TV experts needed. - voogru.com

Kesteral · #1 (**permalink**) 12-01-2008, 03:10 PM

I'm going to be buying a new TV in the next few weeks and I have about £500 to spend ($744 dollars). I don't really know anything about TV's so I'm looking for some advice on buying and choosing the best TV possible. All I know is that I want the TV to be 42 inches and 1080p. I've read up on the different resolutions and found out that 1080p is the best resolution, so I want that. The only thing that's seemed to be a little low in the TV's I've looked at is the contrast, with one of the TV's 1:1200 and the other 1:2000. Most of the guides I've read have stated that 1:3000 is standard for flatscreens, but they also say there's not much difference between a contrast of 1:500 and 1:10,000 and you can't really see it. I want to know if it's worth it to buy a TV that has a lower contrast but has everything I want or a smaller TV with higher contrast. How important is the contrast and resolution in terms of picture quality? And is there anything I should know when buying a HDTV and what to look out for? Like tv tuners or number of hdmi ports? Hopefully you can help.

leegund · #2 (**permalink**) 12-01-2008, 04:18 PM

If you can stretch to it:

Buy LG 42LG5020 | 42" digital 1080p hd ready lcd tv - Televisions | Comet

MomawNadon78 · #3 (**permalink**) 12-01-2008, 05:01 PM

Samsung is better.

Buy SAMSUNG LE37A559P4FXXU | 37" digital 1080p hd ready lcd tv - Televisions | Comet

This is basically what I have. I went with a 37" rather than larger because of the size of my living room. Anything larger would have been too big for my space and wouldn't have been that enjoyable.

Doobie · #4 (**permalink**) 12-01-2008, 06:51 PM

Make sure to view the TV's in person. Contrast ratios tend to be marketing BS now'a days.

Don't forget to consider viewing angles and what have you, but like I said it's best to view tv's in person so you can compare the colors/contrast. Try finding something that is color balanced.

G2 · #5 (**permalink**) 12-01-2008, 07:52 PM

Slickdeals.net

Follow the site, watch for the deals.

1080P, don't go lower than 40", at least 2 HDMI/Component/Composite.

Sony, Samsung, LG, Philips. In that order in my opinion, but definitely the first 2.

120hz if you can find/afford it, but 60hz is still decent.
See the TV in action, side by side if possible, and ask if they're color calibrated, it makes a difference.
Don't fall for dynamic contrast ratios, its a marketing gimmick.

That's my concise advice.

Kesteral · #6 (**permalink**) 12-01-2008, 08:58 PM

Can you really tell the difference between 1:15000 and 1:2000? Or is that just to make it seem more impressive? Surely there has to be some difference, but is it really noticeable?

Doobie · #7 (**permalink**) 12-01-2008, 09:54 PM

There is but not much if any (like I said marketing BS). You have to visually see what screen has good colors and doesn't. If you can't get to a store to do so, do a lot of research and read a lot of reviews.

I've seen some LCD's have a 10000:1 ratio but have bad color reproduction compared to say my 1000:1 lcd monitor.

MomawNadon78 · #8 (**permalink**) 12-02-2008, 05:52 AM

If in a store, fiddle with the color settings yourself - depending on the store, they have employee contests to see who can sell the most "brand x" in a given month, so they dial down the other color settings on other brands to make the contest brand seem better.

Or idiots like me come in and play with the settings too.

In any event, when you do it - make sure you get the exact one you want and not settle for one.

n00b3h · #9 (**permalink**) 12-02-2008, 06:56 AM

doubt this helps as u want a 1080p but i recently thought the same, till i realised that unless i used my pc i wouldnt even notice the definition, ended up getting a 32" samsung for a bit over 300 Samsung LE32A436T1D Series 4 32" HD TV + Freeview 1366x768 8500:1 1080i 3xHDMI Black - Ebuyer , that one but i got it on the cheap from some other web deal, if u really want a 42" 1080p ure gonna be looking at mid 500's to 600 in the uk, unless u want a refurb

tldr; 720p is fine unless u want ure pc/sit at a certain distance of ure tv
save ureself a couple hundred quid

that said if i had a job id have gone with the 1080p

King Morty · #10 (**permalink**) 12-02-2008, 12:09 PM

I picked up this gear about 5 months ago and love it:

Sony KDL-40S4100 - 40" 1080p LCD HDTV
Sony HT-SF2300 - 5.1 Home Theater System

Mostly stream ripped video from a QNAP TS-209 (with a Twonky server) to a PS3 connected to the tuner. Picture quality is awesome. The TV or tuner (don't know which) does an amazing job upscaling the video from 720.

My parents have had a Samsung 52" for over a year now with no problems either.

So to answer your original question: Sony or Samsung. Just be sure the TV you buy isn't too big for the room you'll watch it in.