Which HDTV set should I get
 

I currently have an SD TV but am getting a V+ box shortly and want to buy a new HDTV. Should I get one with Freeview built in, or, as I will be connected to the V+ box, do I not need Freeview as well? and just get the basic HDTV?

Re: Which HDTV set should I get
 

Choosing your first HDTV is a big event, so I would suggest that you take your time and make your own decision rather than being swayed by comments from others.

Listen to what others have to say, look at what is available in your price range and if possible go to a decent audio video outlet so that you can see your short listed TV's in action.

Also remember that the price you pay for a particular TV will differ by a few hundred pounds depending on where you buy it.

Can I suggest that you visit:

http://www.avforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=91

Here you will find a vast amount of information from some very informed people that should give you the very best start on your quest.

Good luck. Setch

Re: Which HDTV set should I get
 

Check Which magazine or other consumer magazines for reviews then go and check out the quality for yourself in the shop. Be aware though that the hi def pics you see in the shops are usually fed from a hi-def dvd player so ask if you can see the quality from a Sat/cable digi feed, most quality shops will have one available.

Re: Which HDTV set should I get
 

Also remember that some brands are actually the Same TV sets as other brands.

Toshiba is an expencive brand, and if i remember correctly, there are some lesser known brands that are toshibas with a different badge on them. So that is also worth researching.

However, if you are in any doubt as to if a brand is like above, then buy the brand name you know.

Re: Which HDTV set should I get
 

Was going to say have a look here http://gadgetshow.five.tv/index.htm

but they didnt really do HD tv as such but it might be worth reading, if only for your added info.

Re: Which HDTV set should I get
 

Wait till there is more content. My wallet was ready to dish out when I got V+ but there isnt enough on there to merit the outlay and it looks fine on my SD tv. One thing I have noted is obvious bandwidth problems with on demand too sometimes looking blocky on my 32 in sd tv so imo thats gonna look awful pushed to HD. In 12 to 18 months the technology will have moved on nicely upscaling will be better and more content available. If I were you and I had to buy now id buy a cheapish 32 inch to last a couple of years with the goal of buying a good tv when its worth spending that much cash :)

Re: Which HDTV set should I get
 

Freeview is not carried over the virgin media system. To receive that you need to connect to a terrestrial (rooftop) aerial. You can do that via the standard RF port on most TVs. Thus you could connect the V+ box via HDMI or Scart lead, with the freeview as a bonus via the RF, getting the best of both worlds, or simply allowing you some future options.

Re: Which HDTV set should I get
 

Thank you all for your comments. I will bide my time as I have a perfectly good Sony SD set at the moment, and with the V+ Plus box connected, the picture should be better. It's very good anyway right now.

Re: Which HDTV set should I get
 

I thought that toshiba was an expensive brand as well till i called them and they said they would sell direct. I ended up searching the net and got one for just over £500 for the 32inch hd model compared with about £900 actually shown on thier site. I didnt buy from toshiba but thier price wasnt muich higher than what i paid, only about £25 difference.
Really pleased with it as well.

Re: Which HDTV set should I get
 

I got my Tosh WLT66 32" for £550 from an online store.

Re: Which HDTV set should I get
 

IMO Sony Bravia is an excellent piece if kit, also consider Sharp...

Re: Which HDTV set should I get
 

Well, a friend of mine had a sony bravia 40" set, I had a sharp Aquos,
we've both ended up with a Samsung LE40R74BDX, In our opinion a much better picture quality if you can live with slightly tinnier sound.
and if you look on play.com you can get it for £779.00 at the moment
(gutted cuz I payed £1500 about 8 or so months ago.

Re: Which HDTV set should I get
 

I'm thinking of this set at the moment. http://www.comet.co.uk/cometbrowse/p....do?sku=321362

I've found it elsewhere for £700 so if my money comes it it could be bolted to the wall be the end of the month :-)

Has freeview built in which is ok as we have sky but it does have 2 freeviews in it and can do picture in picture and split screen. Has good contrast as well.

Re: Which HDTV set should I get
 

I brough back in January an LG 32 Inch TV Which was on Sale, It has built in Freeview and I have found the picture quality with the XD Engine to be excellent. It is bigger than my old SD TV but It would seem even the standard ntl picture quality looks great. I am contemplating getting V+ but am concerned over the extra wiring.

The Freeview tuner seems quite good too as it picks up channels I couldnt get on my old freeview box, apparently it has some kind of built in booster? looking through the settings.

Overall I would recommend the LG Sets, I guess a lot revolves around the reliability.

The last few SD Sets I have had broke within 3 years. 1 Panasonic, 1 Sony and One Asda ownbrand Schneider (which lasted the longest umm)

Re: Which HDTV set should I get
 

just be careful, plasmas are very good if you buy the correct set, you need to look at resolution as a lot of hd plasmas are 1024 * 768 and so can't do native 720p (obviously the closer the res to 1280*720 the better)
look for sets with a resolution of 1280 * 720 or 1366 * 768 unless you want to go for a 1080p set which are more expensive.

also plasma's (cheaper ones) can suffer from screen burn when there are static images on screen (e.g channel logo's in corners of screen) although this is less common now you need to look into this before you buy.

Re: Which HDTV set should I get
 

Burn in is not too much of an issue with modern plasmas. This one has a life expectancy also similar to lcd. 60,000 hrs which is 5 hrs per day for 27 years.

It will be connected to sky sd and a pc outputting 1024*768, in fact the pc it will be connected to will get a hdmi gfx card connected to it as its only used as a pvr.

