What TV

[PeP]

OK here goes, most HD jargon is all rubbish...

Let me explain, early Panasonic plasma's were 1024x768 which allowed a 720p HD picture,but everyone said 'other' brands were better because they showed true 720 and 1080 pictures, I'll give you 2 guesses to which TV had the best picture quality.I paid over 2k for a Panasonic Viera and still the picture looks better than my mates 42" Samsung 1080 LCD even 3 years after I bought it.

Screen resolution isn't even half the story, you need to see the TV's set up with a proper HD feed and the factory settings which are far too bright need calming down too, most shops have all the settings turned right up to counter the strip lights and to dazzle the muppets walking past the door  

In summary:

LCD < 24 inch

Plasma >24 inch

In no particular order,

Sony - Pole Barge touch not with springs to mind.

Pioneer - used to be good but the last few I've seen seem to be poor.

Samsung - look good if you don't turn them on.

Hitachi - Used to be good and cheap, not seen one for a while so can't comment on new ones.

Panasonic - Perhaps I'm biased here but with recent price cuts you really,really can't beat Panasonic atm, looked at some with proper set up pictures(various brands) the other day and the Viera was head and shoulders above anything else there.

LG and other supermarket specials - Only for people who don't like TV.

Link to example, I don't know if they deliver to France but it shows exactly what I mean, I would rather have that than 90% of the Plasma's on sale today and it's the old generation Panasonic.

P.S. Being in France you'll be needing a french version.

P.P.S here's who you want Norm, Pixmania in France.. 2nd one down, a cracking deal.  

A quick word about screen burn, it's almost a thing of the past with good brand plasma's,but one thing that is suggested by people in the know is to turn your contrast and brightness down for the 1st 100 hours or so of use and then set it up with a home cinema setup dvd to get the levels correct. I did this and even when I've got a ghost image from a sky logo it fades away in minutes.

[Boxerman33]

At 42" I wouldn't look any further than a Panasonic TH42PX80B, they can be had for mid £500's and are top quality with great picture and sound. HD ready rather than full HD but I have 2 and have recommended them to friends who are all equally delighted with their sets.

[Norman Verona]

Brian, Terry and Jon

many thanks for the info. Sorry but I missed it as we went out early this morning and didn't get a chance to see if anyone else had posted. Sorry.

However, we decided to look at as amny as we could. We went to 5 TV retailers, 2 of which had a huge range. I asked for the remotes to all we looked at and got all visual setting to 50 (or midway) so they all had same settings.

In the end the best picture/price set was a Phillips LCD full HD 42" for 999€. It was so superior to everything else we saw. Incuding the plasma screens. We actually had 2 plasma's and 2 full hd sets from various manufacturers lined up sisde by side and stood well back. The Phillips was so much better, clearer and richer colour.

Anyway, decision made so it must be the right one.

Now for a trip to the UK and buy a Freesat box.

Once again thanks for the advice and sorry I didn't see it before we left.

ed to add that it's a Philips 42 PFL 5603 H  LCD 107cm HDTV1080p Philips/T4.  Phew!

[carpetstu]

going LCD i think you made the right choice!

Just got rid of my Hitachi 42" plasma cus I hated the way the previous scene was burned into the screen and shadowed across to the next one.

Now got a ickle bit bigger LCD Samsung series 6 (52")and its great! and yes size does matter.

As already said the sound quality from the TV isn't possibly the best of the market but that gives me a great excuse to spend lots more on a new surround sound.

P.s. If you haven't invested in a blu ray player get back down the shop cus you really should treat yourself. Its all about the graphics you know!    

[PeP]

going LCD i think you made the right choice!

Just got rid of my Hitachi 42" plasma cus I hated the way the previous scene was burned into the screen and shadowed across to the next one.

Now got a ickle bit bigger LCD Samsung series 6 (52")and its great! and yes size does matter.

As already said the sound quality from the TV isn't possibly the best of the market but that gives me a great excuse to spend lots more on a new surround sound.

P.s. If you haven't invested in a blu ray player get back down the shop cus you really should treat yourself. Its all about the graphics you know!    

Hitachi's did have a problem with screen burn, thats what put me off at the time. A shame realy because it would have saved me £600  

[Norman Verona]

Stu, I'm beging to think that different prople see screens differently. Maybe something to do with eyesight. In one shop a really hot young sales chap (unusual for France) was tring to sell us a 1290€ set from ... can't remember. he claimed the picture was better because the screen was very black when turned off and was running at 100hz. Lynne thought it was better but I couldn't see any difference (except ANOTHER 300€). To show us the screens he turned both sets off but then couldn't get the one the one he wanted us to buy turned on. I did notice that he eventually selectd 1340 at 50hz.

Terry, I wasn't concerned about screen burn as I understand that's been solved, However the "life" of the screen seems relatively low and my son reckons we'll see deteriation in about 4-6 years. As poor pensioners I don't want to have to buy another TV in 6 years  

Anyway, after a night watching Man U paly football we both very pleased. We can actually see who got the ball instead of waiting to be told. The difference between our wall mounted 23" Phillips LCD is amazing.

Off to watch Breakfast TV.