LCD tv's - how good are they? Which brand to buy

trace_567

As my tv has decided to turn pink on me, I'm thinking about what my best bet is with buying a new tv. I'd like to get an lcd one, but I don't know how reliable they are. I know years back when I bought tv's you'd expect them to last for many years, I still have an old 14 inch philips that was bought about 15 years back thats never gone wrong and still works. How many years can you expect to get out of the lcd's?

my questions are:

How many years should you expect an lcd to last for?

How likely are they to go wrong, and if they do how expensive are they to fix?

Are unknown brands a bad move, should you spend the extra to get a well known brand such as sony, philips etc?

Is it wise to pay the extra to get an extended warrenty? Or if there's likely to be a problem will it happen within the first year whilst still under warrenty?

Then there's other things like going for HD ready, and freeview included - what should you buy to get value for money since you can pick up a freeview box for £20-30, but freeview included in an lcd can up the price by £100 or more.

When should you buy, what with xmas coming up there seem to be many sales already about, but will you get a better deal by waiting till after xmas for the jan sales? (Earlier this year I was told by someone in a currys store that by 2007 they will no longer stock old style tv's, will this considerably drop the prices of lcd's?)

Sorry for so many questions, it all just seems so confussing for me . When I'm working on a tight budget I want to get the best for my money, but I don't want to go buying a cheap unknown lcd, only for it to die in say 2-3 years time.

Thank you for reading all this, and thanks for any help you can offer me.

Mizz_Pink

My Hubby:

Buying Tvs is a minefield at the moment - do i buy a cheap brand, what is HD, warranty and lots more besides.

it depends on how much you want that latest Sony on the wall or just a good quality unit what does the job.

i have a Samsung 40" LCD TV - I love it its brilliant - Iresearched onthe internet and currys had it on special. Fantastic picture even on regular TV (SKY +) and its also connected to a Pc which we use to play our movies avi files, photo slideshows etc.
It came with a 1 year Warranty (its also covered under my house insurance if any damage happens to it).
It cost £1399

Having said that Ive just bought a cracking tv from https://www.aria.co.uk
its a TECO branded tv, not one id heard of but it has a top brand panel in.
Its a 32" which im gonna use in my Office / Den for PC and TV. It is fully Hd has the HDMI input, PC input all composite inputs and outputs too.
The 40" version has a Samsung panel same as the one i already have.
This TV comes with a 2 year onsite manufacturers warranty.

Im VERY pleased with it and it cost around £469 including delivery (they do a SUPER SPECIAL and do a price drop on it every few days)

The 40" is about £900

I gotta say its a solid build Tv and for someone looking to get into the flat screen age with HD, id definately recommend. The website also has reviews and comments on the item too.

Be careful about similar TVs advertised in argos and other places they are only HD compatible (Which means they will display a HD picture, but dont have the required technology for the HD encrypted stuff which will be broadcasted) or not even HD at all.

Prices have dropped a lot this year, i would expect them to hold for a while longer until old CRT are not in production anymore.

Januray sales dont exist, its just getting rid of the crap they couldnt shift at christmas - if youre buying get one on a crimbo deal.

The life of the LCD panel depends on how much you use it, but they say approx 10-12 years.

Plasma TVs have a shorter life and will have to be periodically re-gassed
(I personally would steer clear of Plasma, although they come a little cheaper, the price gap betweeen them and LCD is closing.)

I'd look on the Aria website they sell some great unbranded TVs for those on a budget.

32" Version
http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=20717

40" Version
http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=23362

40" with Surround Sound System, DVD Player and Glass Stand
http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=25147

Astaroth

The lifespan of plasma and LCD screens (and we are talking of the screens themselves not all the electronics that make them work) is now more or less the same as a CRT (traditional) tv. At the same time though they are full of new technology and so are probably going to be more prone to faults in the long term... just the same as 5 years ago a top of the range CRT TV full of the latest gadgets like progressive scan most likely wouldnt last as long as a 12" portable which shows channel 1-5 and thats it.

LCD, like all technologies including CRT, has a number of shortfalls - after all if one technology was simply the best in all situations then there would only be one technology available. One of the risks of going with a budget/ unknown brand is the fact they may not have spent the money trying to minimise them (eg with LCD motion blurring can be an issue)

Dont get suckered in to comparing statistics... many of them do not have a legally defined way of measuring them and so a company can more or less say they are what ever they like, one of the big brands about 2 years ago switched the way they measured contrast ratios (ie how black the blacks are when right next to the brightest white the screen can produce - another issue for LCD screens) and over night all the models doubled their scores.

You havent mentioned what your budget is. If you are looking at getting one of the bigger names... Panasonic, Toshiba, Sony etc then I would strongly recommend going to a "proper" hifi/ AV store like SevernOaks who will set the screens up that you are interested in and let you see them in action first hand... most will allow you to bring your own choice of DVDs etc with you so you can see if it is suitable for your viewing tastes.... would consider wanting to watch some fast action to judge the motion bluring and also trying it in both a bright and darkened room to judge the contrast/ brightness issue.... personally I cant stand the non-black blacks that many LCDs create. It is then down to your morals if you actually pay their high prices for the items after taking up their time and effort or if you say thanks and go buy it off a cheaper internet sales site.

warranties? depends how risk adverse you are. Worth remembering that John Lewis do price match and give you a free 5 year warranty.

shown73

Don't be put off plasmas by this re-gassing codswallop. If you are after informed comment, you could do worse than joining AVforums, https://www.avforums.com Might take a bit of trawling through, but you can of course pose your own questions.
Cheaper lcd's are reputed, by Which magazine, to be crap, to put it bluntly, and even the more expensive have their problems keeping up with fast motion. I'm no expert though, only amateur observation and hearsay.

titewad_2

Mizz_Pink wrote:

My Hubby:



Plasma TVs have a shorter life and will have to be periodically re-gassed
(I personally would steer clear of Plasma, although they come a little cheaper, the price gap betweeen them and LCD is closing.)

This is a myth that still seems to be doing the rounds..If it was true then where are all the advertisments for plasma re-gassing????
It's a service that would be offered if it was needed.

alex_the_great_2

I've just bought a Philips LCD TV. It's a 42 inch with full ambilight 42pf9831d (it makes the tv look like it's floating with all the lights off) and it is the greatest LCD ever. It is HD ready, has built in freeview, memory card reader, USB socket and all the inputs/outputs you will ever need.

I have been looking at LCD for years and the picture quality has not been good enough for me to buy. Wow, this TV is better than Plasma and is quieter and uses less power. It's more expensive but if you can afford it, buy it. John Lewis have them as demo models, so see it there and buy from the net.