Tv advice

[jena]

I hope there isn't already a thread that I could have asked this in. But I'm looking into investing in a new tv to go with the PS3 I have on layby. I only want something smallish, I don't have the space for some monsterous plasma. What smaller tvs can you guys recommend? It'll be for watchig tv and playing the PS3 obviously, and I prefer car games which involve lots of fast moment. Is LED better than LCD? Does LCD lag? Is brand name important? Thanks in advice for any help and advice you can offer.

[UltraMarginal]

I got a new computer monitor about 8 months ago, it's an led backlit lcd.
in my opinion some of the better tech, it's lighter, and potentially brighter. lower power consumption, thinner. as for brand I got a samsung but I'm not happy with the stand, it's fixed and has a slight lean in it which is quite irritating.

I'd go led lcd over plasma personally. there seems to be a new tech on the horizon, I don't know much about it, it's oled but I haven't looked into it at all and couldn't' really tell you much.

[JuzMel]

Yeah when we bought our TV, the guys at Harvey Norman also recommended LCD over Plasma as LCD is more power-saving efficient as well.

[i_amtrunks]

LCD is the way to go.

I've found that the larger the size you are after, the better off you are buying the pricier brands. (I'm talking about the 80+ size screens here).

If you are after anything in teh 40-50cm range, the Samsung, Sanyo and Panasonic branded tv's are worth the slightly higher prices, as opposed to getting the "generic" brands like AWA, which my aunt and uncle have gone through 3 of in less than 6 months.

And always look for the HD capable tv's. no point getting anything else. :D

[Vector Prime]

I hope there isn't already a thread that I could have asked this in. But I'm looking into investing in a new tv to go with the PS3 I have on layby. I only want something smallish, I don't have the space for some monsterous plasma. What smaller tvs can you guys recommend? It'll be for watchig tv and playing the PS3 obviously, and I prefer car games which involve lots of fast moment. Is LED better than LCD? Does LCD lag? Is brand name important? Thanks in advice for any help and advice you can offer.

Depends how big you want to go, but I wouldn't recommend anything smaller than a 32" - I guess it all depends on your lounge room size and how far back you are sitting from the TV.

Most people go with 40" these days (which is what I recently purchased for my bedroom), whereas some people go with 52" and above if it's their main TV in the living room (like moi), so I guess it's all dependent upon what you classify as "monsterous"

To fully utilize the PS3's gaming and Blu Ray movie capabilities, get something that displays Full HD (1080p i.e.1920x1080 resolution) with a high contrast ratio (for better levels of black).

LCD consumes less power than Plasma and the units themselves generally weigh less, but they do tend to blur slightly when compared side by side with a plasma (for fast moving objects), but it's generally acceptable and fine.

LED is simply an LCD with Light Emitting Diode back lighting - great if you want better contrast since smaller individual areas of the display are lit as opposed to a larger area, but you certainly will pay a premium for the additional technology.

I'd personally recommend going with a reputable brand (Samsung, Sony, Sharp, etc) and perhaps compare the factory warranty that comes with each unit (some offer only 12mths, whereas some offer up to 5yrs).

Best thing to do is to figure out a budget of what you want to spend, do some research online to see what you can get for your money and then go into a store and view their image quality side by side.

Hope that helps.

[Gutsman Heavy]

My rules are:

Lcd/led get a sumsung.
Plasma get a Panasonic.

Interested in a model? Check out the cnet review.

[jena]

Depends how big you want to go, but I wouldn't recommend anything smaller than a 32" - I guess it all depends on your lounge room size and how far back you are sitting from the TV.

Most people go with 40" these days (which is what I recently purchased for my bedroom), whereas some people go with 52" and above if it's their main TV in the living room (like moi), so I guess it's all dependent upon what you classify as "monsterous"

To fully utilize the PS3's gaming and Blu Ray movie capabilities, get something that displays Full HD (1080p i.e.1920x1080 resolution) with a high contrast ratio (for better levels of black).

LCD consumes less power than Plasma and the units themselves generally weigh less, but they do tend to blur slightly when compared side by side with a plasma (for fast moving objects), but it's generally acceptable and fine.

LED is simply an LCD with Light Emitting Diode back lighting - great if you want better contrast since smaller individual areas of the display are lit as opposed to a larger area, but you certainly will pay a premium for the additional technology.

I'd personally recommend going with a reputable brand (Samsung, Sony, Sharp, etc) and perhaps compare the factory warranty that comes with each unit (some offer only 12mths, whereas some offer up to 5yrs).

