TV Time Again!

[egparadigm]

Hi All,

I'm looking to buy a mid to low-price TV (around ?300). I'm going to use it mainly for TV, plus the odd bit of gaming and BluRay playing. I'm particularly keen on twin-tune PVRs like Sky+, Tivo, YouView and so on – I just wondered if there were any TVs that offered this built in? I have done a bit of looking around and from what I can see the answer is not at this price point. I don't yet wish to splash out ?300 for a Youview box or setup a subscription – although they are great gadgets!

I already have a PS Play box which will do the job if not (the slight frustration being the need to switch on the PS3 and use a separate Bluray remote). Otherwise I guess it's just a question of the best set for the money. A good scaler is always a bonus as I play a bit of retro (have a small CRT as backup). The last time I was looking (for a friend) I understood that Sonys and Samsungs were top of the pile – Sony more so because of the good user interface. How are things now?

Many thanks in advance.

[smouty]

Samsungs offer probably the best all round package although I would also consider Panasonic and in your price range, LG.
The in laws bought a basic 42" LG in the supermarket and use it with a Humax freeview HD PVR. Picture on HD is impressive but SD is not so good.

[egparadigm]

I should have added that I'm happy at 32", which I imagine means the best quality. You suggest LG perhaps because they do larger for less?

[paulus]

Theres always good TV deals on HUKD, you gotta be quick though - no dithering

http://www.hotukdeals.com/

[smouty]

I should have added that I'm happy at 32", which I imagine means the best quality. You suggest LG perhaps because they do larger for less?

I have read on various AV forums that the LG screens are more realistic looking so if you don't need all the fancy software features they may be better value.
BTW - the 42" the inlaws bought was ?279

[egparadigm]

Thanks for replying both. I had a look in my local TV shop yesterday. The Samsung did seem to be quite swish and easy to control. The guy demoing was new in the shop and didn't really know what he was doing, which didn't help. The Sony seemed kind of clunky by comparison. They couldn't find the Panasonic remote.

Apparently Sony TV remotes now all lack the number buttons. How stupid is that? Is everyone now considered so moronic that they can't – in the era of many channels – remember the actual channel numbers!? That is an absolute put off right there.

Any other comments, all? Lyris?

[egparadigm]

It looks like this one has received very nice reviews:

http://www.whathifi.com/review/panasonic-tx-l32e6b

I was very impressed by the Samsung UI, though. Anyone who has a Panasonic care to comment on its UI? I found this video and it looks fairly similar to the Samsung one:



One slightly annoying thing is the review comments that it's not the best in class for SD picture scaling. Anyone know which other TVs beat it in this area? I don't know if it's really worth worrying about. It's probably only the Wii that will get much (if any) use on this particular TV, since I have the small CRT.

Any other views?

[egparadigm]

Went to a Panasonic shop and had a look at the UI there. It's not that dissimilar to the Samsung, although I still think their's pips it slightly. I did not realise previously that the Panasonic is so far behind Samsung in terms of apps – they only have iPlayer, for example, among the terrestrial broadcasters' apps. I suppose this could improve over time – anyone know what the likelihood is?

Had a look at an SD image on both this and a Samsung and honestly I thought the Samsung looked worse. This is more likely down to the separate sharpness settings. Looking back at the review, above, it's talking about black levels in particular – could this not be down to calibration? On the plus side, the Panasonic has a built in scart socket.

[egparadigm]

I'm wondering, given that the Smart features of a Panasonic are a little lacking, whether I might be better off getting this Samsung:

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/co-op-electrical-samsung-ue40eh5000-black-40-inch-full-hd-led-tv-with-integrated-1686052?page=7#comments

Which is obviously a lot larger for less (deal is for ?300), minus the bells and whistles. Anyone care to comment? Also, are TV guarantees worth the extra? Going to look for reviews.

[Lyris]

It's gonna be pretty similar at that price range.

Keep in mind the British AV magazines are doing subjective rather than measured/scientific testing. Unfortunately the sites that are doing scientific reviews (AV Forums and HDTVtest) often don't review the cheaper stuff.

[egparadigm]

Hard to weigh up the plus and minus points, but I think I'm going to go with the Panasonic tx-l32e6b. This got much better reviews – even found scientific reviews for this and the Samsung. It's difficult to choose because the Samsung has so many more features at the expense of the basics that the Panasonic has – energy efficiency, screen quality/colours, etc. I'm going to hope (a) I won't really use the catch up apps and (b) the PS3 will be a sufficient surrogate for that stuff.

Decent local dealer (who gave me good customer service by allowing me to look at the UI and answering Qs) has it for ?380, which is fine.

[wakka]

Just use your PS3. It's way, way nicer than any of those built in 'Smart' features. They all work like ****. You would be mad to choose a more sophisticated UI over better picture quality when it comes to a TV!

[Baseley09]

Strongly agree with what Wakka is saying, while in my experience some smart features work well (Panasonic for example), nothing compares to say Netflix on a PS3 or even better a PC connected to your tv.

Ive seen some abysmal "smart" integration that barely works on some sets.

[vanpeebles]

Just to hijack slightly where are the best websites to buy a tv online these days?

[Baseley09]

Hotukdeals for the best current deals.

http://www.hotukdeals.com/