How do you choose a new tv?

[Mrs Pingu]

I'm not buying a new telly yet, cos Pingu won't let me. But our current one does occasional weird stuff and I'd quite like to be semi prepared so that in the event of its death I know what to look for.

Having looked back at some other tv threads on here I see that Sony Bravias are quite highly thought of.
Just having an idle look on the Sony website and having narrowed it down to one size of screen, there were lots and lots tv's listed in their guide - it all seemed a bit daunting.
How would one go about narrowing it down?

[tiermat]

As you will have seen from one of the other threads, there are several models in the Bravia range, from cheap to expensive.

IIRC I posted a link explaining the difference, I'll just go and hunt it down for you...

EDIT:  Here you go... eBay.co.uk Guides - Sony Bravia Model Numbers

[border-rider]

Our telly-choosing process was:

Go to Comet and look at them all.
Decide Sony Bravias have the best pictures and look OK when switched off

OK, so it's a Bravia.  the other factors were that we wanted 26 or 32" - no bigger.  Anything bigger would have been too dominant in the room, plus at 40" and above we'd have been thinking about plasma

Given that constraint, the Xs & Ws are ruled out as they are 40" and bigger.  So we decided on S (with the Bravia engine) and we decided on the  dark grey case (2010 variant).  So: KDL26S2010U it was

Could have gone for a V I suppose, but at the time they were quite a bit dearer

[clarion]

Spend the money on bikes instead - lots more vfm entertainment-wise

[Rhys W]

The mistake I made was not to ask to look at the remotes. The one for my Toshiba is cheap and nasty. My sister's Panasonic otoh, is a joy to use.

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

Me? "That's the size I want, that's the colour I want, can we go now?"

[clarion]

That's my shopping strategy for anything

Well, there's the occasional "How much? Let's go."

[geraldc]

My purchase was based on picture/sound and then
Price
Resolution
Inputs


Inputs are very important to me.

I have a lot of AV sources, with PS3 and HD Satellite, I use Component leads for that (only one input, so I swap leads a lot). Computer connects through DVI socket, and there's a spare SCART on the back as well.

If you want to make the most of your new HD TV, then you'll need to figure out what you'll be watching. I couldn't be bothered getting a built in freeview decoder, as I knew I'd be using HD AV sources.

I went for a TV with 1050 vertical lines, as I use it as a monitor now and again, and even though I could have a got a larger TV with 720 lines, I wanted the extra resolution rather than screen size.

I'm looking to get another TV soon, but I think I'll hold out for a cheaper 1080p TV first.

[Wowbagger]

Don't buy one. It's all crap anyway.

[hellymedic]

Don't buy one. It's all crap anyway.

[dkahn400]

eBay. Does this one look all right? What's his feedback like? Oh, pretty good, OK then.

[andyoxon]

I guess you've probably seen the "LCD TV tomorrow" thread...  We got our 26" Bravia (T3000) from Amazon (more or less the cheapest price at the time - early Sept.), and we're very happy with it.  But something to beware of...  I notice the model we bought is now £100 dearer on Amazon, because it's no longer sold direct from amazon, but via the amazon 'marketplace' by a third party...  It's still listed as current on the Sony website... perhaps some websites (on marketplace?) up the price once the big retailers stop selling it...?  Still, if you don't mind 'smaller' website retailer there always seem to be good prices out there...

[Manotea]

We are working up to going big scree, possibly for Christmas time.

Master Manotea, recently departed for university, will be severely annoyed!

The other question is in which room to put it, as we have two living rooms, one for the grown ups and one for the kids...

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

The other question is in which room to put it, as we have two living rooms, one for the grown ups and one for the kids...

The grown-up one. Let the kids make do with a black and white portable which loses its vertical hold every so often.

[Manotea]

The other question is in which room to put it, as we have two living rooms, one for the grown ups and one for the kids...

The grown-up one. Let the kids make do with a black and white portable which loses its vertical hold every so often.

