lcd dilemma.......

[admin_exported]

Hi all

I`m on the market for a40/ 42" lcd, been researching and finally settled on the philips42pf9831d, especially when i found it for £1100 on philips own web site. I jumped for joy as it was in my £1000 budget, well whats another £100 when its still listed at up to £2700 on some sites!. Problem is this tv actually measures nearly 50", the alcove unfortunately is only 46". Gutted i searched for the next size down, 37", thats ok i thought, it will be bigger too but alas not, it actually measures 37" which is too small and there`s nothing inbetween in this range it seems. Back to the drawing board and there`s only really 3 that hit the ratings, the philips42pfl9632d, the sony40w3000 or the toshiba 40xf355d. Any advice over which tv would be the better choice would be most appreciated, We`re not really into sports, more movie and soap buffs.

 

[professorhat]

I'm very surprised that a 42" TV is 50" across - it must have large speakers attached to the side? Just checked out a few other TVs and the two TVs everyone is raving about at the moment on the forums, the Panasonic TH-42PZ85B and the Panasonic TH-42PX60B (both in your budget) are just under 42" wide and just over 40" wide respectively (according to Panasonic's website). This suggests there are probably quite a few other 42" plasma sets which would fit in your alcove.

Of the two sets you mention above, both the Sony and the Toshiba got 5 stars in last month's WHF supertest, though I think the Sony edged it in their review (the winner was the Panasonic TX37-LZD70). Probably worth trying to see them both in action though if you decide you have to have an LCD.

 

[Anonymous]

thanks for your replt professor, just thought i`d let you know why philips set is so much bigger as i`ve spent all day trying to find a way of fitting it in but to no avail!. It seems its the "ambilight" thats the cause, the 37" is just lit at the back of the set whereas the 42" gets the colour changing frame round the screen. Looks fab in action but also makes it possibly the largest 42" on the market !. Are the plasma sets really that much better than the lcd`s?, I really have no real reason why i couldn`t settle for a plasma, i guess i`m just still a little put off by the early bad press the units got.

 

[Anonymous]

yes the plasmas really are alot better!! find a dealer that has LCD and plasmas on display, id suggest looking at any LCD and then the Panasonic TH37PX80B plasma and switch both onto some sports or fast action pictures and you will see the differences

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="matthew s"]yes the plasmas really are alot better!! find a dealer that has LCD and plasmas on display, id suggest looking at any LCD and then the Panasonic TH37PX80B plasma and switch both onto some sports or fast action pictures and you will see the differences [/quote]

i agree my inlaws got a big phillips lcd, sd was dire. demo'd the panny 42pz85 other day and phillips was two screens away when compared to the panny it looked like i was viewing it through a muslin, washed out jaded colours. z85 online for about 1100 too!!!!!!!! or the cheaper pz80 perhaps, these are both 1080 sets, research them a bit and try to demo before you buy though.

 

[Anonymous]

i spose the only downside to your 60" is you'll never get ne thing done lol

 

[professorhat]

As the guys above have said, forget the early bad press, new plasma units have pretty much solved all of the early problems now. Mine is two years old now and has been left on overnight several times with a static image but not a hint of screen burn (see some of my earlier posts!). The new Panasonics are getting great reviews from quite a few people on the forums (though WHF have yet to review the 42" sets due to supply issue from Panasonic), so they are definitely worth checking out.

 

[Anonymous]

Think i`m going to go for the panasonic th-42pz85b, will check out some prices today when i get time. Would rather wait till you guys have reviewed it but the pana`s rarely get a bad word said about them so i`m pretty confident its gonna be a step up from the bush 26" lcd i`m currently viewing on ha ha ha. Thanks guys