Which TV is best?

[admin_exported]

Hi

I'm looking to buy a new TV and have whittled it down to this shortlist. Is there any you would specifically recommend? I've included cheapest internet price, release price, discount off release price, screen size and type and release date. There's also links to reviews.

Samsung LE40B550 £500 £550 9% 40l July 09
Sony KDL-40W4500 £575 £1190 52% 40l Aug 08 (2008 What HI FI TV of the Year)
Sony KDL-40W5810 £600 £950 37% 40l Oct 09
Panasonic TX-P42G10 £600 £1200 50% 42p March 09
Sony KDL-40EX503 £650 £900 18% 40l March 10

[<)]

Thanks

 

[bigboss]

I don't think you'll go wrong with any of them, although I see no point in going for the Sony W4500 when you're getting the next generation W5810 for almost the same price.

Do you prefer LCDs or plasmas?

Of the lot, I would pick between the W5810, P42G10 & EX503.

 

[Anonymous]

i'm not sure which I prefer, i think i'd more go on model by model basis and i've read lcds are comparitive in terms of colour anyway, although i've read alot of sonys have bleed problems so i'm not really sure..

the 5500 missed out on a fifth star because of bleed problems, so has this problem been rectified with later models?

Also, freesat or freeview? the 503 has freeview, while the g10 and 5810 have freesat

Thanks for your help!

 

[bigboss]

The backlight bleed was not a consistent problem. Only a few batches suffered from it. Just get a guarantee from the retailer that you can return the TV if it suffers from backlight bleed.

Freesat or freeview depends on where you live. Check their individual websites to decide. Are you going to take Sky or Virgin? If yes, then you shouldn't worry about freesat or freeview. The W5810 & G10 have both freesat & freeview.

You can always buy a freeview/freesat box if your TV doesn't have it.

I personally prefer plasmas. If you're unsure about Sony's backlight bleed, go for the G10.

 

[Anonymous]

hey

i have had 4 different 40w5500s and 1 40w5810 (my current set) and they all had backlight bleed the best of which was the one i have now but that seems to be getting worse so i will be talking with sony when i am done with my home move and home works had the set for 6 months though now

I would stick clear of those 2 sets mate i think most of the probs are with the 40 inch sets though i wish i went for a 46inch now for that reason and i also now have a larger living room

note i also had pixel problems with all the w5500s ie dead or stuck pixels!

 

[Oldboy]

Snakey:

hey

i have had 4 different 40w5500s and 1 40w5810 (my current set) and they all had backlight bleed the best of which was the one i have now but that seems to be getting worse so i will be talking with sony when i am done with my home move and home works had the set for 6 months though now

I would stick clear of those 2 sets mate i think most of the probs are with the 40 inch sets though i wish i went for a 46inch now for that reason and i also now have a larger living room

note i also had pixel problems with all the w5500s ie dead or stuck pixels!

I have to agree with Snakey as i had 3 40W5500 tv's and all had problems, really bad backlight bleed, dead pixels and always on pixels (always white) were the offenders and i was never happy with any of those tv's. I thought i would buy a 40EX503 after the great reviews on here but i had nothing but problems with this too, the first set suffered from backlight bleed yet again and the 2nd too to a lesser extent and the 3rd had no backlight problems but a fault where the picture would cut out and go purple with black and white vertical lines!

Of all your choices i would go for the G10 plasma or the Samsung B550 lcd in that order. I should add that after 6 faulty Sony lcd's i bought a Panasonic 42G20 plasma and i'm extremely happy with it and no faults atall

 

[fayeanddavid]

to balance the Sony bashing...................I have the 52W5500, and have had for the last 9 months and it is as clean as the day it was delivered

Also have a 40X2000, which is best part of 4 yrs old now and has slight bleed in one corner, noticeable only when the screen is backlit i.e. no input signal

As referred, seemed to be a couple of batches that got thru QA, get a guarantee/warranty from your dealer and you will be fine

Also treat yourself to the very latest model/engine/processing that you can from Sony

 

[Oldboy]

fayeanddavid:

to balance the Sony bashing...................I have the 52W5500, and have had for the last 9 months and it is as clean as the day it was delivered

Also have a 40X2000, which is best part of 4 yrs old now and has slight bleed in one corner, noticeable only when the screen is backlit i.e. no input signal

As referred, seemed to be a couple of batches that got thru QA, get a guarantee/warranty from your dealer and you will be fine

Also treat yourself to the very latest model/engine/processing that you can from Sony

Sorry but i'm not Sony bashing....just stating facts. Surely it's better that the OP has this information before he makes a decision? I am in no way saying Sony are useless etc but after 6 tv's in 8 months it's clear all is not well in Sony's QC department as there is no way one person can be that unlucky, no? I have plenty of Sony kit that i am really happy with but the TV's have let me down badly and i wouldn't buy another which is surely useful information.

Also i see you have the 52 inch version of the W5500 which has seen no problems, only the 40inch models seem to suffer the backlight bleed as far as i remember

 

[kjelly]

If you are going to use the TV without a hifi/home cinema then get the Samsung.

Otherwise get the SonyEX503.

 

[Anonymous]

thanks for the input guys i think i'm swaying towards the panasonic. Or maybe the ex503...

 

[007L2Thrill]

I have the Sony KDLW4500 and it's a great set, iv had it now for 2 years this winter when it was reviewed and still the same great picture quality, but I do need to say that when I took delivery of the unit and set it up there was white patches like clouding around some parts of the screen, I thought of returning it but found out that all you need to do is turn the backlight to max and have nothing playing so the screen is black then get a cleaning cloth and push on the screen where the clouds are and wipe to the corners of the screen, it took me around 25 mins to remove all the clouding and today it still the same, no clouding.

 

[Anonymous]

So you can wipe the clouds away? Amazing... and a little terrifying all at once.

 

[007L2Thrill]

Stereolad:So you can wipe the clouds away? Amazing... and a little terrifying all at once.

Yup, you can and its terrifying when they rain and even more terrifying when it looks like there's going to be a thunder storm, but serious you can and its simple, there was a thread on here a long time ago posted by another member and it was from them I got the idea from and it works!

If you google it here, the top site ehow.com goes in to more detail.

 

[Anonymous]

I honestly had no idea you could do that, top tip!