work for hooking up to things we're working on.

Like camera or hifi kit though there is no substitute for going out and looking at the kit you're considering with the kind of content you want to look at. Do not buy a set without seeing it directly connected to a video signal - the Currys of this world have dozens of sets connected to one splitter with horrible output that utterly shags the signal. If you're going to pay good money, demand to see it directly connected to an STB or DVD player. If they won't do that, they're not worth buying from. Similarly for sets with an integrated digital tuner (wouldn't bother myself if I were you since you have Sky) demand to see that working.

Oh and don't get suckered/pushed into buying a set capable of displaying 1080p. You don't need one for another few years, unless you go for a Blu-Ray or HD-DVD player. The vast majority of consumer kit these days will only put out 720p or 1080i.

[drplokta]

What "vast majority of consumer kit" are you referring to? The only thing I'm aware of that does 720p/1080i but not 1080p is a Sky HD box (and maybe a few obsolete models of first-gen HD-DVD/Blu-Ray players). Every other readily available consumer HD source (HD-DVD/Blu-Ray/PS3/Xbox360/PC/Mac) does 1080p. But you don't need 1080p on a 32" set, because at a normal viewing distance you won't be able to tell the difference between a 1080p screen and a 720p one downscaling the source.

[daveon.livejournal.com]

The issue isn't if the box supports the output it's if the content is produced. Apart from games on certain players and BluRay/HD-DVD none of the TV content is produced in 1080p and I've not heard any details yet on when or if that switch over is coming. The current word in the US is probably not, or at least not for the expected "sensible" life of the TV I bought last year.

Most of the HD content for download is actually rendering at 720.

Unless you really want to get the most out of a new type of DVD player then there's not much need to really worry about the 1080i v. p issue.

[bohemiancoast.livejournal.com]

Does this remain true if one of the uses for my new screen is to act as a monitor for the computer I keep in the living room?

[drplokta]

Only if you're happy to run the computer at 1280x720 instead of 1980x1080.

[palatinate.livejournal.com]

The real Sharp Aquos sets are very nice but one thing to watch out for is that the lower end Sharp TVs aren't Aquos but are made using much cheaper technology by another company and then just rebranded as Sharp for sales.

[drdoug.livejournal.com]

I still say spend a tenth of that on a secondhand CRT and wait a couple of years.

[palatinate.livejournal.com]

FYI Amazon just cut the cost of the Toshiba 32" to £405 in the sale...