Query about UK and USA models

[admin_exported]

Hope someone can help... I'm buying my first HDTV and am a recent immigrant to the USA from the UK. I'm struggling to get good demos of TVs in my price range ($400 - $700) and the overbright, HD test videos in the stores are next to useless.

I trust my old faithful what hi fi more than the US publications (which seem geared towards the super high end). My question is this... to what extent can I trust comparisons between UK model numbers and their US equivalents? I read the review of the Sony 40EX503 in the last magazine (which I bought before boarding the plane to the promised land) and thought it looked good. I'm assuming the US equivalent is the 40EX500, which I can pick up here for a smidge over $700. Can I trust that the picture/sound quality will be similar to the reviewed version, or is this a completely different model with different components? In general, can I make conclusions about US models by reading reviews of the equivalent UK models.

Finally, and suggestions for an (ideally) 32" screen at the budget end of the market would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Harry

 

[Andrew Everard]

Aside from differing specifications, it's likely the different models will have been made in different factories, probably on different continents, and quite possibly with components from different suppliers.

Apart from that...

 

[laserman16]

Not to mention getting a different TV signal to here in the UK........

 

[Andrew Everard]

Well yes, I thought I had covered that with the comment about different specification, but you can always get round that with a digibox.

 

[Anonymous]

OK... thanks for the responses. Does anyone have any suggestions for sources of reliable reviews of US products (magazines or websites)?