About £500 to spend for 42", LED or plasma?
Discussion
Stopped off at Currys and Comet today to have a look at TVs. I'm coming into this with very little knowledge of what is good so just wanted to get an idea of prices and what is about.
I feel like I've been spoilt slightly as my parents spent about £2500 in 2008 on a Panasonic 46" plasma, and it is a seriously good picture. The shops didn't have a great demo feed, but even so it feels like the LED TVs weren't as sharp, nor as good for sports as the plasma back home. I've also read a few things about the cheaper edge lit LED sets (which is what I would get for my budget) and so I'm wondering if plasma is a better bet at the lower end of the market? Probably looking at a 42" screen.
Any opinions on the LED/plasma angle, or set recommendations for my budget would be much appreciated! Needs to have Freeview HD tuner and be 1080p, ethernet and DLNA preferred, but not at all fussed about 3D or Smart TVs.
I feel like I've been spoilt slightly as my parents spent about £2500 in 2008 on a Panasonic 46" plasma, and it is a seriously good picture. The shops didn't have a great demo feed, but even so it feels like the LED TVs weren't as sharp, nor as good for sports as the plasma back home. I've also read a few things about the cheaper edge lit LED sets (which is what I would get for my budget) and so I'm wondering if plasma is a better bet at the lower end of the market? Probably looking at a 42" screen.
Any opinions on the LED/plasma angle, or set recommendations for my budget would be much appreciated! Needs to have Freeview HD tuner and be 1080p, ethernet and DLNA preferred, but not at all fussed about 3D or Smart TVs.
You won’t find a plasma less than 42” – so decide on size first of all. What sort of stuff do you watch? If you like sports and similar fast moving shows, then it will really pay to have a plasma.
However, £500 is not much of a budget for a new TV. You’d be best to hunt any deals on previous years stock/models. Or you could try Costco. Is DNLA/Ethernet vital? How do you plan to use them? Again, you’re really up against it budget wise.
LCD/LED is much more realistic at your price point. Something like Panasonic Viera TX-L42E5B LED HD should be available for £500ish new.
Richer Sounds are selling this as part of their stock clearance – can’t really go wrong for the price http://www.richersounds.com/product/tv---all/panas...
Just depends on what features you view as essential.
However, £500 is not much of a budget for a new TV. You’d be best to hunt any deals on previous years stock/models. Or you could try Costco. Is DNLA/Ethernet vital? How do you plan to use them? Again, you’re really up against it budget wise.
LCD/LED is much more realistic at your price point. Something like Panasonic Viera TX-L42E5B LED HD should be available for £500ish new.
Richer Sounds are selling this as part of their stock clearance – can’t really go wrong for the price http://www.richersounds.com/product/tv---all/panas...
Just depends on what features you view as essential.
AlfaFoxtrot said:
I've also read a few things about the cheaper edge lit LED sets (which is what I would get for my budget) and so I'm wondering if plasma is a better bet at the lower end of the market? Probably looking at a 42" screen.
LCD/LED is at the lower end of the market than Plasma. So if you want the latest telly, you'll get more "features" with an LCD/LED than a Plasma, at your price range.I'd seen that Panasonic LED one, and read some encouraging reviews. I appreciate that the budget is very limiting for a new TV, but haven't seen anything promising 2nd hand on gumtree/ebay in my area. Going to somewhere a bit more specialist like richersounds and seeing if they have older models is a good idea though.
42" is the preferred size, as I'd rather have a smaller screen with a nicer panel. To be honest, just a 'dumb' panel with a Freeview HD tuner would be sufficient as I would use a PC as the source for films and iplayer, but DLNA (to stream films off a NAS) and iPlayer on the TV would mean I didn't need the pc...
42" is the preferred size, as I'd rather have a smaller screen with a nicer panel. To be honest, just a 'dumb' panel with a Freeview HD tuner would be sufficient as I would use a PC as the source for films and iplayer, but DLNA (to stream films off a NAS) and iPlayer on the TV would mean I didn't need the pc...
Mum has a 42" LG LCD which is LED backlit - i would never tell her but the picture is really bad imo - really dark. if you play around with the settings you can get a reasonable lightness but then when you put it on the sky planner you are blinded by the contrast etc..
I have a panasonic plasma, picture is seriously better and always 'just right' no matter what we are watching.
Plasma uses a lot more electricity and gets bloody hot - but worth it imo.
steer clear of LCD, imo. and beware of teles that advertise as 'LED' when they are only actually LED backlit.
I have a panasonic plasma, picture is seriously better and always 'just right' no matter what we are watching.
Plasma uses a lot more electricity and gets bloody hot - but worth it imo.
steer clear of LCD, imo. and beware of teles that advertise as 'LED' when they are only actually LED backlit.
LG 50PM670T
http://www.richersounds.com/product/tv---all/lg/50...
Both Richersounds and Amazon do it at just £99 over your budget and I wouldn't bother with smaller if you want make the most of HD details, depending on viewing distance / room size. They really are not far off Panny in terms of IQ, particularly compared to LCDs, however backlit.
nickfrog said:
LG 50PM670T
http://www.richersounds.com/product/tv---all/lg/50...
Both Richersounds and Amazon do it at just £99 over your budget and I wouldn't bother with smaller if you want make the most of HD details, depending on viewing distance / room size. They really are not far off Panny in terms of IQ, particularly compared to LCDs, however backlit.
That's a good find - thanks. It led me into a further search, and I found a Panasonic TXP42GT30B for £579, last years model and ex-display (although not from Currys/Dixons) and with a 12 month warranty. Has everything I need and is also reckoned to be a pretty nice set. Just ordered it!http://www.richersounds.com/product/tv---all/lg/50...
Both Richersounds and Amazon do it at just £99 over your budget and I wouldn't bother with smaller if you want make the most of HD details, depending on viewing distance / room size. They really are not far off Panny in terms of IQ, particularly compared to LCDs, however backlit.
I got one of these a couple of weeks ago
http://www.m.richersounds.com/product/plasma-tv/sa...
Really pleased with it, they have put the price up slightly since I got it though.
http://www.m.richersounds.com/product/plasma-tv/sa...
Really pleased with it, they have put the price up slightly since I got it though.
Gassing Station | Home Cinema & Hi-Fi | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff