42" LCD / LED / Plasma ??

DazedAndConfuzed

Hi All,

I'm looking at spending around £600 on a new 42" tv and at the moment I'm leaning towards LED. The problem is how do I know which is the better tv when the specs are looking very, very similar?

I'm looking for one that's good for HD tv, blu-ray movies and X-box playing, not fussed about 3D, not fussed about it being a smart tv, just a good one for the price.

Where's the best place to start looking for advice, recommendations, buying guides, etc?

Thanks

:beer:

Heinz

Which?.....

hdtvtest.co.uk?

CashStrappedPrincess

Richer Sounds is fantastic for TVs and if you sign up to be a VIP you get a £10 off voucher IIRC.

TBH its the only place we will go for everything Home cinema as they really offer you good advice and dont try and fob you off with something you dont need.

Also you can get a 5 year guarantee on TVs for 10% of the purchase price if you wish.

almillar

Make sure you listen to the sound too. Those thin LED cabinets leave no space for speakers. And remember, LED IS LCD!

andyf3050

We've just bought a 43" Samsung plasma with built in freeview from Tesco for just over £300. I'm really impressed with it. The energy consumption is lower than our old Phillips by nearly 200W.

I'm not sure if it's HD but I'll check the spec when I get home and repost later in the thread.

I can even put my videos from camcorder and mobile phone onto a USB memory stick and just plug it into the TV and they play perfectly.

InsideInsurance

DazedAndConfuzed wrote: »

The problem is how do I know which is the better tv when the specs are looking very, very similar?

It may be stating the obvious, but you go and look at them!

(1) Ensure you watch the kind of programs you like watching - motion bluring/ smearing that LED/LCD can suffer from is not an issue if the fastest paced thing you like to watch is Eastenders.

(2) Ideally ask for the remote to play with the settings - many shops like Comet/ Currys really badly set up their TVs and can give you a false impression

(3) Ideally see the TV you want in a viewing room where you can control the light levels - LED are much brighter than Plasma so can look better in the brightly lit shop floor but their black levels are much worse in a darkened room, so depending on you need to see it in as close to your lighting conditions as possible. When I looked at a TV in SevenOaks they turned the shop lights off for me so I could see as the viewing room was in use by someone else

Failing all of those, then look at the likes of AVForums and see what people are recommending there.

Generally Plasma have better picture and sound quality than LED or LCD (which are the same technology with just different back lighting) but the screens are darker and being glass fronted they suffer more from reflections. LED are the thinnest/ lightest and lowest power consumption but as a result their sound tends to be the worst and they can suffer from a clouding effect - LCD on the other hand can suffer from brighter edging than central screen.

Personally, I'd go for plasma unless it is in a very bright room or reflections will be an issue (which they were for me hence me getting LED).

I have seen the very well respected Panasonic TX-P42GT30 advertised for around the £600 mark and would give it a very serious consideration. It is last years model though but this years is the TX-P42GT50 and they are going for £1150!

Panasonic are my choice for Plasma, Samsung for LED

DazedAndConfuzed

Hi, thanks for your advice all.

I'm planning on spending the weekend going round town looking at the various options but just wanted some advice to get me started.

Just need to decide if the tv's going up on the wall (LED / LCD) or on the existing tv stand (Plasma)

spike7451

andyf3050 wrote: »

We've just bought a 43" Samsung plasma with built in freeview from Tesco for just over £300. I'm really impressed with it. The energy consumption is lower than our old Phillips by nearly 200W.

I'm not sure if it's HD but I'll check the spec when I get home and repost later in the thread.

I can even put my videos from camcorder and mobile phone onto a USB memory stick and just plug it into the TV and they play perfectly.

I've got the same one.Excellent picture,sound,very easy to use & I can also plug my external HD Drive that I use on my PC into it & watch programmes,look at pictures & play music thru it as I also have my S.Sound system hooked up via the optical out.AND I've also got my old PC tower hooked up to it so I can use it as a monitor as well!!