I am looking to buy a new t.v very soon and this is where you step in to help.

Budget : £500 - £600

Must have: 1080p, Full HD, HDMI x2 and over 40inches.

Not bothered: smart tv or 3d although nice to have.

T.V will be used with a bluray player and Xbox 360.

Go!..........

Thank you

just in case you want to have 1 remote work for both items, what make is your blu-ray player ?

I would recommend a Samsung LED TV - I bought one for my room last year and it's really good. My parents have since purchased a 46" full LED/3D/Smart TV made by Samsung after saying they wanted a Toshiba. I showed them the two together and the Samsung won hands down, bigger screen, more functionality for around the same price.

I know you said you didn't care for 3D but the 6 series Samsung TVs are great, better than the 5 series. So something like this would be in your budget and it's 46"

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/samsung-ue46eh6030-full-hd-46-led-3d-tv-13828490-pdt.html

Thanks Adam, that is what I have been looking at. I read reviews that the screens are a bit of a lottery, you may get a sharp screen instead?!

Panasonic plasma fantastic quality, mines 5 years old and still awesome

Not had a problem with either TVs, images are good on both, though I did wish i'd saved up a bit more money and got a higher premium model - refresh rate makes the 6 series very smooth.

Also I would agree Panasonics are around the same quality, mates just picked up a new TV and he is more than impressed with it.

If you choose from either Sony, Samsung or Panasonic I doubt you'll go far wrong.

With your budget you'll be looking at a mid range model, so I'd check out somewhere like Richer Sounds for current offers and then check out What Hi-Fi online to see what their review says.

With any question like this, you will always get people who swear by one make over another and make all sorts of claims, but in truth the quality of sets from the major manufacturers is pretty similar and generally very good. Often the range of settings that can be applied makes the most difference and somewhere like AVForums can help take the time out of finding the settings required for a decent picture (though peoples perception of a decent picture varies quite a lot).

As Wet Kipper mentioned, picking one that's the same make as your blu-ray player might make the most sense.

Panasonic plasma fantastic quality, mines 5 years old and still awesome

same here, 2 year old 50 inch G20 plasma awesome bit of kit.

Picked my parents a 32" Sony Bravia last year and it's fantastic but it's amazing how quick TV tech is moving. I have a 26" Sony and even though it's only a year older it's well behind the new one. New ones are leaps and bounds ahead again and your budget is more than ours so you won't go far wrong with either Sony or Samsung

same here, 2 year old 50 inch G20 plasma awesome bit of kit.

Aye same as mine people can't believe the picture quality

Samsung very good but I decided to go for a 42" Panasonic Viera, 3D, HD, wireless WiFi connection, USB port, 4xHDMI etc - AWESOME picture, especially HD programmes and 3D. Not bad standard speakers but I intend to get a surround sound set up or just a sound bar. Cost me £660 from TVs/Laptops direct - cheapest by far. You will NOT be disappointed. Oh AND a five year manufacturers warranty included in RRP!

Another vote for Panasonic, we've got a TH46PZ81B plasma that is around 4 1/2 years old and it hasn't put a foot wrong. It replaced a Toshiba 46" LCD that went bang after 3 months. It has also proven to be pretty toddler proof too. The boy has attacked it with various toys and nothing has broken off and the screen is still great .

The only downside with Plasma tellies is the heat output (great in winter though) and they can consume a relatively large amount of power compared to LED backlit LCDs so that is worth checking.

Oh, and they need re-gassing every now and again

Panasonic plasma seems to be about the best picture quality on the market at the moment.

Chris

in their offices Sky have lots of TVs and they are all LG. They use them for their telepresence video conferencing too. The Sky engineer we had round installing our system told us he think LG are the best too.

To be fair, LG and Panasonic are very similar, possibly share panels on some products. Key decision is Plasma or LCD. For optimium picture quality, nothing beats a plasma in my experience, but they are costly to run and heavy. If I where buying again I would have Panasonic or LG happily if having a plasma screen. If I needed to keep the electricity bill down and could live wiith LCD picture quality (I can't) I would go Samsung. Wonder how long it will be before OLED sets become affordable. Economy and quality in one package.

Chris

I'm not a huge fan of tv, but I bought an LG lm47640 or something like that. Led panel, 3d very impressive. With a free yeah right sound bar from currys, looks and sounds great. Probably in your budget too if you shop around

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I go for Panasonic as the tv's have a great picture and sound.

Didnt read all posts so apologies if im repeating someone elses comments.

I have an LED and a Plasma. I bought my plasma for my xbox as they are the best units for his type of thing as they have far higher refresh rates. LED suffers from motion blur but over all looks nicer. Motion blur is a game killer though. I got a 42" panasonic plasma over a year ago for £399. Its superb. Only downsides are that screen burn is an issue if there is static images on it for a while. They also dont look as cool as LED tv's. My plasma is upstairs in the geek room so only isee it and our LED is in the lounge. The LED is a samsung smart 3D tv. The smart features never get used and 3D gets used now and again but i have to say the samsung 3D is absolutely superb and i love samsungs menu system it is so much more modern and streamlined than panasonic. I bought a panasonic for my plasma however as my old plasma from years ago was a panasonic and it performed faultlessley for years without any issues so i tend to stick with what i know.

