New TV time

[dazwalsh]

Whilst not setting the world alight I had a perfectly good 40 inch samsung LED tv in the alcove of my old living room and it looked fine but I've since moved to a new house with a much bigger living room and threw it up on the wall and it looked measly.

So it's new tv time and money is tight, I've got about 600 to play with and I need a 50-55 incher for usual sky hd and bluray usage. I will be sitting about 3m away from the tv.

Any recommendations? Should I just plump for another samsung or are there better options out there?

Y'all keep it hush now, don't want to inform the mrs until it's bought. I've worked out its easier to plead forgiveness rather than permission

[John D.]

Was in a similar situation myself and plumped for a 48" Samsung.

[urlhttp://m.johnlewis.com/mt/www.johnlewis.com/samsung-ue48h6400-led-hd-1080p-3d-smart-tv-48-with-freeview-hd-voice-control-and-2x-3d-glasses/p1299058[/url]

I actually wanted a 50" (following guidelines for sitting 2.5m away from TV) but this one had such good reviews and seemed good value. Can't say it looks too small! I'm very happy with it but suspect I'm easily impressed coming from an 8yr old Toshiba LCD 32.

[RobM77]

I'm contemplating spending about the same amount and have decided on a Sony KDL50W7 model (the W8 is 3D, which we don't want). I did a bit of research and Samsung were the other name that kept cropping up in reviews and there wasn't much in it. I think I'm slightly biased by having an existing Sony TV and Blu-Ray player, so we'll have integration with the Blu-Ray player on the remote; plus of course it's a brand I trust; oh and I've heard about sound syncing issues on the latest Samsung TVs, which is worth researching.

[JimbobVFR]

The smart TV stuff is more complete on the Samsung's if that's a factor at all. Samsung have by far the most complete list of services available compared to the other brands.

[RobM77]

JimbobVFR said:

The smart TV stuff is more complete on the Samsung's if that's a factor at all. Samsung have by far the most complete list of services available compared to the other brands.

I noticed that, and I haven't had a huge amount of success with the smart functions on my existing Sony TV, so Samsung appeal on that basis. The thing is we don't have ADSL or cable where we live, so we're limited to satellite broadband (very limited downloads, quite slow speed, 1s ping), therefore any form of streaming or online capability is not really relevant to us - we get movies through the post on Blu-Ray once a week and just want something decent to watch them on, along with the odd documentary on BBC4 (downloaded overnight from the satellite connection!).

[Ultuous]

JimbobVFR said:

The smart TV stuff is more complete on the Samsung's if that's a factor at all.

Totally agree with this (I'm pretty sure that in the UK, aside from YouView only Samsung have the licences us place for all the catchup services) BUT... If it were me I'd be looking more towards a Blu Ray Player/ PVR to do the 'smart' stuff, as it's a much smaller investment for technology that could easily become obsolete in the next few months and years...

I'm a little out of touch with TV's now, but bought a Samsung for a holiday home a couple of years ago (mainly for it's ability to play almost anything plugged into the USB port) and wasn't impressed with the build quality - it's acceptable but feels very flimsy and plasticy...

I actually bought a Samsung Blu-Ray player for the Smart stuff last week, and I'm won over by how it performs (even IPlayer's light-years ahead of what I'm used to in terms of quality/ recovering from broadband issues etc.) and how relatively future-proof the set-up seems, but again it feels like a toy next to my other AV stuff, which is only Panasonic/ Philips/ Cambridge Audio level equipment!

[dazwalsh]

So I have found a 50 inch Panasonic TX50-A400B that fits the bill for £449 (£370) if I use my mates very discount. Happy days.

Quick question, can't seem to get a definitive answer on this, 50hz or 100hz better? Usage will mainly be sky hd and on demand stuff with the odd bluray.

Edited by dazwalsh on Friday 9th January 23:25

[vx220]

For LED/LCD the rule of thumb used to be to go as high as possible...

100hz absolute minimum

The better TVs will be running 400/600hz or even higher

[pushthebutton]

I've just ordered this from Richer Sounds. Delivery early next week.

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

It seems to get good reviews:

https://www.avforums.com/review/samsung-h6400-ue55...

I'm not bothered about 3D and I'm not going to be an early adopter of 4K so, for me, it's the perfect compromise of price and performance. I've also ordered its 40 inch little brother for the bedroom

[bodhi]

RobM77 said:

I'm contemplating spending about the same amount and have decided on a Sony KDL50W7 model (the W8 is 3D, which we don't want). I did a bit of research and Samsung were the other name that kept cropping up in reviews and there wasn't much in it. I think I'm slightly biased by having an existing Sony TV and Blu-Ray player, so we'll have integration with the Blu-Ray player on the remote; plus of course it's a brand I trust; oh and I've heard about sound syncing issues on the latest Samsung TVs, which is worth researching.

