TV purchase (50”-55”), it’s a bloody minefield to the uninitiated
- Thread starter Somafunk
- Start date
Joe Hutch
Mate of the bloke
We keep meaning to get a new telly (currently using an ancient Phillips 32" that we got for nowt), but are over-awed by the choice every time we do any research. Will probably end up getting something from Richer Sounds because a) we've always had good service from them and b) they're just down the road.
Mike Reed
pfm Member
That goes against the standard advice to buy a larger greenhouse, shed or TV than the one you think you need. Since digitisation of TVs, there's no downside to pic. quality because of size, it seems to me. I've got a 40" but will most certainly go to the limit of accommodation to get a bigger one(49", prob.)
cutting42
Arrived at B4 Hacker Ergo
I am pretty much the same except we stayed with Panasonic for the 55" (TX-55HZ2000B) which is better than the plasma (TX-P42VT20B) and due to the much thinner bezel, not that much bigger. Might get it calibrated but the filmmaker setting out of the box is incredible.
PS, didn't even try to get rid of the plasma, it moved into the playroom (old kids room) as a secondary TV room/study/music room displacing an even older plasma 2nd gen. I had forgotten how heavy those old plasma TV's were, complete with cooling fans.
Mike Reed
pfm Member
28 for a biggie, 24 otherwise. They were expensive too, I remember my folks laying down about £600 for one in about 1980. I think that was a 28, in a teak case with a roll front. That wasn't cheap. I remember when it eventually died my mum mourned the fact that the replacements came in nasty plastic cabinets and no more nice cabinets.
Fatmarley
"It appears my intelligence circuits have melted"
Mad to think I used to watch a lot of tv in my bedroom on a little portable. Don't remember the screen size, but it must have been pretty small, and I was sat around 3mtrs away.
John Phillips
pfm Member
I had a nominally 34" Sony Trinitron (4:3) set. There's a lot of glass in one of those and it weighed 80 kg. It was expensive too. I'm not surprised to think that 28" was much more common for a big set in the TV tube days.
johnhunt
pfm Member
Been through this with currys . What he or she meant to say was that they couldn’t be arsed to go through the back room looking for the box.The manager in theirLewisham branch saved the day. This was in 2012 ( back when the internet dongle was an extra )so probably currys have become a lot more customer focused since .
manicatel
pfm Member
It is a minefield, but then again it’s easy to over-worry about it.
Simply put....
If you want the best, & you can go to 48” or over, then it’s an OLED.
The LG OLED is probably best VFM, the Sony “arguably” the best picture & a Pana is somewhere between the two. And opinions will vary on that.
You really can’t go wrong with any of them, they’re all excellent. The differences between them are only apparent if you look at them side-by-side, once they’re on your wall that’s not a concern.
If you’re not looking for OLED level stuff, then again, you can overthink it, but any Sony or Pana that’s in budget will be a very safe bet.
Sound-wise, non of em are great. A soundbar or AV system would really be needed if you want to have an all round experience.
Before buying, check that any apps etc BT Sport or any others you want can be put on.
The vast majority will be “smart” TVs, so Netflix,YouTube & the main channel catch-up services etc should be already there.
A lot of the cheaper brands, names you’ve not really heard of before are possibly a model that’s a couple of years old from a better known brand that’s rebadged.
Simply put....
If you want the best, & you can go to 48” or over, then it’s an OLED.
The LG OLED is probably best VFM, the Sony “arguably” the best picture & a Pana is somewhere between the two. And opinions will vary on that.
You really can’t go wrong with any of them, they’re all excellent. The differences between them are only apparent if you look at them side-by-side, once they’re on your wall that’s not a concern.
If you’re not looking for OLED level stuff, then again, you can overthink it, but any Sony or Pana that’s in budget will be a very safe bet.
Sound-wise, non of em are great. A soundbar or AV system would really be needed if you want to have an all round experience.
Before buying, check that any apps etc BT Sport or any others you want can be put on.
The vast majority will be “smart” TVs, so Netflix,YouTube & the main channel catch-up services etc should be already there.
A lot of the cheaper brands, names you’ve not really heard of before are possibly a model that’s a couple of years old from a better known brand that’s rebadged.
Mike Reed
pfm Member
I used to ogle those at shows and in shops. I had a 27" Sony in '80/'81. Bought another 10 years or so later. 21" sets (mono and stereo) were the norm from about '77 to around '90 or so, but I only went for Sonys (still do) but other makes (Phillips, e.g.) brought out some cracking large 36" sets during the nineties, incl. the fantastic 36" widescreen Sony which I so nearly bought at a good discount as they were being discontinued (but my 34" 3x4 was still going strongly).
Derek Wright
pfm Member
Be aware that the cost of TVs follow a seasonal variation, expensive when the new models come out in the spring and getting cheaper by Christmas. Checkout the features that new sets being demoed at the trade show in January in Las Vegas
JensenHealey
pfm Member
My memory is that the last CRT tele that we had weighed something like 65Kg and I could just about get my arms around it and move it a short distance. I was glad to take that to the recycling centre. It was a biggish Sony, donated to us by friends who had gone flat screen when even a 'large' 32" flat screen Sony was well over £1000 - which was a lot of dosh then. Now we buy amazing TVs for less than £500, and 20 yrs of inflation later.
Mike Reed
pfm Member
That sounds like my last Sony CRT, a 34"(?). When everything was digitised, I bought a Sony D-A box for it, which had the fastest channel hop facility I've come across. When that packed up (it could only be controlled by a remote), I was forced to get a 40" flat-screen Sony which is coming up to its 10th birthday and as good as when installed. Oddly, all my big Sonys (4 of them since about '76) have cost £600+/-
mikemusic
pfm Member
Too dominant in the room. Next to the system racks and in between the speakers
There is a 42" in the other room which I could swap for a trial when I have a strong air of arms to help
Maybe if it slid into the floor when not in use, but I won't be doing that !
On sheds and the like
We had the house refurbed and extended, added two sheds as we lost 2 garages.
Then filled the lot with stuff we need to sell or give away.
Benefit of hindsight
Ponty
pfm Member
I remember buying a Sony 32 inch CRT ‘flatscreen’ in 2001. It had built in Freeview and a big stand for the video and DVD player underneath. It was about £1600 and I was over the moon with it!