Which TV Dilema

[admin_exported]

Hi Everyone,

What TV should I buy?

My budget is around £600 or more for the right set

I want the TV for my PS3 mainly, then films second and thirdly regular TV (in that order as I don't watch much regular TV).

I would like (but am not sure if I need hence me asking the forum) 100mhz (to stop motion blur?), HD freeview, 1080p and 24p support (for the PS3 and Bluerays respectively?).

Not sure about brightness cd/m2 if it is important for games or contrast ratio?

I am not bothered whether plasma or LCD.

I would like at least 37" or larger screen.

The bigger the screen the better (again due to playing PS3 racing games etc) however quality of image for the games is also imortant.

I think I understand about 100mhz vs. 60mhz, the difference between 1080i and 1080p interlacing (it's all too much), etc.
I
have gotten confused in one area, however. I know when I bought my PC
monitor the response time of 2ms seemed to be important at the time. I
don't remember there being mention of mhz being a factor of screen
speed. I see that both relate to speed of picture but not how it
affects the picture. Which is more important to the PS3 experience?

I have looked around the net for around 2 week now and have come to the end of my tether

. I have looked at many review sites and read many opinions, many of which are from people with knowledge of only the TV they have bought (obviously saying it is great)but of no real help to a punter wanting objective opinion or help choosing a TV.

This site is one of the only ones I have had a read that is objective (there was one other but I don't want to spoil my chances of getting a reply to my question

)

Which is why I put myself in the what Hi-Fi communities hands.

Please advise..

PS

I do not want a Samsung. I bought one for my mum around 14 months
ago (cant remember exact model; 32r87b or something) and the main board
burnt out (very smelly and just out of warranty). Got TV repair shop to
fix but not happy. Need at least 3 year guarantee

 

[Anonymous]

Just pop into John Lewis and buy a Sony...it makes life easy

 

[Anonymous]

A new TV thats 37" or bigger, full HD and not much more than £650 really does limit your scope but in my opinion you have 3 choices

1) You up your limit slightly and get something like the Sony 37" V5500 or the Panasonic 37" S10. The Sony may be better for you as I have read that there is a small delay on the Panasonic which may affect your gaming experience.

2) You go for an end of line model that suites your needs like a Sony 40W4000 you won't be getting the latest and greatest but it will do what you want without the premium of the new trends.

3) You don't go full HD and get yourself a bigger Plasma like the Panasonic 42 X10 you probably won't get better bang for your buck but you will lose some of that HD goodness offered by your PS3

I'm not a Sony or Panasonic fanboy, I've been looking for a new TV for what seems ages (Just brought a Sony 37W5500) and they are the most consistantly good manufacturers.

John

 

[Anonymous]

fuel4life:
My budget is around £600 or more for the right set

Meant this as a ball park figure so the advice was based around my level. As stated I have more for that "something special" if needs be

 

[Anonymous]

fuel4life:
My budget is around £650 or more for the right set

Meant this as a ball park figure so the advice was based around my level. As stated I have more for that "something special" if needs be

 

[Anonymous]

theres no freeview hd yet as far as i know , you get freesat hd with the panasonic 42inch g10 , also no gaming lag , good sd pictures and great hd pictures , ticks all your boxes , apart from price £900 ish i think , but it is a great tv..

 

[Anonymous]

Found these links but they are for older sets.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...1#post14228901

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1013958

I guess the most important thing for me is a lack of game.

Also everyone seems to be steering towards Sony for gaming ??

Any idea with new sets?

 

[Anonymous]

Great article on lag and what I am trying to avoid with my new TV here

http://lgknowledgebase.com/kb/index.php?View=entry&EntryID=3012

 

[Anonymous]

I personally am leaning towards Sony because they have consistantly churned out good TVs especially their W & Z ranges. Panasonic also do some great TVs and upto recently I had my heart set on one but they are generally priced the same as the Sonys which are a touch better, so I went for the 37W5500.

I wouldn't worry too much about response time most TV's come with a gaming mode which can improve response time. I would just look for a TV which has everything else you want then once you are actually thinking about buying it look up to see if there are input lag problems.

The W4100 isn't a model I can recall, it might well be the US equiv of the W4000/4500. I found a 40W4000 for £650 after a quick google so its complete possible for you to get one of those. I haven't seen too many reviews on them but the 40V5500 is only £750 which may be worth you auditioning in a shop.

Anyway hope its helped.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the advice.

I've done a lot of research with regards to response times necessary for instantaneous respone on a PS3 i.e. lag.

The answer was Sony z4500, w4000, w4500 (in that order). No other manufacturer came close with the exception of top end Samsung.

I used this http://www.digitalversus.com/duels.php?ty=10 to compare both best and worst lag times from different TV's directly. Also I used this http://www.**.co.uk/Sony-KDL40W4000/Calibration/ which gave bench mark results for Lag (which I could not find anywhere else).

Was a little worried by all the reports and reviews of the w4500 clouding issues so that was out of the running and I cannot afford a z4500 @£1,200ish but have bought a BNIB 40w4000 for £585. Well within budget with a superb lag time of 0-10ms for the PS3.

Magic

Note the newer (and cheaper) w5500 models seemed like a stepdown from the older models with a response (lag) time of 30-40ms!

Thank to all the posters for taking time to reply. Very appreciated

 

[Anonymous]

if you want an lcd then the tvs you have mentioned are fine , however , plasmas are naturally better for gaming , as for the plasma vs lcd debate , the jurys out , if gaming performance is your priority then plasma is best ...