LCD/Plasma TV

Hi,

Any recommendations for a 36/37" LCD/Plasma, ideally it should be 1080p as well.

Cheers,

Sahajesh.

I have the Samsung LE-37M87BD LCD and love it. You should be able to get one for around the £750 mark.

John Lewis were doing a free DVDR with this TV as well at one point, but they were charging £999 for the TV

[Neil]

This thread from a little while ago might be of some use to you, it certainly gave me some good tips when we bought our new TV.

1080p is worth the extra cost if you have/or will be buying soon a PS3 or Blue Ray player because the quality is out of this world, if you don't have either then it might be a waste of money for the time being. Sky is upscaled to 1080i but there are no plans for anything else to use 1080p in the immediate future.

We have the Sony W series in a 40" which is fab, although the new X series looks very good too. I'm a big Sony fan and think paying a bit extra is worth it compared to some of the cheaper brands.

Whatever you do, buy from the net, we saved over £600 by using Curry's online compared to the store price!

Neil

I'd recommend the Sharp LC-37XD1E.

I work for a company which sells Sharp, Sony, Samsung, Toshiba, LG.... and we generally agree this is the top dog.

However, move up to 40/42" and the quality of the products jumps up - could you fit a screen this size?

[Bazz]

The Sharp Aquos NS mentions above is excellent, we bought it's bigger brother the LC-42XD1E six months ago and it is a top notch set; only wishing we had gone for the 46inch now, it is surprising how quickly you get used to it and then it seems little!

Bazz is right, the 42" version is exceptionally good, and with the XD series soon to go EOL, there will be some good deals out there...

[I've never beed convinced by the Samsung build quality, and my folks 26" Samsung took 8 weeks to be repaired when it went wrong...]

Originally posted by NS
[I've never beed convinced by the Samsung build quality, and my folks 26" Samsung took 8 weeks to be repaired when it went wrong...]

Not had problems with Samsung myself and I found the following statement on another site :

"With reliability scores of 99% for Sony and Samsung flat screen TVs, the manufacturers can do little better. In fact, thereÕs not much room for improvement with other brands either: Panasonic and Sharp trail the leaders with 95%, while Philips and LG are a further 2% back."

However, only had mine for a year so maybe problems are still to come for me.

Sony all the way. We got a 40" HD-ready LCD TV last March and love it, and our CRT TV before it was a Sony and that lasted 12 years!

Thanks all - worthwhile advice here, will take a look on the net nearer the time of purchase. Tempted by a Sony as I currently have a Sony CRT that has worked for ages but they are pricey!

Will look at Panny and Sharp too.

Cheers.

Right now I'd go with either the Sharp LC-42XD1E or the Sony KDL40W2000U, both available well under £1k....

Let us know what you go for!

Originally posted by VS075
Sony all the way. We got a 40" HD-ready LCD TV last March and love it, and our CRT TV before it was a Sony and that lasted 12 years!

Currently sat watching my 4 year old Sony LCD (30"). They build very good quality LCD panels (don't forget, there are only a few panel manufacturers), but match this with the good electronics also and you have fantastic 'sets!'

Oh, and whilst John Lewis are more expensive, they have been known to price match and you also get the extended warrenties thrown in also.

All said, unless you have an extensive source of HD source (i.e. you want to watch mostly Sky HD, and only have/hire HD DVD, BD...) I wouldn't say that a 1080 LCD will produce the best overall product satisfaction.

I have a Pioneer plasma (1024x768 panel) which I (and a number of people) perceive as giving a better viewing experience 'on the whole' than the 1920x1080 Samsung M87 that another friend has. We both have Sky HD and PS3.

Plasma is a far more 'forgiving' technology for general (SD) TV sources and until the bulk of TV moves to HD (which is YEARS away) would probably be the best bet.

Note this is just my honest opinion, as I'm in a job where I see a lot of TVs and don't have the 'cost' to factor in to my TV aquisition decision...

So....do consider the Panasonic 37" and 42" Plasma sets.

HTH [:w]

[Neil]

I agree with NS - the SD picture quality on the Sony LCD is a let down for me, we watch everything through Sky and until we upgraded to Sky HD I was really disappointed with the quality.

Also agree about the Panasonic, and they have just released a 1080p model and whilst its about 2k it is superb, but still in full HD not quite up with the Sony IMO.

Neil

[Bazz]

We have not yet invested in a HD recorder/player so will wait a bit longer to see how the HD DVD v. Blu-Ray war pans out or at least until a good dual format unit arrives at a sensible price.

My DVD/HDD recorder player is Panasonic as is my surround sound system (with wireless rears). I also have Sky HD and run all inputs to the Aquos at 1080i and find the result more than acceptable. I would like to experience the full 1080p capabilities but that will have to wait a while.

I have a 43" Pioneer Plasma HDMI enabled unit. Had it for three years now without any problems.
Its mated to a SKY HD box and a Denon DVD player.
Picture quality is superb on Satellite and Freeview. it shows up the quality of analogue pictures.

Very pleased with it still.