What TV to Buy

[nrico2006]

Looking a 42inch TV, and have been scouting about the past few days.  Trying to avoid the LCD as have a baby that will soon be running around the house poking the life out of the screen.  Anyone know of any good deals on 42inch Plasma?  I see the 42PQ3000 is retailing at around £500 (LG 42 Inch Plasma).  It is HD Ready (720) and therein lies my issue?  Should I avoid getting anything other than Full HD (1080P)?  Has anyone else got this TV or anything similar and what is their experience with HD or Blu-Ray (I don't use Blu-Ray or HD at the minute but might in the future).

[Joxer]

Looking to but a Plasma TV (Preferbly 37").

Anyone know anywhere decent round Derry. Omagh or Strabane where I would get a good deal?

[Bogball XV]

i've used these lads a couple of times - highly recommend them - tv's are normally box opened or refurbs, they give a year's guarantee the same as everything else though.

http://www.electrical-deals.co.uk/

[Croí na hÉireann]

I reached the stage where I got seriously fed up with my LCD, a  few years old Toshiba Rezka 37" (now in my daughters room).
I went to have a look at a Phillips 42 lcd
42" Full HD, 1920x1080p, Pixel Precise, HD, Ambilight Spectra, HD Natural Motion, 80.000:1, 3ms,  100Hz Clear LCD.
More bells and whistles than the Rajdani express considering  the price, but alas I was seriously underwhelmed as it still had that pixilated  fuzz in the background.
Fortunately the salesman was a plasma freak and guided me over to a cheaper Panasonic tx-p42s10e
I was quite amazed, beautiful picture, a lovely tv for the money, for the first time  I could see background properly (I brought my own dvd).
There was a s10 model and a cheaper x10, the s10 was clearly better, or else they have you sussed out when you pass by that detector and program the tvs accordingly.
Back in the house,  for the real world test, I am a happy camper.

It took me 5 minutes to put in optimum custom settings, 4 minutes of that was searching the net for someone elses settings.

In the market for a decent TV as my CRT is collapsing in on itself, have been calling around to showrooms and two have strongly recommended this model and the next one up the g10. Would love to push it up to the g15 if I could find one at a decent price. Arnotts have a 50" g10 for €1000, living room won't take it unfortunately 

How are you getting on with the s10 MS? I will be watching a lot of Standard Def on it initially and reviews on SD on this set are mixed, how does it perform on the old analogue signal? Also what's the sound like on the inbuilt speakers? Is a surround sound set necessary???

[Main Street]

Big questions.

My 42" s10 E?
the honeymoon is over but we have settled into that satisfying and fulfilling period between honeymoon and the first kid.
As mentioned before it does not take glare well. For my room thats no problem.

how does it perform on the old analogue signal?

I don't watch analogue now, but it is fuzzy looking.

Also what's the sound like on the inbuilt speakers?

Tolerable, which by my my standards is not bad.
I am a fusspot when it comes to sound and am easily irritated by poor speakers.
But I don't listen to the inbuilt much.

Is a surround sound set necessary???

This is a much bigger question, as basically your tv question is just a matter of what size of the latest panasonic plasma can you fit into your room and keep your relationship on track.
No, a surround set is not necessary, especially those little plastic Hector Gray style boxes and a bigger plastic box that does bass. But the TV inbuilt speakers are not enough for me. It all depends on your requirements and the tolerance level in your house.
A very simple and effective audio upgrade is using your home stereo amp and speakers.
Take the audio out signal from the back of the tv, the red and the the white rca sockets , plug it into a stereo amp and play the TV sound through the stereo amp&speakers.
You can live with that until you can decide what you want/need.
You have to live with sound, a poor set up will eventually drill into nerves like a pneumatic drill and the bass will have as much life as a sledgehammer hitting a concrete slab.

