willay
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Are any mags out at the moment featuring a buying guide for lcd/plasma TV sets? I want to look into it all but dont know much about the technology and what to avoid.
any help is apprieciated.
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abdus
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Registered: 23rd Feb 06
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first....budget?
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willay
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£700-1000
willing to go a little over, depending on the item etc
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Dom
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go for plasma over LCD as they can do blacks (and technology as seriously improved with burn-in, they really dont suffer from it that much these days) 
but, there are plenty of mags out like what cinema etc, pop down to WH Smiths and have a butch around!
If you looking at plasmas then http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com is a really good place to look around, know what there talking about.
Keep an eye on richersounds, can pick up a 42" Panasonic PWD7 for around 800 quid and although there nothing like the newer screens, there still pretty bloody good, especially for the cash.
As for HiDef, if your really serious about it then just make sure the screen has some form of digital input - ie: DVI, HDMI etc and that the resolution is 1024x768 or higher etc
Stay away from Dixions/Currys and the likes, they will feed the signal from one source to about 10 sets, you cant tell whats a good image and what isnt. Go to somewhere like SevenOaks and have them set up the screen and similar gear to what you have - you'll also beable to have a little watch with some of your favourite DVDs!
And if you are viewing a set, take something with lots of black like star wars, something fast action, top gun's dog fight scenes etc and something animation, like Ice Age (Anti-Aliasing is something to look at, they still havnt got it perfect, but its not bad).....as with the three films you'll beable to tell what it'll will look like with majority of films out.
Also, dont expect an LCD or Plasma to look shit hot with a typical PAL signal - it doesnt look great, but then again the screen is doubling the pixels to get it to fit!
plenty of stuff out and about, and make sure you review and research the screens to high heaven mate, its worth it in the end.
Oh, and if your after a plasma look at Panasonics and Pioneers - both manufactures offer brilliant pictures and colours (panasonic beats pioneer a bit in the colour area), blacks (pioneer has this one) and generally you cant go wrong with these two! 
[Edited on 17-04-2006 by Dom]
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willay
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Dom thanks for the advice.
I'm defo for the digital inputs so I can feed my computer into the TV and stuff like that.
What other benefits will I get from plasma? I've heard the myths already about how they leak, and the gases need topping up after x amount of hours. But most of it seems like BS.
Currently looking at Ebuyer who seem to have a nice range from £700 to £largeamounts, and also having the casual look at richersounds.
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abdus
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^^^
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Dom
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leaking gas and topping up is bullshite  the only one you have to worry about is image retention (burn-in), but even then newer screens will move the image slightly to try and counter that (plus they have other stuff to stop it)...and plasmas will last around 40-60 thousand hours, thats about 20 years with it on 8hrs a day
Other than that - usually manufactures will run the screens "hot" - ie: have the constrast/brightness up to make them look brighter etc, but this reduces the life of the screen, so when you get it home, take it right down for a few weeks, then adjust it up slightly!
if you want to feed a pc, then look for a DVI (use a DVI-D cable) input - most screens will either offer HDMI or DVI (not usually both, as there basically the same, just HDMI is pure digital and feeds 8ch's of audio with it)
for around a grand, 42" wise your not going to get anything absolute shit hot, but like i say richersounds seems to be the best bet for a screen than a year old or so - though you'll probably have VGA inputs and component conenctions etc.
Also, i know with the panasonic screens, a lot of the time you'll have to buy insert cards that slot into the bottom for your connections - i know the PWD7 has them - and a component card (ie: RGB input) is about 100 quid on its own.
One thing ive noticed recently is a lot of the newer screens come with a breakout box (possible image scaler) - i know that back in the older days, they would try and get you to buy an image scaler and say that you only need one cable running to the screen etc, but they scale the image, change formats and all sorts - and the image usually ends up worse (serious ££ for decent scalers) as they feed it with the VGA connection. But, like the new pioneers they have breakout box and as of yet i know sweet FA about them - so i would do a little research into it and just make sure, if you are getting one these screens, that they dont scale the image in anyway!
