Digital flatscreen TV's

[Mustang]

OK - who has bought one of these lately. I have suddenly been thrust into the purchase world for one and it's soooo changed!

I know I want a flatscreen, full HD digital TV, not fussed about 3D. After that it gets about vague.....

Plasma v LED?

Good size of screen these days?

Other gizmos to look for? I saw one today that had skype and iPlayer facility on it - do most have these?

TIA

[Spacecadet]

OK - who has bought one of these lately. I have suddenly been thrust into the purchase world for one and it's soooo changed!

Welcome to the party Granddad!!

I know I want a flatscreen, full HD digital TV, not fussed about 3D. After that it gets about vague.....

Plasma v LED?

Plasma uses lots of power, ours literally heats the room! Plasma is generally considered to have a better picture than an LCD TV but this is changing. I think Plasma's are now reserved for sizes which are too big for an LCD.

Up to a certain size, a modern, good LED/LCD TV (that's an LCD TV which is backlit with LEDs which is what modern consumer TV's are) is going to look as good as a Plasma, it'll also be thinner, look more modern and use a fraction of the electricity.

Good size of screen these days?

Really depends on your room and what you'll be using it for. If you love spending an evening in with the Mrs with the lights low and a good movie on then you'll probably need the biggest screen that realistically fits in your room.
However, given your circumstances, you'll probably need something around the 32" range as Junior doesn't need the full cinematic experience for watching Teletubbies.

Other gizmos to look for? I saw one today that had skype and iPlayer facility on it - do most have these?

Not most, just some.

I'd recommend either a Samsung or a Panasonic. Try and find a shop that will let you have a play and has them wired up to the internet and other media sources. The extra £50 spent there rather than the internet could be worth it.
If you have a PS3 or a lot of other sony equipment then one of the Bravia's might be worthwhile as they have ability to all talk to each other. There is/was a Bravia which does something fancy with the wires, basically means you only need to have a power cable going into the TV which is good for wall mounting.

[PAH]

Only a few companies make plasma these days, but at reasonable prices (under a grand or not much more) they still offer a better picture than most LCDs (better contrast, black levels, more natural colours etc).

This is probably changing all the time as more companies improve their LCD offerings, so check reviews and try to get demos of any models you shortlist.

Personally I chose a plasma a few months ago as I watch movies more than I play games. Plasma still has some image retention issues though rare for the burn in to last more than a few minutes.

I had an LCD before the plasma (gave it to the parents as it was a few years old so poor by today's standard) and find the plasma has less motion blur, better viewing angle, and an overall better picture.

More surprising when you consider I paid £2.5k for the 47" LCD ~4 years ago and only £550 for the 50" plasma a few months ago.

To make the most of HD you need a bigger screen than 32" and the further away you sit the bigger you need, otherwise your eyes can't really tell the difference in resolution.

Other things to check for are some model ranges have the same panel and image quality so you're paying extra for the connectivity and features, such as more HDMI inputs, or a Freeview HD tuner. Both are lacking on my plasma so in hindsight I should have paid the extra £100 for the next model up.

[PAH]

To cope with the poor standard of programme some TVs offer split picture or picture in picture so you can try to raise stimulation levels by watching two programmes at once.

Not sure how the sound works though. Probably can only listen to one programme and have subtitles on the other.

[Support Monkey]

if you watch a lot of sport go for a plasma gas light tubes rather than digital switches, light travels faster so high speed sports action should be clearer on the plasma (I dunno, thats how it was explained to me)

There are alot of smart TVs around now and panasonic do a tv with a WIFI dongle (sold seperatley) that then gives you Iplayer and some other internet options and several of the Sony have Cat5 connections

[Fred Bloggs]

Anything by Sony or Samsung, IMO.

[VectraMan]

To make the most of HD you need a bigger screen than 32" and the further away you sit the bigger you need, otherwise your eyes can't really tell the difference in resolution.

I hate it when people say that.

I finally bought a Sony 32" LCD earlier this year, and you'd have to be half-blind not to be able to spot the difference between HD and SD.

The plasma vs LCD debate is largely moot as plasmas only come in chav-tastic sizes, much bigger than I wanted. However I have to say that the classic problem of lack of proper black on LCD TVs is very noticeable on my 2011 spec "LED" 1080p Sony LCD. Things with bright colours do look fantastic, but at times I almost wish I'd kept my old 15-year old CRT screen.

[VectraMan]

if you watch a lot of sport go for a plasma gas light tubes rather than digital switches, light travels faster so high speed sports action should be clearer on the plasma (I dunno, thats how it was explained to me)

Physics (and common sense) taking a bit of a holiday there.

[Spacecadet]

I hate it when people say that.

I finally bought a Sony 32" LCD earlier this year, and you'd have to be half-blind not to be able to spot the difference between HD and SD.

The plasma vs LCD debate is largely moot as plasmas only come in chav-tastic sizes, much bigger than I wanted. However I have to say that the classic problem of lack of proper black on LCD TVs is very noticeable on my 2011 spec "LED" 1080p Sony LCD. Things with bright colours do look fantastic, but at times I almost wish I'd kept my old 15-year old CRT screen.

define chavtastic sizes

[Mr.Whippy]

I have a wall mounted Samsung 55" LED.

Picture quality is outstanding, sports/films/games are all fine. Black levels are also very good, pretty comparable with a plasma.

It's only about 3cm thick, with an additional 2cm wall mounting kit.... so it sticks out a mere 5cm from the wall. There is also hardly any visible bezel.

55" would probably be classed as "chav-tastic" size by VectraMan, but 32" is way too small for my cinema/games room... he must live in a caravan in Dale Farm or something