I've currently got a 41" 4:3 Sony rear projection TV (KP-41S4U) which I've had around 8yrs now and I'm still very happy with the picture quality from the set. However I'm currently planning a remodel for the house and the current TV doesn't really fit in with those plans. Also I have better sources now which would really benefit from a display which will accept component inputs.

My sources are a Freeview harddrive which outputs RGB via scart, a DVD with progressive scan output via component and xbox (1) which is setup as a media centre and can output anything upto 1080i via component (so would probably be used as the main DVD source as well due to better upscaling).

I mainly watch Freeview and downloaded content (some which is HD) on approx 50/50 split. I very rarely play games. I have no intention of getting Sky HD at the moment.

So the new TV needs to accept the above mentioned inputs and doesn't really need a built-in freeview tuner. I'm undecided between LCD and Plasma but from what I've read in the likes of What HiFi and Home Cinema Choice I'm currently leaning towards a Plasma, in particular a Panasonic one.

So given all of the above which 37" 16:9 TV would you recommend and is there any deals out there I should be looking at?

Currys have a plasma 37 , think its panasonic , on sale at

Currys have a plasma 37 , think its panasonic , on sale at

Would a plasma last as long as your previous TV (8 years)

I know some of the early Plasma's had poor longevity, not sure about the new ones?

Would a plasma last as long as your previous TV (8 years)

I know some of the early Plasma's had poor longevity, not sure about the new ones?

I don't think longevity is a problem with current plasma's.

they (lcd and plasma) provide an average of around 60,000 hours under normal viewing conditions before they lose more than half their original brightness - that's 27 years of viewing for six hours a day, every day

That's less that 7 years if you leave it on 24/7.

Confirm that point , life for LCD and Plasma are about the same now . Main point is the contrast and colour ratio , some of the LCD flooding the market are very poor in this area , whereas the Plasma are at the opposite scale if one is going to 37 or above most reports/reviews recomend following the Plasma path with the contrast ratio being up to 5 times better .

LG RZ37LZ55 at Richer Sounds - HI-FI Separates, Home Cinema, Speakers, MP3 DVD Portables, Plasma LCD, etc.

The LGRZ37LZ55, for the price its easily comparable to Samsung units of double the price (Which I originally had but sent back in favour of the LG) and in my opinion (ignoring the incredibly low price) is a fantastic TV with all the connections you need. Its got an internal 'XD engine' which does all sorts of wizardry-trickery-magicy-goodness and the resulting picture (even from an SD source looks be-u-tiful. (IMO) If you've got a Richersounds near you, call them and go take a look.. and if you're disapointed I'll eat my words, twice.

Oh.. and best of all, when boxed it'll easily fit in the back of an Octy!!

LG RZ37LZ55 at Richer Sounds - HI-FI Separates, Home Cinema, Speakers, MP3 DVD Portables, Plasma LCD, etc.

The LGRZ37LZ55, for the price its easily comparable to Samsung units of double the price (Which I originally had but sent back in favour of the LG) and in my opinion (ignoring the incredibly low price) is a fantastic TV with all the connections you need. Its got an internal 'XD engine' which does all sorts of wizardry-trickery-magicy-goodness and the resulting picture (even from an SD source looks be-u-tiful. (IMO) If you've got a Richersounds near you, call them and go take a look.. and if you're disapointed I'll eat my words, twice.

Oh.. and best of all, when boxed it'll easily fit in the back of an Octy!!

Unfortunately that's too wide as will be any TV with speakers on the side like that.

and it's an lcd...eurgh

I am impressed with the Samsung 37 lcd as the contrast ratioo is 5000 , most other makes are in the 800 to 1200 band , with the plasmas up at 8 to 10k , samsung are also doing an lcd at 6000 contrast , apparently this is one of the most important factors for a large screen in enabling the Black and colour density . Most lcd on the market , struggle to get above 800 , mainly due to the panels not being manufactured by the named TV suppliers but a small supply base .

add to above Panasonic are one of the few manufacturers who produce their own LCD and Plasma Panels in House .

didn't think you could get a true black with an lcd, due to the backlight?

I am impressed with the Samsung 37 lcd as the contrast ratioo is 5000 , most other makes are in the 800 to 1200 band....

Is it not maybe just down to the way they measure it though? Eg I have a samsung monitor that apparently has a 2ms response time, but that's just because they define response time in a odd fashion.

What I want to know is, if I sit X metres away from my TV, how big a screen should I buy (because too big apparently cause eyestrain, and too small is for peasants)? I can't find a guide to that anywhere :confused:

As a rule of thumb' date=' watching from a distance about five-six times the height of your TV works well for standard definition NTSC and PAL pictures, while this distance drops to 3-4 times the height of your TV for HD, because of that format’s greater clarity. If you measure your viewing distance you can use this to work out the sort of TV size you should be looking at.

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or 3 x the diagonal dim for SD and 2 x the diagional dim for HD is an adequate rule of thumb without getting into pythag/trig

Hhhmm then by my calculations if my sofa is 3 metres from the TV - I think it's about this distance - then to enjoy HD I'd need an 80" display :eek:

I don't think they make them that big but if they did, they would probably come with a free guide-dog

Maybe I need to check my workings (I used the 3x height method) :confused:

Hhhmm then by my calculations if my sofa is 3 metres from the TV - I think it's about this distance - then to enjoy HD I'd need an 80" display :eek:

I don't think they make them that big but if they did, they would probably come with a free guide-dog

Maybe I need to check my workings (I used the 3x height method) :confused:

3m viewing distance for HD would need a 59" diagonal screen by my reckoning slightly more for the height methods

Either way, I probably wouldn't have to turn the central heating on ever again. Or be able to afford to, either

I have got a 37" Tosh, very impressed with it, speaker's are at the bottom, built in freeview and 2 HDMI's along with Component, PC, Svideo, Scart etc etc.

Nice old fashioned black as well, makes it a little more discreet in the corner of the living room. Model is WLT66/67 Regza, got good reviews on various sites as well

3m viewing distance for HD would need a 59" diagonal screen by my reckoning slightly more for the height methods

I think you'd need more than that for HD, as perceivable acuity won't really give you the most. There's a link on the net somewhere where you plumb in numbers and it gives you recommended distance, size, etc.

The THX spec says you should be about 1.5 times the distance from the screen, so anything more than a couple of metres away means going big.

I say get a projector. Better still, get a full 1080 HD projector, now that's bea-u-tiful :D