Help with buying a new TV - Please

EllaBaby

I am looking to buy a new TV...........I am thinking of 32" flat screen.........Max£500.
I am really embarassed to ask this but what should I be looking out for and what does LCD, HD mean? I live on my own with my children and I'm afraid this sort of thing really gets me down as I feel so stupid, and don't want to make a costly mistake.
There is a Bush 32" flat screen LCD HD ready at Tesco Direct £449.97, would anyone have the time to check this out and see what they think.
I'm starting to turn to MSE a lot for advice and its nice to know people are out there to help, makes my world not as lonely.
Many thanks in anticipation.

before_hollywood

lcd- is liquid crystal display, those really thin screens that are everywhere nowadays, if you get a good one they are worth going for but they are expensive.
hd- high definition, eventually tv signals are going to be high definition, i.e better quality than now, its not a case of the tvs we have now are going to be obsolete or out of date or anything like that, but what it does mean is if you want to get properley hd tv broadcast you will need a hd tv, hd digibox or sky hd subscription (which you can get but it costs extra). personally i have got a crt flat screen (an ordinary tv with a flat screen on it), its about 3 or 4 years old and is a sony, i've kept hold of it because its well enough put together to last for a few years yet and the picture with an ordinary freeview box from asda is really good, and to be honest a 32'' flatscreen crt (ordinary tv like you have now), even a really expensive make like sony or panasonic or something will be a lot less than your budget.

its worth looking at both options

minimoneysaver

Welcome EllaBaby. I am in the same position as you and it is so nice to meet so many friendly people on these boards. Never feel stupid asking a question. I am sure that there are many people out there who don't understand about the new tv formats. I had a look in the argos catalogue to give me an idea of the new formats and what they all meant. It also gives a price guide, but remember it isn't usually the best price, unless they have the item you want on sale. Good luck and welcome :-)

buglawton

I was flipping thru a recent Which? mag and it is still fairly critical of a lot of the LCD flat screens but says they are overtaking plasmas for practicality. The Panasonic Viera came out well on picture quality and power consumption (it has a light sensing feature that reduces the brightness in darkened rooms, saving energy).

deanos

Buying a LCD is a minefield, so many hong kong fuey sets around , try and stick with a good name brand and check out reviews

marvin

Why such a large screen, do you have a large living room? do you watch a lot of movies with the lights off and want to replicate the cinema experience?

for normal viewing 26" LCD should be good enough really and it brings sets of better quality into your price band.

Examples are the Sony Bravia 26" HD (High Def) DVB (built in Freeview) that Sainsburys had in their sale recently at £499. With new models being launched, seemingly by the hour, there can be some good bargains out there in (as above) a slightly older but still excellent model.

buglawton

Our sofa is 9 feet from the TV which is a 26" CRT widescreen type and it still looks a tad small. When it comes up to replacement I would plump for a 32" as long as it can squeeze into that alcove.

EllaBaby

Thank you all SO much for your replies.
Before Hollywood, your explanation in easy to understand terminology was greatly appreciated, Thank you.
Is a wide screen the same as a flat screen? And does that mean they aren't as heavy and don't have that big box bit out of the back?
And do I gather that you can get a flat screen that is not necessarily an expensive LCD?
One last thing.....what does CRT stand for? (Please don't fall around laughing now)
I use freeview and have an upgraded aerial and get a very good picture so does that mean I am already HD ready?
minimoneysaver thank you for your kind words, it does help to know I am not alone.
Thank you all for your patience.

Chester_Draws

Hi Ellababy,

I'm afraid this sort of thing really gets me down as I feel so stupid, and don't want to make a costly mistake.

With such helpful people around on this site, there is no such thing as a silly question if you dont know the answer !
Theres always others who follow the answers with interest as they wish they had asked the question in the first place.
Hope it all becomes clear as the answers flow......

lapat

hi ellababy

play.com have a 32" sony bravia on for £599
dixons have a samsung 32" for £534 with a £10 voucher off voucher code is: 10apr07
laskys.com have the same samsung for a tad under £500 but there delivery is £20 plus dixons is free delivery
all of the above sellers have cashback through quidco aswell ranging from 2% to 3.5%
i would locate the tv you wanted and do a serach on kelkoo to see where you can find it cheapest.

hope this helps

keasden

EllaBaby wrote: »

Is a wide screen the same as a flat screen?

No, a flat LCD screen can be standard 'square' shaped or wide screen, but generally most TV's above 26" tend to be widescreen these days so I wouldn't worry about that, it tends to be the smaller 17" types that are non-widescreen.

Check out your computer monitor, chances are that will not be widescreen, now look at the majority of the larger TV's in an argos book, they will generally all be widescreen.

EllaBaby wrote: »

And does that mean they aren't as heavy and don't have that big box bit out of the back?

The LCD TV's may not be 'as' heavy, but you still wouldn't want to drop on your foot. The LCD TV's are basically thin tellys and the majority can be wall hung if you buy the appropriate bracket, so yes they do away with the big box at the back

EllaBaby wrote: »

And do I gather that you can get a flat screen that is not necessarily an expensive LCD?

You can get a flat screen that is not an LCD, nearly all modern TV's have a flat screen, even the ones with the big box at the back! Try to think of the LCD TV's as thin rather than flat and that should help you differentiate between the two.

EllaBaby wrote: »

One last thing.....what does CRT stand for? (Please don't fall around laughing now)

Cathode Ray Tube, or as you put it, a telly with a big box on the back. These are the TV's we all had until the introduction of LCD and Plasma 'thin' TV's. The general consensus is that a CRT TV will usually give a better picture for a standard definition transmission (ie BBC1, ITV, Sky1) than an LCD.

The downside is that a CRT set cannot display high definition pictures, so at some point in the next 5 years or so when there should be more high def programmes being broadcast an LCD set will be better to have than a CRT one.

EllaBaby wrote: »

I use freeview and have an upgraded aerial and get a very good picture so does that mean I am already HD ready?

No, you will not be getting any HD programmes unless you have an LCD/Plasma set AND a SkyHD box which costs £300 and you pay an extra £10 a month to Sky for the HD subscription.


If you want the best picture possible for your money from your freeview box buy a decent CRT telly from a WELL KNOWN brand such as Toshiba, Samsung, Hitachi, Sony etc.

If you want a TV that looks 'cool' even when switched off, gives a decent picture from your freeview and is future-proof, buy an LCD set, again from one of the big manufacturers.

This is purely my personal opinion but I would not entertain a 'cheap' LCD from Woolworths/Tesco/Aldi etc, the extra £100 or so for a 'proper' make IMHO would be money well spent.

Also, check out the prices at John Lewis, they will match the price of any TV at any other 'bricks and mortar' store (ie not Internet price) AND give you a free 5 year guarantee.

If you know someone with a Costco membership they also give a 3 year guarantee and are competitively priced.

Good luck choosing!