26" LCD TV - HD Ready £378 delivered! (merged) [CLOSED]

JamesP

Just read on the CNet review.....

"The one solitary RGB Scart is likely to be occupied by your digital TV receiver, be it FreeView or Sky, but we'd recommend taking advantage of the higher quality component standard for your DVD viewing"

I might be being thick but what do they mean by "taking advantage of the higher quality component standard for your DVD viewing"?

Thanks in advance!

mjr600

Well according to Dell order tracking ( which is pretty amazing ) mine arrives in the morning.

It'll replace my 17" Samsung Syncmaster LCD and turn the study into a great little home cinema retreat :-).

I will connect it via DVI to a Shuttle Media Centre PC with digital Freeview so according to that CNET review I should be in for the best picture quality the unit can produce.

For those of you wondering about connections here's a guide in order of the picture quality they produce.

RF-Coax-Straight from your aerial on the roof or a Freeview box - Worst

Standard Scart - Composite - Better

RGB Scart - SVideo - Better

Component - VGA - A Lot Better

DVI - Best

Lots of information there but if its going to be just a TV then to get the best out of it use an RGB (Red Green Blue) enabled Scart from your Freeview box, if your DVD player has Component out (three round coloured sockets) use them.

The Dell includes all the leads you will need in the box.

Repo

JamesP wrote:

I might be being thick but what do they mean by "taking advantage of the higher quality component standard for your DVD viewing"?

Thanks in advance!

The image quality can vary considerable according to the method used to connect one AV item to another. If you're DVD player has component out then you should use this.

Component (the best) > HDMI / DVI > RGB Scart / Svideo > Scart > composite (worst!)

HDMI / DVI are supposed to be better than component but the jury tends to swing towards component. All of this of course depends on the equipment and cables you use. I've no idea what the quality of the cables that come with with Dell's are like but I suspect you'll see improvements in image quality by using a better cable and good power filtering. www.avforums.co.uk is a good source of information.

silps

Does the built in TV tuner have Nicam Stereo sound? It isn't mentioned anywhere on the website or the user manual I downloaded. I got a feeling it hasn't and they expect us to use it with Sky or digibox.

Went TV shopping in Comet and John Lewis today. Due to the crappy aerials and picture set up in the stores you really can't compare models against each other. I saw a Goodmans LD2602 26" LCD in Comet for £499.99 and the picture was pretty good (especially the sound) and seemed as good as most CRT TVs. I didn't really notice any blurring in movement. I was actually looking into buying a regular 28inch Widescreen Sony or Panasonic for about £250-300. So I am hoping this Dell is going to be just as good if not better.

I think the reviews we read online don't take things into context. And there techies know what detail to look for so over scrutenise which the average viewer would never notice.I am sure the Dell is going to be as good and better than my 16 year old Sony Trinitron TV in the lounge. It may not be as good as a £1000 Panasonic LCD but I would rather have 3 Dells in my house for that amount of money.

Looking forward to hearing from people who have already received this unit. What's it like compared to your regular CRT TV?

Brodel

So how would it be possible to run a DVD Player, Freeview and VHS Player through one component or DVI cable? Or is that a stupid question.
At the moment I have my DVD Player and Freeview going into my Video player via Skart. From the Video Player it goes into the TV via composite (crap I know) but I also have my HiFi hooked up to my video player which gives me surround sound and the ability to listen to digital radio through freeview without having to have my TV on.

mjr600

All modern broadcasts are in NICAM.

I think it may well be best to kill the 'how do I connect this to that to the other' direction this thread may take.

No two AV setups are alike and the connections can be a nightmare for many.

Have a look here for starters then have a look round the back of what you own to see if you've got a socket that'll match one on the Dell and believe me it has at least one of them all.

https://www.avreview.co.uk/news/article/mps/UAN/482/v/6/sp/332304698357328559266

http://www.keene.co.uk/pages/downloads/dnl_files/pdfs/cat/Kcat13.pdf

Remember that LCD displays all the picture 'warts an' all' so if BBC broadcast a poor quality signal you get a bad picture, check out some of the cheesy shopping channels for that (QVC is the exception).

Crap in Crap out.

Brodel

mjr600 wrote:

I think it may well be best to kill the 'how do I connect this to that to the other' direction this thread may take.

No two AV setups are alike and the connections can be a nightmare for many.

Have a look here for starters then have a look round the back of what you own to see if you've got a socket that'll match one on the Dell and believe me it has at least one of them all.

https://www.avreview.co.uk/news/article/mps/UAN/482/v/6/sp/332304698357328559266

http://www.keene.co.uk/pages/downloads/dnl_files/pdfs/cat/Kcat13.pdf

lol, true. I'd like to think I'm fairly competent when it comes to electronics and I don't think it's possible to do better than composite in my position sadly. Thanks for the links though, I'll take a look.

silps

mjr600 wrote:

All modern broadcasts are in NICAM.

I think it may well be best to kill the 'how do I connect this to that to the other' direction this thread may take.

No two AV setups are alike and the connections can be a nightmare for many.

Have a look here for starters then have a look round the back of what you own to see if you've got a socket that'll match one on the Dell and believe me it has at least one of them all.

https://www.avreview.co.uk/news/article/mps/UAN/482/v/6/sp/332304698357328559266

http://www.keene.co.uk/pages/downloads/dnl_files/pdfs/cat/Kcat13.pdf

But you still need a Nicam decoder to decode the sound into Stereo which is why I am asking if the tuner has a Nicam decoder. Most budget DVD recorders also do not have a Nicam decoder within the TV tuner as well.

silps

What's Dells return policy if I am not happy with the unit?

jordy32

Observed from the Dell Outlet Bargain Hunter Board again, but the 19" is now no where to be seen on the Dell Website - possibly sold out.

MikeT was wondering how long until the 26" has also gone?

Might be a temporary thing, but I'm pleased my orders in!