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New TV...help!

Valley11
Valley11 Posts: 11,985
in Not Sports Related
I'm in the market for a new tv but have no idea what to buy. The flat screen Samsung I have has been pretty poor - not great picture and terrible sound.
I want a 42inch HD TV with decent sound (not bothered about 3D)
Any suggestions very gratefully received. Thanks.
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Comments

  • BrentfordAddick
    BrentfordAddick Posts: 1,460
    Can't recommend a TV but do recommend you go to Richer Sounds if you have one near you, they have best unbiased advice in my view (no connection, just a happy customer). They may ask if you are mostly watching TV and if so is it via Sky/cable/terrestrial or mostly gaming. As for sound, TV's rarely have good sound due to the necessary space constraints (a half decent speaker needs to be of a certain size, a size that makes the TV look unwieldy). If you can do it, external speakers powered by an amp will really help (but they can't be too fat from the TV or dialogue will not match the pictures).
  • Darty Valiant
    Darty Valiant Posts: 618
    edited January 2014
    I have alwYs been happy with panasonic. Agree re richer sounds. Also, depending on the size of tv you want may have a factor to play re whether you should go for either plasma, LCD, led, 3d etc..
    I am more than happy with my 42" panasonic LCD and also 17" led samsung in sons bedroom.
    Agree that in built sound not overly great, but adequate. For my panasonic I have therefore got 5 speaker surround sound and sub woofer. That sounds great.
  • cafcfan
    cafcfan Posts: 11,198
    I've got a fairly ancient flat screen Panasonic which has great speakers but poor picture. My newer Panasonic (which is thin but not by the latest standards of thinness) has a great picture but the speakers are less good (and Panasonic has a fairly good reputation for sound quality). It doesn't bother me that much but I'm not really into my audio quality and its fine for my purposes. It seems that no one has really got over the problem that decent speakers need to be larger than TV design allows. The general rule seems to be the thinner the telly the worse the speakers.
    The only solution if you are bothered by it seems to be a sound bar or home cinema system.
  • cafcfan
    cafcfan Posts: 11,198
    Oh, forgot to say, if money is no object Loewe gets decent reviews.
    And I did have a Philips. The picture quality was very good but the set lasted no time (even though the whole screen was replaced under warranty it still conked out completely six months later) and even though Philips offered me a big discount on a new TV I decided to go elsewhere.
  • Valley11
    Valley11 Posts: 11,985
    Great advice. Thanks folks. I'm tempted by this one:
    http://m.johnlewis.com/mt/www.johnlewis.com/panasonic-viera-tx-l42e6b-led-hd-1080p-smart-tv-42-with-freeview-hd/p231889200?colour=Silver&un_jtt_v_pdp=yes&un_jtt_v_from_product=un_product_3

    What's the difference between led, LCD
  • PL54
    PL54 Posts: 10,757
    Crystals
  • A-R-T-H-U-R
    A-R-T-H-U-R Posts: 7,678
    I took a Phillips TV apart once.
    Had a screen with a Samsung label on it.

    Have a friend who works for Panasonic.
    He swears by them for quality vs price.

    Watch the energy use if that's a concern.
    Big plasma uses far more leccy than an LED, but that means only about £40 a year if you are about an average user.
  • EastTerrace
    EastTerrace Posts: 3,961
    Have two Pannys, I'd always pick between them and Sonys.
  • Leroy Ambrose
    Leroy Ambrose Posts: 14,436
    My Samsung is the dogs bollocks. Best picture I've ever seen outside of a 2 grand telly. Not sure why you aren't happy with yours - might be an older model? Mine's a 46" LCD from 2 years ago.
  • cafcfan
    cafcfan Posts: 11,198
    Valley11 said:

    Great advice. Thanks folks. I'm tempted by this one:
    http://m.johnlewis.com/mt/www.johnlewis.com/panasonic-viera-tx-l42e6b-led-hd-1080p-smart-tv-42-with-freeview-hd/p231889200?colour=Silver&un_jtt_v_pdp=yes&un_jtt_v_from_product=un_product_3

    What's the difference between led, LCD

    All LCD TVs have TFT (thin-film transistor) LCDs. LCDs don't have their own lighting ability and require a backlight.
    The LED bit merely refers to the backlighting (although some manufacturers try quite hard to confuse their customers about this).
    Older technology screens have cold cathode fluorescent lamps (pretty much the same technology as the lights in your garage or the compact fluorescent lamps that are low energy light bulbs) for back lighting.
    The LEDs are supposed to provide a more even light across the whole screen. There are two types: full array or edge only. Some backlights are just "on" others have a dynamic capacity which gives better dimness or brightness.
    However whatever the quality of the background lighting, actual picture quality really depends upon how good the TFT LCD screen is.

