Get an LCD or wait for LED

avantra

Yes that old chestnut, but really, our 12 years old Samsung 26" monster lost it's sound recently and the picture vibrating so we think it might just trying to tell us something.

We are not highly bothered with the picture quality, just want it to be clear enough to view and that there will be no fuzzy sound.

So the question is , as LED's look like they all over the place should we get one or get an LCD TV, the price difference is about a £100 less for a 32" LCD. In the shop (JohnLewis)I could hardly tell the difference between the two technologies.


Saw this offer from Ebuyer this morning, should I take the plunge?
It is about £120 less than what JL wanted last weekend.

Ionkontrol

A good plasma still beats LCD or LED.

alanobrien

Not looked into this a lot yet myself as i am still running a 32" Sony CRT monster however i believe that LED is just another means of lighting LED screens so your choice is still really Plasma vs LED.

The former being more power hungry than the latter.
Whatever you choose make sure you look at the screen in the shop at an angle rather than straight on as most people view this way and it will help you to judge picture quality.

zax47

You didn't see a much difference between the LCD TV and the "LED" TV as the "LED" TV you saw is still an LCD - just lit differently. With the exception of the {still very expensive} true LED matrix displays (at>£2K) the current "LED" TV products still use an LCD matrix but lit by LED, rather than cold cathode flourescents (CCFL).

Samsung is just one maker who has been warned by the ASA for misleading advertising of their "LED" TV products - and must now be clear that they are still LCD displays, but lit by LED.

LED lit LCD TVs are still attracting a premium (you said around £100) but this will fall as they become the mainstream product. True LED matrix displays will remain very expensive for some time yet.

Canucklehead

Hi: good advice from zax47. Take a look at AVForums...another excellent resource.;)

HTH

Canucklehead

almillar

If you're after an OLED TV they're at about £10k for a 15" screen at the mo!
As has been stated, you're talking about LED backit LCD screens. Since you actually say you're not that bothered about pic quality, just buy a cheapo 1080p screen after seeing the picture it gives. No point wasting your money on top end kit you won't appreciate.

john-306

Ionkontrol wrote: »

A good plasma still beats LCD or LED.

Blanket statement that is incorrect;)

romeospadre

john-306 wrote: »

Blanket statement that is incorrect;)

Agreed wee man

Inactive

Ionkontrol wrote: »

A good plasma still beats LCD or LED.

Agreed, they are certainly better at displaying standard definition broadcast material.

donmaico

Canucklehead wrote: »

Hi: good advice from zax47. Take a look at AVForums...another excellent resource.;)

HTH

Canucklehead

full of people like me

As already stated current Leds are Lcds back lit differently,They are also slimmer.Like all LCDS they are lighter and consume less electricty than plasmas which, unlike LCds, can suffer from reflection if badly sited.Viewing angle can be a problem so demos are important
Plasmas, though, do generally produce better pictures have better contrast and have no problem with viewing angles.
Rule of thumb - dont buy on spec ,go and demo several sets making sure you stand/sit at a reasonable distance as you would at home.Look at SD and see how the set processes it. Also LCds were notoriously poor at reproducing movement as in football match- lots of motion blur ."LCDs often have a greater motion blur effect because the pixel in an LCD remains lit unlike the CRT phosphors that merely strobe for a very brief period of time. Reducing the time an LCD is lit has been shown to reduce motion blur due to eye tracking by decreasing the time period the backlit pixels are on.[2] However, an instant strobe is required to completely eliminate the retinal blurring" Manufacturers have introduced something called Motion interpolation in an attempt to address this issue.They call it by different names .for example Samsung call it "Auto motion plus", Sony-"Motionflow",Toshiba-"clear frame" .They generally apply to 100Hz sets though.100Hz is the refresh rate of the television. Refresh rate is the number of times the video input or image is refined to reproduce the most sophisticated and finest image with excellent quality. Conventional televisions comes with 50Hz refresh rate.Having said a good video source is essential, the likes of Currys dont have them. I recently bought a Humax freest box and had a dish installed and have to say i am very pleased with the result so far, even with a 50 hz set

The other matrix is known as Oled and is till very much in its infancy with prices far too high

mkaibear

avantra wrote: »

Yes that old chestnut, but really, our 12 years old Samsung 26" monster lost it's sound recently and the picture vibrating so we think it might just trying to tell us something.

We are not highly bothered with the picture quality, just want it to be clear enough to view and that there will be no fuzzy sound.

So the question is , as LED's look like they all over the place should we get one or get an LCD TV, the price difference is about a £100 less for a 32" LCD. In the shop (JohnLewis)I could hardly tell the difference between the two technologies.


Saw this offer from Ebuyer this morning, should I take the plunge?
It is about £120 less than what JL wanted last weekend.

TVs are worse than mattresses in terms of posts on forums!

Mate, work out how much you can afford to spend, then go down the shop and buy one that looks best to you! Find a shop that will let you (I suggest Richer Sounds), take a couple of DVDs along (or Blu-Rays, if you have them) and play them on the shop equipment.

Try to pick DVDs that you know reasonably well and try picking ones which have scenes that have lots of black, scenes with lots of colours, and scenes with lots of motion.

Then pick the screen that looks best to you.

Don't bother going for a screen that is advertised as being better. Don't bother going for what other people try to sell you or get you to buy - watch the TV, see what you think is best. It's too personal to go on someone else's recommendations.