Now taking rough measurements of the space, comparing my Dell 24" widescreen monitor I’m thinking we are at best looking for a 32" LCD TV.
So I’m after peoples experiences, I doubt what I want in a telly exists :lol:
I would like, surround sound with sub sound, I’m more into the sound than I am the picture tbh. Most of the lcd tv’s I’ve seen when at other peoples houses lack in lower range sounds, I like to watch action movies and I like the booms and crashs. It would be nice if I could have the one unit rather than using my 5.1 setup.
It doesn’t need freeview because at the moment I have Sky, but it would be a nice to have.
We don’t have any games consoles at all, so I’m not massively interested in the input options apart from scart.
I’ve become a hater of wires, an ideal unit would have
5.1 output or better with speakers (I can put up with them not being wireless)
DVD built in
PVR recorder thingy, I don’t plan on getting sky plus
Does such a unit exist? I guess I’m going to make some comprimise I’m just pondering at the moment, so don’t spend ages looking, just let me know the positive and negative of the tv’s you’ve got
My experience is that all flat screen tele’s come with terible speakers. Mainly due to flat screen tele’s selling point being its size ‘thin’ so putting decent speakers in is a no go, for they would take too much space, so a surround sound system you would hafve to look for, and proberly be able to a PVR one with dvd. (again would go for inbuild dvd, due to the fact if it breaks, the tv re-sale price drops dramaticly)
if you are after decent but cheap 32" have a look at novatech, i got a fantastic Hyundai one from them a year or so ago, for under £400 which was about 100x better then my £600 samsung one.
saying that, stay away from samsungs if you want decent sound… imo they all suck, but their screens rock!
We just bought a 47" Phillips, Truly awesome sound 20watt speaker, nice built in equalizer. Although we run it most the time through a JVC surround sound system.
I’ll run you some specs later, right now having some new flooring installed and it is life interruptous. LOL
Did look at a Polaroid, they are new in the game, but what I saw was nice. Would of went with it, but just didn’t have the one we wanted in stock at the time.
I’m a bit grumpy and a bit biased at the mo’ about Sky, as my newish Pace Sky+HD box went wotsits up yesterday. So I’m kinda glad I have freeview built in on my Panasonic 42" plasma.
For sound, I think it’s hard (for me and my neighbours) to avoid separates for sheer quality, surround sound and volume control - particularly since I have it connected to my main computer too.
Plasma versus LCD? - LCD is cheaper, cheaper to run, and won’t double as a radiator. Both look good to me
Avoiding wiring is a pig. If you want decent sound, without wires, (with separates) I don’t personally see any major changes there for at least a couple of years. It will happen, but just not quite yet.
My sound on my Panny Plasma is good, and it simulates Dolby quite well, but it’s not quite the same as separate speakers somehow…
I struggle to believe that someone hasn’t thought, “I know let’s put some external speaker jacks on out LCD tv”, maybe that’s my next cunning scheme :Plot:
I struggle to believe that someone hasn’t thought, “I know let’s put some external speaker jacks on out LCD tv”, maybe that’s my next cunning scheme :Plot:
DT.[/QUOTE]
I’d be pretty sure they all do have audio out, probably even optical or HDMI.
I meant direct to ext speaker, I mean, there is an amp that claims 5.1, 7.1 in most of them, so why not the plugs to put the output straight to speaker?
Since having my 19" LCD telly stolen, I’m not contemplating a new one until my house is burglar-resistant modified. Until that time my brother has lent me his old 34" Toshiba CRT. I’d love to see them try and get that through a hole in the front door. It weighs a ton. Had to get it in the lounge with a forklift truck :chuckle: (not really :D).
If I was going for another one, I’d recommend the new Philips sets. We had one on loan from Box Clever to see what it was like (I can’t remember the model number ) and I was very impressed with the brightness, the contrast and the viewing angle. Connected easily to all my systems, except the PC, but that was not an issue at the time. I was never totally happy with the Samsung as I found that the skin tones appeared plasticky, no matter how I changed the settings.
It wasn’t a rush choice here. We spent three months looking, researching, and going back and forth to see how the screens held up in store locations. I have visited every tech page, Customer review pages, and related forums there is before making a decision.
Enough so I was getting headaches just thinking about such.
Our Phillips is the 3000 series and all the connection you could ever need and will support a PC.
I would say in the top 3 of the best pictures at 1080, and have not found one that equaled in sound.
The only thing I would highly recommend is an extended warranty on any LCD purchase. With production being at its highest due to FCC mandatory “Digital Transition” in the US, many are opting to getting a LCD to go with the change in February. As with any high production in manufacturing, increase output means percentage increase of defective products hitting the market.
DT take a look over at the AVForums get some good advice recommendations from there regarding LCD and Plasma tv’s (bit biased as I mod the LCD forum) anyway it’s new model time, well around Easter so there maybe some bargains on the outgoing models as grrrd says the Samsungs are good but let down by the sound… Sony v/w models seem to be the best/popular at the moment for LCD. if you just want good SD viewing (Sky tv - DVD’s) then you may be better off looking at a plasma, seems Pioneer or Panasonic are the main 2 choices here, but I have viewed a 50" Samsung plasma and have to say it was excellent on sd/hd…dvd…etc. to answer some other questions most if not all LCD will have audio out both analogue and digital though this only stereo, I’m sure at one time there was a Toshiba lcd tv that had outputs for speakers with Toshiba themselves making what some say was a good subwoofer.
If you dabble in the Plasma side then the Panasonics are universally said to be good, the Pioneers do beat them but with a considerable cost attached ! SD quality on my Panasonic is fantastic, notch it up to some HD material and your in a whole new league
Don’t forget to check the LCD TV Ratings of various brands. There are a lot of models you can check and compare that goes along with the reviews. I’m sure you can find them useful in the search for your dream unit.
I’m just pondering at the moment, so don’t spend ages looking, just let me know the positive and negative of the tv’s you’ve got 
) and I was very impressed with the brightness, the contrast and the viewing angle. Connected easily to all my systems, except the PC, but that was not an issue at the time. I was never totally happy with the Samsung as I found that the skin tones appeared plasticky, no matter how I changed the settings.
