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recommend me a tv
cliftyhanger - 8/4/14 at 07:26 AM

Shortly to be buying a new TV.
Wants to be about 50" but a 47 is OK.
We are not a family who are obsessed with ultimate picture quality, so doesn't need to be mega expensive. But obviously want something that is decent to watch to unbranded tat is out. Happy with our 40" Sony that cost £500 about 4 years or so ago. (New one is for another room)
Traditionally we have bought from Richer sounds and other retailers who include a 5yr warranty, seems prudent on such a purchase as it often adds only a small amount compared to other retailers who charge separately.
Do not want 3d, but if a TV has it then not a problem. Was told 3d TV's have better screens?
Smart stuff may be an advantage, but we have recently discovered smart blu ray players so not essential. We have wired ethernet in place so WiFi not required.

Guess budget wise we are looking at £750 Max, including warranty.

So, any bright ideas?

mark chandler - 8/4/14 at 07:31 AM

Forget plasma, they use lots of electricity.

I have a samsung LED, it brilliant

twybrow - 8/4/14 at 07:37 AM

quote:
Originally posted by mark chandler
Forget plasma, they use lots of electricity.

I have a samsung LED, it brilliant


+1 - bought from John Lewis, who were cheaper than others and gave a 5 year warranty as standard.

blakep82 - 8/4/14 at 07:57 AM

Plenty of samsung and lg 3d leds in that budget. I like lg, but samsung seem to be most popular now. Can't go wrong with either.

Don't do plasma, I find you can sit 12ft away and still see every individual pixel on the screen. Gets annoying real quick. Led is way better.

Slimy38 - 8/4/14 at 08:12 AM

quote:
Originally posted by blakep82
Plenty of samsung and lg 3d leds in that budget. I like lg, but samsung seem to be most popular now. Can't go wrong with either.

Don't do plasma, I find you can sit 12ft away and still see every individual pixel on the screen. Gets annoying real quick. Led is way better.


Yep, there's a lot to be said for a picture being TOO sharp.

I have a very slight bias towards LG, I can't tell the difference in picture but LG seem to have better sound. I found very early on that flat screen and good sound isn't a very common combination.

I know you want a warranty, but I have found places like Sainsbury's and Tesco's do some amazing bargains. If you're lucky, you might be able to find a cheap supermarket TV (still branded), and then get John Lewis or similar to price match? And then you can add a John Lewis warranty on top?

Whenever I'm shopping for anything, first port of call is www.hotukdeals.com. Pretty much any bargain out there will already be found by someone else, so it reduces the legwork.

britishtrident - 8/4/14 at 08:24 AM

We just bought a 43" LG 2 months back absolutely delighted with picture is pin sharp and the sound quality is the best I have heard.

Previously we had Samsung but I have had friends who have had screen problems with two different Samsung LED TVs and on our previous Samsung we had problems with the remotes dying, twice under warranty and failed again towards the end of the TVs life.

We also bought a Blaunpunkt 6 months back, the picture is good but sound quality is crap.

The value for money at the 43" price point tends to be much more attractive than the premium paid for bigger sizes.
43" inch is more than big enough for us even though we have a large living room.

McLannahan - 8/4/14 at 08:29 AM

My 42" Samsung LCD packed up after a few years too. Failed caps on the power board. A common fault but it's not the point!

I didn't buy Samsung again...Quite happy with the Sony that replaced it.

MP3C - 8/4/14 at 08:40 AM

We just bought this for the office and so far it is brilliant - we mainly use it for conferencing and presentations more than a TV but for the conferencing the sound and picture quality is superb i think the 50" version is roughly around 650 - 750 if I remember correctly so should be within your budget.

Matt

daveb666 - 8/4/14 at 08:49 AM

I have a 47" LG 3d tv, got it from richer sounds a year ago for £725 iirc. Beautiful TV.

britishtrident - 8/4/14 at 09:07 AM

+1 for Sainburys buy in store the offers are more up to date than online.

3d is a dead end the movie makers have realised that a lot of buyers don't like it and TV manufacturers have lost interest.

Both Samsung and LG are the leaders in Smart TV with good app support for streaming services including Netflix and Amazon Prime Instant.
Smart TV is the future but a £50 Roku dongle converts any modern. TV into a smart TV.

daveb666 - 8/4/14 at 09:25 AM

quote:
Originally posted by britishtrident
amsung and LG are the leaders in Smart TV with good app support for streaming services including Netflix and Amazon Prime Instant.


Samsung are more up to date than LG on the apps - LG currently only has iplayer and OD5 as catchup apps. There is no ITV player or 4OD.

twybrow - 8/4/14 at 09:44 AM

quote:
Originally posted by britishtrident
We just bought a 43" LG 2 months back absolutely delighted with picture is pin sharp and the sound quality is the best I have heard.

Previously we had Samsung but I have had friends who have had screen problems with two different Samsung LED TVs and on our previous Samsung we had problems with the remotes dying, twice under warranty and failed again towards the end of the TVs life.

