Advice on buying a TV

John Marwood

I ♥ cryptic crosswords
Things have changed a bit

since my Bush TV22 was purchased - too much in fact

So

1 Can I buy a new set with a built in programme recorder or do I actually need to make 2 purchases?

2 Do i need one with wifi and how the hell does that all work in relation to things?

3 Do people still watch DVD's/Video cassettes?

4 LED or LCD?

5 Is there actually anything worth watching?
 

joshua

Well-Known Forumite
A 22" bush eh? thats impressive any chace of a picture (for hostorical reasons of course)
 

highguyuk

Well-Known Forumite
1 Yes

2 Most new TVs come with Wi-Fi capabilities. This typically allows you to watch iPlayer, YouTube etc through your TV. Ours has internet but not Wi-Fi - the Wi-Fi adaptor specific to the TV costs a lot of money (something to bear in mind maybe).

3 People watch DVDs and Blu-Rays. All videos should be binned IMO and banned from car boots and charity shops.

4 Ain't got a clue.

5 We enjoy watching old TV shows on Challenge. Discovering repeats of Interceptor has been good.
 

shoes

Well-Known Forumite
Things have changed a bit

since my Bush TV22 was purchased - too much in fact

So

1 Can I buy a new set with a built in programme recorder or do I actually need to make 2 purchases?

2 Do i need one with wifi and how the hell does that all work in relation to things?

3 Do people still watch DVD's/Video cassettes?

4 LED or LCD?

5 Is there actually anything worth watching?

1. You can - my LG television came with one of these built in. I believe it's commonplace these days.

2. No, it's useful if you want to play things off your computer though.

3. No idea, presumably so.

4. LED every time.

5. I bought my telly (and sky) solely for motorsport. I have found myself stuck watching south park, family guy, blackadder, red dwarf, steptoe and son, one foot in the grave, the vicar of dibley, only fools and horses, the good life and many other old sitcom classics on uk gold/dave for hours on end though. So yes there is stuff worth watching, but it'll be things you've seen before, many times.
 

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
Buy a massive HD tv, then watch SD re-runs?

On the networking side, get one with DLNA. You may well not need it yet, but I won't buy a tv without it. Essentially it means it will play stuff off your network without any further equipment. Apart from a network, and some other device on it to stream from....

Happy to advise further, if that is your thing.
 

grumpystaffordguy

Well-Known Forumite
Starting an online conversation about TV's is always amusing and divides opinions.

I would say if you don't currently download content and play it back on your TV you probably don't need to pay extra for WiFi.

If you wish to record then I'm going to assume you don't have SKY or Virgin media. So if you don't have HD at the moment and you don't intend to get either of the pay services then you should consider getting a TV with built in freeview HD.
Some TV's have a recording facility and allow you to record on to a USB stick. I don't know how well they work though as I've never used one.

Be wary or being talked in to paying extra for an "LED" TV. This is something the manufacturers launched after the hype about OLED and so many people have been sucked in to thinking they are buying some super duper technology that will give an amazing picture. For the most part its just back lighting around the edge of the screen. Some are properly backlit across the whole screen - these are the expensive TV's that do look better.

I know someone that is self employed doing home cinema installs. I'd like to think after years in the business he should know about TV's. Anyway last time I was in the market for a new telly (2 years ago) I asked him what I should get without spending silly money. His answer was surprising as it was so simple - a Panasonic Plasma. TV's are a bit of a mine field and its so easy to think you are buying a quality brand when you could actually be buying a generic turd with a posh badge on.

The only downside to a Plasma really is that they can pick up reflections so think about the lighting in the room. I'll wait for someone to reply here and say they are unreliable and use more electricity. They are not unreliable, but they may well cost an extra couple of pence a day in electricity.

So anyway I reckon if you have gone the past few years with an old telly there is no reason to go out and spend £800 on an LED, WiFi, interactive telly. £450 should get the job done for a decent size.

Be warned though the sound in the flat panel TV's is rubbish and if you go too big the standard def picture quality may not be great.

As with any technology you will pay through the nose for the latest model so I would always get the older version and save a £££'s.

John Lewis do price matching and they come with a 5 year warranty. I think some M&S TV's may have a 5 year warranty as well. Richer Sounds will sell you a 5 year warranty for a reasonable amount and the TV's will be a good price.
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
5 Is there actually anything worth watching?
This is twenty minutes of reasonable telly, from 1975 - http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00rzw1v/Going_Places_Episode_12/ - Kenneth Williams showing us round Bloomsbury, a chap displaying his museum of player pianos and Barry Norman rambling on about cricket. They would have made three half-hour programmes with that material today, padded out by shots of 'presenters' reading off autocues whilst walking at the camera..
 

Trumpet

Well-Known Forumite
My twopennorth, do the homework, suss out what you need / want, then call Richer Sounds and see what they've got in. They are really helpful at the Birmingham branch and tend not to try and baffle you with bullshit.
 

iamlegend

Well-Known Forumite
just google some tv review sites and have a read up !!! but i would pick a panasonic plasma over led lcd
 

My Name is URL

Well-Known Forumite
I have a 42" Plasma and love it, but its old tech now - if I was buying today then i'd get a matrix lit LED.

If it was me, i'd definitely want wi-fi to watch iPlayer etc.... watching it on the laptop or messing around connecting phones / laptops is a hassle and looks ugly.

As for the recorder (again assume you dont have sky+ or VM) then I would recommend a standalone freeview recorder... that way if the recorder breaks then you still have a working TV and vice-versa.

Might also be worth getting one with Freeview HD built in?
 

shoes

Well-Known Forumite
I have an LED tv with 'local LED dimming'.

I defy you to find a panel with a better true contrast ratio.

Plasmas look awful IMO, too slow to react, blacks are grey, whites are.... grey and everything in between has no vibrance or clarity.

Depends what you want it for really, I bought mine for watching the F1 and films - that's about all I watch on TV. If you watch a lot of films then you don't want a slow reacting screen with a poor dynamic range, IMO.
 

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
I assume that means you get the grid of LED lights across the actual rear of the screen, rather than side lighting used on most screens. If you are very lucky you have the same, but with RGB LEDs.
 

shoes

Well-Known Forumite
Indeed it does - I compared two equally prices TV sets next to one another, one without this technology and one with and was quite surprised by the difference. Presumably the set I have only has white LEDs at the back of the screen rather than RGB ones as it was quite cheap (£/inch wise, anyway).
 

ChrisLewis

Well-Known Forumite
Highly recommend Truview - we purchased 2 great screens & an LCD projector from them recently for The Swan, service was first class and we're very happy with the screens - pop into The Swan have a coffee and see for yourself!!

I'll certainly be going to Truview in the future for all our requirements.
 
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