New Tv Choice narrowed down but still not sure...

[A210AMG]

Hello


After my old CRT TV blew up just before holiday I have not really been looking until now (and fed up of squinting at a 20" in the lounge).

So I have after listening to Advice from work colleagues and searching narrowed my choice...

1) Sony Bravia KDL40V4000 LCD, 1080p, 40" LCD

2) Samsung LEA40A656, 40" LCD, 1080p, 100Hz

3) Toshiba 42xv505DB, 42" LCD, 1080p


Now I alwys thought sony were good but don't like the look of the sony unit particularly with the gap at the bottom. Its going in the corner o the room up on a stand (not wall mounted) to try and keep it away from little person.

So I would prefer more of a picture frame 'look' that both the Samsung and Toshiba have.


Now then does anyone have these TV and rate them?

Do I need LCD? or Plasma (as I have been told LCD)

I know there are lots of makes so try not to confuse me with other makes as I have looked at all sorts...

Advice however welcome. All priced around £650 - £800


Thanks

 

[Geezer]

No question, plasma is a better picture IMO.

 

[fabes]

I would offer that if you are going for a 1080p and will (at sometime) being using a HD source (Freesat, Sky etc) then a 100hz panel will make the most of it. You'll suffer motion blur otherwise on HD resolution otherwise - whatever motion plus software they install.

This advice I got from a config engineer at a TV studio - so its likely to be accurate

Samsung Panels are excellent and the engine 'stuff' is also good.

I'd vote Samsung because of these two points

And you could be able to get them at the lower end of your budget AND get 3 plus years warranty at the mo

Don't go plasma for this size now

Nice telly's!

 

[A210AMG]

The Samsung gets the vote with us so far...

Yes I'm only going for a 1080p as I would like a Blueray dvd at some point..

Ronin at 1080p plus B&W Surround...cool !!!

It does seem a very hard choice though, unlike the CRT days....

 

[crockers]

Why have you omitted Panasonic -- wins all the awards ..

I agree 42" needs to be Plasma -- and Panasonic are one of the best Plasma screens out ..

 

[A210AMG]

Why have you omitted Panasonic -- wins all the awards



....Just like cars some I like some I don't...

Depending what you read / view all the TV's have won awards.....


Cheers

 

[IanA2]

I vote Panny too.....

 

[timberman]

+2 for Panasonic

I've got 2 newish lcd's ( both bought in last 12 months and both HD ready ) and a 6 year old plasma that's not HD anything, and I have to say
Imo plasma kicks LCD ass

seriously they're all Panasonic and all award winners but the picture on my tired old plasma looks much sharper than the lcd's especially when viewing dvd's

maybe I need glasses

 

[timskemp]

Panny plasma. I just don't like LCDs of that size, never seem quite right, as if they try to hard.

When they have the variable backlight thing working I might change my opinion but I've had plasma now for 4 years and wouldn't go back - when it dies it'll get replace with another, either Panasonic or LG.

 

[Smatt]

I have bought a 26" Panasonic plus a 40" Toshiba picture frame set (& a 1080P JVC projector, fwiw) in the last year.

The Tosh looks better switched off. It is in our main lounge where the projector is (for proper cinema) & my main consideration was to get max screen for minimum chassis size in a tv just for daytime tv watching.

The Panny in the kitchen, although smaller and only 720p (as opposed to 1080p for Tosh), thrashes it for picture quality and particularly in the operating system- it changes channels instantly, instead of a pause when scrolling through, plus the programme guide is much smarter & more modern in appearance. The latter points are often not thought of in a showroom, but do make a big difference, particularly if you flick through the channels much?
Just like I think it unlikely I will buy a bmw ever again, I can safely say the same for Toshiba.

 

[oldcro]

My 42" Panasonic has three permanent vertical line down the screen near the centre of the screen after just 20 months. Not bad for a £1850 TV.

 

[A210AMG]

That doesn't sound good?


No Warranty?


I'm thinking John Lewis or Costco as you get yr warranty?


Now confused again, LCD...Plasma....aarrrgghhh

Going to go to a big currys nr us to view them in detail

 

[SEM]

My Sony LCD is Brill.. on HD it's amazing.. they dont make plasmas for the consumer market anymore.

Sky installer told be Samsungs were always in for Repair, which i found odd as the Samsungs i've bought in the past have had no faults. My mates got a Panasonic Plasma.. it has a faster reaction time to fast moving images than the LCD. The LCD has a wider viewing angle due to the screen type and a longer life span when set up correctly.

