What brand of tv do I want?

Twiggy · Dec 22, 2009 8:15 am

I'm looking at getting a new tv for the new house when that gets up and running, thing is I've got no idea what to get.

I'm currently running a 40" Sony Bravia (1080) and like what it's got going on. I'm wanting to get something around the 55+ size range, but the Bravia doesn't go up that high, so I'm needing to find a different brand/alternate.

To be honest I'm not overly sure on what the rep is for most of the other brands so I need some opinions there. I'd say about 90% of the tv usage will be for Xbox (Hence why it's going in the Xbox room

and the other 10 would be for watching hd sport. Budget wise...well I wouldn't say it's not an issue, but if I have to spend a few extra quid to get what I need, so be it

deletedpenguin · Dec 22, 2009 8:32 am

Speaking only from personal experience...

Sony is good, but overpriced in my opinion
LG have a relatively good picture, but build is flimsy. Price is good.
Samsung have a good picture, well built, and relatively well priced.

I'd buy Samsung again if I was in the market.

d@n · Dec 22, 2009 10:41 am

Not sure about brands but i'm loving the look of the new LED tv's. Amazing picture and so thin! They make lcd's look out of date.

rubber_noggin · Dec 22, 2009 12:25 pm

LED TV's are LCD TV's though

Rodda · Dec 22, 2009 3:01 pm

rubber_noggin

LED TV's are LCD TV's though

No they're not. What gave you that idea?

rubber_noggin · Dec 22, 2009 3:05 pm

of course they are
or have the Samsung marketers turned you?

rubber_noggin · Dec 22, 2009 3:12 pm

OK, so the market now differentiates between the CCFL backlit LCD screens and the LED backlit screens.
Both are LCD screens though. Sure the LED versions are slimmer, brighter and pricier. But they are still LCD screens.
Now please don't tell me that there are 3 main screens to pick from: Plasma, LCD and LED.

Mattf20c · Dec 22, 2009 8:46 pm

I'd stay with Sony and get the 55" XBR (If you can find one). But if you have a need to go bigger without getting a PJ, Panasonic is the only other brand I would personally recommend.

rubber_noggin · Dec 23, 2009 5:25 am

I like SONY as a brand, used to but their TVs many years ago. No longer though as the Sony TV's you buy now are made by 3rd party OEMs. It is more likely to be a Sharp or Samsung panel behind that expensive Sony badge.

Rodda · Dec 23, 2009 7:10 am

Hi RN. I'm just finishing off a little mouthful of humble pie...

I'll admit I never read too much into the tech of the new LED screens as I'm still not yet even a fan of LCD panels (it took me many years to come around to liking plasma - which I like quite a lot now...).

You are correct in that these new LED screens are in fact LCD screens, and that the difference is in the way they are backlit.

However, to add to that, and really to be fair to this new technology, this new method of LED backlighting really is a significant step forward for LCD panels and this single feature alone does really create a new 'era' or platform for flat panel TVs (and therefore I think it's fair to give them their own 'category' per se...). If what industry experts say is to be believed (not just the company blurb) you get the plusses of LCD technology (lower power consumption, longer life/more robust technology) with the picture quality - especially in the area of contrast and black levels (where LCD was/is still behind plasma) - of plasma, all with a panel that is significantly thinner than either (traditional) LCDs or plasmas.

Rodda · Dec 23, 2009 7:37 am

P.S. Samsung went from producing very average falt panel TVs a few years ago to (almost overnight) producing very, very good ones, I'd say entirely due to the fact that they invested an enormous amount of money into their own production facilities (vs outsourcing/OEMing that many other brands seem to be heading towards if they've not already gone there...).

This also has the added bonus of allowing them to use their own R&D and production facilities to try out new ideas, like their new LED technology...

Nathan SteelFab · Dec 23, 2009 8:21 am

You cant go past panasonic for a plasma.
I'm bias tho, I've got their 50" 850A, the model before the current V10.

Outstanding product.

Mick01 · Dec 23, 2009 9:05 am

A word of warnings unless you have money to burn ..... some of these sets are very expensive to run , I would check the wattage of the ones you are looking at (to compare running costs). Some sets are now quoting in Amps to hide the high operating costs. To convert the Amps into watts, multiply the amps by 240v to get the Wattage. A example of this is my brother brought a 50inch plasma and a friend brought one as well ..one was rated @ 480watts and the other at 4.5 amps (4.5 * 240 =1080watts!!!!!) that is more than double the power output of the other brand. Thats is like having just over two sets running at once. So when looking at these sets check also the wattage .