The problem with that approach is we'll suffer an invasion of hulking teenagers who's viewing preferences do not coincide with ours...

[Mrs Pingu]

Our telly-choosing process was:

Go to Comet and look at them all.

Going to Comet = bleurgh!

Rear projection? What does that do then

[Wowbagger]

The other question is in which room to put it, as we have two living rooms, one for the grown ups and one for the kids...

The grown-up one. Let the kids make do with a black and white portable which loses its vertical hold every so often.

The problem with that approach is we'll suffer an invasion of hulking teenagers who's viewing preferences do not coincide with ours...

Not if you take all your clothes off to watch it.

[rafletcher]

Rear projection? What does that do then

Nothing to do with your behind looking big - they're the humungous ones you see in pubs, literally projecting an image onto a screen. Not I would have though for domestic use.

[Wowbagger]

An ex-bro-in-law came up with an early example when he worked in a telly shop in the 1960s and 70s.

I reckon this old heap of garbage originated in the early 1950s. It didn't have a CRT - or at least,  if it did, a tiny one,  the B & W picture from which was projected onto a translucent screen to give a picture about 11" in diameter. Best watched with the lights off.

[ian]

Rear projection? What does that do then

Nothing to do with your behind looking big - they're the humungous ones you see in pubs, literally projecting an image onto a screen. Not I would have though for domestic use.

I have one. And I don't live in a pub. Well, not all the time. It's a Samsung 45 inch HD thing. It's actually surprisingly skinny - probably about 30 cm deep at the back, so far less than a CRT, though LCD and plasmas are, of course, thinner. Essentially, it's a projector in a box with a big screen at the front. Served me well for the last 3 or 4 years. I preferred the picture quality to a plasma, which always looked a little harsh to my sensitive little eyes. Anyway, I like it and it works well in my cinema-for-a-living room (as a bonus, there are also no feral youth munching crisps and making calls on their mobile during a movie, either).

I suspect they're a niche product now, given the ubiquity of plasmas and LCDs in that size range.

[mr magnolia]

How would one go about narrowing it down?

Go to John Lewis.

Buy what looks good and is affordable.

get 5yr warranty with it - pay about the same as at Comet; more than via interweb but with 5 yr warranty thrown in.

We got a Panasonic 26" - I think it should have been 32"; Mrs m says its fine.

[Mrs Pingu]

It's been quite interesting having a squint at all of this tonight.....
The old one will probably wobble on for the next 10 years now just to spite me!

[rafletcher]

Go to John Lewis.

Buy what looks good and is affordable.

get 5yr warranty with it - pay about the same as at Comet; more than via interweb but with 5 yr warranty thrown in.

John Lewis - "never knowingly undersold" - so will price match for exact same product.

[border-rider]

Going to Comet = bleurgh!

Indeed, especially as it was in a particularly featureless wasteland bit of Swindon

But you can have fun laughing at the poor fools who actually buy stuff from there, as opposed to going home and finding it on t'web for half the price.   I think our TV was about £300 more in Comet than we paid

[andyoxon]

Going to Comet = bleurgh!

Indeed, especially as it was in a particularly featureless wasteland bit of Swindon

But you can have fun laughing at the poor fools who actually buy stuff from there, as opposed to going home and finding it on t'web for half the price.   I think our TV was about £300 more in Comet than we paid

 I went into a local electrical store to see the TVs first, before buying online (as you suggested ).  I really wonder how they sell anything.  It was about 5.30pm (closing time 7 or 8pm), and I was the only person looking at the TVs.  There was a posse of staff gathered around chatting and ignoring me pacing out the size of our living room, peering at TVs etc.  I hunted someone down and asked about bases, and he gave a short answer and that was it... No - can I help?  What are you after?   Perhaps I had 'online purchase' written all over my face.  The prices were vastly more than online, but what staggered me was the total lack of any interest in selling any of it it...  Perhaps if they cut their prices more and tried harder to shift it, things would improve...