HD TV Recommendations Please (UK user)

Hey All

Looking to finally enter the HD world! Have £1000 approx (bit more bit less) to spend and have the following requirements..

1. Must be FULL HD (so 1080P).
2. 37 inch size screen (NO bigger NO smaller, 37 inches will suit the room / set up perfectly).
3. I don't watch much TV so probably won't get Sky, but would like to at least have a few HD channels available so a tv with Freeview HD built in is a must (I know there are only 3 HD channels lol, and it covers my area). At a pinch I could forego this requirement for an otherwise stunning TV, but I'd very much prefer to not have a separate Freeview HD box.
4. Obviously gaming is important! Retro stuff I'm catered for with older tvs I have, but I do like the 360 (and will probably get a PS3 at some point in the next 1-2 years).
5. LED seems to be better picture quality as opposed to plain LCD (maybe not so much edge LED?), so LED preferred (unless there's a blinding plain LCD out there!).
6. I'm in the UK, but I'm assuming all such TVs run NTSC consoles fine, but if not I'm by and large an import gamer so NTSC capabilities are a must!
7. Known reliability is also preferred, but for newer / new products I appreciate this is an unknown to an extent.


So does anyone have any recommendations please? I've looked at dozens (100s?) of models, and damn there's a lot of choice! Any guidance / advice / experiences etc would be most appreciated!

If people don't have specific model recommendations, how about brands / product lines to consider? I've been looking in the main at Sony, Panasonic, Samsung and LG, but it by no means has to be from one of these companies.

And of course if anyone knows of any killer deals out there for proven quality tvs that satisfy my criteria above, I'm all ears.

Thanks all.

 

AFAIK Panasonic have some new (backlit) LED models out, maybe worth a trip to Comet to have a look at them in action.
LG and Samsung both have LED ranges, with the latter adopting the technology earlier. The larger screen Samsung's are pretty good overall, although I'd try and read as many reviews as possible to look out for any operational quirks.

 

Been giving the Toshiba Regza LED a good run today. Looks fantastic with the 360 in 1080p and even run the Saturn very well. We don't have all that freeview stuff in Japan but the TV does accept the closest Japanese equivalent so I'm guessing that the UK version (If there is one) would have Freeview. If they sell the Toshiba Regza range in the UK I'd seriously check them out.

Yakumo

 

I have a 40' Samsung B650. I'm very satistied with it, it's an amazing tv.

It has internal ISDB-Tb HDTV tuner (i'm getting 3 open HD channels in my area), It's full HD, Amazing black leves for a LCD (comparable to a plasma!), 4 HDMI ports, 2 components, plays movies from the USB port (It has mkv support!) and has an amazing upscaler. My DVD player doesn't support progressive scan - yes, it's that old - is connected through component and the image quality is great. It also has Internet@TV, but i haven't used it.

Only drawback? No S-Video port.

Honestly, if you want a great TV there's tons of choices from Toshiba, Sharp, Panasonic, Samsung, Sony... You have to decide each feature you want, so you can filter the models.

If you want lots of HDMI ports, if you want Internet@TV, Movie playback from USB, Contrast level,...

Check some sites:
http://www.televisioninfo.com/d/reviews.htm
http://www.hdtvreview.com/
http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/
http://www.hdtvreviewlab.com/

But don't forget the most important, go see the TV before buying. No matter what specs might tell you, it's your eyes that will choose the best one.

 

Thanks all, really great advice and links and recommendations. (You lucky bastard Yakumo!).

Think I'm just going to stop dawdling and get one tomorrow. As Johnny says, let my eyes choose and there are a couple I'm very drawn to. Cheers!

 

Yeah, but first filter them on the specs and features. You don't wanna regret and wish having an extra HDMI port or better SD upscaler later on. Also check owners opinions on other websites.

 

Take a retro console with you as well to test out the upscaler on the TV. Also beware of bull shit paid displays. I saw the Sony Bravier in one shop next to a Panasonic Viera with a shocking obvious paid display by Sony. The Sony TV looked very nice yet the Panasonic was displaying an analogue image with god awful settings. It also had no point o sale display while the Sony had loads. Needless to say that the panasonic in another shop looked mint.

 

More good advice. PCE to the rescue (nice and small!)

I think it's going to be either the Panasonic Viera TX-L37V20B

http://www.panasonic.co.uk/html/en_...0B/Overview/4915424/index.html?trackInfo=true

or the Samsung UE 37C6505.

Both have more than enough specs, inputs etc for me. Will definitely get a hands on impression of both (luckily both are in stock in 3 places within 15-20 mins from me max drive). Cheers!

 

I've never really seen a Samsung tv in japan but we do use a 50" Panasonic Viera TH-P50G1 here in work for presentations via a PC. That has a lovely image although it's a bit poor with lower resolution resulting in a slight murky image. So make sure to fiddle with all settings. On the plus side it's AVCHD compatable which is fantasic for HD camcorder users. Direct plug in and play!

 

I noticed in the Curry's sale they had some good LEDs sub-grand.

Also, at larger sizes take a gander at the Plasmas. There was a 50" LG Plasma that was less that 700, had a good tone and didn't suffer from that constant dimming-brightening you get on cheap LEDs.

 

Dixons probably had them even cheaper! Same parent co as Currys, way cheaper prices. The Panasonic I link to above is £1400 at Currys, £1100 at Dixons!

Thanks again for the advice, just off now to test a few.

 

John lewis has a great 5 year warranty though even if it costs you a couple hundred more.

 

I think most TVs can accept an NTSC signal now. I'd be very surprised if one could not.

 

You have to pay for a 5 year warranty? What a rip off. All TVs here come with 5 years as standard. Well, all big brands do.

 

Thanks for all the help guys.

Got the Panasonic one I linked to above. Looks stunning. Even the humble pce looked ok and not too pixelated (NTSC signal was fine!). I felt a little bad in store as they didn't have one on display yet (it's a new model and they were trying to run down older stock) so spent ages setting it up for me, running through many settings etc, all while I knew I'd buy it online for much less. (£1,099 with 5% discount code vs £1,399...tough choice!)

I'd seen the JL warranty, but if I register the tv with my credit card co I get an extra 3 years cover over the 1 year manufacturer cover, so 4 years in all. Which is perfect as I plan on living in this new house for 3-4 years before I can buy somewhere bigger.

Thanks for all the advice, greatly appreciated. Roll on Sunday when it's delivered!

 

Don't forget to take some pictures of your retro goodness running on it :nod:

Yakumo

 

Indeed, it would be nice to see what the retro stuff looks like on it. Good call on the Panasonic, they're pretty solid performers overall. I want one myself now!

 

Congrats on the purchase.

Even if you paid a little more, you at least was able to test it before buying.

 

x

 

Have you personally seen EVERY other TV out there? No? As I thought.

One thing I've learnt over the years is to never go on the strengh of reviews. The only way to know for sure is with your own eyes. I'm sure the TV wheelaa bought will be fantastic. Just waiting for him to put a video together of the retro goodness on it.