TV for the bedroom

[admin_exported]

I'm looking for a new TV for the bedroom and something about 19" or 20" is as big as I can fit.

From recent review, the Panasonic TX-19LXD8 appears the best set at this size BUT....

From the high street the best price I can find is £329 with a Panasonic 5 yr guarantee. I can get it on the internet for around £275 delivered with a one year guarantee.

If I go for the TV which was 2nd in the recent magazine tests, the Toshiba 19AV505D, I can get it for around £195 on the high street with 5 yr guarantee. This is about as cheap as I can find it on the internet also. The downside with the Toshiba seems to be the sound quality which some have likened to a 1960's transister radio - no thanks. However an extra £130 in my pocket at Christmas is attractive.

Questions-

What is the likelihood of me needing the 5 yr warranty. I have never had any warranty problems personally but I have never had a small LCD TV before (though my PC monitor works fine after 5 years)

Has anyone heard the Toshiba and is it really so bad? It's not as if it will be used to watch big movies in surround sound.

 

[Andy Clough]

Don't know about the Toshiba 19AV505D, but we recently tested the 19AV506D and it was a good, solid 4-star set. Sure, the sound was a little thin, but for bedroom duties it should be OK and given the Toshiba's price we were more than happy to recommend it.

As for a 5-year warranty, the only TV I ever needed to use it on was an old Panasonic 32in CRT when the power supply went. But my (very budget!) Bush LCD in the bedroom has performed without a glitch for several years now. I guess it's a case of how much "peace of mind" you want.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Andy. The only difference between the 19AV505D and 506D is the colour. 505 is black and 506 is white.

In the current economic climate anything that gives peace of mind has to be good and since the TV is likely to be played at low to moderate volumes, the sound may not be an issue. I just wish you could hear the sets properly in the shops but a recent visit to John Lewis proved it was impossible to get any idea of sound quality with all the other background noise. The picture looked very good though.