Buying a TV: Key things to look for?

[Goksly]

Very much out of the TV loop - infact this is the first TV I'm going to buy! So just wondering what's the 'lingo' I should be looking for? Want to make sure what ever I buy isn't instantly out of date.

I've seen a few sets that look nice (LED ones) but are they worth the premiums... went into currys, comet ad pc world and all the sets had very bad image quality, but it looks as though it was just SD playing?

Looking at 32" to 42" and around £500 to spend, but any pennies saved will be appreciated Are there any tvs that are head and shoulders above the rest?

 

[jellybeard999]

At the moment my money would be on a LG or Panasonic plasma.

LCD still don't have the black levels and are far too sharp.

 

[MissChief]

LED's are getting close to Plasma levels but the smallest Plasma you'll find will be a panasonic 37" probably. Worth it though. £500 isn't a lot, but you want good contrast levels, a good black level and a fast response time. make sure you watch some HD and SD content on any TV you're interested in. If you have a John lewis close by, free 5 year guarantee on all TV's.

 

[jellybeard999]

If you go for a plasma, go for a 42" model as the panels are generally better than the 37" equivalents.

 

[Bassmansam]

At the moment my money would be on a LG or Panasonic plasma.

LCD still don't have the black levels and are far too sharp.

Isn't it good to have sharp picture? My edge LED produces a very sharp image would looks brilliant.

 

[Deleted member 651465]

Isn't it good to have sharp picture? My edge LED produces a very sharp image would looks brilliant.

No. Professional image calibrators usually turn off all image processing gimmicks, and lower "sharpness" to the lowest setting, if it can't be switched off altogether.

It can be applied if using a low quality image, like freeview though.