I currently have a Panasonic TX32 PD30 CRT TV which won all sorts of awards when it came out for picture quality. I've had it about 2 years now and it's a good TV and destined not to break down for another ten years.

The trouble is I really want an HD telly for PS3 purposes. I've been to look at the picture quality on some HDTV's and the best I have seen is on the LCD TVs. I want full HD so 1920 x 1080p.

The one I have my eye on is Sony's X series 40" LCD, Sony KDL40X2000U. this is closely followed by Samsung's 1080p effort in the same size, but whilst the Samsung wins on price, the Sony has picture quality sewn up.

Any more that I should be considering?

Watch the Sony picture quality. The demo HD films they show have little or no moving content so everything looks crisp (unnaturally so IMO). I found all LCD TVs to suffer on moving pictures. Perhaps wait a little longer for the 2ms LCD panels to get to market.

Best picture quality I have seen in a long while was a recent 42" LG HD plasma.

Chris

Contrast ratio is a must. The higher, the better colours and blacks you'll get. My Samsung is 6000:1 - very few TV's touch it in the 32" arena

Next is refresh rate. You want this number as low as poss. This will help give sharp pics. Esp when coupled with high pixel size.

Finally, I'd say how many HDMI slots you get, and do you get any memory card slots or multimedia functions. Mine has 2x HDMI as well as a 15-in-1 reader and USB pictbridge connection, as well as the usual 2x scart, s-vid etc etc.

And if you like your surround sound, an optical and/or digital co-ax connection.

EDIT: to follow on from Chris' post, nearly all have a 'shop demo mode' which makes it seem better than it is in your home.

The sony W series is nearly the same as the X and looks very nice with 1080p footage

I did a comparative survey of stats on the internet for Samsung and Sony and on paper the Samsung wins. however that's all well and good but it's the picture quality that seals the deal for me.

I know that there are a bazzillion combinations in the settings to get the picture you want and it's worth spending some time. for me the Sony came tops due to the smoothness of moving pictures and minimum pixelation.

I went to the Sony centre first and they had Sky HD on show. Then I went to John Lewis and they had normal DVB on show. the Sony just seemed more natural and less jerky than the others.

The Panasonic Viera looked OK but I didn't see it in full HD mode.

The sony W series is nearly the same as the X and looks very nice with 1080p footage

I asked the guy in the shop about the W series. It's the same panel, but a diffferent processing chip which does make a difference. I viewed both TV's side to side and the X series was smoother, less pixelation and better contrast.

(I think I've made mmy mind up. LOL)

Tons of info here :-

Plasma TV Buying Guide: Offers Plasma Television, DLP TV and LCD TV Buying Tips

Plus comparison here for Plasma vs LCD

Plasma vs LCD TV - Plasma TV Buying Guide

As usual - for the Plasma - the Panasonics (then the Pioneers) come out tops

Cheers Val, I will forge through that info tomorrow I reckon.

Then do a Pricerunner.com

+ SVP.co.uk have got offers on TVs at the moment

If you can wait 6 months or so the next generation of 100hz or 120hz panels will be out which are supposed to be a lot better. They'll have a much smoother picture because of the high refresh rate... although I doubt I'll listen to my own advice lol as I want one now!

I reckon this is where my money will be going in either 40 or 46 inch flavour.

Samsung 1080P TV

The X and W series don't have the same panels. The X goes through a more stringent QA process. Of course, the electronics that drive them all differ. So whilst the Samsung and Sony panels come off the same production line, it's up to the companies to design the electronics that drive them.

I recently bought a 46" W series for my father (got one from work at an insane price) and it's very very good. My only criticism with it so far is that the on board image processor/scaler for converting a 1080i Sky HD picture to the native 1080p display is not perfect.

I'll have to take my PS3 over to his and see what it's like with a native 1080p source.

Also, be careful what you read on LCD vs Plasma technology. Both domains are making leaps and bounds in technology progress so the old arguments are no longer necessarily valid or have been diminished. I'm thinking here of the blown pixels you can have with LCD (the last 5 screens from reputable manufacturers such as Samsung and Sony I've seen have been all absolutely perfect). With plasma, it was screen burn so for anyone watching Sky with channels with burnt on logos, be prepared for screen burn. I'm pretty sure they've made improvements in this, but I think it's still an issue...

The "shop" mode is to be honest awful. Sales people use the "look at how bright and how punchy the colours are" argument. In real terms, the quality when at those settings is very bad - colour is all over the place and bleeding / peeking. Also, you'll find most shops have an animated / CG film on (any Pixar / Disney film) as this shows the set off, but doesn't mean it'll give you faithful, accurate colour reproduction on film material.

