CDF Racing

iTrader: (49)

Had mine for 5 years now and it's looking a bit dated + I'm missing out on HD and all that ..

Currently have a 42" but would like something bigger 46" maybe 50..

what do i go for ? is 1080p the best?

zs_phil

iTrader: (1)

ive got a panasonic viera 42" its great much better than my brothers samsung

plasma and lcds are really cheap these days aswell

WREXY

If you have around 2300 to spend, go for the best. Pioneer LX 5090. It is a 50inch screen. Here is a review on the Pioneer LX 6090, the 60 incher, basically the same TV, just bigger. Oh and I have it.

Pioneer Kuro PDP-LX6090 | Review | TechRadar UK

CDF Racing

iTrader: (49)

Budget would be £1500 tops

alloy

i'm looking at a 50 or 52" LCD/Plasma at the moment too. Whats the difference between a Full HD tv and a HD-Ready TV?

Also whats the short answer to Plasma vs LCD?

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

One of the Panasonic range which has the "proper" black, think they are the Viera range, nice one in at tesco's in a 50 inch with all the goodies, though it was at 1700 quid

Tony

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

Oh they have reduced it!
Panasonic TH50PZ80 50" 1080p 100hz Digital Plasma TV - Tesco.Direct
Now well in your price bracket

Tony

corradoboy

HD Ready screens are 1024x768 pixels, but are still capable of displaying Full HD content by scaling it down to suit the screen, much the same as they scale SD DVD's (usually 720x576 pixels) up to suit.
Full HD screens are 1920x1080 pixels and so can display the full resolution of any (current) HD content, whether BluRay, HD-DVD, Sky, FreeSat or online without any need for scaling up or down.
Plasma

For your 1500 budget I'd consider THIS to get Full HD in a stunning TV with FreeSat built in, or save a couple of hundred and get THIS.

MMT WRX

These are one of the best TV's you can buy (a bit expensive though) Loewe

I would go and view all the different brands before you purchase. My parents have a Panasonic Viera 42" Plasma and they love it...I personally dont rate the picture quality at all.

logiclee

What Hifi recently did a 50"+ mega test "The best TV's in the world"

First was the Kuro 5090 Plasma, second was the Sony Bravia 52W4000.

The 52" W4000 is a little over your budget but the 46" version is under £1500 if you do a bit of searching.

Cheers
Lee

logiclee

There isn't one.

Most AV magazine's agree the 9th Gen Kuro Plasma is the one to beat at the moment but the latest LCD sets from the likes of Sony run it close and beat other Plasma's like the Pioneer.
There are also other LCD sets just around the corner the intelligent LED backlight's, 200hz, wireless panels etc etc which look astounding but will be at a severe price disadvantage at first.

All depends on you screen size and price point, there is no longer an A is better than B in the Plasma v's LCD debate.

Cheers
Lee

P1Fanatic

I thought HD Ready meant up to 1080i and Full HD 1080p. And the only inputs offering 1080p are bluray / HD-Dvd so depends on what you watch. Not that it really matters at the budget of the OP as most would be 1080p anyhow.

Simon

Deep Singh

I would make it easy and consider three brands only

1) Pioneer plasma if you can afford it (I couldn't, my mate just bought the 60 inch one for £3900!! )

2) Panasonic plasma

3) sony lcd, but again at 50'' will probably be above budget

I went for the Panny as the best for the money

hail-hail

I have the Xelos 37 LCD and also a Panasonic Viera 50" Z80

I would go for the Panasonic any day, it is as good if not better than the Loewe.
I have had the Loewe for a few years and was about 5k new, the Panny was £1200 las t month from Pixmania.

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

I wonder if Loewe are still finding their feet with flat panels, then. I have one of their 32" CRTs, circa 2000, and it's still got about the best standard-definition picture I've ever seen. Now I'm looking into getting HD but don't want to take a backward step with SD material, which is one reason I've yet to fork out for a plasma.

It's a shame Pioneer don't make any slightly smaller Kuro sets - I don't really want one as big as 50"

logiclee

Loewe are selling on style and name, their panel technology lags behind the top flight sets from the likes of Sony.

