I want to by a new TV and want some advice

aliEnRIK

trcooke wrote: »

Another word of advice when getting demo's of TV sets. Get the shop to show you the picture when connected to a standard SD source such as Sky or Freeview. Some shops will feed all of their sets with a HD source to make them look awesome and this is fair game because they are selling HD sets. But, and this is the big but that sorts the wheat from the chaff, a lot of the lesser quality sets just don't handle regular SD content very well at all and let's be honest, 98% of the time you're going to be watching regular old telly channels.

I have compared regular Sky TV between a Sony and a Samsung set and the difference was very apparent. The Sony picture was far better.

very true
Also, most shops (currys.comet etc) have all the settings completely wrong (Contrast too high etc) so theyre very difficult to tell apart at times no matter WHAT the input

Inactive

trcooke wrote: »

Another word of advice when getting demo's of TV sets. Get the shop to show you the picture when connected to a standard SD source such as Sky or Freeview..

Good advice.

bladeguard

Wow alot of advice to take in . Most here seem to favour the panasonic which I have heard was whichs favourite. The funny thing is most of the sets I have seen are blury and the tech on plasmas state the fail more often. This is why i was looking for LCD. Its an interesting point about display models I hadnt thought about that The comet guy did say that you needed to check SD as not all sets handled this well. The other interesting thing was that comet said that none of the sound on thier tell's are connected. the advice I got from comet was Plasma Panasonic or Samsung LCD. though he didnt have the new 7000 series LG to compare as he hadnt seen it. Curries Rated the LG 7000 series and the Samsung Plasma . Samsung coming out strong in both stores.

Can someone tell me why the blacks are not good on an LCD as most LCD technology is based on computer screens.

Still very confused

windym_2

If you want a dedicated forum and it's views go to www.avforums.com

Marty_J

bladeguard wrote: »

Can someone tell me why the blacks are not good on an LCD as most LCD technology is based on computer screens.

Because LCD screens have a big bright light behind them which bleeds into black areas of the display. LCD computer monitors have the same problem, which is one reason many photographers still use CRT displays for photo editing.

trcooke

Not entirely sure why blacks are not as good on LCD screens but I think it's to do with the fact that the screen requires a back light to create the brightness which then makes it difficult to stop the light when you want blacks. Let's just call this an educated guess so correct me if I'm wrong.

In terms of getting advice from retailers I would rate both Currys and Comet very poorly, right down there with PC World. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a strong correlation between sales pitch and warehouse stock levels / sales targets and very little for your requirements. Try and find an independent retailer who really does know their stuff. Ask around locally or ask here for recommendations of good places around where you live. I am starting to see that a lot of small independent businesses are becoming wise to internet competition and will often price match.

Marty_J

trcooke wrote: »

Not entirely sure why blacks are not as good on LCD screens but I think it's to do with the fact that the screen requires a back light to create the brightness which then makes it difficult to stop the light when you want blacks. Let's just call this an educated guess so correct me if I'm wrong.

In terms of getting advice from retailers I would rate both Currys and Comet very poorly, right down there with PC World. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a strong correlation between sales pitch and warehouse stock levels / sales targets and very little for your requirements. Try and find an independent retailer who really does know their stuff. Ask around locally or ask here for recommendations of good places around where you live. I am starting to see that a lot of small independent businesses are becoming wise to internet competition and will often price match.

Right, right and right again.

Nice to see another person from Bangor on here btw. :cool:

trcooke

Cheers Marty J. Not a true Bangorian I'm afraid, only a fairly recent resident.

aliEnRIK

Traveller1981 wrote: »

Decide on the size and your budget first, then go and demo a few. Only way to tell which one you like the best is to demo them.
I just sold my panasonic 50PX70 in favour of a Pioneer LX5090, and boy what a difference that made. Obviously there is a large price difference, but you need find what is best for you. Don't be sucked in by all the big numbers.

Also work out what distance you will be sitting at to see if 1080P is worth a look in. Usually it's not based on viewing distance and source material. A weak 1080p set is worse than a strong 720p set.

Nice tv mate! Bit large for my room but id certainly have bought one otherwise
Do you use a conditioner or tried a better mains cable?

Marty_J

aliEnRIK wrote: »

Do you use a conditioner or tried a better mains cable?

Or tried a voodoo dance?