Have about a £700 budget, help me choose a new TV

[GTP_Plato]

I am looking to upgrade as my current Samsung is 5yrs old or more, I am looking for something with all/most of the bells and whistles.

I thought this would be the best time of year to upgrade as TV's will be going pretty cheap, given the fact manufacturers will be readying their 2013 models.

I have mostly been looking at LED TV's as I was put off Plasma by the heat they put out and they don't seem very eco friendly. (I am open to persuasion if you guys have good reason why Plasma would be better than LED in the long run)

Specs wise I am looking for something with great picture and great sound, I know I will probably have to give and take one over the other here. As for size around a 40-42 inch would be about right, I could go bigger but the budget probably wouldn't let me.

Obviously gaming is a factor here as well as I own and play on both consoles so input lag for me is a factor here.

Any help and advice would be appreciated guys 👍

Happy Christmas

 

[nick09]

Skip great sound and just pay for a good speaker setup. Also figure out the size of TV that you would need as a large TV would be too big for a small room.

 

[GTP_Plato]

Skip great sound and just pay for a good speaker setup. Also figure out the size of TV that you would need as a large TV would be too big for a small room.

Edited my original post, as for speaker setup I did think of that and it is certainly an option, as long as I can stay within budget 👍

 

[TB]

This one looks good for £650. Free shipping, too. 👍

Also, for this purchase, forget the speakers/receiver setup as that can easily come at a later time. Focus on the TV and go from there.

 

[GTP_Plato]

As I don't pay VAT that LG actually would cost me over £100 less (£541), so there are probably some great options out there.

The reviews for this TV seem to be pretty good but i'm not very clued up on the reliability of their products.

Anybody have much experience with LG?

 

[magic_town]

I have also been looking at an LG pretty similar to that one. Is there any reason people prefer plasma over LED LCD for gaming?

 

[GTP_Plato]

I have also been looking at an LG pretty similar to that one. Is there any reason people prefer plasma over LED LCD for gaming?

The only thing I noticed was that they tend not to have any input lag (correct me if i'm wrong guys) on LED's/LCD's you tend to get this, on some TV's a lot worse than others.

Or maybe they want to save on heating

 

[bevo]

I've had the same plasma for about 6 years for my gaming and movies. I've had 4 or 5 LCD TVs in that same time period and none have come close to my plasma. They have also all broke in that time frame. I even have an old CRT TV in my boys room because I got sick of replacing LCD TVs. I do though have an LCD in my bedroom now and one in my kids game room, and both of them seem to be decent TVs, but still look nothing like my panasonic plasma.

 

[Grayfox]

Look what the cat dragged in.

Samsung would be the brand I suggest you go for.

If you do not need 3D or a smart TV invest the savings in a good sound system or a larger TV.

 

[Saidur_Ali]

I know this is quite a bit below budget but it represents good value for money:

http://www.tesco.com/direct/lg-42lm...-3d-led-backlit-tv-with-freeview/653-3030.prd

XXAFFT for £10 off new customers making it £388.

Got good customer reviews in most websites it seems.

 

[GTP_Plato]

Whats your opinion on this TV guys

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007JURG7O/?tag=gtplanetuk-20

Seems to have all the gadgets and gizmos, the refresh rate is slower than the LG shown in this thread which at the moment looks a fantastic TV for the price.

My samsung has been great and there really isn't a great deal wrong with it, that's whats telling me to go with this Samsung but the LG certainly is worth considering

I am also now considering Plasma as well, the price certainly make them rather appealing.

Any other great TV bargains you guys have spotted?

 

[Saidur_Ali]

If you are going to get a 3D TV, make sure to make your mind up on what technology you would prefer passive (LG) or active (Samsung). I prefer passive due to glasses being a lot cheaper and easier on the eye as well frame rate. Both have positives and negatives, quick google search will show articles about them.