We also bought a Blaunpunkt 6 months back, the picture is good but sound quality is crap.

The value for money at the 43" price point tends to be much more attractive than the premium paid for bigger sizes.
43" inch is more than big enough for us even though we have a large living room.


I also had a screen die on my last Samsung. I am told they have changed the design now - but that is why I went for the warranty!

ChrisW - 8/4/14 at 09:51 AM

Try looking at Costco for decent priced TV's with excellent warranties. You need to be a member, or know someone who is.

As has been said, the picture on the Samsung and LG LED models is really nice but I don't own either so I can't tell you what they are like to live with. That's probably what I will go for when my old LCD gives up.

Chris

BangedupTiger - 8/4/14 at 11:44 AM

quote:
Originally posted by McLannahan
My 42" Samsung LCD packed up after a few years too. Failed caps on the power board. A common fault but it's not the point!

I didn't buy Samsung again...Quite happy with the Sony that replaced it.


Same happened to my Samsung LCD, as said it's fairly common. 50p for some new capacitors and all sorted.

Despite this, I'd still recommend Samsung.

Peteff - 8/4/14 at 12:19 PM

We bought LG 47LA620V 3D Smart tv with 4 pairs of glasses a couple of months back and it's really good. It was £599 from an Amazon seller next day delivery and it has iplayer and other apps onboard and you can play silly app games on it. Get a magic remote for about another £30 and play pinball and catapult king.

Agriv8 - 8/4/14 at 12:29 PM

I would not recomend a new Sony.

Our old 32 inch LCD still going strong at Outlaws must be at least 5 years old. the replacement 32 lasted 2 years before power problems.

we have gone Smasung Smart tv a year old and its been fantastic so far.

ATB Agriv8

Barkalarr - 8/4/14 at 04:18 PM

I've bought one of these today - Linky it turns up on Friday - will let you know what it's like when it arrives.

David Jenkins - 8/4/14 at 06:02 PM

I shan't worry about getting a new TV until

A. The one I've got breaks down,

and

B. They actually show programmes I want to watch.

Hellfire - 8/4/14 at 06:11 PM

Panasonic GT50 - Modern plasma TVs dont use as much electricity as some would have you believe

Phil

Simon - 8/4/14 at 06:23 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Peteff
We bought LG 47LA620V 3D Smart tv with 4 pairs of glasses a couple of months back and it's really good. It was £599 from an Amazon seller next day delivery and it has iplayer and other apps onboard and you can play silly app games on it. Get a magic remote for about another £30 and play pinball and catapult king.


Got the 42"" version of this around same time. Quite pleased with it, but you need to get decent sound system. Glasses can be got for a quid from the cinema

ATB

Simon

bigfoot4616 - 8/4/14 at 06:40 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Hellfire
Panasonic GT50 - Modern plasma TVs dont use as much electricity as some would have you believe

Phil


that's what i've got, i've yet to see a LCD as good although the more expensive ones are very close now.

i remember reading somewhere that for average viewing time over a year a plasma will cost about £30 more, so not worth thinking about the running cost.

martyn1137 - 8/4/14 at 07:35 PM

Recently replaced our 6 year old Panasonic LCD with slightly larger Samsung LED. Difference in picture quality staggering and sold old Panasonic on ebay for £75ish - !?!?

That allowed me to upgrade the sound, told by SWIMBO didn't want loads more cables making room untidy. Had previously tried Orbitsound system but not impressed and it sounded false somehow. Researched it and opted for Yamaha 101 soundbar, its very good, price about £150. This with new TV great combination for less than we paid for the old TV 6 years ago.

britishtrident - 8/4/14 at 08:36 PM

quote:
Originally posted by David Jenkins
I shan't worry about getting a new TV until

A. The one I've got breaks down,

and

B. They actually show programmes I want to watch.


Since we went over to smart TV we never been short of something worth watching, Netflix is great value at £6 a month.

David Jenkins - 9/4/14 at 01:32 PM

quote:
Originally posted by britishtrident

Since we went over to smart TV we never been short of something worth watching, Netflix is great value at £6 a month.


Now that I've got FTTC broadband and have run a Cat6 cable between the router and my TV - Netflix is on the cards. I might end up getting one of those Roku gadgets.

cliftyhanger - 10/4/14 at 09:16 PM

Update...
Today had a marketing email from richer sounds.
They have a 50inch Panasonic on sale for 599 including 5yr warranty. No 3d ( no loss) but looks to be a descent telly from the reviews, except sound. However our decent surround sound setup will sort that.

perksy - 10/4/14 at 09:22 PM

quote:
Originally posted by twybrow
quote:
Originally posted by mark chandler
Forget plasma, they use lots of electricity.

I have a samsung LED, it brilliant


+1 - bought from John Lewis, who were cheaper than others and gave a 5 year warranty as standard.






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