Best thing to do is to figure out a budget of what you want to spend, do some research online to see what you can get for your money and then go into a store and view their image quality side by side.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for all that info! The tv is for my bedroom which is why it only needs to be small. I looked at a nice looking white Samsung 22" today and it seemed like a good enough size, but it's hard to judge when it's in a store. I used to use my 20" iMac to watch tv and it was fairly good.

The girl at Harvey Norman today said I wouldn't really notice any blur on a small screen anyway - is that true?

I can take all that info above into account when I go back to have another look on the weekend.

[Hursticon]

Thanks for all that info! The tv is for my bedroom which is why it only needs to be small. I looked at a nice looking white Samsung 22" today and it seemed like a good enough size, but it's hard to judge when it's in a store. I used to use my 20" iMac to watch tv and it was fairly good.

The girl at Harvey Norman today said I wouldn't really notice any blur on a small screen anyway - is that true?

I can take all that info above into account when I go back to have another look on the weekend.

Wait-wait-wait! Dude, don't go near Harvey Norman! :eek:
I'm honestly not terribly helpful on this subject as I'm still using my old CRT TV :o, but I know for sure that the last thing you want to do is go anywhere near Harvey Norman, Joyce Mayne or Domayne as they're all the same store and their staff will tell you anything to make a sale.

My advice, hit up the Good Guys or JB Hi-fi as you'll get vastly better value for money and for what it's worth; I'd go for something between 24" & 32" inches in LED flavour, LED TVs from what I've seen have the superior picture to LCD and are less Power Hungry and Temperature Raising than a Plasma. ;):)

[gantz]

Just to echo Hurst, Harvey Norman bad, almost anything else better :)

Simple.

[jena]

I just looked at the Good Guys website and they have the same tv as the one I looked at today at Harvey Norman and they have it $50 cheaper. I was planning on checking out the Good Guys and JB Hi-Fi over the weekend. This is why I asked you fine people first :D

[Prowl]

I would suggest trying Kogan. Aussie owned & super cheap. You are looking at $300-500 for a 32" 1080P TV & with the way tech is evolving that is good pricing for something that you will upgrade in 3 or so years.

http://www.kogan.com.au/shop/category/-26-32-led-tv/

They also sell OEM products from Apple etc & are considerably cheaper.

[kurdt_the_goat]

I have a Sony 32" (EX500) and my parents gave me an AWA 32" they didn't need anymore. I haven't done side-by-side comparisons, but in separate rooms i can't tell a difference for TV and movies. Haven't tried games on the AWA, but the Sony is fine for HD gaming.

[Gutsman Heavy]

Never pay sticker price, they will always go lower. Avoid Sony, not 'cos they're bad or anything, but they are overpriced.

[Robzy]

My rules are:

Lcd/led get a samsung*.




Never pay sticker price, they will always go lower. Avoid Sony, not 'cos they're bad or anything, but they are overpriced.

Wow... 3 really good pieces of advice right there! I agree 100%!


*sp fixed ;)

[Fungal Infection]

I have both a Full HD plasma and a Full HD 3D LCD LED (Panasonic and Samsung respectively) and can say that the samsung displays HD gaming much better than the panasonic. However, while watching sport, I prefer the panasonic way more simply because of the blur effect in LCDs. And before anyone says thats it neglegible on an new LCDs, both TVs are less than a year old. In fact, the only reason I bought the plasma in the first place was because I wasn't happy with the blurring on fast paced viewing - this is most evident when I watch F1 races. I have compared my TV to a mates older LCD, and its even worst on his TV (and he has a FULL HD TV as well). So for gaming, go full HD LCD/LED, for sports go full HD plasma, (but only if electricity prices dont concern you!) And as far as retailers go, find the cheapest price you can get, for the TV you want before you even consider going to Harvey Norman - they will often beat the price. I would NEVER go to Harvey Norman to buy anything unless it was cheaper only because they will try and sell you a product which they have in stock/cant get rid of. Case in point: When I was looking to buy my LCD/LED TV, I knew what I wanted and decided to go to Harvey Norman just to get a better price. They had the model I wanted on display but not in stock so they tried to sell me a Sony and even set up the TV I wanted next to the sony. It was clear the Samsung was better even after the salesperson had adjusted all the settings yet he still tried to sell me the Sony saying it was a better quality TV. It was only after he realised I wasn't going for the sony that he decided to order one for me and even beat the best price I had got by $100. So, moral of story - know what you want and stick with it if you shop at Harvey Norman.

