Opinions on good TV's?

[Jax]

The current 26 inch HD TV I use is starting to die a slow death (sometimes takes AGES to turn on, or switch volumes and sometimes you need to fiddle switch for a while to turn it on)...

So I plan to buy one at the start of June and I have a few in mind. Luckily its the Euro 2012 tournament soon so generally prices drop a little to encourage sales so I plan to take advantage of it and I've seen 26-32 inch TV's from £180-200 but I have concerns. Obviously cheaper tends to mean a risk of shoddy quality but my budget means I will probably have to take this risk but I have a second issue...some of the cheaper TV's are LCD ones but I find some thin TV's have weak speakers and I'd rather not have to spend more money on external speakers.

I am mainly buying this TV for gaming (360 n PS3) though built in freeview would be a bonus, so anyone got any good recommendations? I want 26-32 inch screen HD TV and heres some I already found...

DigiHome 32 inch

Luxor 32 inch

My current favourite... Sharp 32 Inch

 

[SPOCKED]

32" Sony Google -- we've had one since December and its wonderful. Just out of the box before I got it wall mounted...

 

[Captain Ice]

Sonys and Samsungs are usually good bets. Picked up a Sony 42 inch edge lit LED unit myself a few months back and just absolutely love it.

 

[JustAFriend]

I've had a 47" Philips for 4 years that's just been great.

 

[MacLeod]

I'd agree Sony and Samsung are usually good bets. Samsung tends to be slightly cheaper but you are still getting a quality TV.

I've a Samsung 40" LED lit 3D TV.

 

[Jax]

I'd love a samsung but they cost a lot more though I did get a phone call earlier about starting an admin/office work experience placement that has a good chance of leading towards full time work so I may wait and hold off buying one now so I can get a better one later down the line.

I would love to be able to get a 40 inch Samsung in my dreams

 

[MacLeod]

It all depends on what your budget limit is.

For example Play has a Samsung 32" with £100 off, but it might be above your budget

http://www.play.com/Electronics/Electronics/4-/30964965/Samsung-LE32D403-E2-32-Inch-HD-Ready-LCD-TV/Product.html?searchstring=Samsung&searchtype=ELEC&searchsource=2&searchfilters=s{Samsung}%2bc{321}%2bc{3095}%2bae207{50-249.99}%2bae59{28-36.999}%2b&urlrefer=search

 

[Jax]

Yeh thats good though I would have to wait longer to get it, since I'd need more time save up for the funds. I got to admit I don't like the idea of buying online, I want to see my TV in a store

 

[StolenThunder]

I have to admit that the specifics of TV models are largely incomprehensible to me - there always seems to be a thousand variations on each design - but I have a Samsung 32" LED that I'm very happy with. The quality of LED over LCD is noticeable.

 

[MacLeod]

I agree, the blacks on LED lit TV's look so much deeper.

 

[RandyS]

I've had a 32inch Vizio for four years now that I absolutely love. When the time comes to replace it (hopefully not until I wear it out), I'll be looking for another Vizio, only maybe a 42inch this time, or a 50, if I can fit it in my entertainment center.

 

[CorporalClegg]

I've had a 32inch Vizio for four years now that I absolutely love. When the time comes to replace it (hopefully not until I wear it out), I'll be looking for another Vizio, only maybe a 42inch this time, or a 50, if I can fit it in my entertainment center.

As long as you're lucky, Vizio is definitely the way to go when buying a budget TV.

They are so much better quality (presentation wise) then anything else in their price range.

The build quality isn't the best though, hence the luck part. But that's pretty universal when it comes to budget stuff.

 

[An Officer]

Have had a Samsung for 5 years now and no complaints. Highly recommended.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

I'll join the chorus praising Samsung. Unlike everyone here who seems to have gone for LED, I bought a 51" plasma screen last year online on Black Friday for $500, and haven't had any complaints. I love it. Plus, the newer generation of plasma TVs from reputable brands have largely eliminated the earlier issues associated with plasmas (burn through when you have a static image on the screen too long, excessive energy use, overheating, shorter lifespan, etc.).

