£900 37 - 40" SD, HD & Gaming TV Recommendation

[WildCards]

I've just read through the last few pages of the HC&HiFi forum and i'm very undecided as this sort of questions has had alot of differing opinion.

Over the weekend i've been wowed down at Curry's by the Samsung UE32 & 40B6000, in the shop they looked far better than anything else, but they're expensive compared to the rest and I don't really want to pay a premium over the rest of the field for a gadget, I want a properly decent TV.

• I'm looking for a TV, Plasma, LCD or LCD with LED's, between 37 & 40".

• I'll be sitting 8 feet from the screen and currently have a 10 year old 28" Sony CRT it'll be replacing.

• I watch Virgin HD, SD and play alot of Xbox with HDMi, most of my DVD's are played through the Xbox aswell.

• I pause games and programs quite alot, sometimes for up to an hour so screen burn will affect me.

• I'm not currently interested in Blu-Ray and I don't have a separate home cinema, so the sound will all be from the TV.

• Budget is £900 ideally.

Happy to buy from anywhere, Richer Sounds is local and I'm aware of Der's DD.co.uk.

Edited by WildCards on Monday 30th November 00:41

[gbbird]

Whatever you end up with, for 900 smackeroonies you will end up with a very good 40" TV Check out some of the prices at Richer Sounds - decent 1080p 40" (and bigger) TVs can be had for much less than that!

Many will undoubtedly come on shortly and recommend a Panasonic plasma. I really like some of LG's LCD offerings, plus the new Samsung LEDs are meant to be really good but you will be paying a premium for new technology.

For your use i think an LCD would meet your requirements more than plasma.

g

PS - buy from Richer Sounds or similiar-type establishment Avoid superstores such as Curry's like the plague

Edited by gbbird on Monday 30th November 16:59

[WildCards]

Cheers gb, I say £900 because that's how much the Sammy UE40B7020 is in RS, if I can spend less and get an equivalent or better TV then I'll be over the moon. At the minute the HD picture quality bar is with that TV, I haven't heard it or seen SD pictures though and after a little internet research it appears to underwhelm quite considerably on those subjects.

[derestrictor]

For under a grand in 40-42 I'd recommend the Panasonic plasmas which can be bought from a decent indie with discounts taking them closer to the level of the Euro imports many are duped into buying but also with the manufacturer's 5 year guarantee.

Once properly set up (i.e. not what you have seen in 90% of Korean Dispensation Depots) they knock chunks out of most LCD alternatives on material other than hyper productions which would look good on my cat.

TX-P42G10 would be favourite right now.

Sticking with LCD designs in the 40" size the new KDL-40W5810 Sony FreeSat is genuinley capable for well inside the budget.

[IforB]

Der, do you count as an independant?

[derestrictor]

To quote 'Dogg, "fo sho,' homes."

[IforB]

Excellent. Expect another order soon then!

[WildCards]

Cheers Der, would the TX-P42G10 meet my gaming needs aswell as an LCD potentially would?

Also, isn't 42" a little too big for my 8/9' viewing distance?

Edited by WildCards on Monday 30th November 20:41

[PJ S]

A 42" from 8-9" for regular HD is just fine, similarly SD.
I'd also suggest you consider the 42V10 - a shade over the budget mentioned, and even a 50G10, as gaming on a large screen really is something else.

As for Plasma meeting your other criteria - yes. Screenburn is overhyped when talking about Plasma, but image retention (temporary) is something to be less perturbed by, as it generally only happens if you have the brightness/contrast turned way up, or it set to Dynamic/Vivid mode.
For most "normal" people who've spent 10 mins setting the TV up properly, it'll never rear its head.
As with all new Plasmas, give the TV a chance to break-in over 100-200 hours, with the Cinema or Normal (THX for V10) mode active, and the Brightness/Contrast turned down to 1/3 or less.
Your Xbox will have the option to dim its output if paused - enable that, and I think the TV is also able to detect a paused signal, so it too activates a screensaver, so you're well protected from yourself, should you not be able to press the Off button on the TV (or remote to knock it into Standby).

[TonyHetherington]

WildCards said:

Cheers Der, would the TX-P42G10 meet my gaming needs aswell as an LCD potentially would?

Also, isn't 42" a little too big for my 8/9' viewing distance?

Edited by WildCards on Monday 30th November 20:41

I've just bought that exact TV (42G10) from Der and view it at 7 1/2ft. absolutely perfect, over the moon with the TV choice, and I still haven't got geeky on the setup of the display yet (first night in alone tonight in ages - guess what I'm going to be doing ).