One tip though, always TRY to see the screen with your own eyes - ive looked at plasmas based on what forums have said etc and i think they looked a bit cack, so a bit of personal preference comes into play when viewing!
edit - as you can tell, i favour plasma as they for one (as said) can DO blacks and usually have an image that isnt as sharp as an LCD.
Only thing i like about LCDs is the fact there light (so easy to move around, hang etc) and power usage is minimal (plasma is far from green efficent - start up power can be as high as a killowatt or more, with running power being around 200-500+watts compared to an LCD, which can be around 40-150watts)
[Edited on 17-04-2006 by Dom]
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John
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Registered: 30th Jun 03
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Get the new sony s series for that price.
The picture quality is brilliant, even on the built in freeview.
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Dom
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quote:
Originally posted by John
Get the new sony s series for that price.
The picture quality is brilliant, even on the built in freeview.
not a fan of sony's - be proven in countless reviews that better screens are out there, and cheaper!
though if your after a CRT then sonys are about the best of the best
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John
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The old sony lcds yes but not the new ones.
They are back at the top of the tree.
Nothing came close to the sony when I was looking to buy one the other day.
And from reading forums the only people that say the sony's are bad are the people who don't like sony for some reason.
Samsungs new R7 range is supposed to be quite good as well and you can get the 32" with built in freeview for just over 800.
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Dom
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as i say im not an LCD fan (so dont know a huge indepth deal about them), but i know sony plasmas are a bit of a rip for what you get - and panasonics/pioneers have them for breakfast, lunch and dinner
I do know that sony have main a lot of advances with LCD over there plasmas though, so they probably are good - still, i feel plasma's out weigh an LCD anyday
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dave17
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Registered: 3rd Sep 02
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Ive been looking into getting a 32" plasma since my 21st (the money is burning a hole in my pocket.......)
Ive had my eye on this one for quite a while now:
http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/455_260975.html
any comments on that one? Ive seen it in the flesh in a few places and IMO the image quality is great.
Any other reccomendations?
oh, and it had to be bought from Comet, i get a erm............ discount
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dave17
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Oh and it must have a DVI input, as i want to run my pc through it
And be HD compatible, so i can run the 360 through it 
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John
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That samsung is the old model and very expensive.
You get dvi-hdmi cables or you could just use vga.
LE32R74BDX, also case variations with a 73 instead of 74, is the new samsung and can be had for just over 800.
Also has built in freeview.
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dave17
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 That looks pure sex, didnt know that was out.
mmmm i feel the money creeping out the pockets..........
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dave17
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Bloomin hell, Comet charge £1049.99 for that tv
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John
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Thats well over the odds.
Which isn't very good if you really have to buy it from there lol.
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dave17
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I didnt mention how much discount i get 
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Cavey
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tbh, it's been a while since i've worked in this trade, but i always thought the picture qulaity was a lot better on LCD rather than plasma.
This may have been because we had the phillips picture plus versions of LCD, and well, goodmans plasma's but i always thought the picture was a lot clearer, and a lot more distinct.
as i've said, it was a few years ago, and i'm not up on current tech, so just ignore this whole post 
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Cavey
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Also, the DLP (Digital light projection) TV looked amazing back then, although a little chunky.
LG or Samsung. Can't remember
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willay
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dont think i could deal with the power chumping plasma as much as it sounds attractive. We are trying to save power across the house and I'll get slapped about with something that chews up as much as a kilowatt at poweron
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Dom
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quote:
Originally posted by willay
dont think i could deal with the power chumping plasma as much as it sounds attractive. We are trying to save power across the house and I'll get slapped about with something that chews up as much as a kilowatt at poweron
tbh, im sure they've probably got that down quite a lot, i just remember reading about a year or two ago that they zapped the electricity on start up - might be worth reading up on!
though you wont be disapointed with a plasma
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John
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If a plasma isn't turned up full everything (which most probably are) it should use just about the same power as an equivalent LCD.
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dave17
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I couldnt give a shit about the electricity bill
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willay
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