Recommendations for a new TV please

TomsMom

I'm gutted that my old Philips CRT TV has just been declared past it, it's lasted 15 years without any problems and looked perfect in the living room.

So I need a new TV and I haven't got a clue. I don't know what all the techie details mean I just know what I want.

I can't get out to any big retail centres so have contacted the nearest local specialist who is about an hour's drive away. They have recommended Panasonic, which I am happy to go along with as I know they have a good reputation.

I'd like:
32"
Matt black if possible (I don't like the dust collecting glossy black)
Nice quality sound (Was told that all flat screen TVs sound is not brilliant and you'd need surround sound, but I don't want wires trailing all over the carpet)
Nice picture quality that looks the same from whatever angle you view the screen from (is that possible?)

I don't need HD as I don't intend to upgrade my Freesat from Sky, I am happy enough with the free channels.

I have Freeview with my Panasonic DVD recorder (it has twin channel so I can watch one and record a different one) so it isn't essential to have Freeview built into the TV (if they make them without, I don't know).

Price: I don't want to go up to 4 figures, so as long as it has £X00.00 I am happy to consider.

Can anyone make any suggestions, or recommend a site with good TV reviews please?

danthemoneysavingman

what hifi does decent reviews, but not on older teles which will likely serve your needs as you prob dont want 3D, internet and so on.
and you don't need full surround sound, you could try a soundbar or just stereo speakers but you'll need an AV amp or similar if you want better sound than the TV provides. Best would be for you to actually go and see what's available, you can't really choose a TV remotely... its like buying a car without having driven it, imo...

TomsMom

danthemoneysavingman wrote: »

what hifi does decent reviews, but not on older teles which will likely serve your needs as you prob dont want 3D, internet and so on.
and you don't need full surround sound, you could try a soundbar or just stereo speakers but you'll need an AV amp or similar if you want better sound than the TV provides. Best would be for you to actually go and see what's available, you can't really choose a TV remotely... its like buying a car without having driven it, imo...

Thanks for your reply. Yes, you're right, don't need any fancy do-dads like internet, 3D, integrated DVD or Blu Ray player, etc., just basically want to watch TV and play DVDs.

Are the AV amps very big? Is it something that can be tucked behind the TV cabinet and be out of the way? I want to keep my existing cabinet as it has glass doors on the front so the Sky box and DVD recorder are nicely tucked away and don't get covered in dust.

I can get to the shop I spoke to but I was just wondering if anyone knew of any model numbers that were better than others so that I can check if they have them in the shop before I make the journey. Don't want to turn up there and find they've only got models that have poorer reviews .

rizla01

Hi,

I fully sympathise with your predicament as I was so happy with my 32" CRT Sony but when it died was thrown into the arena.

All you want is a TV!!!!

Sorry to disappoint but that isn't possible these days, unless you are prepared to put up with an inferior system to what you had.

Ignore all of the recomendations for this Type/make being better than that type/make.

Just go for a reasonably priced set.

Almost ALL 32" tvs will give a good pic as long as you stick to a good brand (LG, Samsung, Panny, Toshiba Etc) as well as some lesser known brands (Try Ebuyer).

NONE of them give decent sound output or clarity but Panny is one of the better ones.
A cheap AV system (under £100 will be OK if your room size is small).

HD ready is all you need (NOT 3D - Just a silly fad)

The above are all my own opinions and perhaps not shared by everyone but my advice to you would be to set yourself a sensible budget (of say £500) and get the most that you can for the money inc TV, Sound System and possibly a bluray player which will upscale your DVDs and poss give you internet access (Useful sometimes and FREE) and if you go to someone like Richer sounds or any other independant they should be good enough to advise and display what you NEED.

Just a point - I went from 32" to a 42" and regret not getting the 50".