[UltraMarginal]

I also recommend that you check out

www.staticice.com.au
it compares online retailers across the country and many have brick and mortar stores. you can get an extremely good price off one of their sites, and some proof of a storefront, take that into JB and they will always match it. I knocked about 30% of the price of my tv monitor.

the only thing is you need to know what you're after because you kind of need to search by model number, at least brand name.

[kurdt_the_goat]

Never pay sticker price, they will always go lower. Avoid Sony, not 'cos they're bad or anything, but they are overpriced.

For what it's worth, i decided to get a Sony LCD for essentially 2 reasons despite the overpricing (which only really equated to about 50-100 from a Panasonic or Samsung similar spec).
One was i have still got a 63" Trinitron and it's been fantastic, with no signs of dying... i kinda want it to die tho cause its so big and a pain to move! But it's still excellent for older consoles :)
And secondly, cause the design of the case was nicest and matched our furniture :D

[5FDP]

I would suggest trying Kogan. Aussie owned & super cheap. You are looking at $300-500 for a 32" 1080P TV & with the way tech is evolving that is good pricing for something that you will upgrade in 3 or so years.

http://www.kogan.com.au/shop/category/-26-32-led-tv/

They also sell OEM products from Apple etc & are considerably cheaper.

I was looking at them the other day and I'm struggling to find a positive review.

I reckon spending the extra $$$ to get something decent is the way to go. The worst is when your TV breaks down and you're without entertainment while it's getting fixed / replaced. "No TV makes 5FDP something, something..." :p

[Gutsman Heavy]

Wow... 3 really good pieces of advice right there! I agree 100%!


*sp fixed ;)

gimme a break, I'm posting from my phone. Jerk ass. :p

[Prowl]

I was looking at them the other day and I'm struggling to find a positive review.

I reckon spending the extra $$$ to get something decent is the way to go. The worst is when your TV breaks down and you're without entertainment while it's getting fixed / replaced. "No TV makes 5FDP something, something..." :p

Thats a fair call I suppose. I think what a lot of people expect from this type of product is 5* performance for a 1* price.

You do get what you pay for but $300 for a TV represents pretty good value.

[Paulbot]

I'm looking for a TV too so this thread has been very useful read :cool:

[Autocon]

Dont most new tvs come with built in digital tuner aswell?

[Gutsman Heavy]

You'd be pretty hard pressed to find one without it.

[jena]

Thanks again to everyone who posted some advice in this thread. I ended up getting a 22" Samsung full HD LED (I was going to get a 32" but it was overkill in my smallish bedroom). I ended up getting it from Harvey Norman but they matched the Good Guys price. They had it for $449 and I got it for $349, no questions asked. I am so impressed with the clarity, going from a CRT tv to a HD tv is amazing. Im so happy.

[kaiden]

Thanks again to everyone who posted some advice in this thread. I ended up getting a 22" Samsung full HD LED (I was going to get a 32" but it was overkill in my smallish bedroom). I ended up getting it from Harvey Norman but they matched the Good Guys price. They had it for $449 and I got it for $349, no questions asked. I am so impressed with the clarity, going from a CRT tv to a HD tv is amazing. Im so happy.

don't you pay less from the good guys when you pay cash? personally i dislike harvey norman but the samsung tvs are pretty nice.

[Gutsman Heavy]

Thanks again to everyone who posted some advice in this thread. I ended up getting a 22" Samsung full HD LED (I was going to get a 32" but it was overkill in my smallish bedroom). I ended up getting it from Harvey Norman but they matched the Good Guys price. They had it for $449 and I got it for $349, no questions asked. I am so impressed with the clarity, going from a CRT tv to a HD tv is amazing. Im so happy.

You won't regret getting a Samsung, good job.

[Hursticon]

Glad to hear that you were able to find something appropriate and for an affordable price, I wouldn't have given Harvey Norman the satisfaction of a sale but the main thing is you got what you needed. ;):p

[jena]

I would have bought it from the good guys but they didn't have any in stock. I didn't want to wait so Harvey Norman got my money instead.

[Hursticon]

I would have bought it from the good guys but they didn't have any in stock. I didn't want to wait so Harvey Norman got my money instead.

Yeah that's fair enough, I've never understood why Brick and Mortars advertise things they don't have in stock and then wonder why people get 'annoyed' with them, you win some you lose some I guess. :)

[UltraMarginal]

Glad you found something satisfying. and that it looks like you paid a reasonable price for it.