Which TV for Sky HD?

[c0l3y]

I have a budget of 1200ish and curently own a Panasonic 42" plasma, TH-42PX60B, it's a few years old, it's still working well, I plan to give it to my parents, leaving me the task of buying a new family telly.

Content through Sky HD (still 1080i to my knowledge), and either Nick JR, Sports, Movies or soaps, so the whole Smart thing is not essential, neither is 3D, although passive is a preference here.

The need to watch all content smoothy and realistically will likely require a reasonable amount of MHz (comments?), which puts it in a price bracket where you get smart and that anyway.

I have been looking at allsorts, including, Panasonic Viera TX-L47FT60B, Samsung UE46F7000,Samsung UE46F6740,Philips 47PFL6008S,Sony Bravia KDL47W805.

I am getting very confused between all of the current tech, the content displayed either makes them all look great or all look ropey, then there's the prices, what I guess are midrange at 800 ish, then some better at 1200, then those that are totally out of budget.

There are some 55's cheaper than 40's, there are some 47's more expensive than 55's.

There are 2 main viewing locations in the lounge, one is 2.5M away, the other is 3.5M away, most viewing is done at 2.5M, this leads me to think that 46-50" is the best size? comments welcome..

If anyone could offer any advice, even of models to avoid or take a further look at, it's all useful.

please ask me if I need to provide any further information.

I look forward to all replies.

 

[Legacy260]

Do you want new LED or the best of the soon to be displaced plasma? Most screens come with some sort of 'smart interface' however are you watching in a well lit room or somewhere without direct sunlight upon a screen? I would look at a plasma myself, let it settle and then teeek the picture. However the better LED's offer benefits in well lit areas and for styling. Dont forget the sound is rubbish on anything you buy today. Stick to the better manufacturers but screen size of a plasma is more important than on and LED.....big is best.

 

[peds]

Hmmmm, spooky! I am in similar situation although upgrading from the same Pana but 37" version. I was going with the WHSV recommendation of the Panasonic TX-P50GT60B. Big jump in size but I am sat 2-3 meters away, like yourself. I have managed to find one of these at £1100 and got a local company to agree to price match so I can get ASAP. My only question, bolting into your post OP is should I, like you be looking to spend my buck else where in the market?

 

[ayjaycee]

I was in the same boat and, after seeking advice on this forum, came to the conclusion that if you wanted really good picture quality you had little choice but to buy a set with all the smart functions and 3D as well. After a bit more research, I finally went for the Samsung UE46F8000 and have not regretted it at all. I got a good price from John Lewis with price match (£1217 with delivery and a 5 year warranty which is still less than the so called JL sale price). There are other discussions on this model elsewhere on this site that you might want to read. What I forgot to say in my earlier posts was that when we went to JL to look at the options, the Samsung UE46F8000 and 7000 were sitting side by side showing the same TV programme (from Sky HD but I cannot remember what it was) and the former was noticeably better than the latter which finally swung it for us - even my wife commented on it and she is not usually as concerned with such things. Just to check further, I had also gone armed with a USB stick loaded with some AVI, MKV and MP4 files - again, the 8000 showed better picture quality than the 7000 when playing those files. That said, I do appreciate that it it could have all been down to the settings of the individual models.

As an aside, after my initial curiosity about what it can do, I haven't bothered to use any of the smart functions nor the voice and motion control facilities (or any of the other whizzbangs that it has). Also, having looked at the first hobbit movie in 3D, my original opinion that I wasn't bothered about 3D was confirmed (that also goes for visits to the cinema!).

I did an initial set up using THX optimiser and the associated glasses, programmed the important remote functions to my Harmony 650 and put the original remotes away. I am now happy as Larry, whoever he is or was.

 

[RobinKidderminster]

An aside. Currys (and most I guess), plug in and forget. No setup. Smaller dealers I dont know. But to judge a screen by walking round Currys (etc) is not a good idea IMO.

 

[c0l3y]

Do you want new LED or the best of the soon to be displaced plasma? Most screens come with some sort of 'smart interface' however are you watching in a well lit room or somewhere without direct sunlight upon a screen? I would look at a plasma myself, let it settle and then teeek the picture. However the better LED's offer benefits in well lit areas and for styling. Dont forget the sound is rubbish on anything you buy today. Stick to the better manufacturers but screen size of a plasma is more important than on and LED.....big is best.

Screen is well lit lounge, shouldn't have direct sunlight. I love the skinny bezel's but I was in John lewis earlier and most content on the LED's looked washed out compared to plasma. I am thinking that if I got a plasma and it saw me a few years, 4K would then be here for the masses in terms of cost and content.

