Which HD tv?

[tony draper]

Not exactly puting but?
Going out on the morrow to buy one of these new fangled flat screen HD TVs
Looking at em on line one is a tad confused,when one left the industry 26 inch CRT were about the limit and one has been out of the loop since.
What is the difference betwixt one marked
1080i and another marked HD Ready?
Any advice?
Anything larger than 42 inch is way to big for where it is going to sit.
:confused:

[green granite]

I got a 32" JVC off of E-Bay (customer return) for about 1/2 it's retail price, had it for 2 years now, it's brilliant. :ok:

[Saab Dastard]

Tony, here's a useful guide:

HDTV - Introduction (http://www.hdtvorg.co.uk/guide/hdtv/introduction.htm)

LED seems to be the promised land, although still more expensive than both LCD and plasma.

I bought a 50" Panasonic Viera plasma TV (TX-P50G10) about a year ago, and I've been very pleased - although I have yet to attach a HD source.

SD

[tony draper]

RE this HD source, I am given to understand that freeview HD is being transmitted now from terrestrial transmitters, ie mine is Pontop Pike,so a separate HD Capable free view box is required,looked on line and all the ones I can see require being connected to a satellite dish,had a dish up for years but sods law pulled it down a couple of years ago and rely on the freeview off air so are Terrestrial HD Freeview boxes available yet?
:)

[Sprogget]

Not round my neck of the woods for another two years.

Freeview - Home / HD / Products (http://www.freeview.co.uk/freeview/HD/Products)

[tony draper]

Thank you Mr Sprogget,I could stick a dish up again but I had nowt but grief with the Sky dish I had,used to gradually lose the bottom end, would set it up again and it would lose the top end and I was setting it up wi a good spectrum analyser as well.
So I dont want anything coming from space.:rolleyes:

[green granite]

I use Freesat which has HD for BBC and ITV

[tony draper]

Indeed Mr G but until recently you had to have a dish to receive HD on freesat but now I can get it off air from the aerial on me chimbley pot,still need a separate black box though.
:)

[AppleMacster]

Indeed Mr G but until recently you had to have a dish to receive HD on freesat but now I can get it off air from the aerial on me chimbley pot,still need a separate black box though.

Some TVs now have a Freeview HD receiver built-in, such as the latest Sony Bravias:

Click the "Freeview HD" option (http://www.sony.co.uk/compare/tv-projector/)

Applemacster

[tony draper]

Summat on the news about that a short while back,even HD TVs with HD Tuners may still need another set top box to get HD Freeview off air,posted about it at the time,I dont understand why or if it is true for all HD TVs.
:uhoh:

[srobarts]

Go for 1080P and as many HDMI inputs as you can (unless you have a separate AV receiver with many HDMI inputs) Our setup has Sky HD, DVD recorder and PS3 (to play BluRay and the the best BBC iplayer IMHO) so we need 3 HDMI with no space for expansion.

[mad_jock]

If you go to a big tesco they quite often have specials on. Thats how I got my HDTV.

I think I payed 350 quid for a make I had never heard of digi something. Wide screen does the job and has a built in DTV. Combined with a Technica home theatre for 50 quid and jobs a goodun.

And you do need another box for HD telly you can get one of them at tesco's as well with a 500G disk for recording for just under a hundred (Guess what I was looking at about 3 hours ago)

[Loose rivets]

I know things are a bit different here, but I went for a 1080p LCD being better than i.

For terrestrial tv it leaves a bit in hand here, cos I've never seen it run at more than 720p or 1080i I simply can not see a difference between the two.

Most times a smashing picture.

Up-convert. Our player is grand. Ordinary DVDs are fiddled to simulate Blue ray. It is so good that a lot of the hype about BR is being lost. Makers are said to be worried that up-convert is losing them sales.

I sent my Samsung back only because of poor black levels. Looked like someone shining torches up from the corners. But at all normal levels of room lighting, it was very, very good. It's just that we always watch in a dimly lit room.

Ours was a 120 hz and one disappointment was that the up convert was limited to 60. I'm really fussy about flicker, but was never worried by it.

GO FOR AT LEAST 3 YEARS WARRANTY. There you're likely to get it for free. Mine cost $500 for three yeas - but as it happened, saved a virtual total loss.

[call100]

Get one with Freeview HD tuner to future proof your purchase. I've had two Samsungs and am on the LED version at present which gives a great picture. No problems with black levels.
Panasonic do excellent TV's also.

[spekesoftly]

Summat on the news about that a short while back,even HD TVs with HD Tuners may still need another set top box to get HD Freeview off air,posted about it at the time,I dont understand why or if it is true for all HD TVs.

The new TVs with an integrated Freeview HD receiver do not require an additional set-top box to receive terrestrial HD TV transmissions. The earlier "HD Ready" TVs are capable of displaying HD quality via an HDMI input, but also require a suitable set top box to receive the HD signals.

[Evanelpus]

1080p is the way forward. I link my TV to Sky HD, a surround sound system and a Playstation 3 and all perform admirably.

Whatever you decide to buy, accept the fact it's 'out of date' within a couple of months, new technology is evolving all the time.

Happy buying, let us know what you end up with.

[Albert Square]

Two things to consider:
Having an integral freeview HD receiver has been mentioned. Originally, they did not think HD could be sent over the air and so most Freeview receivers will not pick up HD broadcasts. These are on channels 50 - 52 at present. Freeview boxes will not see these channels. So you need to make sure the TV has a newer Freeview HD receiver which will. Also, not all the UK has HD broadcast yet. (I'm lucky in the NW to have it)

Secondly, you may consider if you want to connect your TV to your LAN. Some have this facility and you can then share your PC Media on the TV (photo's, music and some video) as well as connect to some internet sites such as You Tube.

Hope this helps.

[Sikpupi]

Got a Panasonic 42 PLasma at Xmas.....absolutely brillant.

They offer a 5-Year Guarantee as well.....now that is peace of mind!!

Also.... the picture is great and over 36 inch they say that you should get PLASMA rather than LCD.

Watched 'Pacific' last night on Sky Mpvies (not HD as did not join up for same yet) but great sound and graphics..

Sikky

[spannersatcx]

I watched it in HD with av receiver giving surround sound, the walls were rattling!!

They used to say anything over 42 then plasma, but that's not true anymore as LCD has improved.

I would make sure there are sufficient HDMI connections, optical audio if you connect an av system, the audio is so much better, as HDMI cables can't carry DTS/5.1 audio.

[Bushfiva]

Actually, the HDMI cables can carry 8 channels of audio, but you need HDMI v 1.3 or above for DTS-HD and DolbyHD.