Help me choose a TV please

[Halcyon]

I have an old 28" heavy television and with the digital switchover taking place in a couple of months it is finally time to get a new TV.

I am looking at 32 inch. I dont need anything any bigger and as long as it has one scart and then HDMI sockets I'll be happy.
An ethernet port and USB socket would be an added bonus too.

Budget is about £400

Can anyone reccomend anything good to go for.

What is better, LCD or LED?

I dont need a 3D TV.

Thanks for your help,

halcyon.

[progers]

Halcyon

I was in the same boat as you and was going to buy a 32" but was pesuaded to go to 40" and I'm glad I did as 32" now seem so small.

You're best to keep an eye open for offers, I usually use Richer Sounds or John Lewis.

Although John Lewis tend to be a bit pricey, they do have some good internet offers - I got a 40" Sony LCD TV with a free Blu Ray player and £100 off for a traded in set. Just keep an eye on the websites http://www.johnlewis.com/ or http://www.richersounds.com/

Forgot to add, you also get a free 5yr warranty at John Lewis and Richer Sounds extended warraties are quite cheap

[Uncle Peter]

At Christmas I replaced an old-ish Samsung 40" LCD with one of the new LED edge-lit ones with the fancy glass bezel. One criticism of the old tv is that it generated loads of heat but the LED one with it's lower power consumption generates hardly any plus it's a lot thinner and lighter to boot.

One thing of note though is that when the Xbox is plugged in via hdmi it can be difficult on some games to resolve shades of dark grey and black areas unless you have a fiddle around with the settings (there was something in the hdmi port options which sorted it out).

The other thing to bear in mind is because these LED tv's tend to be a lot thinner the internal speakers are sometimes a bit pants. Obviously if you have an AV/Surround system or a sound bar it's not an issue. I came a cropper because the old telly had an analogue RCA output so I just plugged it into the hi-fi amp but most of the new tv's I've looked at seem to have dispensed with this option so either I had to buy a DAC or invest in an AV receiver/Surround system - ended up doing the latter.

[Jameseh]

While I would have also recommended John Lewis for their guarantee, they have nothing for £400 or less and even ones upto £500 are either too small or are low-end larger TV's with poor Amazon reviews.

From Amazon, the LE32C530 is very cheap at £279, I've seen it on display in Comet and it is a great quality picture as it seems nearly all Samsung TVs are. This model has USB but no Ethernet.

The UE32C5100, a LED backlight model, which is very thin and is brighter, but sound is typically tinnier and quieter on LED. It doesn't seem to have USB or Ethernet.

Samsung LE32D580 is another LCD but has both the USB and Ethernet you wanted plus has a built in Freeview HD tuner which is always a bonus. I'd probably goes with this model if your not that fussed with LED. £364 seems a great price for what seems to be a high end TV.

LG seem to also make a few cheaper TV's but I've always owned Samsung as they're brilliant TV's but LG would be my second choice so either of those, you can't go too wrong.

[Halcyon]

Thanks for all your replies. Those Samsung televisions look good.

[colin25]

Look for offers, buy one you can afford..advice is free

[Rob]

Remember that with flat screen TVs you'll probably be placing it a bit further from you that you current old style bulky TV. You might even be wall mounting? Thus the viewing distance is a bit further away. Go for the biggest size screen you can afford. It's surprising how after a time the one you get will seem small.

Make sure too the TV is true HD 1080p capable. So many are just 1080i. Whilst SKy, Virgin STBs only do 1080i maximum, if you go down the blu ray route you want to get the maximum 1080p quality possible.

Make sure there are enough HDMI inputs. You'll want at least three - Set Top Box, DVD/Blu-ray & a games console, that is unless you are going to drive everything through a separate amplifier.

[Halcyon]

Thanks.

I currently have a 28" TV so I think 32" will be fine.
I am not really looking for massive screen size at the moment as it is also for a room that isnt very big.

[Jameseh]

Plus Freeview HD now shows BBC HD in 1080p (if the program is recorded in it) so you'll get a better picture on there if the TV has a Freeview HD tuner. Keeps the value of the TV up as well.

[Osem]

If price is key and you're not bothered about all the latest bells and whistles, John Lewis have Sharp and Toshiba 32" HD ready models at £279 and £299 respectively including the 5 year warranty.

http://www.johnlewis.com/Electricals...bCategory.aspx

The point about the internal speakers on the really thin sets is a good one but with the money you'd save on your budget you could afford a separate sound system if you don't already have one.

[Osem]

Tesco doing a 32" LED backlit Samsung for £299 IIRC. No free 5 year guarantee though obviously.

[BenMcr]

Originally Posted by Halcyon

Thanks.

I currently have a 28" TV so I think 32" will be fine.
I am not really looking for massive screen size at the moment as it is also for a room that isnt very big.

Is the 28" 4:3 or 16:9?

The size is measured on the diagonal, so a 28" 4:3 TV I think will have a 'bigger' picture than a 32" 16:9 TV as the image is taller (if I've got my maths right). So you may find 40" to be more appropriate

Explained here http://dharmadevil.com/widescreen/

[Halcyon]

It is currently a 28" widescreen.

Thanks.

[Osem]

How close you're going to sit to the screen can have an effect on your viewing so why not measure how far the new screen will be from your sofa or whatever and then pop down to your local showroom and see what these TV's look like viewed at that distance.

http://www.which.co.uk/technology/tv...-should-i-buy/