TV questions...

[Iddingtons]

Hi folks,

I'm in the market for a new TV and am finding all this HD stuff an absolute minefield so far, so thought I'd ask those who hopefully know a bit more about it.

Basically, I want a new TV for my lounge, viewing distance will be about 3-3.5m's I guess, so was thinking about 42 inch so as not to over power the room.

Now, currently I have zero HD in the house, and initially won't have any plans to change that but will add HD sources over the next few years. So I'd like any TV to be lasting at least 5-10 years really.

I've been into a few dealers and I am lost. I thought LG and Samsung looked good for the £600 mark but have to admit to really being impressed by the TX-P42S10B and TX-P42G10B Panasonics I went to see today.

The particular shop had the S10B at £850 (by giving them any old CRT as a trade in for £100 off) and with a 5 years warranty included. Likewise they could offer the G10B for £1000 after a similar trade in discount and with the same warranty.

Now, looking around I'm not sure how good a deal that is really, or which of the two is the one to choose as I just want something for watching films on and I've seen the G10 (no B?) on Dixons website for £800 but with only manufacturers standard warranty...which I assuming is 12 months? (an extra £269 for 5 years from them)

So in effect I am getting nothing for my traded in TV (no surprise there) and paying for the warranty…where else can I be looking?

Is there a more suitable TV you recommend I consider, and is plasma the way forward as it does seem a bit heavy on the electric bill?

As I say, I have no HD sources as yet but want to be future proof as best I can be. Budget is less than £1000 really and I value having no motion blur or picture breakdown above actual resolution really I think.

Please help!

David.

[sinizter]

42 or 50in panasonic plasma PZ series.

I use a 50in of the above with a viewing distance of 11 feet.

Whatever tv size you pick, it will look smaller one week later. So if you think 42 is just perfect now, it wont be once you are used to it.

[Steve748]

I have a TX32-LZD81 and I am in a room about 13' square so sit about 12' from the screen and it's plenty big enough for me.

It has Freesat built in (and DVB) so all it needs is the dish on the wall to receive HD. It is a LCD and the HD picture is superb.

[Steve748]

32" is still perfect to me, I had a old style 28" and the 32" is a bigger screen in the same size 'box'

If you want a huge cinema experience by all means get a big TV but some I have seen in front rooms look out of place, dominate the room and frankly a bit silly.

Everything looks a bit different when new and a couple of weeks later fits in, in your eyes!

[Plotloss]

You're going to be sat too far from it for 1080p to make a difference.

The best set for your application is a Panasonic 42X10.

Spend the rest on an entry level Bluray player.

[Iddingtons]

Hi folks,

Thank you for all the replies.

I know I run the risk of the screen dominating the room but I really am after the home cinema experience so am prepared to make the sacrifice.

I did consider a 50 inch TV but was told I was sat too close to it (?). Therefore started looking at the 42 inch size. Not seen much of the PZ series either, are they current models?

Plotless, I find it interesting you say I'd be too far away, what viewing distance do you recommend? I was aiming to attach a PS3 in the near future so had been thinking of the 1080p for the gaming and bluray playback.

[Plotloss]

From a 42" set:

12.3ft - All resolutions look the same
8.2ft - 720p/1080i looks as good as it possibly can
5.5ft - 1080p looks as good as it possibly can.

So to get ANY benefit from 1080p you need to be said a shade over 8ft from the set, to get max benefit then this goes down to 5'6".

If you upped the size to a 50" then the figures are:

14.6ft
9.6ft
6.5ft

[E31Shrew]

Iddingtons said:

Hi folks,

Thank you for all the replies.

I know I run the risk of the screen dominating the room but I really am after the home cinema experience so am prepared to make the sacrifice.

I did consider a 50 inch TV but was told I was sat too close to it (?). Therefore started looking at the 42 inch size. Not seen much of the PZ series either, are they current models?

Plotless, I find it interesting you say I'd be too far away, what viewing distance do you recommend? I was aiming to attach a PS3 in the near future so had been thinking of the 1080p for the gaming and bluray playback.

PZ was the previous model designation. If you want Freesat built in with a few HD programmes then go for the G10. You'll need to get a small dish installed. If you have no plans for satellite then go for the X10 series. Independent dealers will give you a FREE 5 year manufacturers warranty whereas the sheds will charge you, as you said in your post. The G10 should be had for cheaper than you have seen so far. If you go for a blu ray player, stick to Panasonic as it can be hooked up to the panel with an HDMI lead and you can then use the same remote for tv and player operation.