What LCD TV Should i buy? HELP ME PLEASE!!! :O(

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Hi everybody i need some advice on what LCD tv to buy?

I have a budget of around £1200 and the following requirements:

Screen size 37" to 42"

Be able to handle 1080p

Also needs to be able to handle some serious gaming with the xbox 360

And i watch alot of films and fast action sports so something that can handle those.

I have been looking at the Sony KDL-40W2000 the only negative i have heard about this tv is about some GHOSTING? could someone enlighten me on this?

Also what other LCD tv should i look at in this price and spec range?

Many thanks in advance and look forward to hearing from you.

Dave
 

Andy Clough

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We've got a Supertest of all the latest 37in flatscreen TVs coming up in the August issue of What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision, on sale from June 28, so make sure you reserve a copy! We still rate the Sony KDL-40W2000 highly, and it was our TV Product of the Year in 2006.
 

Andy Clough

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Yup, it's probably worth waiting, as all the main manufacturers - Philips, Panasonic, Samsung etc - are in the process of launching their new model ranges around now, and we'll be testing them as soon as we can. There's a big push on Full-HD, 1080p models this year so, if you can wait, I'd hang on until we've tested a few more of them.
 
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Anonymous

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Will you be just reviewing 37" or is it going to include 40 & 42" lcd's too?

Many thanks
 

Andy Clough

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The Supertest is specifically of 37in models, but we also include new TV reviews in the First Test section of the magazine, covering a range of screen sizes. If you want to go ahead and buy the Sony 40in now it's a great set, but we're waiting for some of the newer 1080p sets to come in from the likes of Panasonic, Philips, LG etc.
 
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Anonymous

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Mind you, it's arguable that you'll see any of the supposed benefits of 1080p on a 37-42in TV, unless you watch it with your nose pressed against the screen. And bear in mind that there isn't any true 1080p material on disc yet - even HD-DVD and Blu-ray machines convert from 1080i at best. Unless you're looking for a truly huge screen, I'd suggest 1080p capability might be a bit of a red herring in quality terms. Just IMHO, of course...
 
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Anonymous

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[quote user="Nipper's Giant Horn"]Mind you, it's arguable that you'll see any of the supposed benefits of 1080p on a 37-42in TV, unless you watch it with your nose pressed against the screen. And bear in mind that there isn't any true 1080p material on disc yet - even HD-DVD and Blu-ray machines convert from 1080i at best. Unless you're looking for a truly huge screen, I'd suggest 1080p capability might be a bit of a red herring in quality terms. Just IMHO, of course...[/quote]

You will see a difference between 1080i and 1080p, especially if you use a gameing system that supports 1080p.

The way the screen is constructed with interlaced images means you'll notice more flicker (especially on horizontal detail). As a game developer I'd much prefer progressive pictures as flicker is vastly reduced, or even eliminated.

Go with 1080p. Personally I like the look of the Samsung LE40M87 which can be had for £999. I am waiting for a month or two as I am sure the price will drop by £100 or so.
 
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Anonymous

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The Sony mentioned that was product of the year can be found about on the net pretty cheap. I had a look at a Sony Centre and it was up for £1400, I think Dixons have it for less that £1100, which can't be bad.
 
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Anonymous

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Hello

I am am in a similar situation to Dudie, in the market for a 37" lcd, but i'm a huge sony fan. can anyone tell me if they have any plans to bring out a 37" screen in the near future - i find it hard to believe that such a huge name in tv's isn't trying to steal a piece of the most popular size tv market in the uk - anyone else find it odd?

Happy watchig

chris
 
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Anonymous

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Got a sony 32 v series in the house and the picture for tv dvd and playstation games are amazing deff go for the bigger 40" sony you wont be disappointed
 
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Anonymous

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Anybody any views on the Sharp Aquos XD1E range? It's 1080p and you can pick up a 46 inch on the net for around £1250 with the 42 inch for around £920 - at 1080p spec this seems a pretty good deal but you don't often see Sharp mentioned amongst the usual suspects.

Thanks
 
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Anonymous

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GeoffG, I have the Sharp 42XD1E, which I got in February for £1299 from Richer Sounds. I spent almost an hour comparing images in the store and in the end decided for the Sharp over the Pioneer because of the 1080p and the 2 HDMI inputs. Both picures looked very, very similar. However, where the Sharp eventually fell over was with movement. the image gets badly pixilated when a high proportion of pixels in the image change at the same time. I guess this has to do with the compression of the data stream. When there is little movement there is a lot of compression possible needing less bandwith. However, when a lot of the images changes at the same time the system needs to transfer more data and promptly struggles. Saying all that, with more static images and HD content the screen is stunning. Look at a few displays and get the shop to show some rapid movement content also.
 

Barrington

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Nipper's Giant Horn,

Where did you get your information from that no Blu-ray and HD DVD films are true 1080p resolution? Which TVs with their model numbers and HD DVD films were used? This is, because it is a well known fact that Blu-ray despite the hype that there picture and sound quality was inferior to Blu-ray films?

Did you viewed the differences in extremely slow and fast moving pictures with sound?

How far do think is the correct distance to view a HD TV to get the maximum effect because it is obvious that you do not know?

What do you recommend that people buy a 1080i TV now and waste more money within four to five years if 1080p brodcasting is provided within five years?

What do you think is the highest resolution is available at the moment on an HD TV prototype by the organisation that created HD?

The best HD resolutions has 1080p. That means even if there isn't true 1080p material definitely 1080p is superior to 1080i resolution, for example Sony and Pioneer HD ranges.

Better still, which manufacturer produces a better 1080i TV than their 1080p TV showing the best quality HD material with a small extremely fast or slow moving object?
 

Barrington

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The Sony KDL-40W2000 is still probably the best 1080p 40" TV. The Samsung LE-40M87BD was an enormous disappointment. Ignore 37" TVs, because some poeople think that 40" TV's are too small.

If you buy the Sony KDL-40W2000 the following should be useful:-

The best way of thinking about an HD TV with a Freeview (internal tuner) is a 3-in-1 TV with TV aerial, Digital (Freeview), and Cable or SKY and if you have HD broadcasts then think of having a 4-in-1 TV but I am only dealing with a 3-in1 TV below.

One of the biggest problems with most new LCD TVs appears to be manually maximizing its calibration (picture quality) - hours/days.

I think that all calibrations used in reviews should be included in table format.

This is because if the calibration was wrong:

1) The TV's review could be repeated with a better calibration.

2) It should be much quicker for people to calibrate their TVs if they have a list of calibrations to use instead of guessing the correct calibration from scratch.

The excuse given that everybody sees things differently I disagree with - unless some people I suppose are blind (coloured, partial or fully).

I think the calibration for the Sony KDL-40W2000 and probably would also work for the Sony KDL-46W2000 using (page 37 & 38 operating Instruction book); TV aerial (RF) -->Virgin (NTL/Telewest) -->Scart Cable & TV aerial --> Combo SVHS and DVD player --> Scart Cable & TV aerial -->Sony KDL-40W2000 (RGB - Smart Link Scart AV2.

TIP - Play a DVD or a Video tape before switching on the TV for the first time & use AUTO START-UP-Tunes DVD or Video Recorder channel automatically.

If at any time you have any problems, telephone Sony UK and ask them to help you change the settings.

PICTURE MENU-Target Inputs = All, Picture Mode = Custom, Backlight = 4, Contrast = 74, Brightness = 58, Colour=40, Colour Temperature=Neutral, Sharpness=10, Noise reduction=Medium, Advanced Settings: Black Corrector=Medium, Adv. Contrast Enhancer=Medium, Gamma= Low, Clear White=High, Live Colour=Medium, Colour Space=Wide, MPEG Noise Reduction=Low,

SOUND MENU-Target Inputs=All, Sound Mode=Dynamic, Treble=Max, Bass=Max, Balance=0, Auto Volume=Off, Volume Offset=0, Surround=True Surround, BBE=High, Dual Sound=Stereo, Speaker Link=On

SCREEN MENU-Target Inputs=All, Screen Format=Widescreen, Auto Format=On, 4:3 Default=Smart, Display Area=Normal, Horizontal Shift=0, Vertical Shift=Min, Vertical Size=Max

SET-UP MENU-Language=English, AV Preset=AV2=Cable - ASK SONY UK IF NECESSARY HOW TO NAME CABLE CHANNEL TO CABLE OR SKY TO SKY - Page 28 Operating Instructions book: Set-up menu - AV Preset section, Timer Settings=Off, Power Saving=Low, Light Sensor=On, AV2=Auto, Quiet Power On=On, Speaker=On, Audio Out=N/A, Colour System=Auto, Product Information=About TV,

ANALOGUE SET-UP MENU (ANALOGUE MODE ONLY (TV AERIAL)) - PAGE 32

DIGITAL SET-UP MENU - PAGE: 35-36 - < OK >< --> >

DIGITAL SET-UP: Subtitle Setting=Off, Subtitle Language=English, Audio Language=English, Technical Set-up: Auto Service Update=On, Software Download (free through your existing aerial (when issued))=On, Time Zone=GMT

There are no ghosting, bleeding or viewing angle problems - checked it out before buying the Sony KDL-40W2000 TV from John Lewis 23rd May 2007 - it works perfectly, therefore buy it if you want the best picture quality. Reviews claimed that the analogue (TV aerial) resolution is poor compare to the best 40" TVs - I agree with. The problem is that you will be using either the built in Freeview (digital tuner), with either Cable or Sky depentent on what you have. The picture quality should be similar to the Sony KDL-40X2000 (despite the hype) and HD second to none but that was before Pioneer and Panasonic created their latest TVs that means that I am not sure whether Sony creates the best HD resolution TVs. Philips would be the only LCD to consider but What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision, November 2006 magazine with 40"- 42" Flatscreen TVs that gave Sony KDL-40W2000 the best buy beating the best Philips P42PF9831D TV. Their TVs are plasma not suitable for gaming and if burn-in (display defect) occurs it is not covered within the warranty. The new Sony TVs D3,000 and S3,000 are inferior I have been told by Sony UK to the Sony KDL-40W2000 TV even when D3000 includes Motion Flow and 100Hz.

There are no sound problems. I also checked before buying from somebody who bought a Sony KDL-40W2000. The only real disappointments not having; motion flow, 100Hz, remote controllight grey and looks cheap but the keys are designed properly and works properly, doesn't have picture-in-picture, doesn't have coaxial digital port for excellent sound quality to link to an AVR but a good quality phono lead gives a reasonably good sound quality. Internal speakers - I probably turned it to full and there were no distortions but if I compare it with my Panasonic Prologic TV then my CRT TV sound quality is much better 100W RMS total watts. If I then compare it to using mission speakers with Yamaha sub woofer 100W RMS = 600W RMS that is onnected to a Denon 2802 the Sony KDL-40W200 internal speakers are dreadful.

If you want the best picture quality than buy the Sony KDL-40W2000 but if you want to listen to What Hi-fi? Sound and Vision who recommend TVs with poor picture quality because they are penny pinching. My attitude if somebody is going to waste money on HD than they should have stayed with thei CRT that probably produced a much better picture quality instead of being coned into wasting money - What Hi-fi? Sound and Vision magazine has probably lost its objectivity (telling the truth).
 

Andrew Everard

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[quote user="Barrington"]
If you want the best picture quality than buy the Sony KDL-40W2000 but if you want to listen to What Hi-fi? Sound and Vision who recommend TVs with poor picture quality because they are penny pinching. My attitude if somebody is going to waste money on HD than they should have stayed with thei CRT that probably produced a much better picture quality instead of being coned into wasting money - What Hi-fi? Sound and Vision magazine has probably lost its objectivity (telling the truth).

[/quote]

Thanks for the extensive posting, Barrington, but haven't you said all this in another thread?

Anyway glad you agree with us about the quality of the Sony, even if our reviews are all about 'penny pinching' - we prefer to see them as getting the best value for our readers.

And losing our objectivity? Hardly - we've consistently said that, unless you have HD sources, earlier generations of flatscreen sets have sometimes striggled to give a decent picture off-air. Things are compounded by the low bitrates on some Freeview transmissions.

But the fact is people want flatscreen TVs these days, not the old CRT elephant in the corner. We haven't created that market - we just reflect it, and strive to make sure those consumers get the best set for their money.

Your extensive calibration advice is noted, but as we've made clear in other answers on this topic, we do carry out just such procedures on TVs on test. And as you've demonstrated, publishing this level of detail on every TV test wouldn't leave much space on the printed page for any other comments!
 

Clare Newsome

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I'd also add that 'if you listen to What Hi-fi? Sound and Vision' you would indeed buy the Sony, which we made our TV product of the year - over every other set we tested - and is still listed as our Best Buy in the magazine every month....

By the way, we've had a very tasty preview of some new 40in+ sets coming up - some are so new they aren't on sale yet. Supertest due in the issue on sale in September.
 

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