I'll admit working for the four-lettered Japanese manufacturer may give me a slightly biased opinion and I haven't seen the latest gen of plasmas showing off their stuff, so don't believe me if it looks like I say LCD is best. It's certainly lighter in weight and is not a radiator unlike a plasma, but you buy it for the picture it produces, not the kJ oh heat it throws out nor how painful it was to lift into the table / fix on the wall in the first place

I had a cheap HD TV a few months ago and gave it away. Bought a Sony because

of the superior picture quality

To be honest, I don't think there are any "cheap" Chinese spin-offs yet that have a native resolution of 1920x1080. You'll have to stick to the major well-known brands

Comet & Currys normally have good HD DVD playing on all TV's at the same time.

What the other LCD TV's show as Black or dark grey on their HD logo screen, mine see's as a nice silvery grey just like the CRTs. None of the Sony's I saw showed the colours correctly IMO against the CRTs there. Panasonic was awfull, LG was pixely.

Worth spending some time in a store like that. they also have some good photo stills of landscapes on their vid.

And always stand at least 1.5-2m away from the screen. Some look rubbish close up, but amazing at proper viewing distance. Others are the exact reverse - and obv avoided. Sis-in-laws LCD falls into the lattery with pixely/grainy pic unless your right up against it. Scan rate is dire too.

Am I alone here is seeing switching artefacts in all LCD televisions? Me mum was looking for a smallish 26" LCD tv and we looked at the best that Sony and Panasonic had to offer. Neither company's products were anywhere near as good as the CRT set she has at the moment (a top of the range Sony from around 8 years ago). All images that included moving subject matter were subject to visible ghosting, smearing and artificial texture on faces. Colours are usually overblown and the images seem artificially sharpened.

IMO (and in the opinion of a mate who sells the things for a living) the LCD television is still a very inferior image quality item.

Chris

Thanks for your input Xav, very useful. I must admit to being a bit of a Sony fanboy after owning various Sony electronica over the years and only ever being let down once with the SonyEricsson range of phones. I had an old Sony Trinitron CRT a few years back and it was a complete workhorse.

I've gone and ordered the Sony Bravia X2000 40" from PCWorld Business as surprisingly, they were cheapest on the internet comparison sites. It was

IIRC, Samsung released an HD CRT, but I only ever read an article about it and have never seen one in the flesh.

Do you know when you'll get your screen if you don't have it already? I've ordered one for a fellow Briskodian but it's taking ages to arrive

I'd be interested in your thoughts when you have one (I have a W )

IIRC, Samsung released an HD CRT, but I only ever read an article about it and have never seen one in the flesh.

Sadly the Samsung got poo reviews and the Vision Engineers I work with, don

Oh dear. :( Shame really, because grade 1 CRTs are the way to go. Shame their production is being stopped worldwide Although no one here could ever afford one, the picture produced is just like looking through a window

Oh dear. :( Shame really, because grade 1 CRTs are the way to go. Shame their production is being stopped worldwide Although no one here could ever afford one, the picture produced is just like looking through a window

Fear not oh stout hearted CRT Defender of the Faith. SED is nearly upon us and the great unwashed will rejoice in its brilliance (its sort of CRT-ish)

Pity I couldn't get to you before you ordered from PC world. After doing some research it seems the current trend is to price mtach internet companies with Jhon Lewis, the reason being they offer excellent customer service and include a free 5 year warranty.

Just been through the process myself and it's pretty painless. There are a few stipulations, it must be in stock, they must have a shop outlet and they will only match the shop price which does tend to be different to the web price.

John Lewis Pricematch Table - AV Forums

I've had to cancel my order with PC World Business. they kept putting the delivery date back. When I ordered it, they said 14 days. then I tracked the order and it was 1st June, then I checked back and it said date to be confirmed! so straight on the phone and cancellated. I'm still waiting for a refund so I'm still looking about. This has really soured my enthusiasm, i just wonder if all these other companies who advertise on the price comparison sites as 'In Stock' have actually got any of the product they advertise.

Harrumph!

I can't really do the John Lewis thing as PCWB hhaven't got it in stock. I did try that a few years ago with a Hi Fi and they gave me

I scoured the net for a decent supplier and phoned a few to see if they had it, and if it was on sale in a shop.

They match these as well as many others -

PRC Direct UK Electrical Retailer - Audio Visual and Home Cinema Products

Welcome to Crampton & Moore online store - - Crampton & Moore (TV) Ltd

God Bless You. i will print this off and attend at John Lewis in the morning! Commendable!

Did you have a look through the AV forums link I posted above. They list some handy tips and details of stores previously used for PM. You may need to press JL a little bit to get them right down and you also get another 28 days after the event to find it cheaper again.