 

[GTP_Plato]

If you are going to get a 3D TV, make sure to make your mind up on what technology you would prefer passive (LG) or active (Samsung). I prefer passive due to glasses being a lot cheaper and easier on the eye as well frame rate. Both have positives and negatives, quick google search will show articles about them.

Cheers mate, I read some reviews on 3D as you suggested, the price difference on glasses is crazy, active is clearly the way to go for image quality but imo that's about it.

I have a clumsy 10 year old at home so having expensive flimsy things around like that probably isn't a good idea for me. I noticed the top brands (Sony, Samsung and Panasonic) have gone the more expensive route which sounds about right as they are the best manufacturers around.

As for the "passive" option I don't know a great deal about the quality of LG and Vizio, anybody have any experience with these models, that LG model mentioned in this thread seems more tempting now.

I don't really know a great deal about TV's, I am going to probably take a look at some TV's during the week as well. I hope I don't fall into the hands of a bad salesman, I have seen some of their tricks mentioned in a few of the forums I have been reading.

 

[nick09]

Vizio makes good TV's. My Uncle has one and my parents own a 26". Both of them has great picture quality.

 

[TB]

I wasn't aware that Vizio's were available there. I've personally purchased four and directly influenced the purchase of 5 more, all of which are still going strong. My first was purchased in 2003, shortly after the company was started. My most recent is this one - a 50" plasma. As long as the ambient light in the room is kept down, it looks spectacular. If that's not an option for you, stick with an LCD for the matte screen.

 

[GTP_Plato]

Vizio don't seem to care to much for design which can quite often be a good thing, hopefully that means all their efforts have gone into performance.

I normally go for things that have a bit of flair to them and from what I have seen of Vizio square is as good as it gets Not that I would rule them out though as I am looking for more quality this time around.

I didn't know anything about TV's when I bought my last one and it showed as it was only a 1080i 60hz which was fairly poor, especially when it came to buying my little boy the same model but a smaller version, his happened to have at least 1080p though and I ended up rather jelous of it at first

@ TB you could be correct, I just read on the AV forums that they are only available in the US, that was over a year ago though so things may have changed, anybody know much about this?

 

[GTP_Plato]

I ended up getting a 47" Panasonic Smart Viera with 3D which set me back just under a Thousand and I am very happy with it. Picture quality is excellent and sound seems to be good also.

I ended up going to my electric company to get it as it gave me the option of paying quarterly along with my electric bill, I did pay £500 straight up though so that's half of it payed off already.

There are:

4 HDMI ports
3 USB ports
1 Ethernet port
SD card slot
CI slot
Pc terminal and the usual scarts

I certainly enjoyed the 3D feature while playing Black Ops 2 on the 360, very impressive

Very happy with my purchase

Merry Christmas

 

[oopssorryy]

Try Shadows of the Colossus in 3d (the PS3 redo), it has my favorite 3d if any game out at the moment.

 

[TB]

Congrats on the new set, Plato! 👍

 

[GTP_Plato]

Congrats on the new set, Plato! 👍

Thanks,

A better sound system will be needed for it in the not to distant future, anybody have any recommendations for me? Never bothered with a good sound system in the past but I think it would compliment the TV

 

[TB]

How quickly we've gone from

sound seems to be good also.

to

A better sound system will be needed for it

Price point, separate components or HTIB and requirements (5.1, 7.2, HDMI inputs, etc.) would help narrow down the inevitable broad spectrum of suggestions.

 

[GTP_Plato]

How quickly we've gone from

to



Price point, separate components or HTIB and requirements (5.1, 7.2, HDMI inputs, etc.) would help narrow down the inevitable broad spectrum of suggestions.

The sound is fine for watching regular television or playing games but for movies I would like to have a more cinematic experience I meant the sound is good enough for slim TV's these days, I can't really expect to have fantastic sound with TV's getting thinner and thinner.

I'm not after anything to expensive just something to add a bit of base. I have never really bothered to much when it comes to surround sound for any tech equipment, so just advice on what would be ideal would be great.