My lounge setup is all Samsung - TV and 3d blu ray home cinema system. Both amazing ans the way these units work together is great. I can control both units from the one remote control through samsungs "link" feature. Makes every day use so much easier.

Depends what it will do mostly IMO. TV=LED, Gaming=Plasma.

LED TV's consume a lot less power also but does anyone really care about this?

Edited 15 January, 201313 yr by Jockdooshbag

I have a 37" Samsung which I bought for £500 a few years back, which I was very pleased with.

That's until dad bought a 40" Panasonic Plasma for the same price, which was miles better than my Samsung.

Next time I'll be buying Panasonic.

So Panasonic it is lol.

I prefer my Samsung Tv's to my panasonic TBH. Samsung are widley regarded as one of the best. They actually supply circuit boards etc to sony so you know whose getting the best ones in that deal.

The only reason i bought a panasonic plasma for gaming is that i wanted a plasma specifically and id owned a panasonic one before and it never let me down.

The menu interface on panasonics though looks very old fashioned but its not really a show stopper.

I generally buy samsung for most things and nothing else got a look in when i bought my main living room TV setup.

Both are good but i prefer my Samsung and the picture on my 7000 series one is awsome. just make sure you use good quality high speed HDMI cables as they cost peanuts if you buy them online so saving money on cables is a waste of time. Buy the best ones you can get.

The main consideration between panasonic or samsung is TV type i.e LED, LCD or plasma. Forget LCD. LED TV's are thin and sexy and the image is superb but motion blus is their weak spot although i dont really notice it on mine.

Plasma are great for games but dont look to sexy for your living room. Screen burn is their weak spot.

Once you have decided plasma or LED then i doubt there is much between samsung and panasonic IMO.

Edited 15 January, 201313 yr by Jockdooshbag

I feel I can comment here

Sony = expensive for what you get, and parts will be a nightmare to find. They use Samsung screens in their large sets. The quality is nowhere near what it used to be.

Panasonic = dreck. Used to be the byword for reliability, but like Toshiba, they have gone over to being a badge manufacturer and use Sharp and aUO screens on a Vestel chassis made in a carpet factory in Turkey. You don't need to be Einstein to work out what this means...

Samsung = just as unreliable as everything else, but new spares are cheap and used spares are fairly widely available and the TVs offer decent quality and spec for a good price.

Whatever you choose MAKE SURE you buy a five year warranty with it. Everyone bangs on about Sale Of Goods Act and right of expectations, but it's easy for a retailer to drag their feet, tell you to take it to a repair shop, get a quote etc etc before they do anything. Modern flat screen TVs are a nightmare for quality and reliablity and you WILL use that warranty before the five years are up!

For anyone wondering, I work at a TV recycling company where we dismantle used TVs for spares for the repair trade - we tend to get a good idea of what stuff is like dealing with insurance work and repairs!

I wouldnt buy another Samsung TV aslong as i lived, i bought a 40inch LCD and within 12 months and 1 day... yes 1day it failed to switch on Samsung didnt want to know, so got it repaired at £60 sold it and bought a panasonic 2.5yrs ago now and its still going strong and produces one of the best pictures.

Panasonic plasma are made by Panasonic, in Japan. Afaik they are now the only major plasma manufactures in the world. Their neopdp panels are second to none. Their neopdp panels don't burn (atleast it's bloody hard) and are relatively thin and energy efficient. The ONLY area they lose out to Samsung on is their SMART tv functions. But none of the makes are particularly brilliant in that area.

Panasonic LEDs are made in coordination with sharp etc as they built a factory together. As sharp have next to pulled out of the TV market they concentrate more on tablet screens these days (for a well known fruit company...). However they are one of the few companies using IPS panels, and like their plasmas have the most natural colour.

Samsung are renowned for the 'sexiest' and brightest - that's what sells their TVs. Their sound quality is poor and their colours over saturated.

Sony have lost their way as they have in so many markets. Picture isn't great. Sell on merit more than anything.

Another vote for Panasonic, we've got a TH46PZ81B plasma that is around 4 1/2 years old and it hasn't put a foot wrong. It replaced a Toshiba 46" LCD that went bang after 3 months. It has also proven to be pretty toddler proof too. The boy has attacked it with various toys and nothing has broken off and the screen is still great .

The only downside with Plasma tellies is the heat output (great in winter though) and they can consume a relatively large amount of power compared to LED backlit LCDs so that is worth checking.

Oh, and they need re-gassing every now and again

I presume that's a joke?

Just incase it isn't... Re-gassing is a fairytale. An urban myth. It is not possible and never has been!