Good 42" plasma/LCD tv for under £1.5k

barney · 23 Apr 2006 at 18:09

Having decided to keep my 19" monitor for my PC for awhile longer and as i have just decorated and really need the space my TV takes i have decided to look at getting a 42" plasma and wall mounting it. The Panasonics look to be the best around according to reviews i have read so far.

The "Hyundai Vvuon Q421H 42" Plasma HDTV Ready" from OCuk looks very good from the spec but I never trust spec alone

mainly just going to be used for Sky, DvD's and playstation but might turn one of my spare PC's into a media pc later on down the line so an option to connect that up would be good.

Any suggestions? Is the Hyundai any good? Anything special i should look outfor when looking for a plasma/lcd TV?

hyster · 23 Apr 2006 at 22:03

I'm in a similar position.

I've been looking at the Hitachi 42PD7200 as a telly and the or Panasonic-TH42PWD8BK as a bare panel.

Can't make up my mind!

I don't fancy an lcd as I really want the biggest screen size I can get for my money.

I'll be watching this thread with interest though.

barney · 23 Apr 2006 at 22:28

Its pretty difficult to pick. i have seen a couple around that seem to have some very good spec's and some of them have been pretty cheap but i cant find any reviews for most of them and i really dont like buying blind.

Will have a look around the local stores tommorrow just to check some of them out.

hyster · 23 Apr 2006 at 22:40

The Hitachi I mentioned was in whathifi and got four out of five stars, got quite a good review for what thats worth.

The cheapest I have seen it is £1386.

I think that would be worth a look.

barney · 23 Apr 2006 at 23:41

Yeah just checked it out and from the specs it looks good, around the same price as the one on OCuk too.

Just looking for some more options at the moment.

barney · 24 Apr 2006 at 01:32

ok looking at 4 at the moment, all about the same on paper and all around the same price:

Panasonic TH42PX60
Hyundai Vvuon Q421H
Samsung PS42S5HX
Hitachi 42PD7200 (thanks Hyster this looks like the best spec and only slightly more expensive).

I have also had a slight change in plans in that i will definatly be setting up a MCE PC and would also like to play games on it occasionally so need to make sure i get a screen that wont get burnt in.

barney · 24 Apr 2006 at 15:33

Ok the idea of being able to play games on a massive screen has kind of taken priority so now looking mainly at 40" LCD's. The Sony's look very good but they dont have a DVI input (and i cant seem to find many that do).

Any suggestions on a 40" LCD with high res, quick response time, at least 1 DVI input and ideally 2 scart sockets. Oh and under £1500 (dont want much do i

).

spoonz · 24 Apr 2006 at 21:45

The toshiba xxWLT66's are supposed to be wicked!

Let you know when my 37 turns up at weekend

starscream · 25 Apr 2006 at 00:35

hyster said:
The Hitachi I mentioned was in whathifi and got four out of five stars, got quite a good review for what thats worth.

The cheapest I have seen it is £1386.

I think that would be worth a look.

if thats the 42PD7200 thats come right down as I paid almost 2k 6 months ago. It is a great TV though. My favourite bits about it are the ammount of inputs, and the fact the speakers are detachable (makes it looks loads better if you have an amp and 5.1 setup).

Picture quality is top notch and its honestly the best plasma that I've seen for the 360 in that price range.

IT Insider · 27 Apr 2006 at 11:09

If you have already looked at the Hyundai Plasma, have a look at the new 40" LCD TV (Q400).

The specs are posted up at www.avforums.com.

Pezza · 27 Apr 2006 at 13:02

While you're on that website you might want to visit the Plasma forum - you should soon get a pretty decent idea that the Panasonic panels you mention are the ones to go for. Best PQ by far of any plasma manufacturer (they have been for a long time now) and also apparently comparatively resistant to burn in as plasmas go.