Thinking of buying a new TV for the living room - pretty flexible on budget, up to £1,500, maybe more if its worth it. Not bothered by 3D at all - just want a great picture (high quality SD would be a massive bonus). What options are there PVC?
Samsung 8000 series is pretty much the top end at the moment. You can control it with talk and gesture commands and it can be upgraded as it has an expansion slot for more memory etc in the future. Pop in John Lewis or Curry's and have a look.
Cheers for the suggestion. What's the advantage of LED? Or downsides? Any reason to consider plasma/LCD versus LED?
Do they still do LCD or Plasma screens? Seems pretty old to me.. LED is razor thin and the current and last generation Samsung screens that are all LED are fantastic.
Pretty sure they do plasma/LCD still. Will go to John Lewis and see. What do you think about size? Going to be 4-1o feet from it (varies according to seats). Also, do I need to worry about sun glare when thinking of where it goes? I know that was an issue with plasma sets.
Chap at work has the 7000 series and doesn't have any problem with the sun. As for size the 40'' is £1149 in JL with a 5 year guarantee but the 46'' goes out of your price range at £1599 again with the 5 year guarantee.
Could spend more if its worth it - just wasn't sure of the practical size to go for. My wife always worries about getting too large a TV set - I'd rather get as big as possible. Also, any longevity issues? I know lcd could lose the backlight and plasma could get screen burn. Anything to note there? Cheers for advice grim, much appreciated. Might be looking Wednesday so this is very useful. Might hold back until after Xmas for the sales though.
Yeah probably best to wait until the sales although you better get to the shops early as they can be manic. I always think bigger is better but we manage with a 42'' in the living room. My LCD TV is now 4 years old and the lights behind are starting to play up, the middle of the screen is brighter than the top and bottom. You can really notice it when the screen goes black or gets dark but it still has a year on it's warranty and I am still hoping it breaks down so I can get a new free one.
Yes they still make plasmas and the reason is plasma still win the best picture awards. The high end LCD TVs are now just as good but cost twice as much. The 8000 series Samsungs are the bees knees. As far as glare most LCDs now use a glossy screen with anti reflection stuff on them which is the same as plasma. It’s been a while since I’ve shopped around but I think most LCD TVs now use LED technology. LEDs are the way to go. They allow for greater contrast, use less power, run cooler, longer life, and allow thinner TVs. The only down side is they are more expensive, especially if you get a TV that is fully back-lit. Most low cost LED TVs are edge lit which is fine unless you want to nit-pick about back light bleed and your black levels. Some high end TVs to look at. Samsung 8000s 7000s, 6500 Panasonic TC PVT, TC PST, TC PGT Sharp Elite, Aquos
And I’d agree that bigger is better. I used to think a TV could be too big but it seem like flat screens never get too big. Just make sure the TV will fit where you want it to go.
Panasonic still makes plasma TVs, and they are inexpensive and are among the best in terms of picture quality. I'm still using a Panasonic plasma myself. LEDs have some advantages over plasma being much, much lighter weight and far more energy efficient. The biggest drawback of LEDs compared to plasma is that they are substantially more pricey as far as the initial purchase price goes. I'd recommend taking a look at Panasonic's best TVs (Panasonic's ST50 and VT50 series currently) even if just for comparison to the LEDs you're considering. I'd personally take a top of the line plasma over a midrange LED if they were the same price. Also, the current LEDs tend to be LED-based LCDs rather than true LEDs, as they lack full LED backlighting. I'm waiting on the technology to advance a bit more before I upgrade. Higher definition TVs and OLED TVs are just around the corner. I doubt I'll buy an OLED TV because they are going to be incredibly expensive for awhile, but having a better looking TV on the market could help get me a better deal on a lesser TV.
That's more of an issue if you wanted a small screen. Otherwise, plasma tends to have the advantage. Also, another disadvantage of plasma TVs would be that they tend to emit more heat that the other types of TVs. They are much more efficient than they used to be, but they still use more juice and emit more heat than other types of TVs.
Wouldn't that also be an issue if the room was fairly small? We're a bit more pushed for space over here.
Yea, a big plasma in a smaller room could basically be a weak space heater. I've been waiting for OLED tv's forever now. I'll believe it when i see it.
That depends on the time of year. If it's a cold winter, you may appreciate the extra heat in a small room.
The new plasma TVs probably aren’t much worse in the heat department vs the old LCD screens. Of course the new LED TVs are by far the best. 42” Panasonic Plasma 185w 40” Samsung LCD 175w 40” Samsun LED LCD 100w.
I've been quite happy with my Sharp Aquos Quattron LED. Sharp is a seriously underrated brand on the interwebz.