 

[oldcro]

That doesn't sound good?


No Warranty?


I'm thinking John Lewis or Costco as you get yr warranty?


Now confused again, LCD...Plasma....aarrrgghhh

Going to go to a big currys nr us to view them in detail

Bought direct from Panasonic who only gave 12 months warranty. Told to take it to a Panasonic repair centre and pay for it to be tested with no guarantee they would pay for repair or replacement. It's a 42" TV for goodness sake, not something you can slip into your pocket or post in a Jiffy bag. The problem with living in a remote area is all shops require you to return the TV which is very expensive even if you've kept the packaging.

It's a cheap LCD for me next time.

 

[The G.F.P]

ive got the sony 40d3000 as its perfect for standard defenition signals and superb on hd as it does 720, 1080i & 1080p

i have sky hd, 360 hd, ps3 hd so i know my onions when this stuff is mentioned

my brother recently got the sony 46d3500 for £900 deliverd with warranty

i paid that in sept 07 for my 40"

i have a toshiba 32" lcd hd and a samsung 23" lcd tv and the sont is by far the best

but if you dont have a hd sources then stick to the d series as its superb with SD signals where as most lcd hd tv's have ****ty sd pictures

 

[The G.F.P]

just read that most people prefer the plasma

well my brother was like that with his 50" plasma (and the 3 previous plasmas he had before that) and he swore by it, he then got the 46" sony lcd and put 1 above the 50" plasma (1 for tv one for the xbox 360) and then actually range me and said he wished he had bought the lcd ages ago as it trounces all over the plasma and you cant really tell this unless you have 1 next to the other with the sam epictures

he had been to showrooms (who wack all setting up to make it look impressive) and was dumfounded

believe me plasma peaked a while back and lcd is the future of normal priced tvs as OLCD is out soon but at £20k a screen ill wait

DO NTO GET PLASMA YOU WILL REGRET IT

 

[Uberwagon]

I asked this question on another forum a while back, some people who are very particular about a quality image all pretty much said that this unit could not be beaten for the price.

http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/Toshiba-40ZF355D/

Dave!

 

[Smatt]

I asked this question on another forum a while back, some people who are very particular about a quality image all pretty much said that this unit could not be beaten for the price.

http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/Toshiba-40ZF355D/

Dave!

I bought the sister set to this, the 40XF355D (before the ZF came out), which I referred to above- it is the same but without the 100Hz processing.

I have bought a 26" Panasonic plus a 40" Toshiba picture frame set (& a 1080P JVC projector, fwiw) in the last year.

The Tosh looks better switched off. It is in our main lounge where the projector is (for proper cinema) & my main consideration was to get max screen for minimum chassis size in a tv just for daytime tv watching.

The Panny in the kitchen, although smaller and only 720p (as opposed to 1080p for Tosh), thrashes it for picture quality and particularly in the operating system- it changes channels instantly, instead of a pause when scrolling through, plus the programme guide is much smarter & more modern in appearance. The latter points are often not thought of in a showroom, but do make a big difference, particularly if you flick through the channels much?
Just like I think it unlikely I will buy a bmw ever again, I can safely say the same for Toshiba.

I would bet that it has the same programme guide & operating system & do not beleive that 100Hz will make a significant difference except on action content, hence for most of the time on non action content there is a much better picture to be found on other sets.
Most of magazine reviews gave this 4stars, as opposed to 5 for Phillips, Panny(most prolific award winners) & Sony.

 

[verytalldave]

Will your TV ever have direct sunlight on the screen?
If so, this should affect your choice.
Go down to your local high street on a sunny saturday and take a look at ALL the TV's that have direct sunlight playing on the picture.
Dispite all the "LCD is best" or Plasma is best" arguements that have been discussed more times than I care to imagine, THIS test will - or should - help you narrow your choice.
Any shop that has all its displays at the rear of the shop in relative gloom - all the TV's will look stunning. They all are nowadays. Even the cheaper names are making TV's that would have won tests only a few years ago.
No. Its the direct sunlight test that is the difficult one to pass.
Do this simple thing and then decide whether you finally pick a LCD or Plasma. Let YOUR eyes decide and go from there. I know what I would pick, but its your call.

 

[mattc]

Why no mention of CRT technology? I thought Loewe CRT screens still kicked everything else into a cocked hat (though confess its about a year since i last checked-have things moved on so dramatically?)