ozzy

Can anyone recommend a good DVD player and Widescreen TV?

I'm looking to spend about £300-400 on the DVD player and up to £1600 on the TV.

The TV's got to have the best picture quality rather than listed with loads of gadgets. It's also got to be good at handling different formats (16:9, 4:3, etc.)

stefan

^Gazzer^

I just bought a Pioneer 717 from Hyperfi for £299, and it is superb. The picture and sound quality are outstanding. I was thinking about buying a Panasonic PF10 36" widescreen, which you can now get for £1570 (look on uk.kelkoo.com for best prices). This is a fantastic telly.

GCollier

DVD Player - Another possibility is a pioneer dvd-636. I bought one from techtronics, take a look at

AWD

Have a look at the DVD Forums at

AWD

P.S. The Sony 735 is a very good DVD player.

ozzy

how did you guys hook up your dvd with the TV? SCART?, Composite?, S-Video?

Stefan

SUPERCAR-KILLER

Ozzy,
Sony 32DX30U 32" widescreen tv with integrated on digital £1400.00 this is the latest model out.

Sony DAV-S300 DVD home cinema package with 5 surround speakers and sub woofer £550.00.

I have recently purchased both these items and they are awesome especially the DVD player , the sound and picture quality is spot on a real package for 2 grand ,the best and latest.
SK
P.S Be careful with the tv youll need a transit van and 2 good men, and patio doors or youll have to unpack it in the garden like i did,it weighs a F@kin TON!

PSI3

Ozzy, I use a NAD T550 dvd player connected to the TV using a scart for the picture and a digital co-ax connected to a TAG processor for the audio, both leads made by IXOS. The NAD is excellent for both movies and music, but your best bet is to find your nearest home entertainment specialist and have a demo of different systems. simon

ozzy

SK,

I know the feeling. I had to lift a friends 29" Sony when he moved house. I though, I'll be fine on my own ... jesus, he forgot to mention his was the top-floor flat.. almost passed-out by the time I got to the top

Have got some large french doors, so it's just the getting it to the house that'll prove a bit tricky. Hope my brother's been eating his porridge in the mornings

How's the picture on the Sony, not fuzzy or grainy? does it have those anoying bars like their other Trinitron screens?

Stefan

PS. did you buy them off the net, or from comet/currys, etc..

AWD

I use a S-VHS lead.

Mr Footlong

iTrader: (7)

Feelin' lazy, ripped it from a post I put up weeks ago on a slightly different subject....
2000 models fot TV, DVD&VCR

Sony KV32FC60Z TV - Art Couture Model £1900, but can get for A LOT less now
Sony DVD725 DVD - 735 is also excellent
Sony SLVSF90 VCR
Sony MDP850 Laserdisc
Panasonic/Sky Digibox
Digibox into Scart 1
VCR into Scart 2
Laserdisc into Scart 3 Rear
DVD Into S-Video(AV/Scart3) with SPDIF to Amp
Premium cabling all round
Leave menu defaulting S-Video to AV3, as LD rarely used and S-Video does produce 100% crystal picture, better than SCARTing it IMO. Well argued subject, though.

Nick

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

Ozzy,

I have a Loewe Credo 32" TV which has a superb picture. It copes well with 4:3 and 16:9 sources, and can also zoom by varying amounts so that those programmes that are broadcast with narrow black bars top and bottom fill more of the screen without having any of the picture cropped. I bought it mail order from GoDigital, although I think it's now been superceded by the Aconda which is also superb and has a flatter screen. John Lewis do them if you want a demo - which you should if you're looking to pay that sort of money. It has lots of gadgets too if you're interested - picture-in-picture and multi-standard tuners spring to mind. And the tech support is good (provided by Linn hi-fi) - they even sent me a full schematic for the subwoofer module so I could modify it to work as part of a 5.1 surround system!