Highly recommended - both the tele, and the ever-modest Der

[WildCards]

PJ S said:

A 42" from 8-9" for regular HD is just fine, similarly SD.
I'd also suggest you consider the 42V10 - a shade over the budget mentioned, and even a 50G10, as gaming on a large screen really is something else.

You bugger, this doesn't help at all, more options now.

TonyHetherington said:

I've just bought that exact TV (42G10) from Der and view it at 7 1/2ft. absolutely perfect, over the moon with the TV choice, and I still haven't got geeky on the setup of the display yet (first night in alone tonight in ages - guess what I'm going to be doing ).

Highly recommended - both the tele, and the ever-modest Der

Thanks Mr Hetherington, nothing like a personal recommendation from a satisfied customer to help spend the spondoolies.

[PJ S]

WildCards said:

PJ S said:

A 42" from 8-9" for regular HD is just fine, similarly SD.
I'd also suggest you consider the 42V10 - a shade over the budget mentioned, and even a 50G10, as gaming on a large screen really is something else.

You bugger, this doesn't help at all, more options now.

Sure it does - if you're spending up to £900, you can spend up to £950, and the THX mode is very good for movie times, if you can't quite justify spending £300 on having the G10 claibrated by someone ISF accredited.
If you get a bit of (large) cardboard, and cut out the dimensions of the 42 and 50" TV's (they one Panasonic's website) you'll be able to get an idea how impressive a 50"er will be for Forza 3 fests and slaughtering the Horde in GOW2, and with Modern Warfare 2 too.

[TonyHetherington]

Is the V10 really only £50 more? When I was looking in around August it was something like £200-300 more.

I was recommended - by Der, plotty etc, the V10 but my budget (read; girlfriend) wasn't allowed that high. In fairness, we are totally redoing the house so spending lots at the moment

Anywya, at the time it was significantly different but if the price is a lot less, t hen the 42V10 is what I was recommended

[WildCards]

Best price I can find for the G10 is £710, and £980 for the V10. I'll go and look at both. I'll never get approval for a 50" from the boss so that's a non starter.

[PJ S]

TonyHetherington said:

Is the V10 really only £50 more? When I was looking in around August it was something like £200-300 more.

I was recommended - by Der, plotty etc, the V10 but my budget (read; girlfriend) wasn't allowed that high. In fairness, we are totally redoing the house so spending lots at the moment

Anywya, at the time it was significantly different but if the price is a lot less, t hen the 42V10 is what I was recommended

No my point Tony, was that Wildcard was talking about spending up to £900 on whichever TV was recommended, and my reply was to say that if you're in for £900, you may as well be in for £950.
Not to do Der out of a sale, but.....if you do a bit of searching, you'll find you can buy the V10 for £931 from an online shed with a voucher code - to some this will be the deal for them, others may prefer to pay the slight extra and give Der the business.

[TonyHetherington]

Ah sorry, I see. Indeed, I went for the latter, but you pays yer money, as they say

[GregE240]

PJ S said:

TonyHetherington said:

Is the V10 really only £50 more? When I was looking in around August it was something like £200-300 more.

I was recommended - by Der, plotty etc, the V10 but my budget (read; girlfriend) wasn't allowed that high. In fairness, we are totally redoing the house so spending lots at the moment

Anywya, at the time it was significantly different but if the price is a lot less, t hen the 42V10 is what I was recommended

No my point Tony, was that Wildcard was talking about spending up to £900 on whichever TV was recommended, and my reply was to say that if you're in for £900, you may as well be in for £950.
Not to do Der out of a sale, but.....if you do a bit of searching, you'll find you can buy the V10 for £931 from an online shed with a voucher code - to some this will be the deal for them, others may prefer to pay the slight extra and give Der the business.

I'd hope that most would want to help out a fellow PH-ers business rather than hand over money to a faceless shed. Particularly in the current climate?

[st_files]

I've read that LCD's are better for gaming and Plasmas are better for films/sport etc. I bought mine a couple of years ago and found

http://whathifi.com/BestBuys/TVs-BestBuys/Best-Buy...

very helpful. I would seem that LCD's are now ahead of the plasmas though...

[derestrictor]

Don't forget the additional warranty (genuinely worth much sheckle) which can be arranged by special appointment and automatic subscription to the "win an afternoon with Anthony Crook" competition.

Anyway, since when did one not look after worthy PH brethren?

Dear me.

[The Walrus]

What is this mythical set up that people talk about and where can I get this elixir ?