Sony KDL40Z4500 - the best pic quality for Freeview / SD??

[admin_exported]

Hi all, I'm currently in a state of confusion over which TV to go for. As background, I have up to £2000 to spend (ideally less!) I'm currently running with a Toshibe 32" CRT (sorry, can't remember the model name) with a great picture but want to upgrade to a 40 or 42" LCD or Plasma. The trouble is as I'm used to watching a CRT, the LCD's and Plasma's generally have quite a noticable "noise" when in SD viewing. As most of my TV watching will be Freeview via a Humax 9200 PVR, my main concern is SD picture quality (although I would like to future protect for HD channels coming along in the future (e.g. Freesat)). I won't be watching any ball sports so the the white "ghosting" that you sometimes see from football viewing is not a major concern, I'll just be watching mainstream TV. Also, I'll be sitting approx. 8 or 9 feet from the screen. The rest of my system consists of a Sony NS-76H DVD player (upscaling and HMDI ability), the Humax 9200TB freeview / PVR box already mentioned and Bose Lifestyle 5 surround system.

So far I've been reasonably impressed with the Sony KDL40X3500, KDL40W4500 (both pretty similar SD quality IMO) and the Panasonic TH42PZ85B in SD viewing but still not completely sold on them. I've also viewed the Pioneer PDP-4280XD and the Panasonic TH42PZ800 (which I also believe to be up there with the best of them.) Again they were good but not great for SD. However, I viewed the Sony KDL40Z4500 yesterday and I have to say I was pretty impressed. There is still a very slight element of noise when watching Freeview but I think it's now good enough. Basically, before I lay my cash on the counter, what do all of you think is the best 40 or 42" TV for picture quality when watching SD channels? Should I bite the bullet and buy the Sony or are there any new Panasonics or Pioneers on the horizon that I should hold out for? Any advice is gratefully received.

Thanks everyone.

Sam

 

[drummerman]

£2000 is a lot of money but not for something you have to look at every day for the next x amount of years.

Someone here helpfully left some info ... google ' pioneer 9g owners thread'. You'll find a lot of helpful info on Pioneers Kuro range, not just the current one, by industry professionals, ISF qualified personnel and punters alike.

I've decided on mine before reading any specialist forums on it, simply on the basis of what I've seen over the last few months, since starting looking for a new panel. It really was a straight forward, easy choice as there was nothing that compared.

I am of course slightly biased now, so don't just take my word for it, but the Kuro plasma sets are exceptional with every source, sd or hd, especially when fed through a Sky box.

Its a 50" panel but I'd say you soon get used to it especially as the bezel is fairly narrow, so it is'nt that big. It's now available just slightly over your budget.

Good luck with your search.

 

[matthewpiano]

The Pioneer plasmas are exceptionally good IMO.