Even Sony's W4000 mid-range models outclass Loewe's high end models for black levels, contrast, detail and motion. The new 10bit S-PVA LCD panels have only just hit the mainstream market and the best are already rivalling the very best Plasma's. If intelligent LED backlighting, on the forthcoming models, enables the elimination of clouding issues then these will become the ultimate sets. At least when the price drops to mainstream levels.

The Sony 46W4000 can be had for £1499 with 5 year warranty at Sony Centre's which may be an option for the thread starter. Retail is £1799.

Cheers
Lee

scooby L

Pioneer PDP508XD, 50 inch HD ready plasma television with 3 HDMI & built-in Freeview | Atlantic Electronics

not the best Pioneer, but better than anything else out there for £1500

P1Fanatic

Thats why when I heard they were not doing 42" any more I grabbed an 8th Gen Kuro. Apparenly in 10th Gen they will do 42" but will be and LCD.

Simon

CDF Racing

iTrader: (49)

Kinda got my eye on a 52" 1080p samsung over currys at the moment .... looks lovely


What about blue ray? is it worth getting one or are they going to die a death soon?

Chris

logiclee

Which one the 6 Series with red surround?

Have a look over on AV Forums. The 6 Series is a good set but it's had it's fair share of reliability issues and has needed a fair share of firmware updates. The screen is also highly reflective so it needs carefull positioning in a room to avoid you seeing a lamp/fishtank/window in the screen.
Also worth poining out the equivalent Sony model has beaten the Samsung in every group test at every size (32,40,46,52) that WhatHifi Sound and Vision have carried out. This mainly due to the Sony haveing a more detailed picture and deeper blacks.

As for Blu-Ray, yep it's won the high def war with HD-DVD and is expected to overtake DVD by 2012. Ensure you buy one with the latest 2.0 profile not 1.0 or 1.1 (Or get a PS3).

Cheers
Lee

logiclee

If your thinking of Blu-Ray then I wouldn't bother with a 768 line panel even if it will except a 1080 signal.
There are better choices.

Cheers
Lee

CDF Racing

iTrader: (49)

Cheers for that . My mate had a ps3 for blueray and he said the sound was crap ... so he sold it and got a samsung 1500 i think

CDF Racing

iTrader: (49)

Think this is the one I'm looking at but the price has changed?

Currys - Shop for Plasma and LCD Flat Panel TV - Samsung LE52A556P 52" LCD TV


is it any good?

logiclee

What's your veiwing distance from the TV?

The Samsung you are looking at is not the latest 10 bit panel and does not have the lastest technology but could be an option if your are 4m+ away.

As for crap sound out of the PS3?. Depends what it's feeding, the PS3 will decode DD TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio and output the sound via HDMi as uncompressed LPCM. As long as you have a compatable amp you will get sound bit for bit identicle to the Studio Master. This was however a recent firmware upgrade.
I have a stand alone Blu-Ray player and an HD-DVD player playing through a £1000 amp and £2000 worth of speakers. The PS3 output matches the stand alone players when plying HD Audio.
I've found the vast majority of people have either the PS3 sound configured wrong (ie set to bitstream HDMI) or try and use the optical connection which does not have the bandwith for HD Audio.

Cheers
Lee

CDF Racing

iTrader: (49)

Distance can be 1 metre or 5 metres , just depends where we are sitting





Does anyone know where I can buy one of those large wall brackets that allows you to move and pull the tv out really easy? I saw a guy pull out a 60" one once with just one finger but can't remember where?

thanks

logiclee

Can't help with the bracket but you are quite close to the screen, I'd really be thinking of buying a higher spec 46" or spend a little more on a higher spec 52". The Samsung you are looking at has an 8 bit panel and pretty average performance which will be especially noticable up close.

Sony KDL46W4000 - Sound and Vision
Sony KDL52W4000 - Sound and Vision


Cheers
Lee

CDF Racing

iTrader: (49)

Cheers for your help lee .


Thinking about it , we would most likely be sitting 5 or 7 metres away .... depening on what sofa we sat on ...... not sure where 1 came from



Think I will have a look about the weekend in some better shops

will keep you updated