Small LCD TV & freeview advice PLEASE

bikebarbie

I have been looking for a LCD tv for a kitchen for a while now but have not been able to find the ONE.

Ideally I wanted a 17 - 19" HD tv with FREEVIEW, the more the better to improve the picture quality (does HD make a difference to a TV this size?)
my budget is under £300.
There is plenty out there for non branded tv's such Dimtech, Technika, E-motion, Swisstech, Logik, Matsui, UMC, Bush, Goodmans... but I want to get one from a more reputable company.

Since I have not found anything to match my criteria, I need your help.

Ultimately if I cannot find such TV with in build Freeview, are all Freeview boxes the same or does the quality change from box to box.I have seen really tiny Freeview boxes and ideally if I have to get a TV with no in build Freeview I would like to get the smaller box as possible. So please advice
as you can see I am at a complete loss.

Thank you very very much

MercilessKiller

Freeview boxes are all the same. Its your aerial that makes a big difference I'd recommend going for a tv without freeview in built as its used as an excuse to bump up prices!

As for the TV, you need to check the resolution of the screen. HD is absolutely irellevant as currently you wont be getting High Definition through freeview. Dont get me wrong you want to buy an HD Ready tv, but the quality will be the same with them all!

You'll be alright with a screen which has the following resolution:
1024 x 768

but this one is prob one of the best atm and is mid budget:
1366 x 768

I'll leave prices up to other people, but check out Pixmania, amazon, and do a search on hotukdeals.com

bikebarbie

thank you very much I will take your advice on board and go with separate freeview as I said some of them are so small you can practically stick them with velcro on the back of the tv!

Brand wise I was thinking
Samsung http://www.dixons.co.uk/product.php?sku=419215&camp_id=ppc_tvcamp

LG http://www.empiredirect.co.uk/content/products/details/index~modelcode~LGE-19LS4R.htm

Philips http://www.kikatek.com/product_info.php?products_id=19790&source=froogle
OR
http://www.shop.philips.co.uk/edealinv/servlet/ExecMacro?nurl=control/StoreItem.vm&ctl_nbr=3590&siId=1273657&catParentID=24275&scId=24275&catLevel=2&parentCatName=


. ..can anyone advice anything in particular so once I track down the ONE i can look for the cheapest price.

thanks again!! :T

MercilessKiller

You want the cheapest one with the best resolution

If you ever think you've got the right one, post it in here and google the model name with "review" or "forum" to see what people think of it

Amazons good for customer reviews.

newmoneysaver_2

bikebarbie wrote: »

Samsung http://www.dixons.co.uk/product.php?sku=419215&camp_id=ppc_tvcamp

I've got this one - it's a great little telly with an excellent picture. We have the 32" version in the lounge, and got the 23" for the bedroom.

bikebarbie

anyone else wants to share what small telly they have and would reccomend? Thanks

janem2

I like the price of the UMC in Dixons and Currys - and the picture looks ok to me in the shop however I am unsure whether the technical quality is good. Can anyone comment?

1296000 pixels on a 19 inch screen
contrast is 700:1

This is for a kitchen tv so can put up with some lower quality but would like opinions before I part with my cash...

thx

J

MercilessKiller

For a kitchen tv you should be concentrating on price over quality a 700:1 on a 19inch screen is fine, but for a proper viewing screen it wouldnt be.

For example if you're watching a lot of mmovies with dark scenes etc, you need a better contrast... but thats fine for the kitchen

Moneymaker

Remember that a TV set needs to be installed in a cool dry room, otherwise it won't last long.

shown73

Don't know how good it is, but I noticed the other evening that Asda had a freeview receiver that looked like a big memory stick, and simply plugged into a scart socket on the tv. Seemed like a neat idea, if it works ok, perhaps someone on here has tried it??

shown73

Moneymaker wrote: »

Remember that a TV set needs to be installed in a cool dry room, otherwise it won't last long.

Really? Thank you for sharing that gem of wisdom with us.