Another TV Spec Request Thread

Indie

Indie

Indie

Soldato
Joined
11 Jul 2006
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Location
Cradley, West Midlands
Afternoon guys,

I've got a nice bonus this month it seems! *cheer* and I thought I'd treat myself (the missus and the dog) to a new TV!

Below is a picture of where the TV will be.
Note this isn't the TV that is currently in place, however its about the same size. Also, this isn't the décor either, this is what it was like when we brought the house ;)



We generally only ever watch TV at night anyway so glare from the sun shouldn't be too much of a problem. Ideally looking for something with a slimmer bezel, I hate how thick the current one is, and ideally a little bigger. Around the 50"!

I've got a budget of around £500-£600, mainly be used for watching standard TV, a movie every now and then, as well as some light console gaming!

Any help/advice would be really appreciated, as I know naff all about this subject!
 
Avforums has all the information you need or want

50 inch and £500 does not compute it's about triple that for an lcd that's half decent and around double that for a top end plasma
 
When the price range for 50" stretches from £400 all the way up to £1500 without going to silly extremes of 4K resolution or OLED, then clearly there's more to the TV market than simply size, and 3D, and Smart features and design. It's also clear that £500-£600 is closer to the entry-level end of things than it is the top end. So you'd be right to wonder what's going on.

The biggest differentiator isn't 3D or Smart features. As long as the panel will support a high enough refresh rate for 3D then those things really don't add too much to the cost. The biggest factor is picture performance. That's to do with where the panel is sourced from, and the type of panel, and the electronics that drive it. Next, it's production volume. Producing a small batch of TVs for a niche market is relatively expensive. That's why making a stripped down 1080p TV with high picture performance and no headline features isn't as cheap an option as some buyers would hope. It's more economical to make a set with lower picture quality and to include more bells and whistles. It appeals to a wider "non-techie" buying market and so the volumes help drive costs down.

If I was drawing up a shortlist here would be the candidates:

Panasonic TX-P50X60: 50" 1024x768 plasma. Pros - best picture performance in the sub £600 price category. Wide viewing angle. Excellent value. Cons - limited features and chunkier design. £399. [Additional notes: Panasonic have played it clever here. They've used very good drive electronics to get the best from a good non-1080p panel. The result is a more convincing image than you'd get from a mediocre 1080p allied to poor electronics.]

Samsung UE46F5000/5500: 46" 1080p LCD/LED. Pros - Good picture performance for LCD/LED of this size. Relatively low lag for gaming too. Cons - The type of panel used (a VA panel) makes the picture difficult to see properly when viewed from the side. £499/£599 respectfully

Sony KDL42W653/654 and Panasonic TXL42E6B 42" LCD/LED. Pros - Best picture performance in 42" LED. Very low lag for gaming. Good image processing for a wide range of sources. Cons - smaller screen size compared to the other products listed. £519 ~ £529 [Notes: Proof positive that you can't get a quart out of a pint pot. What you gain in picture performance is sacrificed in screen size, but they don't make diamonds as big as house bricks]

IMO the rest of the TV choices in your price range have greater compromises.
 
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Wow, thanks for that Lucid, really helpful information! I'll liaise with the ball and chain to see what she thinks, I quite like the plasma and the 46" Samsung!

If you were to pick one, which would you go for?
 
"Which would I pick?" That's very difficult for me to give a straight answer because my priorities are different to yours.
 
judging by your picture and the way the sun hits the screen, stay away from plasma, unless you want to keep the curtains shut on bright sunny weekends and you are watching the footy or whatever your into.
 
What is this obsession with retina burning picture brightness? For decades we managed perfectly well with black & white and colour tubed TVs with glossy bulbous screens that were nowhere near a half as bright (if that) as current flatscreen TVs. If it was bright and sunny outside we simply drew the curtains....problem solved. The world kept turning and no-one had a cow. :confused:
 
If you can settle for a 46", then the Samsung F6400 (£650) or the F6500 (£750) are awesome - often praised for their value for money on review sites. I've just one for myself after a lot of research.

The F6400 is just a tad over budget, but worth it.

If you watch mostly at night, you probably want something with good blacks (which aren't just dark grey). That's something else the two Samsungs excel at.
 
lucid said:
What is this obsession with retina burning picture brightness? For decades we managed perfectly well with black & white and colour tubed TVs with glossy bulbous screens that were nowhere near a half as bright (if that) as current flatscreen TVs. If it was bright and sunny outside we simply drew the curtains....problem solved. The world kept turning and no-one had a cow. :confused:
Click to expand...

??????????

plasma and sunlight = mirror

nothing to do with brightness

also drawing the curtains at say 1pm on a sunday to watch tv in darkness on a sunny day is hobbit like

natural light within the home is a glorious thing, in fact people pay thousands to make the most of natural light, some even tens of thousands to make the most of it, with skylights, room design, big glass panels, etc.

i own 2 plasmas btw so nothing to do with LCD bias, the fact is he needs an LCD, plasma won't do in his lighting conditions.
 
Matt screens only help in cutting down in room reflections. They do nothing against ambient light that washes out black detail. The solution is to control ambient light first.
 
FoxEye said:
If you can settle for a 46", then the Samsung F6400 (£650) or the F6500 (£750) are awesome - often praised for their value for money on review sites. I've just one for myself after a lot of research.

The F6400 is just a tad over budget, but worth it.

If you watch mostly at night, you probably want something with good blacks (which aren't just dark grey). That's something else the two Samsungs excel at.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that Fox!

I've actually got round to measuring what size our current TV is, and its only 37"

I think its this one, or similar! (I aquired it from my parents house when they upgraded) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Toshiba-37RV635D-37-inch-Widescreen-Freeview/dp/B001TUYQ50

So I guess upgrading to a 46" will be a huge improvement!

When we get our new TV, this one will probably go in the bedroom.
 
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