Re: Which HDTV set should I get
 

I been told your going to need a HDCP compliant HD tv to view HD content. As things like blue ray/HD DVD movies and forthcoming PS3 need this. Not really sure whats going on with the HD situation.

What happens with those TV's who don't have this compliance like most tv's being sold at the moment. I can really see this going to cause major anger. Especially for those who have forked big mega bucks.

I read from one site that those who do not comply will get signal loss of 70%. :Yikes: Will this be just for Blue ray HD-DVD players or will all HD content need HDCP complianct TV's.

Re: Which HDTV set should I get
 

The best way is, to take your V+ (I even had recorded few BBC HD materials on V+ HDD) to the shop to compare some few LCD's a take which you like, because some TV have great picture on DVD connected through Component, but have poor quality through HDMI. Think how you want to connect other equipment, ask staff to connect DVD via component if you'll use it at home.

Don't listen to people who says: Toshiba, Samsung etc. ask them which model they talking about.


Good luck

Re: Which HDTV set should I get
 

A friend of mine bought a Phillips Plasma 3 years ago for 3 grand, recently it went pop.
Every dealer he contacted said he would have to contact Phillips as they won't let uncertified dealers have the parts.
Anyway, he contacts Phillips who tell him that they will repair it through their agent, asked how much it would cost, Phillips said depends what's wrong but will be £420 for collection/delivery plus whatever... after creating hell on the phone for hours they eventually agreed to a total cost of £690, including collection/delivery. Last I heard he had found a local dealer who said he would have a go fixing it for £450, as far as I know it is still lying in bits in the dealers workshop.

One born every minute... :dunce:

Re: Which HDTV set should I get
 

Useful reads:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDCP
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-De...edia_Interface

Re: Which HDTV set should I get
 

absolute gem of information:tu:

So basically its best to wait on HD tv's else if you dont get HDCP compliance you lose HD. End up with Door stopper of HD tv which can only show DVD standard signals. Why the helll did they not notify the tv developers.

Will tv owners be allowed to demand a free upgrade kit for the fiasco.

Its just typical the man in the street the one who suffers. We treat like a bunch of criminals who are all going get our spanking HD signals record them on the next gen recorders. Put on our balaclava's and sell them in grotty car boots for a tenner a pop.

When will the industry get a grip of there paranoia.

so a good question here does V+ comply with HDCP and how will they get round the issue. It will also mean Sky also will be breaching the compliance so they will also have to water down to DVD standards.

I really can see lawsuits if this is tried to be forced upon when we have already gone considerable way in HD. What about users who already own HD non compliant televisions will they be able to take action. As it seems the industry has stitched up the consumers.

Re: Which HDTV set should I get
 

The situation is nothing like as dire as you make out. Firstly, this isn't new information - HDCP (and the knowledge that it was coming) has been around years. Any TV that carries an EICTA "HD Ready" logo supports HDCP.

V+ does support HDCP. But it doesn't require HDCP for all HD content - that's at the discretion of the copyright owner. For example, BBC HD doesn't require HDCP.

The few early-adopters who bought a non-HDCP display do not yet have an obsolete piece of kit. And the vast majority of HD displays being sold now are compliant.

Re: Which HDTV set should I get
 

thanks :tu:

- how about computer monitors with dvi connectors, mine works now - what will the future bring??

Re: Which HDTV set should I get
 

i personally not going to buy one until first the price is respectable under 1000 for a 40 inch model plus has a built in HD box . may wait until ITV and BBC bring out there joint HD FREEVIEW rumours were that they intend to bring a box out for christmas. to replace the freeview box. My old 28inch CRT (one year old) still has some life left in it me thinks ???

Re: Which HDTV set should I get
 

I just bought the one off the back page of the Argos. It will do for now and i will buy a better one in a few years time once HD takes off.

BTW i'm sure prices will start to fall on things such as PS3 and dvd recorders that use HD.

Re: Which HDTV set should I get
 

It seems that the new Panys are getting good reviews - the PX70 and 700's

They are being priced quite competitively too, at under £1000 for a 42" PX70 - have seen prices of sub £900. The 700 isn't available yet, but will probably be 250 - 300 more (same screen technology, but with more connections, and a better sound system).

They are replacing the PX60 and PX 600 - which were widely considered as the best plasmas pound for pound.

As said earlier in this thread avforums is a great resource, for the plasma board see
http://www.avforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=82

If you are planning on over 32" go for plasma, if you are going for 32" or less then go for LCD. For HDTV you really want to be over 32" ;)

---------- Post added at 10:30 ---------- Previous post was at 10:28 ----------

Oh and another thing worth knowing -

John Lewis will price match other stores (has to have a bricks and mortar store - but some online ones do - e.g. empire direct).

Then you get the tv at the best price, but you also get JLs 5 year warranty.

My mate saved over £300 using this price match facility.

Re: Which HDTV set should I get
 

Cant disagree with that. I have the LE40R73BDX and its a great TV. As you say the speakers arent up to much as they dont have much bass but 1080 HD looks great on it!

Re: Which HDTV set should I get
 

thanks spiderplant for this. It does relieve my concerns over this a bit. I have on other forums been told the big issue will be when the PS3 gets released here. Whether the Games side are likely to be ok there is big talk if you get Blue ray films. If you are connected via HDMI or DVi and the equipment does not support HDCP then it will not work in HD.

This is the grey area of concern the Next Gen DVD players are going to be the real concern. The industry needs to be more open about this.