Reccommendation for kids bedroom TV

Luggs

Luggs

Luggs

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Hi all, was hoping for some help and suggestions for a birthday present for my 9 yr old son. His uncle has given him his old Xbox 360 and much fighting has ensured between the kids over cartoons/Wii/Xbox priority...

So looking for a decent sized TV for his bedroom to play Minecraft on. Was thinking 32" would be ideal, but then saw him and his mates trying to play with the screen split in 4. I now have a nasty suspicion I may have to up the budget :(

Also seems to be massive difference in price between known brands and brands I have never heard of before. For an occasional use TV, would a cheap unbranded TV be wise?

I doubt I am the first/last person to face a similar situation, so any & all suggestions are very welcome.
 
Most TVS 32" and smaller are now manufactured by one of three or four 3rd party producers on behalf of the bigger brands. That doesn't mean they're all the same. It's purely economics; cheaper to go out to a subcontractor than manufacture in - house.

As sizes increase do do profits... slightly. The sad fact is that the cheap supermarket/no-name brand TV probably makes the retailer and manufacture more money than an equivalent Panasonic or Sony.

In terms of performance from the main brands (Panasonic, Sony, Samsung and maybe LG) then stay away from the very entry level / base model product. Go instead for the midrange models. You might be buying some smart features as part of the package, but you'll also get better video processing and more picture controls to get better performance from the picture.

If you're on a tighter budget then Toshiba and Sharp are okay. They're made by the same 3rd party manufacturers who make Techwood, Blaupunkt, Polaroid etc but have a few more picture set up controls.
 
Thanks for the reply lucid, appreciate it. Do you think the better performance will be noticeable for things like Minecraft? I guess he may watch a some TV programmes occasionally, but it will mostly be gaming.

I can almost buy a 40" no-name TV for same price as quality brand 32". When splitting the screen into 4, I think the extra real-estate will definitely help out. But then I guess you gets what you pays for in life...

(Sorry if noob questions, life-long PC gamer, never had a console in the house before!)
 
What you or they might notice with minecraft is lag. A TV with a "PC Mode" where much of the delay-inducing picture processing is switched off or defeated will help. Minecraft's game play resolution is quite course, so the benefit of the extra screen size is simply in making the picture bigger.

Picture quality: I think you can always tell when the contrast is overblown or the black detail is crushed or the colours just aren't right. Today's Minecraft is tomorrow's Gran Tourismo or Fifa.
 
Go to your local highstreet electrical retailer. Buy cheapest TV they have. Don't buy from Tesco. Will probably be a Samsung or similar. Job done! He's 9, doesn't have to be anything fancy.
 
Aye, i'll take a look at 37" - 40" mid-range brands first, if he wants top-end he can pay for it himself...
 
We have a 42" LG here that we use for split-screen Xbox games and it's perfect. Only cost 300 odd as well. I don't think a 9 year old will notice any difference in quality etc
 
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