    This article explains it quite well and probably better than me! hometheater.about.com/od/televisions/qt/ledlcdtvfacts.htm
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  • cafcfan
    cafcfan Posts: 11,198
    edited January 2014
    Organic LEDs (OLEDs) use organic compounds to create their own images and don't need backlights.

    Valley - do you have a dish but no sky box? Some Samsung and Panasonic TVs have both Freeview and Freesat HD tuners which gives you greater flexibility and more channels. John Lewis is just about the only retailer that bothers to tell you this clearly. Some Samsung TVs don't even mention this on their box! And Samsung don't tell you on their web site either!
  • Valley11
    Valley11 Posts: 11,985
    Thanks Cafcfan. Really appreciate that. The TV will be hooked up to Sky.
    Think ill go for the one in the link above. Panasonic seem to have a good rep and its an led.
  • eaststandmike
    eaststandmike Posts: 14,956
    I have a 2 year old 42" LG which I think is good however my Mum has just bought the same TV and her picture is a step up from mine so it looks as if 2 years worth of technology have made improvements.
  • kentaddick
    kentaddick Posts: 18,729
    Seems like a good choice valley11.

    Glad you weren't thinking of getting a 4k tv, those things are an absolute con. We're still shooting films in 4k and I doubt we'll have 4k broadcast or 4k blurays for another 5-10 years at least.
  • redlanered
    redlanered Posts: 2,195
    sound bar makes a big difference, once of the best purchases i've made over the last few years
  • Hastingsaddick
    Hastingsaddick Posts: 4,079
    edited January 2014
    We have a couple of Samsung 32"...LEDs I believe, we brought them in Singapore when we lived there and shipped them back to the UK. Never had any problems with either of them, good sound and vision....they are now 6 yeras old.
  • eaststandmike
    eaststandmike Posts: 14,956
    redlanered said:

    sound bar makes a big difference, once of the best purchases i've made over the last few years

    This
  • PragueAddick
    PragueAddick Posts: 22,145
    I'm in the market for a new TV too, albeit max 32 inch. For this reason I took out a Which subscription. If you like, I can check out their best buys in that size, but anyway I remember that Samsung and Panasonic were both generally well rated.
    I don't want to confuse you though, and I'm sure a Panasonic would not be a dud
  • Valley11
    Valley11 Posts: 11,985
    PragueAddick said:

    I'm in the market for a new TV too, albeit max 32 inch. For this reason I took out a Which subscription. If you like, I can check out their best buys in that size, but anyway I remember that Samsung and Panasonic were both generally well rated.
    I don't want to confuse you though, and I'm sure a Panasonic would not be a dud

    If you wouldn't mind , that would be great.
    Thanks to everyone for advice. Very kind.
  • shine166
    shine166 Posts: 13,918
    Looking at buying a new TV, ideally no more than £500 as itl probably end up getting broken by flying Hotwheel cars like our current one lol. Just wondering if anyone has picked one up recently and has some suggestions ?

    cheers !
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  • cafcpolo
    cafcpolo Posts: 3,811
    shine166 said:
    Looking at buying a new TV, ideally no more than £500 as itl probably end up getting broken by flying Hotwheel cars like our current one lol. Just wondering if anyone has picked one up recently and has some suggestions ?

    cheers !
    Prime day at the moment, the omni qled tvs are decent for that sort of price range.
  • Dazzler21
    Dazzler21 Posts: 51,344
    What size are you looking for @shine166
  • shine166
    shine166 Posts: 13,918
    Dazzler21 said:
    What size are you looking for @shine166
    I think 45 is plenty for us 
  • shine166
    shine166 Posts: 13,918
    cafcpolo said:
    shine166 said:
    Looking at buying a new TV, ideally no more than £500 as itl probably end up getting broken by flying Hotwheel cars like our current one lol. Just wondering if anyone has picked one up recently and has some suggestions ?