Twiggy · Dec 23, 2009 10:57 am

Rodda

P.S. Samsung went from producing very average falt panel TVs a few years ago to (almost overnight) producing very, very good ones, I'd say entirely due to the fact that they invested an enormous amount of money into their own production facilities (vs outsourcing/OEMing that many other brands seem to be heading towards if they've not already gone there...).

This also has the added bonus of allowing them to use their own R&D and production facilities to try out new ideas, like their new LED technology...

That's the reason I'd always shied away from Samsung initially when I was looking into tv's. I had noticed the picture looked decent recently when looking but still wasn't sure if the tv was any better inside.

It's been a while since I looked at Plasmas and the like, but are they any better at handelling Xbox, etc? Used to notice a big difference between the Plasma and LCD when I hooked up

Twiggy · Dec 23, 2009 10:58 am

Mick01

A word of warnings unless you have money to burn ..... some of these sets are very expensive to run , I would also check on the wattage of the ones you are looking at (to compare running costs). Some sets are now quoting in Amps to hide the high operating costs. To convert the Amps into watts multiply the amps by 240v to get the Wattage. A example of this is my brother brought a 50inch plasma and a friend brought one also ..one was quoted @ 480watts and the other at 4.5 amps (4.5 * 240 =1080watts!!!!!) these are both 50inch plasmas and one is more than double the operating cost. Thats like having just over two sets running all the time. So when looking at these sets check to see the wattage of the sets to compare costs.

Thanks for the heads up on that. Will take that into consideration when checking them out...I used to know how to convert amps to watts

maxyb · Dec 23, 2009 11:43 am

I have been doing a fair bit of research (internet surfing, asking friends & aquantences & going to stores to view) and I would say it all depends on the size of the screen your after and what you watch.

44" and below go for an LCD and if your budget can cope go for the LED variety. Samsung are the leaders at this stage by Sony will get there.

50" and above I reckon plasma is the way to go and when it comes to plasma there are only 2 brands imo, Panasonic closely followed by Samsung. Plasma used to be led by pioneer but they are pulling out of the plasma market and have sold their technology to Panasonic.

If your into movies then LCD will probably suit you the best but if yoru into sport then Plasma is still the best.

My choice, 50" Plasma, more than likely a Panasonic but it will depend what my budget will get and what deals are offered (Samsung offer a 26" LCD with a 50" Plasma

) in March when I plan to buy as thats when my new house should be ready.

I cant work out if I am more excited by the house or getting a Big Screen Telly as I currently drive a 1995 Sony Trinatron 68cm, great TV for its time but man its small comparred to a 50" Plasma

pinkfairymagic · Dec 23, 2009 12:45 pm

We have a 55" Samsung LED and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it, it's awsome! Well worth their money as far
as I am concerned! :z:

Neverfinished · Dec 23, 2009 1:48 pm

pinkfairymagic,

Quote:

We have a 55" Samsung LED and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it, it's awsome! Well worth their money as far
as I am concerned!

We have just ordered the same tv and I was wondering if you have mounted yours on a wall. My OH thinks it will be very simple to do and the process looks easy. If yours is on a wall, did you have any problems? Any hints??

pinkfairymagic · Dec 23, 2009 1:50 pm

Neverfinished

pinkfairymagic,

Quote:

We have a 55" Samsung LED and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it, it's awsome! Well worth their money as far
as I am concerned!

We have just ordered the same tv and I was wondering if you have mounted yours on a wall. My OH thinks it will be very simple to do and the process looks easy. If yours is on a wall, did you have any problems? Any hints??

Sorry can't help you there, we just put ours on a lowline unit, am loving how thin it is though, also having it
on the unit we can swivel it in any which direction we like as it's on a swivel head, would look stunning on the
wall though.

Neverfinished · Dec 23, 2009 2:00 pm

pinkfairymagic,

Thanks for the quick reply. I cannot wait for it to be delivered so we can clear our cabinet (Making more space for my OH to dump his junk on

) Now the only problem is determining which of our 3 children gets the free 26" tv which is part of the promotion. ::wornout::