As to DVD players, a couple of friends of mine have bought multi-region Sony DVPS-335 (or 336 in silver) from Techtronics, and they're happy. The multi-region mods for Sonys seem to be the most comprehensive, they don't seem to have many compatibility problems - check out the bug reports section on

tonybooth

Ozzy

I bought a Sony 32 inch job last year. 100 MHz flicker free. Top quality. If you go for anything Sony you are usually better off at the Sony Centre. The TV I got was £1400-£1500 everywhere else, but Sony Centre had it for £999 with a free 5 year warranty!! They are bloody heavy I agree, 78kgs! Hope that helps M8.

TONY

RichardC

Toshiba 32WD98 Dolby Digital TV.

Have got to say that this TV is the absolute nuts, and being last years model you can get them for around £950.

RichardC

^Gazzer^

Richer sounds do some very good quality Cambridge Audio SCART leads. I bought a 5M one for £30. You need to make sure it is an 'all pins connected' lead to get the RGB signals, otherwise you won't get the same quality of picture.

ozzy

Cheers for all the info guys.

Looks like I'm gonna have to spend some time around Comet/Curry's and the like checking out the TV's.

Have any of you bought via the Internet once you've decided on a model?

Stefan

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

Indeed the best idea - choose with your own eyes.

I did buy my TV over the 'net to save a few quid, and since you're looking for a high-end model the saving may well be worthwhile. Do enquire about who handles servicing and repair if something goes wrong, though - a net based box shifter may not be willing or able to provide much backup beyond 'pack it back in the box and send it back', which you don't want to do with a TV that heavy!

I bought my previous TV from John Lewis and I'd definitely do it again - free 5 yr warranty, price match, and excellent after sales support. And no, I don't work for them!

Enjoy jour new toys

Andy.

MarkG

Try a Toshiba 40" rear projection wide screen. Size definately matters as far as TV's are concerned. I bought one last year and have been very pleased with it. The picture quality is good for the size of screen, and you're not paying loads for extra's that'll never get used (eg crappy little surround speakers). As for a DVD player try Richer Sounds and get any quality brand (Sony, Yamaha, etc) player modified to play Region 1 discs.

Robertio

iTrader: (1)

Another vote for techtronics on the DVD front, have had a couple of DVD players from them, and with their multi-region mods I have never had any problems with any discs.

camk

This has been done quite a few times before so do a search but from memory(Flame Suit on). I think te general consensus was avoid Rear Projection and go for standard Flat Screen. Sony/Panasonic being the ones I remember being touted the most. Pana being cheaper but with not as good sound than Sony. 32 inch being most popular size with 36inch gaining in popularity since prices have dropped slightly.
I've a Panasonic Tau 36 inch and its good but BULKY, cost 4400 DMarks from letsbuyit.com, it was the lowest price I'd seen but that was 6 months ago. You'll need a good 5.1/DTS amp and speakers if your looking for the full effect, my personal thoughts having done the same is that sound is a bit part of the 'Experience'. I've a Sony AMP and JBL surround Sound speakers. Make sure your get multi region DVD player, minimum co-ax digital sound connection, better if optical(I'm told), mine doesn't. DTS ability on DVD is a big plus.

Cheers
Cammy

BarryK

Get a PS2 as a DVD player (ho ho) then rent the most magnificent telly they've got, it will be out of date in 18 months.

robski

I got a Tosh 32WD98B as well, awesome
cant sit too close tho!

look back to about end of november time, there was few threads about with some websites etc listed, I ordered mine over the web, and it was excellent.

Only problem was when they tried to deliver it, they only sent one van driver and my missus wouldnt even attempt to help him carry it, so they took it away and brought it back the next day!

robski

stevem2k

While I only have a smallish flat, I went with a 28" sony widescreen .. I think it was about a grand.
Coupled that to a 5.1/DTS Denon AV3300 amp with custom scart > rgb leads for the digi box and video, optical (sound) and co-ax ( picture ) from the DVD (Pioneer 525). Everything goes into the amp, then a single rgb > scart back out to the TV.

Loads of fun to get right ... much swearing and unplugging of cables.

Go to a real hi-fi shop to test the kit - even if you buy online in the end. I tested 4 different speaker combinations with the amp before I was happy with my missions ..

