Matt H Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 After this morning getting excited about getting a HD LCD tv for £600, ive done a little more research and im thinking am i getting what i really want for that money? Theres a few things that are niggling me. Basically, how do you know how good a LCD / plasma tv is? In simple terms, is it purely the resolution? Some one the most expensive seem to have a resolution of for example: 1920x1080 pixels, then some of the cheaper ones are like: 1366 X 768 pixels. what do you need for a decent picture, ive seen some tvs playing that look so blocky. Then ive heard of 1080p flying about? whats that? then thers HDMI inputs, im assuming stuff like a PS3 needs one of these? but some dont seem to have any at all? Any advice would be great. is it worth buying one for around £600 - £800 or am i just not going to get anything worth while with that budget? Any recommendations would be good too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGav Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 I got a 42" plasma this week actually.. LG 2 HDMI inputs, 1 component (for wii/xbox), 2 scarts, 1 VGA, and an svideo and composite on the site. Has freeview and all that. It has 1080p input, but it would downscale it slightly. Also has 100hz, although I'm not sure how effective that really is. Really chuffed with the picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt H Posted September 7, 2007 Author Share Posted September 7, 2007 It has 1080p input, but it would downscale it slightly so whats 1080p input? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGav Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 so whats 1080p input? From what I understand, there are a few standards for HD. p = progressive, ie it does the full image in one sweep, i = does one half image and then the other half of the image (relies on persistance of vision). P is better supposedly. Then the resolutions are 480 - Which is pretty much standard component HD. 720 - Which is the common one, and I believe the one sky and virgin broadcast in 1080 - Which is the current superdupper one. I've not seen any 1080 media yet, and figured for the cost of the 42" it was worth just taking a hit knowing I won't have full HD quality, but at least the telly will be able to take the input even if it down scales it 1% or so Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt H Posted September 7, 2007 Author Share Posted September 7, 2007 Then the resolutions are 480 - Which is pretty much standard component HD. 720 - Which is the common one, and I believe the one sky and virgin broadcast in 1080 - Which is the current superdupper one. I've not seen any 1080 media yet, and figured for the cost of the 42" it was worth just taking a hit knowing I won't have full HD quality, but at least the telly will be able to take the input even if it down scales it 1% or so so how does that relate to this sort of spec then? 1920x1080 pixels Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGav Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 Here you go... http://audiovisual.kelkoo.co.uk/ps_18220187/127101.html It only does 720, due to it being 1024x768, BUT looks fine to me even when I compared it next to a socalled 1080 system. Curry's for £849 which I thought was a fair price. It has one VERY cute feature which I've not seen before, which is the optical audio out will send whatever the tv is getting be it HDMI or RCA depending on what you have selected. Which is great, because it resulted in a lot less wires, the wii/ps2/xbox now go directly to the TV which passes it back down to the surround amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt H Posted September 7, 2007 Author Share Posted September 7, 2007 Here you go... http://audiovisual.kelkoo.co.uk/ps_18220187/127101.html It only does 720, due to it being 1024x768, BUT looks fine to me even when I compared it next to a socalled 1080 system. Curry's for £849 which I thought was a fair price. It has one VERY cute feature which I've not seen before, which is the optical audio out will send whatever the tv is getting be it HDMI or RCA depending on what you have selected. Which is great, because it resulted in a lot less wires, the wii/ps2/xbox now go directly to the TV which passes it back down to the surround amp. so would i be right in saying that tv wouldnt support a 60hrz frequency? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGav Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 so would i be right in saying that tv wouldnt support a 60hrz frequency? There is no reason why it wouldn't be able to support 60hz.... I believe the article is flawed as the telly is 100hz (50x2) capable. It can handle a pc input which is usually a minimum of 60hz. So I'm going to say yeah it should. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGav Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 Even cheaper... http://www.dixons.co.uk/product.php?sku=542066&camp_id=Shopping.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt H Posted September 7, 2007 Author Share Posted September 7, 2007 Even cheaper... http://www.dixons.co.uk/product.php?sku=542066&camp_id=Shopping.com that seems really good value, especially if its 100hz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiefgroover Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 After seeing Muse Laser disc in 1996 which was 1080, and D-theatre (1080i) in 2001 on an 8 foot screen its stunning. Pity sky have only a few channels with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creative Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 have to admit but LG have been doing some cracking tellies recently. I was looking at getting one and started to look at their 50 inch jobby. I found it for sale for £1k which i thought was a very good price. That was 1080i I think tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil tt Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 Its still above my head, so I just use what is the latest best buy from Which:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cable Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 I got a 1080p and it's well worth it. The Xbox currently is maxxed at 1080i but with the new Xbox Elite that will have HDMi output for 1080p. The PS3 is great for watching DVDs as it has a built in upscaler (you have to download the software update) to 1080p meaning that all your old dvds are much much higher quality almost as good as HD-DVD and Blu-ray (which the PS3 also plays). IMO you're best to get a 1080p because that is industry max now and you may aswell get one now rather than later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VIL Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 if you want to get all the info you need before going and buying something like this take a quick look at http://www.avforums.com ....... it has all you will need to know.... Its a bit like mkivsupra.net but for TV's instead of cars !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 if you want to get all the info you need before going and buying something like this take a quick look at http://www.avforums.com ....... it has all you will need to know.... Its a bit like mkivsupra.net but for TV's instead of cars !!! As for Plasma and LCD being all about the res, thats a small part in my opinion, my Panasonic doesnt have a HD input but supports HD all the way upto 1080 over component which is how I connect my PS3, the quality is amazing and my set is pretty old now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jevansio Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 FWIW I had an Hitachi which was pants, good picture quality but they just kept breaking (sound, inputs), went through 3 in 6 months, got a Panasonic now which is beaut. Make sure you get one with plenty of inputs (2 HDMI & Component) it's a bugger if you've used them all up then buy another bit of kit (HD DVD etc). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam bell Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 i would only buy a panasonic plasma there new th42pz70 came out last week full 1080p for only 1299 on a pedestall as well if you want some discount on it come and see me in my shop. astley audio ltd based in oxfordshire. to be fair unless your going to get a few sources which support 1080p then getting a 1080i tv is fine as the 1080p set has to descale the picture. any questions please ask as i am into this sort of thing and could offer some deals for members. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 i would only buy a panasonic plasma there new th42pz70 came out last week full 1080p for only 1299 on a pedestall as well if you want some discount on it come and see me in my shop. astley audio ltd based in oxfordshire. to be fair unless your going to get a few sources which support 1080p then getting a 1080i tv is fine as the 1080p set has to descale the picture. any questions please ask as i am into this sort of thing and could offer some deals for members. Do you offer trade ins for older Panasonics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam bell Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 sorry mate not anymore what have you got then. we used to do but every one sells it on ebay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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