Help: Looking for 40" smart 3D tv for about £500-£600

Scouse337

As the title suggests........

Had Samsung's in the past and quite like the look of this one:

samsung ue40f6500

But there are so many models with just Samsung alone, can any of you guys head me in the right direction or suggest as good or better tv for the money and a place to buy it from please?

Thanks in advance

Scouse337

80 people have seen my post but no replies yet, is there any more info i need to give or have i missed something out, advice please

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

Scouse337 wrote: »

a place to buy it from please?

Richer Sounds always seems to have good reviews.

VisionMan

3D is so yesterday, with so very little content available.

But if you want a smart TV that is top notch (whether 3D or not), Samsung do come highly recommended. Just read the independent reviews to pick one.

Scouse337

Thanks

Yeah i wasn't bothered about 3D but the tv i had spotted came with it like that so mentioned it

Any other bits of advice?

VisionMan

Only to make sure you have an adequate internet speed to recieve the additional on demand smart TV services.

Bigphil1474

I spent months deciding on my new tv. Samsungs appeared to give better value for your £ on specification i.e. processor, twin tuning etc. However, their 3d is active. This means that the glasses are battery powered (rechargeable) but the 3d experience is more intense. Even one of the sales guys at Currys said you can't watch it for too long without getting a headache. On the other hand if you're only going to watch the odd movie it might be ok, but I don't think it's great for kids.
I ended up going for an LG model. Spec not quite as good, but 3d is passive. This means the glasses are the same as the ones you get at the cinema.

I got the 42LA740v which is a good model but cost around £850. Managed to get a discount code to knock £50 off and went through topcashback to get £30 cash back. Ended up paying around £770. Bought it through Hughes Direct website. If you use a cashback site, Currys often have a lot of voucher codes - got a PC from them in July and saved £70. Got this model because it had -
wi-fi built in,
high spec screen resolution (800hz I think),
could handle USB recording (so I could connect an external hard drive and record/playback tv direct,
smart tv (for watching Lovefilm, Netflix, BBC i-player etc.)
3d - quality is ace for watching occasional movie at home. Not a big thing but thought its worth having in case it takes off.

The only thing it's missing is a twin tuner - allows you to watch one channel while recording another. A lot of the Samsungs did. However, have got a seperate 3d player and can watch on smart tv whilst recording so no big loss.
The lower spec LG's - LA660 for example, are pretty good (my mum's got one).

Richer Sounds website is great for looking at the specs of the tellies, as is Currys website. Find the model you like, then do the trawl for best price taking into account cash back and codes etc.
From my searching, I basically nailed it down to an LG or Samsung, and went for LG for my overall requirements.

Hope that helps

almillar

Scouse - one piece of info missing - what do you WANT?!
You can get a bigger TV for £600, or you can get a 40" cheaper. What is it about this TV that made you want it?
Do you have to have 3D?
You can't just say 'smart' - you need to work out what smart features you want. TV manufacturers will try to stick a smart sticker on any TV but it's pretty meaningless - what services do you need on it?

Scouse337

Thats brilliant help guys. Great advice and sure helps me with my search!

almillar & Bigphil1474:

The screen has to be 40", would like bigger but the boss says NO!

Doesn't have to be 3D but the model i had looked had it built in so added in myself, however, if there is a better 40" TV without 3D i wouldn't mind as it would only be for the odd film.

SMART TV for watching Lovefilm, Netflix, BBC i-player etc

USB for so I could connect an external hard drive and record/playback tv direct.

PS. we both really like the way the TV looked, not just when it was turned on! lol

wongataa

I recently bought a Panasonic TX-L42ET60B. £599 at Richer Sounds. It is a good set. It is 42" but it has very narrow bezels so it is only just bigger than the 37" Samsung I replaced.

It has passive 3D, smart apps, and you can plug drives into the USB ports.

almillar

So you're going to subscribe to LoveFilm and Netflix? You really watch that many movies?
As I've said, iPlayer is available through your Sky box, and so are stacks of movies (PAYG or subscription). That just leaves USB recording and playback. You need to carefully check the specifications of TVs you're interested in - just because it has a USB port, doesn't mean you can do anything useful with it! And when you're recording something to the TV's USB, you're also stuck watching it as it almost definitely only has 1 tuner.