40-42" TV for under £400?

[arun1uk]

Hi all,

Any recommendations for a 40-42" TV for under £400? It's a present for someone who isn't really bothered about outright quality, but would like something with a good "brand" name, and will consider LCD or Plasma but it has to be new, not used. Only used for general TV/Movies with a SkyHD box.

So far, found this:

http://www.ebuyer.com/365955-samsung-40eh5000-40-f...

Any thoughts? open to suggestions!

Cheers

[LouD86]

I recently purchased a Technika (tesco's own I believe) 40" TV, full HDMI, 3 slots, all the bits, looks wonderful and works well, for £285 off tesco's site including delivery to work.

Its for the bedroom, so wasnt too fussed, but the picture quality is excellent.

[Ultuous]

Stock PH response, but I'd go for the Panny plasma that can be had for around that price (42X50 I think?) - it's a fairly old, only HD ready panel but still very good PQ-wise...

We've actually got a 40EH5000 in the family too (which I chose due to the connectivity that the current Samsungs offer and prefering a LED given it being for a very brightly lit room) but it's not a patch on the Panny picture wise!

[arun1uk]

Thanks for the opinion - as I mentioned, picture quality isnt the be all and end all. They're coming from a CRT so not really that bothered!

Good to hear about the Samsung, not so sure about the Technika. Had a look at a few in Tesco and the build quality and interface wasnt the best...think I'll stick to the more mainstream brands.

Any other suggestions?

[Ultuous]

arun1uk said:

picture quality isnt the be all and end all. They're coming from a CRT so not really that bothered!

I'd still say the Panasonic's a better choice for a lot of people in a similar situation - it's cheaper (just had a look out of interest and they're under 300 quid now, which is stupidly cheap for such a good set!), feels much more 'solid' (which reading between the lines sounds like it's the most important thing!) and much closer in picture to a decent CRT (some folk still maintain a flat screen looks crap compared to their CRT - I'm being picky but the motion handling etc. on the Samsung makes it feel a a little 'computer monitor' to me - which is the kind of thing that helps maintain that view).

On the other hand, the Samsung's very easy on the eye - almost 'all screen' and I couldn't believe how light and thin even a relatively cheap set can be now. It does the job (bought it for a holiday home - so as briefly mentioned, being able to plug in an external HD containing the DVD collection that you know will work flawlessly is a massive perk!) extremely well, but doesn't have anything like the same quality feel overall - both in terms of picture and build.

Hope that helps some more - I'll shut up now!

[Laplace]

It's got to be plasma every time for me and at that price I cant think of anything other than the x50 off the top of my head that I'd want to buy.

I'm pretty sure both the 42 and 50 come in with change from £400.

[vit4]

arun1uk said:

Thanks for the opinion - as I mentioned, picture quality isnt the be all and end all. They're coming from a CRT so not really that bothered!

Good to hear about the Samsung, not so sure about the Technika. Had a look at a few in Tesco and the build quality and interface wasnt the best...think I'll stick to the more mainstream brands.

Any other suggestions?

IME (couple in the family) the Technikas aren't great picture quality. What are people's opinion on Toshiba, they always look to be a lot for your money and good picture quality to boot?

[arun1uk]

My friend has a Tosh and whilst the picture quality is ok, it's had to go back under warranty 3 times for various reasons. Having said that, my VT30 had to go back within 3 months of owning it...

I've had a look at the Samsung EH5000 and the Panasonic X50 so far, and might be able to get the 42" X50 for £300! Bargain?

Any thoughts on Sharp?