I purchased an LG 42" PJ650 Plasma BTW and I am pretty blown away by it. (Except the sound)

FINALLY I advise you LOOK HERE

Hope that helps.:)

EDIT - suggest you buy THIS while its at that price (sound Sys with bluray and plenty of oomph)

And perhaps THIS to compliment it (You are likely to have to put up with gloss black nowadays, tho)

TOTAL - JUST A TAD OVER £400.

macman

Do you have a Richer Sounds shop that you can get to?
I'd go for a set with built in Freeview HD (all new TV's have Freeview built in), the extra charged is very little now (maybe £30) and gives you some future-proofing.
At 32" you don't need a set with Full HD. HD Ready will be fine.
Given your modest requirements there is no need to spend more than about £400. LG and Samsung make some good TV's which are a little less than the brand leaders such as Panasonic or Sony.
The main thing is to go and see the TV for yourself-it's a subjective choice.

TomsMom

Thank you both.

A really big TV wouldn't sit right in the room. The previous owners of the house had a big one and it looked stupid and took up a ridiculous amount of room. The independent shop I've contacted has taken away the old TV (it went in for repair but the tube is shorting out) so they know the sort of size that would be suitable and their recommendation was for the 32" so I am quite happy with that but I will go to the shop before I make a final decision.

Macman - no, there is no Richer Sound that I can get to, that would be about 3 hours away, the localish independent (1 hour drive, I live in a fairly rural area) is one we've had dealings with for a good few years and give good honest advice. I'm happy to go with the Panasonic brand as from previous experience with a DVD recorder that developed a fault we know they do assisted repairs out of guarantee, so gives a bit of confidence that the item would not be a throw away if a fault developed in a relatively short time. The retailer also offers an in home service and if a repair isn't possible in home they will take away and return, so saving me a major problem if a fault developed.

So it looks like the basic sort of TV I need isn't now available and I'll be looking at HD ready with built in Freeview.

Rizla - Thank you for those links. I was thinking that just a couple of extra speakers would be adequate rather than the amount in the system you linked to. The old Philips had two extra speakers with connectors on the back of the TV which came off the TV's amplifier. They did a good job and gave a really nice sound on that TV.

Thank you both for your thoughts, I do appreciate it especially as I'm not into new technology.

NeverAgain_2

As mentioned, a sound bar might be your neatest solution, although it's another remote control.

Sharp at around £120 seem the most popular.

Which brand for the TV is harder, but you can afford a premium make, so worth going for one of those, rather than a supermarket special.

Panasonic is very well thought of.

Do have another think about the size, picture quality on a premium flatscreen is really good these days and many people say they wish they'd bought a bigger set.

vyle

This'll probably sort you out:

http://www.johnlewis.com/231264348/Product.aspx

If you want matte black you'll have to look towards the higher end sets where they do matte sets. Otherwise, glossy is your only option.

This tv has a very good viewing angle, but if you want it to have absolutely no loss of quality, whatever the angle, you'll need a tv with an IPS panel. Last year's D28 had one of those, but it was plasticy silver and had all the features you didn't want.

For sound, it'd be worth looking at this:

http://www.qacoustics.co.uk/q-tv/q-tv2.htm

It attaches to the back of the tv like a bracket, so you hardly see it, and it doesn't sound bad at all. They make it for 32" tvs and larger.

rizla01

But that
Q-TV2

is about £250???

Wouldn't have called that sound (*) advice!

Toxteth_OGrady

rizla01 wrote: »

But that
Q-TV2

is about £250???

Wouldn't have called that sound (*) advice!

Yep, bit cheap and nasty.

Get this instead:

http://www.hifigear.co.uk/quad-lite-plus-lcr-soundbar.html

TomsMom

Thank you guys for further input. The Panasonic at JL is looking good, will do a bit of research for reviews on the model and see if the shop has one I can go and see. Will speak to them tomorrow to see what they have in store.

Not sure about that sound bar at £250 :eek:. Will do a bit of research in that department too!

Toxteth - :rotfl: