Which HD TV should I get?

[CarlT]

Sorry for the very basic question, but I am not a TV expert - so would like some guidance / help from those of you who are:

With the F1 finally going to HD, I need a HD TV. Feed will be from a Sky HD box and I may upgrade the DVD player to a Blu-ray one in the future...

Budget of £850 'ish max' / 42" screen (I think) - are Panasonic still the best.

I currently have a Panasonic Quintrix Acuity CRT TV that is about 7 years old (it still has a great picture, but is not HD)

Any help / advise is much appreciated...

[telecat]

Plasma are the best and 42" is the smallest you will find that supports full HD or 1080p. You also have to remember that these screens need to be transported upright as laying them down causes cracks in the screen and the gas escapes. LCD wise Panasonic and Sony are the best but you are paying for the privilege. At the cheap end Samsung and LG can be very good but I gather QC is not as good. The Tesco own brand, (Technika) is also a bit flaky on QC. Some sets models are better than others. LCD can be transported and moved around without worrying about the screens providing you don't lift them with pressure on the actual panel. I have a Toshiba and they aren't bad but the deals are there at the moment as the big push to get 3D tv's means that dealers see HD as "old hat". On that basis I got My MiL a Sony 40" freeview HD set for £399 where my Toshiba FreeviewHD had been the cheapest at £405 before christmas. I still prefer my Panasonic 46" Plasma but the Tosh is pretty good for the money.

[boomboompow]

I just got a Sony 37EX503 from Amazon (for the exact same reasons as you ; it's an excellent set - was dithering over whether or not to get the 40" model (as that was only £670) but settled for the 37 due to the size of my living room.

[caduceus]

boomboompow said:

I just got a Sony 37EX503 from Amazon (for the exact same reasons as you ; it's an excellent set - was dithering over whether or not to get the 40" model (as that was only £670) but settled for the 37 due to the size of my living room.

For that money you could have got a Sony KDL-32NX503 Although only 32", its a beautiful set.

[derestrictor]

Panasonic TX-P42V20B.

By a country mile. A 110% no brainer.

It demonstrably creams any other 40-42" set with any source.

If Pioneer still made Kuro, it would be in its 10th generation now: it would be the V series... Oh, wait a minute...

Yup, stupendous.

[CatherineJ]

boomboompow said:

I just got a Sony 37EX503 from Amazon (for the exact same reasons as you ; it's an excellent set - was dithering over whether or not to get the 40" model (as that was only £670) but settled for the 37 due to the size of my living room.

We bought one of those on new years eve, when we first set it up we questioned if we had made the right decision. After posting on here and getting some help from a pher, I have to say the picture quality is fantastic compared to our 4 year old LG lcd.

[CarlT]

Thanks all.

Derestrictor - is it really that good?

[derestrictor]

Yes, absolutely, although Sony's KDL-40NX803 is nay slouch either, ito 'general signal amelioration.'