Techies plse help choose my LCD/LED tv

Martin_Knott-Lewis

Mse Techies plse help choose my LCD/LED tv.

My old crt tv has finally expired, so now I really need a new TV. I’ve read some forums and looked at some websites but I’m no techie, so please help.

My old TV was a Toshiba crt 23ins 59cm diag.
I like to go with a known brand and that size was ok by me, as I watch quite close in a smallish room. Naturally I’d like the biggest full HD screen for the money and that’s £200 max.

I was drawn to these 4 on the Currys website and they are cheaper than Richer Sounds:

Sharp LC22LE22E 22” Full LED £129.97 (save £60)

Samsung B223HD 22” Full HD LCD £129.97 (save £120)

Samsung B2430HD 24” Full HD LCD £149.97 (save £100)
Same but bigger screen.

The above two Samsungs are described as hybrid pc monitor and tv with DVB-T freeview tuner, whereas the Sharp above and the 27” Samsung below have a digital freeview tuner and analogue tuner. Which is better?

Samsung P2770 27” Full HD LCD £199.97 (save £130)
No USB apparently.

Sharp uses 19W –v- Samsung 50W. Can that be right?!

Which brand is better/more reliable?

Will I find the 22” too small? Up to which size could I realistically occasionally carry from room to room? (I watch in my bedroom but want to bring it to the adjoining lounge if I have guests over to stay).

Which is the best value and which do you recommend I buy?

Finally, will I find the same prices in store or is it only if I 'reserve & collect' online. Are there any discount promotional codes.

Thanks in advance.:)

Martin_Knott-Lewis

I've just read the reviews on Amazon and its not favourable for the Sharp. I think I would like one of the bigger Samsungs, not the 22", rather the 24 or 27".

Also, I 've now browsed the John Lewis website and TVs are looking dear. I suppose they are pricing in the 5 year warranty.

Freeview HD, well worth having on an 1080p HD set? At what price level does Freeview HD become a feature? I only see TVs starting at the £600ish mark with this HD feature.

Leo2020

Something to point, all the models you have chosen from Currys are end of line. Anything that ends in 97p is being discontinued. This means that you might have trouble finding stock in your local stores. If however, you do find stock and reserve online then you will pay the online price in store.

I would go with a Samsung rather than a Sharp as is my experience Samsung TVs have a better picture quality in general compared to other makes. However, the Sharp is an LED whereas the others are LCD. If I was buying a TV today I would go for an LED.

My best advice is to actually visit a store. You don't have to buy there but you get a chance to actually see the quality of the picture before you buy.

The hybrid refers to the fact that it will have a VGA connection on the TV so you can plug your PC into it. If you need to use your TV as a monitor then get a TV with a VGA connection.

An LED TV is thinner than a LCD so you might find an LED is more suitable to be moved around. But what I can carry and you can carry are two different things so again your probably best going to a store to have a look at different models and sizes.

Martin_Knott-Lewis

Thank you for your very useful advice. I will go look at some.

Currys appear to be out of stock anyway.:(

InsideInsurance

Samsung generally are considered the leaders in the LCD/LED space - to clarify the two are basically the same as they both use LCD screens the difference is what is used to light behind the LCD.

Certainly if possible go and view them yourself as the LED screens can suffer from both motion bluring and clouding issues so check you are happy with watching the sort of stuff you watch on them before spending.

victor2

Also, you should appreciate the size of the screen. An old 23" TV with a standard 4:3 ratio will have a screen height of 13.6". A modern 23" widescreen TV with a 16:9 ratio will have a wider screen but a height of 11.2"
To get the same screen height, you need to be looking at a widescreen TV of at least 27" diagonal size.

almillar

Of course that lovely thin LED backlit TV has even less space for the speakers, so will sound even worse than a 'fatter' flatscreen TV. You'll have a stack of stuff underneath too, so don't get carried away with thin TVs if it isn't really a factor...