Help needed - LCD TV's

[stu blue]

Right im calling on the SZ community to share their knowledge with me. Does anyone know any good websites/discount methods (eg i have herd of this To Reward code that gets you half price Toshiba Tvs!?!)i can use as i want to get a 42" LCD but dont want to pay over the odds for it. Also any stories about experiences/purchases that anyone has made would be appreciated and any spec to look out for or brands to avoid or go for? cheers

 

[Interpol Shrimper]

Don't get a Panasonic unless you get a 5 year free guarantee! :thumbdown:

 

[stu blue]

right ok, i will avoid panasonic then!! was that from a bad personal experience?

 

[Pubey]

we've had nothing but a good experience from our panasonic plasma... just to throw that in the mix!

 

[Interpol Shrimper]

right ok, i will avoid panasonic then!! was that from a bad personal experience?

Yes, bought a 32" Viera when I got made redundant 2004 (cost over £2k) & it developed problems about 6 weeks after the 2 year guarantee ran out.

Screen has developed a plasma style burn (I do wonder if this was due to Sky related issues with intermittant signal but both Sky & Panasonic claim ignorance & having no guarantee I am sh@gged)

The DVD-R player I bought too is also knackered and irrepairable!

 

[stu blue]

maybe its just luck of the draw with the panasonics then any other experiences wanted!! Also does anyone know anything about these discount codes to but direct from the manufacturer i have herd rumours of, or even just a very cheap website/special offers!?!

 

[fatshrimp]

No problems with my Plasma 37" panasonic. Only 18months old though...

 

[Mr Gilbo]

have a trawl thru av forums

http://www.avforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=155

Very happy with my samsung 40m87

Avoid Sony as there are overpriced and crap.

If you are just watching TV then go for a plasma, panasonic is currently an excellent brand.

If you will be using consoles on it alot then consider LCD

 

[fredheim_holm]

Good link Gilbo, that helps me too cheers.

I'm after a Samsung, either 26 or 32 inch, with freeview.

Only got £300 at the moment, but I'm tempted to ask the parents for an early birthday pressie.

 

[OldBlueLady]

Good link Gilbo, that helps me too cheers.

I'm after a Samsung, either 26 or 32 inch, with freeview.

Only got £300 at the moment, but I'm tempted to ask the parents for an early birthday pressie.

After your results you ought to give it a try!

 

[SouthUpperYellows]

have a trawl thru av forums

http://www.avforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=155

Very happy with my samsung 40m87

Avoid Sony as there are overpriced and crap.

If you are just watching TV then go for a plasma, panasonic is currently an excellent brand.

If you will be using consoles on it alot then consider LCD

I also have this TV, it's quality!! no problems at all since I have had it

 

[fredheim_holm]

After your results you ought to give it a try!

Haha, did you not see my results? I'm so tired these days I don't even remember if I posted them..

 

[Andy_S]

Good link Gilbo, that helps me too cheers.

I'm after a Samsung, either 26 or 32 inch, with freeview.

Only got £300 at the moment, but I'm tempted to ask the parents for an early birthday pressie.

I got a 23in Samsung for my bedroom for Xmas and it's pretty good. Still not convinced about the LCD quality of picture though. Unless you've got HD, watching football on it isn't all that. Cracking for the PS3 through a HDMI cable though.

As for earlier on in the thread and Panasonics, they're generally very very good.

 

[fredheim_holm]

I got a 23in Samsung for my bedroom for Xmas and it's pretty good. Still not convinced about the LCD quality of picture though. Unless you've got HD, watching football on it isn't all that. Cracking for the PS3 through a HDMI cable though.

As for earlier on in the thread and Panasonics, they're generally very very good.

Yeah I agree with that. I'm wanting the TV mainly for PS3 gaming purposes, but also as my future uni tv and current bedroom tv.

Tonight I shall choose my words carefully with the parents and see what they say..

 

[jstallan]

have a trawl thru av forums

http://www.avforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=155

Very happy with my samsung 40m87

Avoid Sony as there are overpriced and crap.

If you are just watching TV then go for a plasma, panasonic is currently an excellent brand.

If you will be using consoles on it alot then consider LCD

My Sony was not overpriced and is not crap.....

 

[jstallan]

Try looking at www.bigpockets.co.uk
They might not have the 'Carlos Fandango' range, but they have just got some LCDs in as part of a £2million bankrupt stock deal. They offer a 30 day no quibble guarantee on the LCDs and that also covers dead pixels...

I got a PVR for £8.99 last week - just needed to add a hard drive - works well

 

[fredheim_holm]

No dice, it seems. Parents were considering lending me the money but now are against it as think it would be a distraction from my revision.

Pah, what revision?

 

[canada shrimper]

look at some of the cheaper lesser known brands as you will find that they have the insides of a more popular brand.We have a 27" magnavox and I think the insides are either panasonic or Phillips.we paid 800 hundered for it 2 years ago.you can pick em up dirt cheap now. I was in a store the other day and there was a 36" for about 900.Not sure if you get the same pricing over there, It might even be better.Here are a couple of sites for comparisons.

www.bestbuy.ca

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/dept.asp?logon=&langid=EN&catid=11

 

[Holy Joe]

Bought a Panasonic plasma in 2002 - went wrong in 2005 - they wanted about £1500 to repair it - price of a new one was about £1200! I tried to kick up a fuss to get a cheaper repair or discount off a new one but they didn't want to know. Go into somewhere that has a load of them on display and watch some football on them (pick a time when a game is on!) - plenty of them will look crap when showing a game (mine is). Richer sounds can sometimes be a good place for a deal.

 

[Mr Gilbo]

look at some of the cheaper lesser known brands as you will find that they have the insides of a more popular brand.We have a 27" magnavox and I think the insides are either panasonic or Phillips.we paid 800 hundered for it 2 years ago.you can pick em up dirt cheap now. I was in a store the other day and there was a 36" for about 900.Not sure if you get the same pricing over there, It might even be better.Here are a couple of sites for comparisons.

www.bestbuy.ca

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/dept.asp?logon=&langid=EN&catid=11

Or for £200 less than that you can get the samsung 40" m87 and it is great TV and actually better than the current crop of samsung TVs.

Sony LCD TVs have the same panel as Samsung TVs yet charge a lot more. Unfortunately they also suffer from clouding and it gets quite bad.

If you are after a 26" I would recommend the panasonic 70 or 700, the 70 model is more money and probably out of your price range but is fanatastic little TV. Or you could go the previous model 60 or 600 which were also award winners, and internet sites might have then marked down to clear stock.

Football unfortunately doesn't look great on any of the flat panel TVs. Even the Pioneers and Fujistu which costs thousands aren't great. Just need the technology to catch up.