I have been looking at a couple of panasonic plasmas, TX-P50ST60B (£800), TX-P50VT50B (£920 ex demo), TX-P50GT60B (£1100) Ive some good things about the ST's, anyone offer any firm advice?

Not really bothered about the 65B as these just seem to have twin tuner, and as most of my content is SKY HD, little point at the min.

 

[c0l3y]

I was in the same boat and, after seeking advice on this forum, came to the conclusion that if you wanted really good picture quality you had little choice but to buy a set with all the smart functions and 3D as well. After a bit more research, I finally went for the Samsung UE46F8000 and have not regretted it at all. I got a good price from John Lewis with price match (£1217 with delivery and a 5 year warranty which is still less than the so called JL sale price). There are other discussions on this model elsewhere on this site that you might want to read. What I forgot to say in my earlier posts was that when we went to JL to look at the options, the Samsung UE46F8000 and 7000 were sitting side by side showing the same TV programme (from Sky HD but I cannot remember what it was) and the former was noticeably better than the latter which finally swung it for us - even my wife commented on it and she is not usually as concerned with such things. Just to check further, I had also gone armed with a USB stick loaded with some AVI, MKV and MP4 files - again, the 8000 showed better picture quality than the 7000 when playing those files. That said, I do appreciate that it it could have all been down to the settings of the individual models.

As an aside, after my initial curiosity about what it can do, I haven't bothered to use any of the smart functions nor the voice and motion control facilities (or any of the other whizzbangs that it has). Also, having looked at the first hobbit movie in 3D, my original opinion that I wasn't bothered about 3D was confirmed (that also goes for visits to the cinema!).

I did an initial set up using THX optimiser and the associated glasses, programmed the important remote functions to my Harmony 650 and put the original remotes away. I am now happy as Larry, whoever he is or was.

Thanks for your reply, I have looked at the Samsungs, its picky but I do prefer the stand on the 7000 to that of an 8000 (no where to wall mount yet), I will go back to JL and see if there's are side by side. Just need to get the price down from the 1299 to closer to 1200.

 

[c0l3y]

If I was adding gaming to the mix, and having LED due to it's looks, Panasonic TXL47DT65B or Samsung UE46F8000? Any thoughts? advice?

 

[ianb76]

I compared Samsung f8000 to the Sony w905, and I preferred the W905 (I found it better with motion & gaming lag is really low, lower than most plasmas). So the best thing to do is to demo, don't just take peoples opinions. We all view things differently

 

[c0l3y]

I compared Samsung f8000 to the Sony w905, and I preferred the W905 (I found it better with motion & gaming lag is really low, lower than most plasmas). So the best thing to do is to demo, don't just take peoples opinions. We all view things differently

I appreciate differing opinions, that's why I started this post, looking at demo's is just confusing me, so I am happy to hear thoughts and views, hopefully a common theme will appear....

 

[ianb76]

Then IMHO, Sony W905 is best LCD TV on the market atm.

I found it to have better motion, depth of colour, contrast & really low lag for gaming than the Samsung.

Wasn't impressed with the Panasonic's when compared to the other two.

I didn't demo the W805, but many good things said about it on avforums owners thread. W805 is passive W905 is active.

 

[bigboss]

If buying a Panasonic plasma, buy from John Lewis with a 5-year guarantee. Avoid ex-demo models. Panasonic have been a headache to deal with, when it comes to honouring warranties.

 

[ayjaycee]

I'm the opposite in that I think the stand on the 8000 looks better BUT, in my opinion, it's also potentially dangerous if you don't take precautions as the panel is set just above the front of the stand and it is very, very easy to topple. Samsung actually supply a curious safety measure made up of bits of string and plastic which you are supposed to use to anchor the TV to your AV stand - it's sounds a bit 'Heath-Robinson' and it is. I have used it but also would not place too much faith in it either - as an added precaution. I fixed a small bracket at the back of the stand to stop it from toppling over. Something you really shouldn't have too worry about on a TV of that price (or any price for that matter).

 

[c0l3y]

Does anyone have any experience of watching football or other fast paced sports on a Samsung UE46F7000 or UE46F8000 with SKY Sports HD as the source?

Out of the box, blurry? does it need lots of tweaking?

In every shop I have been in so far they only have freeview as a source, which always seems to be showing bargain hunt, which due to the brightness of the shop, always looks washed out.

Does anyone know of any shops that have SKY HD as a source, so that a demo could be achieved?