TV Selection - UK to New Zealand compatible

[admin_exported]

Hi all,

I am currently in the market for a good 32/37/42 inch TV. I think I dont need to go any higher due to the size of my living room:

Also would like to have decent sound setup. My budget for a TV is 600 and later 600 for sound setup. I am torn between 3 brands Panasonic, Samsung and Sony. The TV will be used for gaming and HD movies and later HD tv.

My other question is I will be moving back to New Zealand in a year. Does anyone know of any compatability issues?

For that size room what TV do you think I should got for?

For sound what doe you think of Q Acoustics for a solution? http://qav.qacoustics.co.uk/

Also is LCD better than plasma? I will be playing games. Ask this becasue there are some well priced pannys out there. Samsung is cheap but I have heard a few bad things.

Purchase will be made on the net and I cant get to a store to look at a TV so need your opinions on model and size.

 

[John Duncan]

is the telly going where it is now (or back a bit, since it's flat)? I say 37" plasma.

And I'd buy another one when I got to NZ, rather than ship it - it'll break.

Nice house, btw.

 

[Anonymous]

Back a bit. hmmmm. So no point buying then....unless insurance covers the break.

 

[John Duncan]

Well I'm sure that shipping companies will insure you against most breakages but plasma TVs (for it's the only option if you want quality above 37", to my mind) are hard to transport - your average 'trunk' company might not even touch it.

Though if you look here, plenty of people have done it (though note one didn't insure the plasma because it bumped up the cost too much). There's reference to PAL B/G compatibility as well, which you should investigate - can't help there I'm afraid.

 

[Anonymous]

OK,

I have been told that NZ users different carrier for sound, so the analog tuner probably wont work there? I will get picture.

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="KrisNZ"]
OK,

I have been told that NZ users different carrier for sound, so the analog tuner probably wont work there? I will get picture.
[/quote]
Correct - picture but no sound - I ditched a reliable JVC set when I moved to Australia for the same reason (I think they use VHF - stereo but no NICAM on analogue broadcasts) but that was some time ago and I think you may find (definitely check first) that most sets these days have pretty much universal tuners - and (though I'm not 100% sure) you may find that NZ is using the same DVB-T digital standard as Europe anyways - Australia is. Buying a tv based on analogue reception is not really worth worrying about as its getting turned off shortly anyways.
More info here:- http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/Contrib/WorldTV/broadcast.html
On another note, you will find that in NZ as in Aus, we tend to be a bit behind in availability of new models and the range will not only be smaller but also more expensive (small market, less competition etc etc), so if you know what you want and check that it will work in NZ, then maybe its not such a bad idea getting it before you go.
I'm in the market for either a plasma or LCD right now and finding that a lot of what is reviewed in WHF is MUCH newer than what I can actually get my hands on.
Assuming you're emigrating, no doubt you'll be taking a container load? We got a 20ft and pretty much took everything. In this instance, the container will of course be insured (incase it falls off the ship - which they do, regularly ; ) Just check with your shipping agent as there are items they will not insure and in most cases, they will only insure the container if they load it for you - $$$'s.
Obviously we moved to Aus rather than NZ but feel free to PM me if you need more advice.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks. I am an NZer living in the UK for 2 years and will have my move back covered by work. A set top box in NZ will cover my problem with TV I think.

Cheers

 

[Anonymous]

I'm in a slightly different boat, as I'm just setting up on a 1 year secondment in Ontario, Canada, and am looking to see whether to get a cheap TV or something a bit better to bring back, as I presume that I'll be able to use it essentially as a monitor in the UK connected to SkyHD or Freesat HD box via HDMI?

I can get a Sharp Aquos 1080P 42" LC-42D64U for the equivalent of £800 which seems pretty reasonable, perticularly after shelling out £1100 for my last TV, 32" Panasonic 720P 2 years ago!