LXD70/LXD700 picture quality

[admin_exported]

Now I keep reading that the Panasonic LXD700 and the LXD70 have the same picture quality. Are you able to confirm this from your testing? I'd like to go for the cheaper TV as I don't really need the extra audio and the other few bells and whistles. I know the 700 has the same panel as the 70 BUT if the 700 does have a slightly better picture (as it's a later model and may have benefited from some design tweaks) then I'd pay the extra for the picture. Can you help?
Oh, and a second question while I'm here - When BBC HD comes out of "trial", will the tuners on these (or any other "HD ready") tellies be able to receive and display it in HD?

 

[Clare Newsome]

We haven't tested the '70, i'm afraid, only the '700, which offers superior speakers and more connectivity options, if they also matter to you.

Re HD. No, you'll need an HD receiver - either a separate box, or built into your set. Some of the new Sony and Sharp sets have these HD receivers built in, but - obviously - we haven't been able to test their functionality yet.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks, that's interesting. I presume the functionality of the built-in HD tuners could be tested using the BBC HD trial broadcast? Or is that restricted to the BBC HD trial boxes? Do you know which of the Sony and Sharp models have the HD tuner? I believe that the beeb have recently announced that they will be expanding their HD broadcast schedule. If HD over freeview is going to increase it would seem to make sense to look at these before I plump for one of the Panasonics. I guess it'll be a long time before digital SD goes the same way as analogue and I suppose the days are long gone when you could buy a decent TV and be good for a decade but it would be good to be as "HD ready" as possible if I'm investing in a new TV.

 

[Andrew Everard]

The Freeview DTT trial has, as far as I know, finished, and there's no guarantee that the BBC HD service if and when it becomes real will be compatible with the 450 trial boxes, or indeed any other existing DTT HD tuners.

See here for more on that...

 

[Anonymous]

Ah well. I think I need a telly quicker than all that will be sorted so it looks like another "set-top" box in a few years then....

Re. my original question - I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has been able to compare the pictures of the '70 and '700

Thanks for all your advice...