My minimum standard would be a good amp and a pair of decent speakers. The pair I got were a beautifully crafted Canton Ergo, that take a wide range of sound from 30hz earthquake low bass,  to good middle range  (acoustic bass)  to the highs  (sharper high freq sounds). Even ordinary vocals from conversation sounds much better plus clarity of detail.
A set up like that does not need a separate Bassbox (a woofer).
But I did add a 12" bass woofer to the system, after 4 years i just felt I needed a bit of oomph.
I have also surround speakers connected to the amp but 98% of my listening requirement and satisfaction come out from the front 2 speakers.

Here is a picture, though mine are more a lighter beech. Aesthetics are also important. MDF, one of the best materials for cabinets, covered with real wood veneer. The precision with which these are crafted and how the veneer is attached is incredible. You would be hard pressed to tell the cabinet isn't solid wood.

[Croí na hÉireann]

Thanks for that MS, was also looking at something similar to your Phillips spec but I think the Panny is the one for me. Will look into a surround sound set down the line. Would love if it had USB and DNLA built in but hey, you can't have everything...

[Main Street]

Can't beat the 10m hdmi heavy duty cable from the computer to the tv.

Another thing is that the Panny does a good job with improving a signal, also improves the viewing quality of downloaded 700mb .avi films. I use to get the picture pixillated and choppy on a 37" LCD, but fed through the 42"Panny it looks smooth and clear.

With surround sound, if it is just for tv and movies, then the standard is smallish speakers and a bass woofer to take the low sounds. Thats all you need. You can find an all in one package, player/amp/ speakers that looks good and with perfectly adequate sound. You wont all the time be watching stuff that has surround sound, so check that the stereo sound is adequate and that the remote control is unbreakable

[nrico2006]

Have many on here had problems with 42 inch Plasma TVs?  Thinking of getting the 42pz70 but only 1 years warranty with it for £700.  Is the 1 year too risky? 

[mick999]

Thanks for that MS, was also looking at something similar to your Phillips spec but I think the Panny is the one for me. Will look into a surround sound set down the line. Would love if it had USB and DNLA built in but hey, you can't have everything...

I have the Panasonics 50 V10, It has internet capability through Panasonic's own "Vieracast" , can watch youtube, eurosport and a few others ... It also has DLNA built in, so can play music, videos from a media server on the same network ...

It also has Freesat built in ...

I have it hooked up to a Denon 1909 amp with 7.1 surround sound, very happy with it !!

I bought it through Watters electrical - culloville, best price I could find in Ireland and was very close to online prices in UK ... Delivered free of charge to Dublin ...

[Croí na hÉireann]

Good shout on Watters Electrical, they delivered the Panasonic G20 down to me for a little more than what the stores down here were asking for the G10. Plugged rabbit ears into it and it picked up the DTT channels straight away, excellent quality too, delighted with it.

[down6061689194]

from my experience Panasonic & Samsung have an awful freeview guide.

Sony one is the best job.

[ziggysego]

Is it possible to get Freeview HD TVs, with a built in HDD for recording? Plus, can you get TVs north of the border, with digital RTEs, TV3 and TG4 tuners?

[Croí na hÉireann]

Is it possible to get Freeview HD TVs, with a built in HDD for recording? Plus, can you get TVs north of the border, with digital RTEs, TV3 and TG4 tuners?

If you can pick up the signal an MPEG 4 tuner will get you the Irish DTT stations. My G20 picks them up no problem and has a FreeSat decoder built in as well (it's a British model). No built in HDD though but you can use an external one through the USB port. Works like a dream but my only issue with it is that you can't record one channel whilst watching another.

[ziggysego]

Cheers Croí na hÉireann, glad to hear there's MPEG 4 tuner here. I can get RTEs via analogue, so I'm presuming that means I'll get it digitially.

[Croí na hÉireann]

Cheers Croí na hÉireann, glad to hear there's MPEG 4 tuner here. I can get RTEs via analogue, so I'm presuming that means I'll get it digitially.

I'd double check what antenna you're getting your signal from and if they are broadcasting digital first. But if they are and your analogue is of a decent quality then there shouldn't be a problem receiving digital.