Samsung LE37R88BD £509 or Sony KDL-32P3020 £450???

[Nick_Shepherd]

Which would you buy?

For use with Sky SD and Xbox 360, then Sky HD and Blu-ray further down the line.

Both sizes are fine for my living room

Opinions please one and all

I must buy something this weekend! Unless i'm better to wait?

 

[Nick_Shepherd]

Bueller?.... Bueller?...... anyone......anyone?

 

[Nick_Shepherd]

Sorry to bump again.

Does no one have an opinion on this or is it politically hard to answers? (maybe as the Sony had 5 stars and theres a 37' test on the way.....just throwing that out there as it were)

Seems the Sony is the pick of the 32's and the Samsung is the only 37' in the price range which has had decent reviews.

Hence the dilema?

Cheers!

 

[Clare Newsome]

No politics, merely hard to answer!

There is a 37-40in test on the way (out March 6th), with some new models, but that doesn't help if you must buy right now.

If it were my money, i'd go for the bigger set, providing a) I had a good signal to feed it with - larger sets show up SD flaws more obviously and b) I didn't have a Denon DVD player, as there have been reports of some compatibility problems between those and these Samsung sets.

But then - knowing all the great sets just around the corner - I might just keep saving up...

 

[Nick_Shepherd]

Hi Clare, thanks for the reply, I thought it was hard to answer (the politics word must have just fallen in somehow!).

Will be Sky SD and 360. Then HD later.

I could wait for the test if there is a chance there is a better 37' set than the Samsung I can buy for £500, any hint you can give will be great (or mail me). Would hate to buy the Samsung then see it eclipsed a week later. I know its a year old already and at the same time dont want to fall into the trap of waiting and waiting, which I'm kind of already falling into!

The 37 is worth the extra £60 it seems?

 

[Clare Newsome]

I''d say the 37in is worth the extra, yes.

And no, there's not a highly ranked 37in in the test you can buy AS OF YET for that kind of money. But with all the new models ranges coming into shops from March, you can bet prices of existing stock are going to fall further.

I'd normally not advocate waiting, but it's an odd period for those older sets like the Samsung right now. A bit like when the car registrations switch over and all bets are off re pricing.

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="Clare Newsome"]
But then - knowing all the great sets just around the corner - I might just keep saving up...
[/quote]

Would I be correct in saying that you've seen some great TVs at CES but the info is embargoed for the UK until March.....?

jules.

 

[Clare Newsome]

We've seen a lot of good sets from a wide range of manufacturers (Andrew Everard's being talked through Toshiba's new range today, for example - sure they'll be happy to talk about TVs rather than HD DVD...)

But on the topic of HD - that's what makes this year's spring launches so much more important. It's hard to remember, but a year ago we didn't have mainstream 24fps sources to judge these sets against. Now Blu-ray's won the format war and 24fps players are going to be more affordable/availalble, it becomes more of an issue for anyone planning a TV/player purchase.

Therefore the new-spec sets - both for themselves and the knock-on pricing effect they're going to have - are worth thinking about more than normal.

FYI, as well as getting our hands on these sets ASAP for test, we're working on a big overview of all the new ranges - in terms of specs, features, sizes etc - for our May issue, out 3rd April.

 

[Nick_Shepherd]

So depending on the price of the new sets, it is worth hanging on a few weeks and if the current sets drop a bit more in price and I buy one that at at least excepts a 24fps signal, that may be the way to go?

Happy days ahead me thinks! (although you do know this will mean me having to buy new internal doors for the house if I am waiting on the TV!

)

Thanks Clare for your help, I have at last reached a conclusion....for now anyway!

 

[Clare Newsome]

[quote user="Nick_Shepherd"]
So depending on the price of the new sets, it is worth hanging on a few weeks and if the current sets drop a bit more in price and I buy one that at at least excepts a 24fps signal, that may be the way to go?

[/quote]

If you don't desperately need a set right now, then yes. Good luck with the wait/doors!

 

[Anonymous]

Nick. If your looking at 32" then - Check out the Panasonic TX LXD 7O which is 100hz processing, 24fps compatible and due to its on board Vreal processer will accept and show a very reasonable 1080p signal or the Sony KDL D3000 which is the Sony equivalent. Both are now around the £600 mark now online. I'd say they are about the best for the under £600 budget and i spent about 6 months looking/reading reviews etc before i got mine which ended up being the Sony mentioned above as i got 5 years warrenty with it.

 

[Nick_Shepherd]

Thanks for the tip kacey68. I'm afraid I must stick to sub £500. Important to draw a line somewhere.

I've always bought the best 5* What Hi Fi rated stuff I can get for my budget in the past and have never been unhappy although I'm sure there is good stuff out there otherwise.

It's difficult when you have doors as well!

(and plants and kitchens and another half with expensive taste in just about eveything, I mean, it was she whom suggested the 37', I was quite happy with a 32...typical!

)