Sub £500 TV.... LCD or Plasma?

geordie_ben

So, do I need a TV with built in Freeview (As I dont have a sky dish) even if I have a Freeview PVR?

Or do I not have an option to get it without nowadays (guessing most have it in)

custardy

geordie_ben wrote: »

So, do I need a TV with built in Freeview (As I dont have a sky dish) even if I have a Freeview PVR?

Or do I not have an option to get it without nowadays (guessing most have it in)

most have it but you can always use a separate PVR or whatever regardless of the tuner it has
however you would be getting freeview HD for 'free' if your TV has it

geordie_ben

custardy wrote: »

most have it but you can always use a separate PVR or whatever regardless of the tuner it has
however you would be getting freeview HD for 'free' if your TV has it

Ah that's ok then

LCD or LED?

LED are more expensive but seem to have better ratios and use less power

Any ideas people?

This one looks rather nice

custardy

geordie_ben wrote: »

Ah that's ok then

LCD or LED?

LED are more expensive but seem to have better ratios and use less power

Any ideas people?

This one looks rather nice

we have a 37 LCD,replaced it with a 50" plasma
far better image quality,blacks,colours etc
so for me it would be a choice of LED or plasma

aliEnRIK

geordie_ben wrote: »

Ah that's ok then

LCD or LED?

LED are more expensive but seem to have better ratios and use less power

Any ideas people?

This one looks rather nice

True LED tvs are mega expensive. What your linking to there is an 'edge lit' LED tv (Basically an LCD with LED edge lighting)

Youd be best looking for reviews if possible. Maybe also trotting over to AV Forums to see what they make of whatever tv your intersted in

Most decent make modern tvs are 'capable' of looking very good these days. However, you need one with a decent scaler (As ive already said) and as you wont be able to calibrate it properly, you need one that has a decent greyscale 'out of the box'

If the greyscale isnt set right (none are when you buy them, but some are far more accurate than others) then colours never look right. Skin tones and reds in particular tend to look wrong on these tvs.

I look here as my first port of call as it gives before and after calibration results amongst many other measurements etc
http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/reviews.php

LGs tend to have poor greyscales to start with, but they have full menu controls to get it as accurate as possible (using a sensor etc, something you wont be bothering with im sure)

iwb100

custardy wrote: »

we have a 37 LCD,replaced it with a 50" plasma
far better image quality,blacks,colours etc
so for me it would be a choice of LED or plasma

Perhaps your LCD wasn't very good, or incorrectly calibrated.

In truth, for the average customer and indeed the OP in this thread a good LCD or Plasma will be equally as good. There are sites you can look at the pro's and cons of each if you want to.

Plasma's usually have deeper blacks and slightly better colours, but suffer from Image retention and sometimes are not so great when watched in "light conditions".

LCD's are usually slightly "sharper" images and do not suffer IR, but they do suffer from a more restricted range of viewing angles and sometimes input lag in gaming.

I've had both. And honestly your average customer wouldn't tell the difference watching Coronation Street in HD on either a Plasma or an LCD, assuming both are calibrated correctly for the room they are in.

If you want a really large TV 50" plus then Plasma is your only option. 40-46" and its really a personal choice. As a gamer I have to decide between input lag and IR. I choose having a slight input lag so go LCD. Others would go the other way. It is said that the very newest and best Plasma's don't suffer real IR, but in my experience they all do to some extent.

Basically in summation decide what your priorities are, if its watching mainly freeview in SD then Plasma or LCD, depends what deal/offer you can get!

aliEnRIK

Some of the latest Pan plasmas have bad input lag

OK_Sauce

Toxteth_OGrady wrote: »

Built in Freesat HD and Freeview HD allow you to receive 5 free to air HD channels without the need for a separate set-top box. Frreview HD needs a terrestrial TV aerial. Freesat HD needs a Sky dish (or similar).

No Ch4HD or CH5HD on Freesat yet.

birkee

No contest on one point LCD or LED.
Even the LEDS have improved so most people won't spot the difference from plasma, but ....
You can lose a LCD or LED on a TV, and get an annoying black hole in the picture, (very rare, I've never heard of anyone getting it.) but when a plasma goes wrong, it can be unwatchable.
My Son had a nice plasma, but the picture went haywire, and suffered bleeding, and ghost images and WAS unwatchable. He's LCD now. (Bought just before the LED's started coming out. They've still to prove their longevity in my book.)

custardy

birkee wrote: »

No contest on one point LCD or LED.
Even the LEDS have improved so most people won't spot the difference from plasma, but ....
You can lose a LCD or LED on a TV, and get an annoying black hole in the picture, (very rare, I've never heard of anyone getting it.) but when a plasma goes wrong, it can be unwatchable.
My Son had a nice plasma, but the picture went haywire, and suffered bleeding, and ghost images and WAS unwatchable. He's LCD now. (Bought just before the LED's started coming out. They've still to prove their longevity in my book.)

which is why I got one with a 5 year collect and return warranty