HDTV upgrade time

[Daragon]

Right, so I think it's about time my now ancient Toshiba Regza 32WLT66 vacated the bedroom in order to make room for a new, full HD set.

Have my eye on this Samsung currently http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...F8&me=&seller= seems very reasonably priced for what you get.

Given however that I'm upgrading from a 32" to another 32", will I honestly notice much difference in picture quality when it comes to blu-ray viewing for example? Also, if a PS3 or 360 game doesn't support 1080p, will there be any advantage at all to playing it on a 1080p set? Will the image be upscaled?

[Lyris]

Given however that I'm upgrading from a 32" to another 32", will I honestly notice much difference in picture quality when it comes to blu-ray viewing for example?

The resolution will be better and there will be less of a harsh screen-door effect. You'll also be able to turn on 1:1 mapping and avoid overscan.
The former comment (resolution) obviously only goes for good 1080p sources; less of the screen door effect (visible panel pixel grid) goes for everything.

I wouldn't necessarily go for the cheaper Samsungs, though. The last ones I've seen have featured visibly worse panels than in the past (where they used to use very similar panels to the higher end LCDs, just with less video processing).

[Daragon]

The reviews for that one sound positive on average though and my budget is fairly limited. No more than ?300 certainly for a bedroom TV. Low power consumption, good HD picture quality, LED (even though it's the cheaper form), freeview HD. Not sure I could find all those in my price range. One maybe, but not all 4.

Can you recommend something as an alternative? I can't exceed my budget by much. Certainly not by another ?50 for example.

Edit: What do people in the know make of this LG set? http://www.amazon.co.uk/LG-42LS3400-.../ref=de_a_smtd Would probably dwarf the rest of the room but has the obvious advantage of becoming a living room set for when I move out. 100hz motion as opposed to 50 sounds nice - I seem to be able to pick up on motion blur quite easily with a 50hz. Another good aspect to it is this Eco thing which automatically chooses the best picture settings for you, something I've always hated doing manually with TVs as I can never seem to get a combination I'm happy with. Only ?21 over budget too.

[Lyris]

To be fair, it probably is better that most stuff in that price range. If that's your max budget, you may as well go for it.

It's likely to be the case that black level is better on cheap Samsungs, and motion quality is better on cheap LGs.

[Daragon]

To be fair, it probably is better that most stuff in that price range. If that's your max budget, you may as well go for it.

It's likely to be the case that black level is better on cheap Samsungs, and motion quality is better on cheap LGs.

Ok, cheers. Next question: If you had to pick one of the two, which would you go for if room size didn't matter? I realize it's probably unfair to compare different size TVs, but of the two brands, which is likely to perform better overall? I read something about a game mode with the Samsung TV which basically meant games would run smoother with it enabled or something to that extent. Any idea what it actually does?

[Lyris]

Nearly everything has a game mode now. It cuts down on input lag (and often does other dumb stuff like tinting the picture blue and adding tons of edge enhancement, which can be turned off again).

For daytime usage I'd go for the LG. For night (better black levels), Samsung.

[Daragon]

There's no mention of a game mode with the LG set. Should I favor the Samsung for gaming?

[Lyris]

If you can, download the manual. I'm sure it will have one.

The two are probably going to be much the same in terms of lag.

[Lyris]

Another thing to mention: on LG (and Samsung) displays, there's an undocumented "PC mode" which you get by labeling an input as "PC" in the Input List screen. It fulfils most of the same functions as a game mode.