When it was delivered, I kid you not, I knelt in front of it like a knight and whispered "Excalibur." Because I'm a friggin' dork. But JFK and Castro killing zombies at the Pentagon in Black Ops has never seemed so lifelike.

 

[Jax]

Anyone ever had an LG telly?

 

[Mr Awe]

I'll join the chorus praising Samsung. Unlike everyone here who seems to have gone for LED, I bought a 51" plasma screen last year online on Black Friday for $500, and haven't had any complaints. I love it. Plus, the newer generation of plasma TVs from reputable brands have largely eliminated the earlier issues associated with plasmas (burn through when you have a static image on the screen too long, excessive energy use, overheating, shorter lifespan, etc.).

When it was delivered, I kid you not, I knelt in front of it like a knight and whispered "Excalibur." Because I'm a friggin' dork. But JFK and Castro killing zombies at the Pentagon in Black Ops has never seemed so lifelike.

I prefer the "look" of plasma TVs. By that, I don't mean the HD resolution. I'm sure plasmas, LCDs, and LEDs all have the same resolution. But there's something about the character of the plasma image that I prefer.

I'm sure that's just a preference thing, though. But, we do have Panasonic 51" plasma that we've had for 5 years and it's just great.

They've had those issues you mentioned resolved back then, well, except for a higher energy use but that's not anything you'd notice on your bill.

Mr Awe

 

[hamudm]

I love my plasma. It's a bit old (50"; 720p) from LG. You can't beat the blacks and the fluidity of the picture (no judder). Yeah it's a bit of a power hog and a bit heavy, but still the best picture around.

Do you have Costco's? They usually have some good deals. At our Costco they have an 80" Sharp LED on for $5000 right now. ME WANTS!

 

[RandyS]

I've had a 32inch Vizio for four years now that I absolutely love. When the time comes to replace it (hopefully not until I wear it out), I'll be looking for another Vizio, only maybe a 42inch this time, or a 50, if I can fit it in my entertainment center.

As long as you're lucky, Vizio is definitely the way to go when buying a budget TV.

They are so much better quality (presentation wise) then anything else in their price range.

The build quality isn't the best though, hence the luck part. But that's pretty universal when it comes to budget stuff.

By "build quality", I assume you mean the monitor stand? If so, I agree, it is sort of flimsy. But the picture quality is what I was focusing on. Of course my Vizio is my first flat screen TV. Before that, from 1994-2008, I was watching TV on an old style 20inch Panasonic, and the trade up to the Vizio was quite an upgrade. At least for me.

 

[Mr Awe]

^^ Build quality can include reliability, and that sounds like what he was referring to.
The picture might be great IF you get one that works.

Mr Awe

 

[CorporalClegg]

Yup.

And it can depend on many different things from the quality of the parts used to the size/strength of the solder joints.

There are many ways manufactures "cut corners" to keep production costs down.

Another good example is the amount of point to point wiring (instead of just using boards). Though it isn't as ubiquitous as it was in the old days (it's why those old TVs seem to last forever) some of the more expensive TVs do have some, while the cheap ones tend to have non.

Circuit boards tend not to have as strong of connections especially if cheaper materials are used. What happens is the non conductive material between the circuit lines can corrode and weaken causing "short cuts" for the current. These jumps are usually invisible to the naked eye and usually pretty insignificant, but get one in the right place and it can start to cause problems.

Granted the boards are significantly better than they were even 15 years ago, but the cheap ones are still cheap.

To put it in perspective, most of the really expensive audio equipment still uses point to point wiring with only a few (or non at all) circuit boards. Unfortunately LED TVs don't allow the space for it because there's so much wiring--and a TV requires a lot more circuit connections than a stereo does.