New TV - recommendations

pokerpad

Hi guys. I'm after a 32" plasma/lcd TV.

The only specific specs I'm after are 32", 1080p resolution and at least 2 HDMI ports.

Does anybody know of good deals/brands/shops?

I was thinking around the £300 mark but any cheaper would be great

Thanks!

moonrakerz

http://www.johnlewis.com/Electricals/Televisions/Televisions/SubCategory.aspx

Reputable dealer. 5 yr warranty. Staff (in shops) that know what they are talking about.

Knarf44

Stick to Sony or Panasonic. I was recently reading on another Forum that although Samsung and LG sets have attractive prices their Customer Service lags far behind Sony and Panasonic.

The same forum attracts a few people who work within the tv repair industry and they say they repair more LG sets than other brands. Also, apparently spares for Samsung sets are difficult to locate after 18months as Samsung "abandons" support for its older sets.

If you opt for an LED set, you might have to watch for uneven lighting problems, seems to be a recurrent theme in many customer reviews.

aliEnRIK

pokerpad wrote: »

The only specific specs I'm after are 32", 1080p resolution and at least 2 HDMI ports.

You really should add a 'decent upscaler' to that list

fiddiwebb

Check out hotukdeals, quite a few decent TV's have come up in the last few weeks although just over the £300 mark.

pokerpad

Cheers guys. I found a really cheap one with a make I haven't heard of so I'm not too sure on that one.

What about Toshiba?

I found a nice looking samsung but I am a bit put off after the comments above.

Excuse my ignorance but I don't even know what an upscaler is or does ?

Good tip on HotukDeals Fiddiwebb - I'll keep an eye on that site.

Thanks

aliEnRIK

pokerpad wrote: »

Excuse my ignorance but I don't even know what an upscaler is or does ?

An upscaler resizes the signal received to fit the tv
All dvds and freeview pictures would need to be upscaled (Unless the player upscaled it)

If it wasnt upscaled the picture would be tiny in proportion to the actual screensize

A bad upscaler will make the picture look rubbish

Knarf44

In my opinion and experience Toshiba make good quality products and have above average Customer after sales support.

I would suggest that when you spot a TV you think fits your bill, you go to sites like Amazon and Trusted Reviews and pay particular attention to the Customer Reviews. It's these comments that will persuade or deter most people from buying particular sets as generally people are much quicker to criticize than to praise.

moonrakerz

Knarf44 wrote: »

Stick to Sony or Panasonic. I was recently reading on another Forum that although Samsung and LG sets have attractive prices their Customer Service lags far behind Sony and Panasonic.

I have a Panasonic and would agree with that. The reason LG and Samsung appear to be good value is that they are heavily "pushed" by certain retailers, who don't keep many (if any) Panasonic & Sony.

pokerpad

I don't think I will be able to afford a Sony or Panasonic unfortunately.

I just read somewhere that you don't really need 1080 for a 32 as you wont even be able to tell the difference. You can only see a slight improvement 42+

Does that sound right?

aliEnRIK

pokerpad wrote: »

I don't think I will be able to afford a Sony or Panasonic unfortunately.

I just read somewhere that you don't really need 1080 for a 32 as you wont even be able to tell the difference. You can only see a slight improvement 42+

Does that sound right?

Its true that a lot of people would struggle to tell the difference between 720P and 1080P on a 32" screen

I disagree with the 42" remark though