42" Television - where to start?

sb12

Hi all. Decided to treat myself in the sales and went on the lookout for a new tv. Unsure as to whether I should be looking at an LCD, Plasma or LED tv. My main aim is to have smooth sharp pictures for the key things in life - rugby, football and Formula 1.

Can anyone recommend a tv? Max budget of £550

How do the LG's rate at these prices? Torn between an LG and a Panasonic at the moment.

GunJack

just had an e-mail from ebuyer - they've got a 42" LG lcd in the sale for £390 !!!

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/210129

sorry, it's £385

rdpro

I've been checking into this myself, as my 5yo 32" LCD is packing up.

LCD - good power saving, but can suffer low response rates - best deal so far is AOC 42" at Ebuyer, £349, with 17 5* recommendations (and 3 year warranty)
Plasma - burns power like a sun, but has the best response rates - 0.001 m/sec refresh, etc compared to LEDs 4-5m/sec
LED - very thin, low power, but still basically an LCD panel.

My suggestion (based on my readings and advice around on here): go to a Richer Sounds outlet and ask a lot of questions. They should have various models set up properly to watch.

I'm tied off between the AOC at Ebuyer and a sale plasma from RS (5 year warranty)..

sb12

arenaman wrote: »

I had a Sharp Aquos 42 inch LCD which was fine in HD but suffered ghosting in SD when watching football. I've upgraded to a Samsung 3D plasma TV and find that the SD picture is much much better than an LCD screen for watching football. The F1 also looked better in SD (come on BBC get it on HD for next season) Plasmas do of course suffer image retention and burn depending on the model if you don't look after them.

I was recently looking at some very good 600hz LG 50 inch plasmas in Comet for around £600 so you should get a decent 42 inch for £550.

Scared me a little the comment above regarding plasmas. How do you 'not' look after them?

I do like the look of the LG 42LE5900 but that would max out my budget and a lot more. Curious about the LED sets because of the positive contrast ratio figures. Another one I liked the look of but out of budget was the Sony Bravia KDL-40EX503.



Ideally would like to have the following in a tv:

1. A motion system/100Hz or better
2. Freeview HD (in the hope that more sport, especially F1 goes HD)
3. A good review/reputation

Am I asking a lot for a budget of £550?:huh:

rachel6188

I got a 42 inch lcd LG for £400 from currys when it was offer and its fantastic. x

faagble

:D:DI do like the look of the LG 42LE5900 but that would max out my budget and a lot more.

scotsbob

sb12 wrote: »

Ideally would like to have the following in a tv:

1. A motion system/100Hz or better
2. Freeview HD (in the hope that more sport, especially F1 goes HD)
3. A good review/reputation

A good list, personally I would add, WiFi connection for Internet (I-Player, Youtube etc) and a USB connection with the ability to play a wide range of formats.

Hammyman

sb12 wrote: »

Scared me a little the comment above regarding plasmas. How do you 'not' look after them?

Arenaman is still living in 2005. Burn in on Plasmas has been a non-issue for some time apart from low rent models.

BTW, the answer you are looking for is: Panasonic TX-P42G20B which has a THX certified display, built in FreeviewHD and FreesatHD tuners and you can add a USB HDD for live pause, rewind and record. £650 from Richer Sounds. If you can't stretch to that and are willing to forego built in Freesat HD tuner, you can get the Panasonic TX-P42S20 which is same TV sans HD tuner.

Iconic

Hammyman wrote: »

BTW, the answer you are looking for is: Panasonic TX-P42G20B which has a THX certified display, built in FreeviewHD and FreesatHD tuners and you can add a USB HDD for live pause, rewind and record. £650 from Richer Sounds. If you can't stretch to that and are willing to forego built in Freesat HD tuner, you can get the Panasonic TX-P42S20 which is same TV sans HD tuner.

I am thinking of buying the Panasonic TX-P42G20B but the price is just over my budget. It has been £550 in a few places but, as you say, £650 is just about the best price at the moment.

You can get good deals on the TX-P42S20 but the spec is much less than you quote. I can do without the Freesat HD tuner but USB is the feature I really want. The G20 also has THX mode, white balance/gamma user controls, Viera cast, High Contrast filter (2 sheets of glass, three on the S20 which makes it more reflective...), ISFccc calibration tools, WiFi ready, Vreal Pro 5 with better SD scaling.

http://www.panasonic.co.uk/html/en_GB/287749/module/general/compare/products/displayResult.html?p=TX-P42G20B&p=TX-P42S20B

A.Penny.Saved

Around £589 at these sites which I have never done business with so use caution.
http://www.trusthardware.co.uk/products.asp?partno=TX-P42G20B#tab1

http://www.prcdirect.co.uk/televisions/plasma-televisions/42-inch-plasma-televisions/42-inch-panasonic-plasma-tv/txp42g20b/product

http://www.digitalhdmi.co.uk/shop/Panasonic.html#a95

Iconic

A.Penny.Saved wrote: »

Around £589 at these sites which I have never done business with so use caution.
http://www.trusthardware.co.uk/products.asp?partno=TX-P42G20B#tab1

http://www.prcdirect.co.uk/televisions/plasma-televisions/42-inch-plasma-televisions/42-inch-panasonic-plasma-tv/txp42g20b/product

http://www.digitalhdmi.co.uk/shop/Panasonic.html#a95

Thanks. The PRC one looks great with the 5 year guarantee but it's out of stock and you have to order it from the shop. I'm up north and they are down south!

I have not heard of the other two and I am a little dubious about ordering from them.

Quite a few of the big boys had it for under £600 a couple of weeks ago but they all put the price up at the same time:(:(