Cracking choice, we have the 50W8, but the W7 is the same panel without 3D. Only smart stuff we really use is Netflix and the Media Player, the rest we all do through the Sky HD box. Excellent picture and sound, and it's a lovely looking TV, even when off. Impressive how small they've made the bezels on it.

[RobM77]

bodhi said:

RobM77 said:

I'm contemplating spending about the same amount and have decided on a Sony KDL50W7 model (the W8 is 3D, which we don't want). I did a bit of research and Samsung were the other name that kept cropping up in reviews and there wasn't much in it. I think I'm slightly biased by having an existing Sony TV and Blu-Ray player, so we'll have integration with the Blu-Ray player on the remote; plus of course it's a brand I trust; oh and I've heard about sound syncing issues on the latest Samsung TVs, which is worth researching.

Cracking choice, we have the 50W8, but the W7 is the same panel without 3D. Only smart stuff we really use is Netflix and the Media Player, the rest we all do through the Sky HD box. Excellent picture and sound, and it's a lovely looking TV, even when off. Impressive how small they've made the bezels on it.

Good to hear - it should arrive next Monday What's the Smart functionality like on it? Is the Wi-Fi ok? We don't really watch broadcast TV, and currently watch about two thirds of our TV using my iPad running iPlayer connected via HDMI to our 7 year old 'dumb' Sony TV. I had assumed we'd be doing the same with the new TV, but it'd be a great bonus if we could use iPlayer on the TV over Wi-Fi.

[bodhi]

RobM77 said:

Good to hear - it should arrive next Monday What's the Smart functionality like on it? Is the Wi-Fi ok? We don't really watch broadcast TV, and currently watch about two thirds of our TV using my iPad running iPlayer connected via HDMI to our 7 year old 'dumb' Sony TV. I had assumed we'd be doing the same with the new TV, but it'd be a great bonus if we could use iPlayer on the TV over Wi-Fi.

The smart functionality is really good imo, only thing it's really missing is ITV Player - I'll leave that up to you if that's important However iPlayer and Netflix work a treat - I've got it wired in now, but didn't really have any issues, I just like stuff wired in where possible

You should be able to ditch the iPad and just use the built in app - it's one of the better iPlayer apps I've used, probably an upgrade on the PS3 version we were using before. If you have a recent Android device, it supports Miracast also, which is great for mirroring your phone/tablet on the big screen. We've both got Sony phones, so funnily enough this feature works a treat

[RobM77]

bodhi said:

RobM77 said:

Good to hear - it should arrive next Monday What's the Smart functionality like on it? Is the Wi-Fi ok? We don't really watch broadcast TV, and currently watch about two thirds of our TV using my iPad running iPlayer connected via HDMI to our 7 year old 'dumb' Sony TV. I had assumed we'd be doing the same with the new TV, but it'd be a great bonus if we could use iPlayer on the TV over Wi-Fi.

The smart functionality is really good imo, only thing it's really missing is ITV Player - I'll leave that up to you if that's important However iPlayer and Netflix work a treat - I've got it wired in now, but didn't really have any issues, I just like stuff wired in where possible

You should be able to ditch the iPad and just use the built in app - it's one of the better iPlayer apps I've used, probably an upgrade on the PS3 version we were using before. If you have a recent Android device, it supports Miracast also, which is great for mirroring your phone/tablet on the big screen. We've both got Sony phones, so funnily enough this feature works a treat

Sounds great - thanks. I don't think I've ever watched ITV to be honest

[toon10]

We've just got the Sony Bravia 55" 4K 3D TV. It was reduced in the sales to £1299 and we gor 10% off that. In terms of picture quality, it's outstanding. Unfortunately, 4K and 3D content isn't readily available and I'm still on prehistoric "normal" broadband but normal HD looks great on it. The recent "David Attenborough's Conquest Of The Skies" show was mindblowing but then they invest in the camera work/cinematography on those shows.

We looked at other options in the usual high street shops but the pictures didn't quite hit the highlights of the Sony but then they were cheaper to be fair. That and the other halves insistence that it had to be Sony as her old Sony CRT lasted 15 years meant we didn't really investigate the other TV's too much

[NelsonP]

Samsung TVs meant to be good, and its what you're used to which is a strong argument.

I looked at the UE48h6400/7000 before settling for a Sony 42W829 (decided I didn't need such a massive telly taking over my lounge). 50" version supposed to be decent too.

So far so good. Integration of catch up apps is pretty decent (BBC iplayer, Demand 5). Also has Netflix, Amazon and Sony Entertainment Network, so a bewildering array of options for renting/streaming films etc.

I was told that the other catchup services should come at some point this year due to the Freeview Connect thing. Not sure if this is a certainty so I'm not holding my breath. In the meantime I have an HD PVR and the other catch up services are available on my PS3, if can ever be arsed to use them that is!

[RobM77]

We received our new Sony KDL50705B yesterday and absolutely love it Our previous TV was a 37" Sony, and we've just moved to a bigger house with a bigger living room, so it's a nice and welcome step up in size. Blu-Rays look fantastic! It's going to transform movies for us