Freeview HD

spud17

I'd be interested in peoples experiences of the above, i.e is it worth it?

I know there have been a few threads about poor reception, but I'm in a really good reception area.

The reason behind the question is that the venerable Sony (16+yo) has decided to call it a day, (symptoms later).

There is not a great deal of TV watching in this house, but it's nice to have one.

Just want a straight forward TV, no bigger than 32 inch, not worried about 1080 v 728 (?), no DVD player/BluRay/games etc to be connected.

From threads on here, the Sony seems favourite in this range.

As a start, richersounds (very local) has

http://www.richersounds.com/product/lcd-tv/sony/bravia-kdl32bx300/sony-kdl32bx300
http://www.richersounds.com/product/lcd-tv/sony/bravia-kdl32ex401/sony-kdl32ex401
http://www.richersounds.com/product/lcd-tv/sony/bravia-kdl32ex403/sony-kdl32ex403

edit, the links have changed and no longer work.

Is it really worth an extra £100 for Freeview HD?

As for the old TV, it was fine, then 2 days later it was completely dead, no screen, no lights or sound.

The only indication of anything wrong was that a couple of times in the last few months, when initially turned on, the screen would be split horizontally, with one half darker than the other.

Turning on/off via the set power switch sorted it each time.

I obviously checked the fuse and tried something else in the socket etc.

As usual I won't be around again until tomorrow evening, so I'll look forward to plenty of comments/discussion.

penrhyn

If you don't want a set bigger than 32 inch then the benefits of HD are marginal.
Unless you are prepared to sit no more that about 6 feet from the set.

spud17

penrhyn wrote: »

If you don't want a set bigger than 32 inch then the benefits of HD are marginal.
Unless you are prepared to sit no more that about 6 feet from the set.

That's what I was thinking, after looking back through the threads and seeing the graph about distance from screen.

Viewing distance is around 8ft, so I'm inclined to go for the cheapest.

Owain_Moneysaver

Hi Def TV if you want, but I wouldn't pay extra for Freeview HD.

The specifications seem to change every few years - some older Freeview boxes (well, the old ITV / On-digital ones) are't compatible with some broadcasts now - so a separate external box gives you more flexibility. Of course if you have a Hi Def TV and the broadcasts change you can use a separate box in the future, but I wouldn't pay extra for it yet.

OK_Sauce

I would go down to your branch of Richer Sounds and listen to the sets as well. If you have been used to the sound from an old CRT tv you may possibly be shocked by the sound quality coming off the new tellies. The very nature of the slimline design doesn't allow for very large speakers so the sound tends to be a lot thinner. Some sets will compensate better than others. My parents bought a Panasonic L37G20b with built in Freeview HD and Freesat HD and the sound from that set is great. There is a 32" version so it might be worth checking that out.

As has said before unless you're really close to a 32 inch set you may not fully benefit from the full HD experience, I on the other hand would buy the HD version. Why? You had your last set 16 years? If your new telly needs to do the same you'd want to futureproof it as much as possible. I don't think the broadcast standard will change that much to make integral tuners obsolete for the forseeable future!

penrhyn

One feature I would look for is Internet capability. I find it handy to have the iplayer built into the TV. Although if you have Virgin you have it already, and of course a number of games consoles like the Wii have it too.

spud17

The links/stock situation seems to have changed from my original post, they don't all work.

Owain Moneysaver,

I'm thinking HD but perhaps not with in-built Freview HD, as you say can always upgrade.

Also, I don't think it's worth it for very few extra channels.

We switched to digital nearly 2 years ago, and I had to skip my 2nd hand on-digital box. It's quality was way better than the replacement.

OK Sauce,

Great point re the sound, the Sony was pretty good, but for some things, e.g Glastonbury, I use my trusty Trio 6004, fed from the phono outlets of the digi box.
Your point also explains why people spend £X on a TV then have to spend another £200 on a surround system.

penrhyn,

TBH not really interested, as I said, not much TV watched here and have used iplayer only a couple of times.

All good stuff for when I can get to richersounds.

spud17

Just been looking again and following on from OK Sauces suggestion of the Panasonic, I see they do the TXL32X20 for the same money as the Sony KDL32EX401.

Ho Hum! Need to get in there.

p.s. any other recommendations for 32inch TVs are welcome.

OK_Sauce

Hi spud17, just to clarify the L32G20b and TXL32X20 are totally different TVs, the latter (from RS) being a lot older and is NOT Freeview HD.

spud17

OK_Sauce wrote: »

Hi spud17, just to clarify the L32G20b and TXL32X20 are totally different TVs, the latter (from RS) being a lot older and is NOT Freeview HD.

Yes, no worries, I didn't mean to panic you.

I saw 2 similar (?) spec and price TVs, and the Panasonic has possibly a better sound quality, but not full HD.

The Panasonic also has both digital and analogue audio output.

greendot

spud17 wrote: »

Just been looking again and following on from OK Sauces suggestion of the Panasonic, I see they do the TXL32X20 for the same money as the Sony KDL32EX401.

Ho Hum! Need to get in there.

p.s. any other recommendations for 32inch TVs are welcome.

I've done a little digging and i think you should consider the following 32in tv's, Sony Bravia KDL-32EX603, LED, £549, got a 69% rate.- / Samsung LE32C650, £421, got a 69% rate.- / Sony Bravia KDL-32EX703,£499 got a 67% rate,- / Panasonic Viera TX-L32S10, LED, £499. i don't know if i can add where to buy these tv's at these prices here, so i won't but if it's ok to PM me i could give you the info.:beer: