What TV to buy?

[admin_exported]

I am looking for some advice. I need to buy a new TV (old one packed up last week!) and have been looking at the various screen types (LCD, LED, Plasma) and sizes.

My lounge is big enough to take a 50" - we sit over 2m from the screen and when I eventually redecorate this will still be the case.

Can't make my mind up on Plasma or LED/LCD but my basic understanding is that Plasma still just edges it on the "blacks" for good movie pictures. It then seems to be between the contrast and screen refresh rates. I have been told that the contrast is the most important feature to go for - 2,000,000:1+ to get the real depth in the picture - but I have also read that the refresh rate is very important to avoid blurring. Not many LCD TV's have a rate over 100mhz most Plasma's seem to have up to 600mhz, my main concern here is future proofing the TV as best I can - I do not want to replace it for another 5+ years and more likely 10 as the last one has lasted (that was a Philips 32" matchline so I know I am going to get a big improvement!) - and I have read that the new 3D technology can't work on a TV with less than 120mhz, I am not interested in 3D now but if it really catches on and we all have to wear the glasses to watch then I should at least have a TV capable of displaying the pictures when suitable additional hardware is available.

If I am right about the above then I think I need to ensure that my set has at least 120mhz and as good a contrast ratio as I can afford in my budget which is around £1300. I have looked at the Panasonic TXP50G20B and it seems to fit the package.

Any additional help would be greatly appreciated as I am really no expert on this at all and the choice/options are so vast that making the right decision is going to be tough!

Thanks

Richard

 

[Anonymous]

firstly , if you want a 3d tv , you have to buy a 3dtv , even if its advertised as being 400hz or 600hz , if it isnt a 3dtv , it wont ever be able to show 3d on it , you can buy a 3d ready tv , which wont be able to display 3d out of the box , but you can buy a transcoder and glasses and connect them up afterwards , or buy a full3dtv , like the panasonic 50vt20 which has all you need , including two pairs of glasses..

the refresh rate , once its at least 100hz , is not really that important ,the 600hz thing isnt relating to the refresh rate as manufacturers would lead you to believe ..

manufacturers also take liberties with contrast ratios , one is quoting 9million to 1 at the moment for one of their tvs , i doubt thats really the case when theres an image on the screen , id take them with a pinch of salt , bigger may be better , but not all the time ..

the g20 will never show 3d , you need the vt20 , thats the only 3dtv panasonic make , as i mentioned earlier , and it comes with two pairs of glasses , £2k for the 50in , no reviews yet , but its likely to have the deepest blacks on sale , and to actually be the cheapest 50in 3dtv on sale that uses the "active" system ..

if you only sit 2 metres from the screen , 50in might be a little on the large side ,id say you might want to try that in a store to see if you would be comfortable with it , with hd it would be fine , but with sd it might not be..

oh , i just noticed your budget , thats a little low for a 3dtv , at 50in anyway , you could maybe get a 40in 3d ready lcd for that , but i dont think they are that low yet , and you would need to get the add on 3d package at a later date..

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks.

I thought that i'd read somewhere that a TV with over 120mhz could display 3D with an appropriate 3D receiver box???

 

[Anonymous]

im fairly sure thats not the case , apparently any such tv would also need a polarizing filter ....

 

[The_Lhc]

maxflinn:im fairly sure thats not the case , apparently any such tv would also need a polarizing filter ....

That's correct, 3DTVs need a refresh rate of at least 120Hz but just because a TV can manage that doesn't mean it's capable of displaying 3D.

And it's only passive 3DTVs that require a polarizing filter on the screen I believe.

 

[Anonymous]

Just go into a shop and look at tv's, don't get too caught up in the technical jargon just now, figure out what size would be best for your room is your first major decision, 50" sounds quite big for your distance but go into a shop and sit 2m away and see what you think.

P.S. Max, can you say that no tv can show 3D unless it's a 3Dtv.............I watched journey to the centre of the earth 3D on blu-ray with old school green/red glasses at christmas on my philips..................that's still 3D all be it a bit naff

 

[AL13N]

richardcroucher:If I am right about the above then I think I need to ensure that my set has at least 120mhz and as good a contrast ratio as I can afford in my budget which is around £1300. I have looked at the Panasonic TXP50G20B and it seems to fit the package.
The Panasonic V20 has 600hz (although as with all figures this doesn't necessarily mean better) and as for contrast ratio they apparently have used a lot of the inherited Kuro technology in this model (and the VT20).

Play.com currently has the TX-P42V20B for £1199.99. I'd say wait for the V20 reviews (saving up the pennies all the while!) before deciding on your purchase by auditioning in-store.

 

[Anonymous]

which leads me to think , there doesnt seem to be much more actually going on in a 3dtv than in a normal 2d tv , why are they so expensive

a polarizing filter is surely not a big deal , ok , the passive sets might not cost silly money anyway ..

but the 3d samsung reviewed here ? £1800 plus glasses at £300 ? ok sure , theyre going to try to milk 3d for a while , its new and prices will drop , but if one assumes that the equivelent samsung without 3d will retail for about £1000-£1100 , whats the other £7-£800 all about ?

 

[AL13N]

maxflinn:...whats the other £7-£800 all about ?
Feeding a pill to a market you know will swallow?

 

[Anonymous]

greymack:
Just go into a shop and look at tv's, don't get too caught up in the technical jargon just now, figure out what size would be best for your room is your first major decision, 50" sounds quite big for your distance but go into a shop and sit 2m away and see what you think.

P.S. Max, can you say that no tv can show 3D unless it's a 3Dtv.............I watched journey to the centre of the earth 3D on blu-ray with old school green/red glasses at christmas on my philips..................that's still 3D all be it a bit naff
sure , ive also heard that channel 4 had a 3d week , i dont know if theres alot to this 3d malarkey really , i think the tv makers are looking for the maximum profit out of it ..poor souls , life must have been so much easier for them when a 50in sd plasma was ten grand...

 

[Anonymous]

AL13N:maxflinn:...whats the other £7-£800 all about ?
Feeding a pill to a market you know will swallow?

or you hope will swallow...

 

[Andrew Everard]

You really didn't read that thread where you asked all these questions before, did you, max?

 

[AL13N]

maxflinn:AL13N:maxflinn:...whats the other £7-£800 all about ?
Feeding a pill to a market you know will swallow?

or you hope will swallow...

They're very optimistic

(Plus, someone has to pay for those shiny new research centres!)

 

[The_Lhc]

Andrew Everard:You really didn't read that thread where you asked all these questions before, did you, max?

I'm almost bored enough to explain it to him all over again.

But not quite. I did mutter a couple of expletives though, I don't know if that helps at all?

 

[Anonymous]

Andrew Everard:You really didn't read that thread where you asked all these questions before, did you, max?
i did , thats how i know about the polarizing filter , thanks to yourself .. i dont remember getting into what makes the active system tick though .. apart from the sinchronised glasses thing , and the rapidly alternating 1080p images , i mean , is that all thats to it ? actually now i do remember

a different thread again though iirc ...

 

[The_Lhc]

maxflinn:Andrew Everard:You really didn't read that thread where you asked all these questions before, did you, max?
i did , thats how i know about the polarizing filter , thanks to yourself .. i dont remember getting into what makes the active system tick though .. apart from the sinchronised glasses thing , and the rapidly alternating 1080p images , i mean , is that all thats to it ?

"Is that all there is to it?" You make it sound like displaying two different pictures more than 100 times a second and then synchronising those alternating images with a piece of remote equipment so that the shutters in the lenses activate at exactly the same time as the images swap is the easiest thing in the world! Piece of pie, I could knock that up in my lunch hour!

Flying to the moon? Come on, how hard can it be really? It's not rocket science or anything is it?

Brain Surgery? Easy as cake, I could do it with my eyes shut, these surgeons are just stringing us along!

 

[Anonymous]

lol , its my nature , take a problem ,use logic , examine it practically , break it down , analyze , ask lots of questions , of course it helps while being on a forum , as there are often people able to help join the dots , so to speak ..

 

[Anonymous]

Reckon I need to try a different shop for selecting a new tv.. the ones I've visited don't seem to set them up so that you can do a fair comparison.

 

[Anonymous]

ch75ris:

Reckon I need to try a different shop for selecting a new tv.. the ones I've visited don't seem to set them up so that you can do a fair comparison.

Most of the major electronics stores are useless. I went to Currys and last week and asked which 2010 model televisions they had in. I got a blank stare and the sales guy replied "what do you mean 2010 models" I was then led to another guy that franticly tapped away at his computer for ten minutes without yielding any information of any use whatsoever. As for getting a demo I actually asked a store manager to hook up a screen to a HD source for me and he said he couldn't do it