The best 42" TV for around £600

[marcgti6]

I'm after a new TV and have been looking at these two -

http://www.richersounds.com/product/tv---all/panas...

http://www.johnlewis.com/sony-bravia-kdl42w7-led-h...

Has anyone got either of them or have any experience of them? Or does anyone have any other recommendations of any other TV's that I should be looking at for the same price?

I'm not a gamer so it will be used mainly for TV, streaming from RaspberryPi and blu-ray. Not particularly bothered for 3D really.

Cheers!

[marcgti6]

Liking the look of this too - http://www.johnlewis.com/panasonic-viera-tx-l42et6...

Any thoughts?

[marcgti6]

Thanks, I was just looking at this on John Lewis.

Have you got one?

I do like the look of this (http://www.johnlewis.com/panasonic-viera-tx-l42et61b-led-hd-1080p-3d-smart-tv-42-with-freeview-hd-and-2x-3d-glasses/p450103#tabinfo-ratings) but, from what I've read, it looks like it's an IPS panel which means that they're not anything special when it comes to black levels but have better viewing angles.

Not sure if I should let any of the above bother me though!

The TX-L42E6B @ £479 seems like a good deal...

[marcgti6]

gizlaroc said:

I had the Panny E6, it was no where near as good as my 8 year old Panny plasma so it went back.

Panny 42" ST60 if you can find one.

Oh, that doesn't sound good. It will be replacing a 50" Panasonic Plasma (around 4 years old) - so I think the E6 has just been checked off my list. Cheers.

[marcgti6]

bodhi said:

I've got the 50 inch version of the Sony with added 3D and MotionFlow, but the basic panel itself is fantastic, fantastically detailed and superb colour accuracy. Sound is pretty good for an Ultrathin flatscreen as well.

Review of the 42 inch model here http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/news/kdl42w705b-20140223...

The 50 inch model is the best 800 quid I've spent in years. 3 weeks in and I'm still impressed.

I really like the Sony. The trouble is, my other half doesn't like the stand. All the reviews I've read are positive so I'll have to try and persuade her that it's one of the best TV's available.

I've never been a massive fan of Samsung (not particularly sure why to be honest) but what do you think of these? http://www.johnlewis.com/samsung-ue40f6500-led-hd-...

[marcgti6]

LordHaveMurci said:

This thread & others similar has concerned me a little.

Keep thinking I should replace our 32" Panny CRT with a 40"< flatscreen but all this talk about replacing 3-5yr old sets has surprised me. Are they being replaced out of need or because there is something newer & shinier? Main reason for changing would be screen size & connectivity, love the picture quality of the CRT.

Don't want to shell out as much as £1200 only to find it has an average lifespan of 5yrs. Can see our 8yr old CRT going on for another 10yrs easily if that's the case!

I know what you are saying. I sold my Panasonic 50" plasma as it was a bit dated with its thick black bezel and lack of smart TV capability. The picture in both SD and HD was brilliant though, as were the black levels.

I'm starting to get concerned that if I move to a new LED TV that I might be left disappointed with the pictures, especially the black levels if I go for one with an IPS screen which, from what I can see, quite a few seem to have nowadays.

I would have kept my Viera plasma but I've moved house and I don't want a 50" TV to dominate the living room as it was a massive old beast - hence the search for a 42" new and shiny box of tricks.

[marcgti6]

Thanks for the posts - much appreciated.

Bohdi - I'm the same when it comes to Samsung - I've really restricted my search down to either a Sony or Panasonic.

I think I might be managing to persuade my other half that the Sony is the way forward although, to put a spanner in the works, I've just been looking at the new Panasonic range, this one in particular - http://www.richersounds.com/product/tv---all/panas... - I saw one in store yesterday but it was running a really poor quality freeview source so it was difficult to properly assess the picture quality. The smart TV apps and interface were really impressive though, light years ahead of my old plasma which is to be expected I guess. It's the latest model as well which floats my boat.

I actually got offered a decent price for my plasma and I'm now watching TV on an iPad so I need to get something sorted this weekend. Looks like it's between these two now -

http://www.richersounds.com/product/tv---all/panas...

http://www.johnlewis.com/sony-bravia-kdl42w8-led-h...

Although I am still tempted with this (http://www.johnlewis.com/panasonic-viera-tx-l47et61b-led-hd-1080p-3d-smart-tv-47-with-freeview-hd-and-2x-3d-glasses/p443869) but it's an old model now, is it not?

The budget seems to have jumped up as well. Standard!

I've not seen any reviews of the new Panasonic TX42AS600B (has anyone seen a decent review?) but from what I've read and from opinion here, the Sony seems to be one of the best sets about at the moment. Argh, decisions decisions!

gizlaroc - I'm starting to get my head around the limitations of LED's I think. It's daft that in over three years after I bought my plasma, the picture quality of LED's still can't match plasmas. But they look pretty, which I suppose is what the market demands...

[marcgti6]

Another option, it's 47" but I might get away with it as it has a tiny bezel.

Sounds like a good televisual box to me!

http://www.richersounds.com/product/tv---all/sony/...

[marcgti6]

The above has an IPS panel which puts me off. Poor black levels, supposedly.

[marcgti6]

gizlaroc said:

This is even better though, but 46" ....


http://www.johnlewis.com/sony-bravia-kdl46w905-led...

Great price too!

Out of budget with a new house move I'm afraid

Think I've got my heart set on this now -

http://www.johnlewis.com/sony-bravia-kdl42w8-led-h...

Would like a review of the new Panasonic AS600 but can't find anything online. The smart apps and things are quite appealing but if the picture quality isn't as good as the Sony then it would make my mind up for me.

[marcgti6]

I ended up getting the Panasonic AS600 (42") and I'm really impressed with it!

http://www.johnlewis.com/panasonic-viera-tx-42as60...

It's a great looking thing, has loads of apps and plenty of Smart TV options. Above all, so far, I've been really impressed with the quality of the picture. It's much better than I had hoped. Which is good!

Not had chance to properly mess with the settings (there's plenty of them) but with a bit of tweaking, I'm sure that I'll be able to improve on the pre-programmed settings.

So yeah, really chuffed with it. At £620.00 (£80.00 cheaper than John Lewis), I think it was a bit of a bargain.

Thanks for all the posts though - much appreciated.