LCD/Plasma/CRT/DLP - questions

[Ajay1986]

I dont own a Pioneer 508XD as i have a Sharp LCD but my uncle owns one and i can testify that they are wonderful TV's. If i could afford one and had a room the right size for one its the set id deffo go and get.

I think Pioneer do 1080p sets as well but they start from ?4k which really is too much jsut for 1080p.

[capcom_suicide]

I'm tempted by a Pioneer 508XD, really tempted. I've been following the crazy-long thread over at AV Forums, and they sound like they are great. Pricey, but great.

I'm that not bothered about 1080p native res as I'll use it for SD (Freeview, DVD) or 720p (360 or PS3 -if I get one- games) the vast majority of the time. I think the 508XD is expensive enough as it is (around ?2500), and I've read that the 1080p model is likely to be a grand more.

The price issue is tricky.

I bought a 436XDE from Pionner 11 months ago, and it cost me ?2600 with the speakers and stand.

My use of the thing has been for 360, PS3, HDVD, Blueray but 75% is just normal TV and DVD.

That set has such as nice picture, and by following specific run in instructions, not a hint of burn.

TV technology will always be better & cheaper in the future. You just have to bite the bullet and go for it.

After my experience with the XDE (Blueray from the PS3/HDMI at 1080p 24 is lovely, even though it's scaled, DVD and normal TV look great and the 360 games @ 1080i/720p look wonderful) I would 100% buy another Pioneer in the future, no question.

I accepted that for what I wanted, a 1024*720 screen was the best I could afford at the time. I also felt that 720p was enough for the next few years.

I haven't changed that position, but if buying again today I'd be waiting for the 1080p Pio's that seem to suggest a great High Def image AND a great Standard Def image.

Nice!

[Distant Cousin]

I'm after an HDTV for my room. After something no bigger than 23", and probably no more than £500.
I like the Samsungs, but the 20" Bravia looks very nice indeed. I don't know jack about TVs though so any advice would be appreciated =)

[Concept]

You can get a decent S-Series 26" Bravia for around £500 these days, the 26" version of the popular Toshiba W series or a 32" R8 Samsung for around the same price.

[Lyris]

Hell, you can get a 32" S-Series BRAVIA for just over 500:

http://www.cheapelectricals.co.uk/cgi-bin/sh000005.pl?REFPAGE=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2echeapelectricals%2eco%2euk%2facatalog%2findex%2ehtml&WD=kdl&SHOP=%20&PN=Sony_32_LCD_sony_32_lcd_sony_32_lcd%2ehtml%23a1_21474#a1_21474

[Concept]

Link isn't working. Try here:

http://www.nextag.co.uk/SONY-KDL32S2510U-32-LCD-531815053/uk/prices-html?nxtg=108c90a24050a-4252916D8EC69A5A

[Lyris]

Better prices still

[andrewfee]

I'd probably go for one of the Samsung R87/88 sets if you're not wanting bigger than 23" as they're cheaper than the BRAVIAs, and 3" bigger. You also get an extra HDMI input and they seem to have a better selection of video adjustments now with you having the option to disable things like Edge Enhancement, which is something you can only change on the high-end BRAVIAs. (W and X only, I think?)

Certainly though, anything below 32" or so is overpriced now, in my opinion, due to how much the prices for larger screens have been falling. (you can get good 37" sets from £600 and up now)

[Lyris]

the option to disable things like Edge Enhancement, which is something you can only change on the high-end BRAVIAs. (W and X only, I think?)

"Edge Enhancer" is an option the Sony DRC chip brings to the table so is only on the X-Series. The Ws don't have any edge enhancement of their own if you have the Sharpness set to 0.

I've not used a Samsung in quite some time but like Andrew says they are now worthy of your consideration because I think all of the new models let you adjust the backlight and turn off the most offensive of the video de-enhancement options (these two are what made the Sonys stand out previously).

[Distant Cousin]

Cheers guys. I'm only looking for 23" because of space issues seeing as my room has sloping ceilings.

Samsungs are nice, but I've heard that they're pretty unreliable? =/

[andrewfee]

Personally I've had bad experiences with them, and I know a few other people have too, but the same could probably be said about any manufacturer really.

Most manufacturers don't keep their sets below 32" or so up to date with the latest tech though, whereas Samsung usually do, so it's probably the best one to get at that size.

[achoo]

Hi, could someone point me in the direction of a decent LCD TV?

My main use will be for PC (as a desktop), now I'd love it to be a DVI connector, but from personal research.. I don't seem to have found many?
I would settle for VGA, but I'd like a decent picture as this will be the main function for it outside gaming.

Size - this is not a big issue, but I dont really want anything bigger than 26" (Uni dorms for the next 2 years at least).

I currently own a Wii, and not sure about the best possible connection at the moment, I run it on my parents LG 37" HDTV (when i'm at home) thru a component connection.. which suits me fine, but advice on that subject would be appreciated?

Ideally I will be purchasing either a PS3/360 in the next couple of months (waiting on the elite or even a price drop...) So i'd prefer 1080p support. I know this might be a big request from a size of 26".. might I'm willing to go bigger if the TV is the right one.

Any help is much appreciated, cheers guys.

[Freddo]

In my experience buying a tv to use as a monitor is a bad idea, the resolutions are too low (in dpi terms) and not all support 1:1 mapping which is vital for text and desktop usage in general. Look instead at monitors that can act like tv's, like some of the samsungs that have component in.

[Lyris]

Yeah, the two don't really converge very well. Even if you can find one that accepts 1:1 mapping (a lot of them thankfully), I find there is a psychological barrier to using standard computing programs on a 32" or 40"+ TV.

[achoo]

Would it be best to stick to a seperate TV/Monitor setup?
I've looked at a few of the nice Samsung widescreen monitors, one of my mates at Uni purchased one recently and it does look the balls.

What I'd really consider would be a widescreen monitor with HDMI connector, to make good use of a 360(Elite) / PS3 purchase..

Is that overkill? Whats the quality likely to be?



(I think i've found something that might be the ultimate setup for my needs, BenQ FP24WZ - Monitor that supports HDMI,DVI,S-Video,Composite Component Inputs... 24inch Widescreen and 1:1 Pixel Mapping)