Yes, but what about all the other 32 inchers out there? From Sony (all the series, I too am looking at W, S and D), Philips, Samsung, JVC, Toshiba, Hitachi, etc, etc. Why only review 4 models? This is only helpful up to a limited point. Anyone recommend any other review sites apart from Which?
Regarding the last post, we would, of course, love to review every 32in TV in the world every time we do a group test! But if you think about it I'm sure you'll appreciate that logistically this is simply impossible, both in terms of the cost implications to avreview.co.uk and problems getting lots of review samples together at the same time.
In fact, if we tried to cover everything in one hit we'd actually never end up getting anything up on the site at all, as we'd be forever waiting for one manufacturer or another to get their products over to us.A far better solution, we believe, is to cover models in regular manageable chunks.
Of course, I realise this means you might never commit to buying anything as you're forever waiting for our next '32in review chunk' to arrive. But in response to that I can say that if I give something a rave review, you can buy it confidently without having to worry about what's coming next. After all, although I may only cover four TVs at a time in the majority of my AVreview group tests, I have seen literally thousands of TVs in my long career as a technology journalist, so when I say something's really good, I'm not just saying it's better than merely the other three contenders in the group test, but also that it's impressive by the standards of the TV world at large.
As for the other questions raised here, in answer to Jeremy’s post, I would say avoid the Sony D Series. The picture quality from Panasonic’s Viera series is much superior.
With regard to standard definition, the Panasonic model featured is much better than the cheaper models. Spending more money on an LCD TV doesn’t just generally get a better HD performance; it also means you’re getting better video processing for ‘rescaling’ standard definition to a screen’s higher native resolution, and the Panasonic bears this out. If you can’t afford the Panasonic, though, then the LG is the best SD performer of the budget models we’ve covered.
Fair enough, I quite understand your predicament, thanks anyway.
Which of the Sony Bravias do you think would be worth consideration? I have a DAV-DZ 230 Home Cinema system (more than good enough for my needs), the Bravia Theatre Sync is a good feature, but presumably works only with other Sony equipment (nice marketing ploy!), hence my interest.
Hmm. Well, the main problem with the Bravias at the moment is that they tend to look rather smeary with motion, especially some of the largest models. The W series are particularly bad in this regard.
If I had to pick one Sony Bravia model to go with ahead of the rest, it would probably be the D3000/3500 range. So either the 32in 32D3000 if you can still find any on sale, or else the 40D3500 if you can handle the 40in size.
Thank you, appreciate your view. What is the difference between 3000 and 3500, and your answer concerning finding any on sale implies that this range/model is about to be replaced? Is it worth waiting, I'm in no particular rush?
The 3500 part of the 40D3500's name is because it's full HD in resolution, while the 32D3000 is merely HD Ready (as is the 40D3000 too, come to that).
My comment about the 32D3000's availability was made mostly because I couldn't find any listed on a the websites of a couple of the big multiples, and because the TV has been around for a little while. But a more in-depth search in response to your message reveals you can certainly still get them; from Amazon, for instance.
A 4000 range is definitely due for launch quite soon, though, so you might want to wait a little while and see what we make of that! Chances are it will actually be better than their current generation.
I currently have a Sony Bravia KDL-32U2000 which I managed to pick up at a very reasonable price, although I appreciae that this TV is at the bottom of the range. I would like to upgrade to a 37" model.
From your recent test it would seem the Panasonic TH-37PX80 is the one to go for although it does seem quite expensive. Sound for me is not so much of an issue as I will be putting it through a Harmon Kardon AVR7300 AMP so I was wondering that as the fact that the onboard sound is not that important to me, if you still think that would be the best TV from the current test range?
Also what difference does the V1.3 HDMI version have to V1.2? and also again, what is the difference between a TV that is HD Ready as opposed to HD Capable?
