paulr

Will LED tv's be the norm in 3 years time, or will there still be a market for lcd and plasma.

Rapid17

Currently there are no LED TV's, only edge lit and back lit LCD TV's. Who knows what will be available in three years time, I certainly don't.

Geoff.

richiewong

OLED televisions methinks

Jamo

iTrader: (23)

we have a backlit led/lcd tv, its bloody amazing (understatement)

Jamz3k

Whatever is cheap and people are gulible to buy into will be the norm.

The best has never really been the norm, just think of betamax vs. Vhs, cd vs. Vinyl, HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray and the Ipod for MP3. In all cases the inferior machine with the most financial backing always wins.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

The Japs are fleecing us ALL this time, not just the UK. There ARE new technologies out there, but they will not be released until they have sold every last £££ and $$$ worth of the old ones.

And THEN the UK will pay roughly 60% MORE than the USA for the SAME product

SRSport

Im too young to remember betamax v vhs but surely the others you mentioned are personal preferences and not one is better, full stop. All have their strengths and weaknesses. I for one would prefer CD over Vinyl and Blu ray over HD DVD.

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

I'm soo tempted to buy a 42" led tv this weekende as they are down to £380. I remember them being £1600 2 years ago

Chip

It's not like you to have a moan

Chip

Ant

Ant

Link? Thats a bargain .

Jamz3k

Nothing to do with personal preference, just fact. Vinyl does sound better and HD-DVD did look better than bluray at the time as it used better codecs and produced a superior picture which seemed to suffer less from celulloid grain compared to BD.

My old Tosh HD-DVD is still better than anything I've physically seen from blu-ray.

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

Ant, its advertised on the tv, Richer sounds are doing them also Currys, PC world and Dixons. They are £399 instore but cheaper using a code on the web

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/lg-4...9-95-ri/924395


http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/lg-4...-dixons/924250

CREWJ

I'm sorry but vinyl does not sound better. The whole retro sound it produces is not a better sound. The only way it betters a CD is if the bitrate is atrocious.

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Manufacturers are holding back technology so they can trickle it out to consumers and maximise profit

For example MOST LED tvs are actually edge lit...just like their CCFL LCD predacessors. Whilst localised dimming is improved, its STILL not as good as Plasma, nor CRT either (except for brightness). And don't forget the viewing angles

There are matrix LED lit LCD TVs out there which also feture local dimming, these give the best blacks and least bleeding of any LCD TV. But supply is very limted -Philips is one of the few manufacturers that sells it (9000 series). Problem is, their matrix lit LED TVs are more expensive than a high-end plasma and not really any thinner.

ALL of Sony's, Sharp's, Panny's,Tosh's, Samsung's LCD are edge lit AFAIK, with the exception of LG with their "Full LED" range. Ask yourself why, and one of the likely conclusions will be down to money. The other question is; Are they operating a technology cartel?

So in my cynical mind, the next 'big thing' will be all the above lot making a 'full LED' matrix lit panel to replace their edge lit ones....(or for Panny, LG and Samsung to replace their Plasmas). But they'll only do that after they've made enough money from the cheaper to make edge-lit panels.

And after that? Oh I don't know, maybe a TV that once again has decent built-in audio? You know, like what a high-end CRT used to have? The speakers in my TV are poo, not just in audio quality, but in construction and position...They are too small and there is no enclosure (operating as a crude dipole) therefore giving very weak bass. They are 'hidden' which ruins any form of stereo/spatial imaging. And to add insult they use one-way drivers, which are unable to honestly produce frequencies higher than 12Khz at a linear volume to the midrange frequencies. This is in a TV that originally had a RRP of £1300...thankfully I purchased it for £700, so I could spend the saved £600 on some decent speakers and amplifier.

Compare this to our old CRT TV...dolby 5.1 amplifier - built in . 2-way full range (i.e with tweeters) front main speakers - built in. Subwoofer...built-in, centre speaker - built in. The only thing extrenal was the rear speakers, which were also two way jobbies. And this was a TV that cost us about £1K about 12 years ago. That TV could literally shake the room and puts 99.9% of modern TVs to shame in the audio department.