SteveM

Adam Dog

Dont listen to these guys,

for 2k you can geta decent front projector from europe.

11ft screen, bigger is better.

Picture quality doesn't match tube, but sitting i car on GT2, is the same as real size.

jbryant

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by AndyC_772:
<B>I bought my previous TV from John Lewis and I'd definitely do it again - free 5 yr warranty, price match, and excellent after sales support. And no, I don't work for them!
Andy.[/quote]

I surfed the net for ages to get a decent quote for my Pana36PF10, and then John Lewis matched it (even though it was a price from some dodgy Tottenham court road type outfit) - saved me &gt;£500 and made me feel all warm inside with the 5 year guarantee. I had some Mordaunt Short speakers from them a while back. They replaced them without checking after 4.5 years with newer models when something went wrong- Wild!

If you go for the Panasonic (I heartily recommend it) then make sure you have decent surround sound through your hi-fi (and reinforced floorboards ). The telly's good for TV sound, but not really meaty enough for movies. Picture quality is stupendous on DVD.

If you want 12ft screens go for projectors, but I wouldn't want to watch Corrie on it and they are pretty noisy to live with :EEK: As for games though YUM

Joolz

ozzy

OK guys, don't get carried away. This Home Cinema lark has got you all excited.

I'd love a huge screen, but I don't want it taking up half my living room with me sat about 4ft from it

I'd say a 36" widescreen one would do the job nicely. Never even thought of Lewis's. Guess a nice trip into Glasgow on Friday is called for.

At the mo I've got a Marantz Ki-Sig CD and Amp linked to some KEF Q55 floorstanding loudspeakers. I've had my Yam DSP-E492 for ages, but never really used it. I think it's about time for an upgrade, so I reckon a nice new telly, DVD player, then a digital amp/processor and some KEF speakers will do.

Can't decide to stick with the Marantz amp/processor (new digi one) combo or to got for a new digi amp.

Any suggestions?

Stefan

Stefan

TRIGGER

Best reviews I have read recently have been for the Phillips TVs that have dolby digital built in. Rear surrounds are cordless and centre in built into the telly. Perfect if you dont want to splash out on the full amp and seperate speakers.

SUPERCAR-KILLER

Ozzy,
The picture on sony is great with all the normal settings 14:9, wide zoom etc,no fuzziness at all.
The dvd has a built in amp so you dont need to bother with ad ons etc its all there for you and real easy to set up.
Youre probably like me and many others who just want the minimum fuss and something quick and easy to install, all this amps and this and that confuses me and all this extra equipment i think looks untidy.
This set up is great cos your dvd goes on one shelf and the video on the bottom and its a really cool stand all silver with glass shelves.As for your digi box you dont need one cos the tvs integrated all you do is phone on digital and they send an enginner from sony to activate the system,then you just subscribe to any package.
SK

ian/555

Just a bit of advice on where you purchase the tv from.

I purchased a 36" Hitachi Dolby dts tv from a company called ******* ****** after finding them in the back of a home cinema mag. I did the price match thing at my local Debenams and J Lewis stores but unfortunately one of them didn't have any in stock and the other one could not supply the model I was interested in.
So I contacted the "specialist" in the mag and was informed that they had one in stock and that I could have it delivered next day.
Great I thought so I placed my order and after several phone calls they finally despatched my Telly

I will shorten my story as I can feel a rant coming on!
Suffice to say the tv developed a fault and I am still waiting now some 3 months later for a refund! It has gotton to the point of threatening legal action, but fortunately I purchased using a credit card and they have taken up the battle for me.

The next Tv I buy will definitely be purchased from one of the Big names in the High st as they seem to have grasped what customer relations are all about. Unlike some stores that think you will only ever purchase once from them, so they treat you with disrespect and rudeness when things do go wrong.

mat 1

try the sony wega 32inch wide kv32ds60@.
100hertz..digital flat screen superb picture and sound quality.sony 525 dvd player good bit of kit 4 the money all extras u need..