What to look for in a TV
Discussion
My current TV is getting a bit old now and SWMBO has decreed that we get a new one, although current one is still working well and has a good picture.
Currently we have a 7 year old Hitachi 32" plasma, and an even older Sony amp.
I am thinking this is the time to upgrade everything to HDMI and recon that new TV needs to be 42" definitely don't need bigger.
What other options / features should I be looking when choosing?
Don't do gaming, watch tv through the local equiv of cable TV and do watch a fair bit of downloaded content (due to the rather frustrating local censorship / editing and the overdose of adverbs)
Lots of DVD but not ventured into the world of blue ray yet.
So, over to you, what should be on my requirements list?
Currently we have a 7 year old Hitachi 32" plasma, and an even older Sony amp.
I am thinking this is the time to upgrade everything to HDMI and recon that new TV needs to be 42" definitely don't need bigger.
What other options / features should I be looking when choosing?
Don't do gaming, watch tv through the local equiv of cable TV and do watch a fair bit of downloaded content (due to the rather frustrating local censorship / editing and the overdose of adverbs)
Lots of DVD but not ventured into the world of blue ray yet.
So, over to you, what should be on my requirements list?
Hard to say what to look out for, you know better than any of us what you want to do with a TV. Talk to people in the shops with a list of inputs, whether you need scart, co-ax, component, s-video? Does your home amp have optical inputs? HDMI inputs? RCA?
Look for picture quality over anything ... although women will have to make sure it 'goes' with your decor as you don't want it to look like a sore-thumb at the front of the room. Get the sales guys to line a couple of TVs up in the shop side-by-side showing the same thing, reset the settings and compare the piture to what you like best, not what you are told to like the best.
HDMI inputs are useful, the more the merrier. An ARC - Audio Return Channel on one of the HDMI plugs is handy if you plan on plumbing in a new home amp. Most modern TVs come with plenty of inputs and outputs and have a common HDMI control language to control other devices without needing separate remotes.
You can invest in a decent blu-ray player for <£100 to replace the DVD and might get one cheap as part of a bundle deal. Just get out there and look about, what looks nice on an internet picture may not look that nice in the flesh and vice-versa. You're going to have to put in the leg work around the shops
Look for picture quality over anything ... although women will have to make sure it 'goes' with your decor as you don't want it to look like a sore-thumb at the front of the room. Get the sales guys to line a couple of TVs up in the shop side-by-side showing the same thing, reset the settings and compare the piture to what you like best, not what you are told to like the best.
HDMI inputs are useful, the more the merrier. An ARC - Audio Return Channel on one of the HDMI plugs is handy if you plan on plumbing in a new home amp. Most modern TVs come with plenty of inputs and outputs and have a common HDMI control language to control other devices without needing separate remotes.
You can invest in a decent blu-ray player for <£100 to replace the DVD and might get one cheap as part of a bundle deal. Just get out there and look about, what looks nice on an internet picture may not look that nice in the flesh and vice-versa. You're going to have to put in the leg work around the shops
"Whatever I've dropped down the back of it" 
For me it's picture quality, picture quality and picture quality (vs price of course)
Round the back a composite, an aerial and an HDMI.
AV amp handles the rest.
Blue ray IS worthwhile and whilst you may not be a gamer a PS3 is worthy, does Blue ray very well, can do freeview(+ recorder) for £35, can stream from your PCs/laptops, surf web, and have ITV, CH4 and BBC iPlayers...music...photos... and when kids come round, some awesome games!
42" TV? still plasma for me...
For me it's picture quality, picture quality and picture quality (vs price of course)
Round the back a composite, an aerial and an HDMI.
AV amp handles the rest.
Blue ray IS worthwhile and whilst you may not be a gamer a PS3 is worthy, does Blue ray very well, can do freeview(+ recorder) for £35, can stream from your PCs/laptops, surf web, and have ITV, CH4 and BBC iPlayers...music...photos... and when kids come round, some awesome games!
42" TV? still plasma for me...
XJSJohn said:
other than being skinny, is there any value in an LED over a good LCD / Plasma
An LED TV is an LCD that uses LEDs for backlight rather than fluorescents.Plasmas are generally cheaper, have better contrast and handle motion better but they're thicker and heavier.
But it's entirely up to you, watch them in the flesh in a store and see what one you fancy the look of best.
I also found Plasma's have a much more reflective quality to the screen - which is why i went down the LCD route, as I have a lot of windows.
Advantage of LED tvs is blacker blacks.
In an LCD tv, the backlight is permanently on, shining through the LCD to give you an image. To make black, the LCD blocks this light- but its never prefect, and some light seeps through. - black is never fully black.
With an LCD blacklight, the backlight can be switched off in the black areas of the image, making blacks look much darker. - only problem is in most TVs, there isnt 1 LED backlight per pixel, so if theres white next to black, you can get a little halo effect - but its nit picking really.
Also, blacker blacks tend to improve contrast of a TV a bit, which makes everything seem sharper and colours a bit 'punchier'
Personally, i didnt go LED as i'm not fussed about 100% black blacks- In the cinema, blacks are never truely black. In fact, contrast ratio is pretty poor in cinemas!
I also went cheap and go a 50hz one. In hindsight, i wish i'd gone for a TV with a higher hertz and motion smoothing type stuff. Slow pans in some films can judder a little.
Advantage of LED tvs is blacker blacks.
In an LCD tv, the backlight is permanently on, shining through the LCD to give you an image. To make black, the LCD blocks this light- but its never prefect, and some light seeps through. - black is never fully black.
With an LCD blacklight, the backlight can be switched off in the black areas of the image, making blacks look much darker. - only problem is in most TVs, there isnt 1 LED backlight per pixel, so if theres white next to black, you can get a little halo effect - but its nit picking really.
Also, blacker blacks tend to improve contrast of a TV a bit, which makes everything seem sharper and colours a bit 'punchier'
Personally, i didnt go LED as i'm not fussed about 100% black blacks- In the cinema, blacks are never truely black. In fact, contrast ratio is pretty poor in cinemas!
I also went cheap and go a 50hz one. In hindsight, i wish i'd gone for a TV with a higher hertz and motion smoothing type stuff. Slow pans in some films can judder a little.
Edited by Fordo on Friday 4th March 12:54
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