The most shameful thing is that not even the average home cinema in a box system could match it; Many don't have 2-way main speakers, let alone the rears......nearly all Panasonic, LG and Samsung home theatre systems are appauling (especially the Samsungs with the very cute looking speakers...which sound aweful). So essentially you are paying out £300+ for a fancy blu-ray player with five £4.99 speakers and £30 sub (well, thats what it sounds like)

Ahh, but I hear you say a Plasma LCD is flat, a CRT isn't, so it gives no space for speakers. Not so; I've got an old Hitachi PD2100 plasma collecting dust. The picture is really poo (it was a £3K TV in its heyday). BUT what it does have is half decent sound. Its only 2 channel but it has half decent quality speakers, forward facing and ribbon tweeters, plus a subwoofer output. Hook up the external sub and its pretty darn good. There is no reason why the same can't be done for a modern TV and add some wireless rear speakers....so why don't they? Yup: ££££

We are being short-changed on tech and spec in this day and age and blinded with fancy brochures with their geeky acronyms and biased raving reviews that seem ignorant of what it 'should' be IMO.

Jamz3k

Choose the same song, play it on an equally priced CD player and Turntable then come back to me. Just like MP3 its all about accessibility and price, SACD's sound fab but the price and marketing wasn't there.

Ant

Cheers for that , I'll start nagging the wife for a new set for the bedroom

CREWJ

The CD wins outright, no comparison.

A decent turntable to rival a mediocre CD costs multiple of the CD player. I can't see how you can say a vinyl can even compare.

It's nice to have the feel and get the little effects you can get from a needle but the sound quality is totally inferior.

Jamz3k

I couldn't disagree with you more, infact if I was being rude I'd say that's complete rubbish. I really cannot recommend more highly for you to try a moderately priced turntable properly adjusted like a Rega RP1 and compare it to an equally priced CD player.

StickyMicky

I dont see what a LCD or LED will give me over my current plasma to be honest.

When i upgrade this set it will be because i want a 1080p set instead of a 720p version, at the moment most of my HD stuff is via the X360 running at 720p, so i have no real reason to change it (at the moment)

I dont care if LED/LCD is something stupid like 2mm thinner, that is not an upgrade for me, the bloody thing is in the corner of the room anyway!

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

Depends on how worn out and dusty your vinyl collection is.

I've been going through some of the old man's stuff and some of it sounded absolutely attrocious (loads of tracking and "Sssss" distortion). Couple were some rare and quite valuable LPs...the only to way get them to play is whack a load of extra weight on the needle (which will knacker it further).

pacenote

If the vinyl is valuable and worth keeping, get it professionally cleaned ( you could get a machine and do it yourself but they cost £££'s )

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

Just been into Cuurys and bought one for the other living room. I was getting sick of the 32" lcd tv and 42" is a perfect size without getting in the way of my projector screen

StickyMicky

Ahhhh bluetacking coins onto the needle

SRSport

Good read that, cheers.

Leslie

Can't see the point of making a fuss about it. The best methods will capture the market anyway.

Les

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

I dont see why you think people are gullible, they just want something and go and buy it, not everyone spends 12 months agonising and getting into brand Jihad on AVForums ?

For most people CD won over vinyl as it sounded better on average equipment, it was smaller, more robust and could be played in a car or on the move, it is debateable whether vinyl sounds better and for most people, even those properly into music it does the job, MP3 is the same argument, most people cant carry a Linn Axis turntable with three grands worth of amplification and a thousand quid cartridge, no they carry an Ipod because it is the size of a diet Chocolate bar and carries all their music, an Ipod with a full complement of albums weights about 50 grammes, that weight of albums would weight more than me, i.e. 100 plus kilos, no brainer really.

Most people buy a telly to watch programmes and films, the odd bit of gaming, anything you can buy from the recognised brands will display Eastenders really nicely, most people dont sit there worrying whether the blacks are black enough, they just think its a nice picture on a nice big screen, doesnt make them gullible and they will think back to the manky old crt they had and be glad its gone forever. Anyone who starts going on about CRTs being better than lcd or plamsa needs a kick !

SRSport

If CRT was as flat as LCD I would buy one as it is far better when watching SD TV.

The majority of people are very gullible Im afraid. The number of people who thought that Minidisc offered superior sound to CD was laughable. There are now plenty under the impression that ipods give a better sound to CD, an HDMI cable costing £100 from Chord will be better than a £10 one from currys, a 1080p LCD will give a better picture than a 720p Plasma in all circumstances, regardless of spec, usage etc. etc.

What HiFi has a lot to answer for as we all know that they talk absolute nonsense and yes, people believe them.