Can you help me choose a HD TV?

[Swaain]

Hi all, I'm looking to buy a nice HD TV. Nothing too fancy, mind you - just a reasonably good set for my gaming (X360 & PS3) gaming needs. Size should be 32-37 inch; price can go up to 740 GBP but really shouldn't be much higher than that; actually, cheaper would be nice. TV set must be fully compatible with NTSC signal; 1080 p would be nice but is not mandatory, as would a VGA connection.

So far, I've come up with the following models that are actually available at a retailer in my vicinity. Which one would you go for?

Samsung LE32A450
Samsung LE37M86
Toshiba 37WL68
Panasonic TX-32 LMD70
Panasonic TX-32 LE7

Thanks for your input!

[J0e Musashi]

Samsung LE37M86. It has 1080p. Totally uncalled for being that it's 37" but yeah. I have one as a secondary TV and it's damned nice.

[elkatas]

If you are going for 32-37 inch HD-TV, 1080p doesn't really add much. Most people have really hard time to notice difference between 720p and 1080p with that small TV. Furthermore, 720p only sets tend to have better picture quality than 1080p sets within same price range. Not to mention that 1080p is still quite rare feature in PS3 / X360 games.

[[nothing]]

Are you going to be watching Blu-Ray movies using whatever TV you buy?

I ask because even if a TV is 1080p, if it doesn't output at 24fps, you can end up with motion judder on panning shots. Normally, I would have said don't bother with 1080p on sets of 32", as the differences in picture quality are small on a TV of this size compaired to 1080i, but 24fps output is essential on TV's for HD Movie playback.

So, I would recommend this one:
Panasonic TX32LZD80.

[Lyris]

Samsung LE37M86. It has 1080p. Totally uncalled for being that it's 37" but yeah. I have one as a secondary TV and it's damned nice.

1080p is never uncalled for Remember if you are using it to watch BD, most 1080p TVs can do 1:1 mapping so 1 pixel on the disc = 1 pixel on the screen. That can make a drastic difference to the quality.

I'd go with one of the high end Samsungs or high end Sonys, *generally* speaking they have the best LCD panels around in terms of black level and contrast.

[Swaain]

Thanks for the replies so far. I've duly noted J0e's preference for the M86 and [Nothing]'s for the Panasonic TX32LZD80. Thanks for that as well.

I'm going to use the set to play HD games, so that'll be it for about 80-90% of the time. It's going to be our primary TV set, at least downstairs : there's a 32' 16:9 Philips CRT upstairs I don't want to part with, as it's great for retro stuff.

I suppose that, in time, the new HD television will no doubt be used to watch (upscaled?) DVDs and (some) Bluerays as well. That'll depend on my wife, however. So : is there one brand / set / series here that does a better job than others at upscaling a regular signal when it's carried through RGB scart? It's not a deal killer (again, I'm buying for HD use) but it'd be a nice plus to have. What's the deal with the scaler on the samsung sets?

Also : I'm kinda partial to Samsung : I already have two Samsung PC screens I'm quite happy with. On the other hand : I'm perfectly aware of the fact that I'm really not knowledgeable about HD TVs, so I'm looking for as much advice I can before buying one!

Also : what's the deal with this 100 Hz I keep reading about? How important is it? What about 24 fps?

Thanks again - and please keep the opinions coming. If everything goes well, this weekend is going to rock :-)

[Dirty Sanchez]

My Samsung is a joy, M87 model, but be warned that the AV1/RGB input is AWFUL. Blurry and shadows galore, a real stinker. For VGA/HDMI/Component it can't be faulted, even S-Video but RGB is totally screwed.

[Swaain]

Ouch! It's not a big deal, but it's good to know beforehand - cheers for the warning!

[J0e Musashi]

Just use your PS3 to upscale DVDs Benoit. That way you don't have to worry about using RGB Scart.

[Swaain]

Yeah, that'd be a way to avoid RGB scart woes : use the US PS3 to play (& upscale) R1 DVDs, use the X360 to play R2 DVDs. That said - I've never used my X360 to watch DVDs before. I'll give it a try, but will it not be horribly loud?

[belmondo]

A few points (from someone who doesn't own a HDTV but has looked into buying one):

100Hz should reduce juddery movement, but can cause artefacts. If the set supports it, make sure you can turn it off if you want to (not possible on some Panas apparently).

24fps means that Bluerays can be played at the same frame rate as the original recording (i.e. 24fps), this avoids jerky panning as mentioned by [nothing]. Films are stored on Blueray as 24fps, if your TV can't accept that signal the player converts it 50/60Hz. AFAIK the jerking panning has always affected NTSC movies (DVD/VHS), it's a limitation of the conversion from 24fps to 30fps (but to a lesser extent, as the conversion was done as part of the mastering process rather than real time by the player). It doesn't happen on PAL movies because the conversion is different.

Regarding internal scalers, the Panasonics have the best reputation.

[smouty]

If you will only connect PS3/360 then really there isn't much in it.
If you will also watch TV/DVD (not upscaled) or use non-HD consoles then the Tosh or Panny would be my choice due to the quality of the internal scaler.
The Samsungs are great for the money with HD but I find the SD quality pretty poor personally.

[Swaain]

Ah, I undestand now - thanks for clearing this up Belmondo.

Smouty : I'll have a look at the various television sets, try to have them hook up an actual low-def feed, see what kind of results it gives.

Is it reasonable to think that I can always add an upscaling dvd player to the set later, if the missus wants to watch DVDs? Wouldn't that take the strain of the TV's internal scaler? Or isn't that a good idea?

[smouty]

Wouldn't that take the strain of the TV's internal scaler? Or isn't that a good idea?

It's fine. By upscaling in the DVD player then the sets internal scaler is not used.
There are some bargains around at the moment on Toshiba HD-DVD players which even if you don't use HD-DVD they also upscale normal DVDs.

[charlesr]

Your 360 will sound like it it does at the dashboard if you use it for watching a dvd, i.e. not jet engine in-game noise, but still more than the average dvd player.