    cheers !
    Prime day at the moment, the omni qled tvs are decent for that sort of price range.
    Yeah I've been having a look, but it's kinda a £500 punt with so much choice.
  • cafcpolo
    cafcpolo Posts: 3,811
    shine166 said:
    cafcpolo said:
    shine166 said:
    Looking at buying a new TV, ideally no more than £500 as itl probably end up getting broken by flying Hotwheel cars like our current one lol. Just wondering if anyone has picked one up recently and has some suggestions ?

    cheers !
    Prime day at the moment, the omni qled tvs are decent for that sort of price range.
    Yeah I've been having a look, but it's kinda a £500 punt with so much choice.
    Omni QLED 50in @ £379 is the one I'd be looking at.

    43in is a bit cheaper and closer to your size but sacrificing some picture quality due to the way they've set up the panels (led backlight vs full array).
  • Dazzler21
    Dazzler21 Posts: 51,344
    I think I'd go down this path: Deal of the day for Prime Members: Samsung 43 Inch Q65C QLED HDR 4K Smart TV (2023) - Quantum HDR QLED TV With Alexa, Dual LED Technology, Crystal 4K Processor, Object Tracking Sound, Built In Gaming TV Hub, Slim Profile & Multi View https://amzn.eu/d/0dQABll8
  • Chizz
    Chizz Posts: 28,334
    @shine166 the current Which! "Best budget TV" is the LG 50NANO766QA.  It's a bit bigger than you are looking at (50"), but it's well within your price range (it's currently £399).  

    You can buy it direct from LG here.  

    The review says: 
    Picture Quality 4/5 
    Sound Quality 4/5 
    Ease of Use 5/5 

    Pros 
    • Picture is sharp
    • Sound quality is decent
    • Easy to use
    • Great remote control
    Cons 
    • Contrast can look foggy
    • 4K HDR fails to impress
    • Smart menus are slow and stuffed with ads 
    Hope that helps! (Although it probably just makes the choices even more complicated...) 
  • shine166
    shine166 Posts: 13,918
    cafcpolo said:
    shine166 said:
    cafcpolo said:
    shine166 said:
    Looking at buying a new TV, ideally no more than £500 as itl probably end up getting broken by flying Hotwheel cars like our current one lol. Just wondering if anyone has picked one up recently and has some suggestions ?

    cheers !
    Prime day at the moment, the omni qled tvs are decent for that sort of price range.
    Yeah I've been having a look, but it's kinda a £500 punt with so much choice.
    Omni QLED 50in @ £379 is the one I'd be looking at.

    43in is a bit cheaper and closer to your size but sacrificing some picture quality due to the way they've set up the panels (led backlight vs full array).
    Is that the amazon fire ?
  • charltonkeston
    charltonkeston Posts: 7,362
    shine166 said:
    Dazzler21 said:
    What size are you looking for @shine166
    I think 45 is plenty for us 
    55" 4K minimum. Anything smaller its a waste of technology, get immersed in the picture quality that's available nowadays. I talked my mate into getting  an 8K tv, nothing really broadcast in 8K but stunning picture. I've got 55, 60 & 65" 4K tvs and really regret not getting the 75". Watching sport in 4K on a large screen even makes England back passing interesting.
  • cafcpolo
    cafcpolo Posts: 3,811
    shine166 said:
    cafcpolo said:
    shine166 said:
    cafcpolo said:
    shine166 said:
    Looking at buying a new TV, ideally no more than £500 as itl probably end up getting broken by flying Hotwheel cars like our current one lol. Just wondering if anyone has picked one up recently and has some suggestions ?

    cheers !
    Prime day at the moment, the omni qled tvs are decent for that sort of price range.
    Yeah I've been having a look, but it's kinda a £500 punt with so much choice.
    Omni QLED 50in @ £379 is the one I'd be looking at.

    43in is a bit cheaper and closer to your size but sacrificing some picture quality due to the way they've set up the panels (led backlight vs full array).
    Is that the amazon fire ?
    Yeah.

    https://www.amazon.co.uk/amazon-fire-tv-50-omni-qled-series-4k-uhd-smart-tv/dp/B09N6MYD23?th=1

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