Which 32" LCD TV with Freeview HD?

macman

Right, my MIL has given me instructions to find her a new TV to replace her old 26" CRT- her area goes digital in September.
The brief is simple: 32 inch LCD, decent sound quality, must have Freeview HD tuner, budget up to £400. Decent brand, not necessarily top notch, but no Technika's etc please. Possibly Samsung, LG, Panasonic?
A quick look on the Richer Sounds website brings up 3 possibles within budget:
LG32LD690: £330.
Panasonic Viera TXL32S20B: £350.
Samsung UE32C5800: £400.

Does anyone have any comments or alternative suggestions please?
Remember that if I get this wrong I'll never hear the end of it...:(

brewerdave

I've personally got no complaints re LG -I've had a 32" HD ready set for ~ 15 months - only thing is that HD on a 32" TV is really a waste unless you are prepared to sit about 3 feet from the screen!!

victor2

As brewerdave says, you'll barely see any benefit from HD on a TV that size. Plain old Freeview will probably be more than enough. Good choice of TVs though, can't really go wrong with any of those.

Esqui

Sony 32ex403? Currently £399, and I've been impressed by it http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/sony-bravia-kdl-32ex403u-32-full-hd-lcd-tv-04895296-pdt.html

Inner_Zone

You wont get 'decent sound quality' on any flat screen TV there is just not enough space for large enough speakers. Re HD has already been said will hardly noticeable on 32".

Really your MIL needs to go a look a sets in shop or neighbours. There will be a big different in picture between her CRT and LCD which will be noticeable, less so with plasma, but as she will be watching she needs to choose really.

macman

Thanks to everyone for the advice, but I'd have to disagree on the HD quality. I have a 32" Panasonic, and using Freesat via a Humax Foxsat HDR I can certainly see the difference between SD and HD. I have no personal experience of Freeview HD though. And I reckon the sound on mine is appreciably better than on some budget 32" sets I have seen.
At present I'm leaning towards the Panasonic over the LG, as I reckon the EPG and remote are better.

victor2

But will MIL see any difference between SD & HD??:)

macman

victor2 wrote: »

But will MIL see any difference between SD & HD??:)

Quite possibly not. But the cost difference between Freeview SD and Freeview HD sets is pretty negligible now, so she might as well go for it. I was going to get her a Freesat TV originally, but she's dithered so long that the switchover is due in 6m, and there are now very few sets under £500 with integrated Freesat tuners-everything is going Freeview HD it seems.

OK_Sauce

Slightly over budget by £22.99

Panasonic TXL32G20 at Play.com

Integrated Freeview HD and Freesat HD, plus my parents have the 37" version and the sound quality is about as good as you're going to get from an LCD tv (in fact it sounds better than the sound from my 46" Panny G20 plasma. Go figure that one out!

OK_Sauce

You definately will see the difference between SD and HD even with a screen that small. With SD the tv is still trying to scale the signal to fit the native resolution of the tv, whereas HD is broadcast in 1080i.

Tropez

I'm always puzzled by people who say that you cannot notice the difference between SD and HD on a 32" screen. I have a 32" HD TV in the bedroom and although it's a good ten feet away from where I would be when watching it I can clearly see the difference between SD and HD.