Please could someone advice me please what is the best TV to buy,I am about to spend approx £1200 so needs to be in that price range for best TV viewing
Thanks in advance

I did buy a couple of weeks ago a Samsung LE40M86BD and I can only recommend it.
While it is not the biggest TV that money can buy in that price range (£1200 in shops, cheaper online), the quality is simply superb.
It's 40" LCD and full HD (1080p) with a built-in Freeview tuner, loads of inputs including 3 HDMI, great built quality and both the picture and the TV itself look stunning. I'd recommend it to anyone. Only downside is that because the screen quality is so good, watching Freeview really doesn't make the most of it. A DVD, Sky HD or even better a Blu-Ray disc are really the only way to truly appreciate how good it is!

Hi Nicolas,

Thanks for the details you've given on yr Samsung. I'm in a similar position to Sarah, looking for a new big screen TV, but my budget is slightly higher at up to £1,600 ish.

My main concern of LCD's is that everyone i've viewed has some degree of motion blur when watching football (my joint main priority along with movies). Even the Sony Bravia KDL40W2000 & KDL40X2000 LCDs seem to have some motion blurring which the plasmas in my shortlist dont seem to have. Does yours suffer from any of this LCD trait with football?


My shortlist currently includes the following:
LCD:
Sony Bravia KDL40W2000 & KDL40X2000 (the latter subject to price drop!)
Pioneer PDP-427XD & PDP-428XD (the latter subject to price drop!)
Panasonic TH-42PZ700 & TH-42PX700


Any comments?
Cheers
Neil.

wow thanks guys thats a great help .....i will await to see if anyone else can offer more advice.
I do like your choice Nicholas as it seems it has all that i want with added extras..So swaying towards that one
I do like the Panasonic TH-42PZ700 & TH-42PX700 but don't really want to go beyond my price budget.
Nicholas i do love the idea of having built in freeview that would be a great bonus.

STOP!!! If you're going to spend £1200 on an LCD TV then take a look at the following site:
www.novatech.co.uk
Look under the LCD TV section on their home page, hope you find this useful.

Ian

I bought a 37" HD LCD TV from them with built in freeview for £700. it uses an LG/Phillips screen and is unreal for the price.
My model does not have HDMI but I hooked up my home cinema system via Component cables and WOW!!!!
Can't wait for broadcasting to turn to HD full time!!!

Ian

Hi Ian,
I'm afraid to tell you that if your TV does not have HDMI connectivity, you won't ever get the full HD experience.

Because HDMI is a digital interface, it provides the best quality of the video since there are no lossy analogue to digital conversions as are required for all analog connections (such as component or S-video). The difference is especially noticeable at higher resolutions such as 1080p. Digital video will be sharper than component, and eliminates the softness and ghosting found with component.

I certainly agree with Neil. Any TV you buy today should have HDMI inputs and as many of them as possible. This provides the highest possible quality, but this is also the de facto standard for HD connections nowadays, just like SCART is for analog. Every HD device now uses HDMI, from a Playstation 3 to a Sky HD box, DVD players and recorders and so on.
On the practical side it's also much easier to use than component since one cable carries both HD picture and sound, which probably explains its popularity.
So if you want to keep your TV for a few years, and be able to connect everything you need, get a TV with at the very least two, but ideally 3 HDMI inputs!

And thanks for your comments regarding the motion blur, I'll do some tests when I'm back home tonight. I don't watch football so I can't comment on that but for films viewing I certainly havn't noticed any problems with the Samsung so far!

I can only endorse the comments on the first posting regarding the Samsung,having purchased the same model a couple of weeks ago online under £1000 it is a superb set in all respects,so many features and stunning pictures - tremendous value

Hi Neil & Nicolas,

Unfortunately, I thought that I had HDMI (hence why I bought my Samsung Home Cinema System which has), it was the 42" version of my TV which had it.
I must admit though, after reading extensively about SCART/Composite/Component/HDMI on another forum, the general opinion was that there was not too much difference between Component Vs HDMI and the picture running through the Samsung DVD is miles better than Freeview. This (apparently) has someting to do with the 1080p and other definitions and about progressive scanning.. whew, my brain hurts.
Since HD won't be phased in to my region for about another 3 to 4 years, I'll just sit tight with my 37" and when we all go HD and as LCD TV prices are dropping by the day, I'll probably pick one up with 10 HDMIs for about a tenner!! lol

Ian