LCD telly or a traditional one?

[scracha]

I seek the collective wisdom of the kiwibiker massiv....

Need a slightly bigger telly. Our livingroom is a wee bit bigger than the old one so the 21" is making my eyes go funny.

Now we're on council telly and I don't think we'll be able to get freeview over UHF. Is SKy my only option for HTDV?

Dunno whether to get a CRT or an LCD telly.
Is it only worth getting a LCD if we can get HDTV? Does normal telly look better, the same or shitty on an LCD?

If we're getting one, we'll get a 32" or possibly a 37" one as the bigger ones won't fit in the corner. Any recommendations? I see the Sony U series going for a mere grand in dork smiths although for the same peso's I can get a viewsonic 37" one.

[JimO]

i got a 50 inch plasma....fkn marvelous

[Hitcher]

What is "council telly"? I didn't think that the Matamata-Piako DC was that innovative.

And get a flat screen rather than a CRT. Plasma or LCD is a matter of personal preference. They're as good/bad as each other.

[Maverick]

Analogue tv is being switched off in 2012?, so upgrade now :)

[homer]

up grade when you have to itll be so cheap to by then

[Hitcher]

I wouldn't be in too much of a hurry to get Freeview. I'd be really fucked off if I had made the "free" investment earlier this year, now to find that that wasn't HD compatible. What's the next development that it won't be compatible with?

[1 Free Man]

Hey scracha.
I have had a SAMSUNG 32in LCD for 12 months now. Bought the same one for my daughter for her wedding and my dear old mum has bought the same model also. I have SKY as well as FREEVIEW. Picture is just double A1. Mum has Sky also a great picture. My daughter has regular arial picture pretty ho hum but watchable on most channels. If your going to do it go the whole hog and at least get the FREEVIEW well worth the extra spondoolies.
I was told that plasma is on it's way out that's why I went with LCD.
Hope this helps Good luck.

[CookMySock]

HDTV will never be broadcast via satellite. It's only domestic. However, the DVB freeview service IS VERY GOOD. It's not HD, and never will. (says my mate hooz a sky installer)

DB

[Usarka]

I got a samsung 32" LCD recently (the 2nd from top model) and am glad with my purchase.

recently plugged in a PS3 which is HD + blueray and it looks mint.

even over standard tv1,2,3 broadcast it is a huge step up from my 10yr old panasonic 21".

ps - if you ever plan to plug other stuff into it (like ps3, freeview etc) then you might be glad u got a lcd with up to date connections.

pps - unlikely to get a plasma at <42"

[Hitcher]

HDTV will never be broadcast via satellite.

Sky has HD ready to go. Via satellite. I refer to their advertising campaign.

[Blackbird]

Hi Steevie - just bought a Sony Bravia 32" flatscreen LCD. Had to go Freeview as the picture is pretty crap in Coromandel on a conventional aerial. Quality of the Bravia is very good indeed. Got it from 100% in Thames. Approx $2500 which included a Sony HD recorder/player. You get what you pay for in terms of spec and life.

[scracha]

Hitcher - Council Telly. For us Plebeians. As opposed to Sky.


Hi Steevie - just bought a Sony Bravia 32" flatscreen LCD. Had to go Freeview as the picture is pretty crap in Coromandel on a conventional aerial. Quality of the Bravia is very good indeed. Got it from 100% in Thames. Approx $2500 which included a Sony HD recorder/player. You get what you pay for in terms of spec and life.


Bravia U, V or P (dunno if it's in NZ?), or D?? I think there are others???
The U is $1000
The V is $1499
The D is $1899. Sony are throwing in a high def recorder thingie with the D & V but
a) I won't get high def unless I get sky and
b) I already have a (non high def) hard drive recorder and to be honest, I hardly use it anyway. a
c) I'd image Sky's high def is only 720p so no point in going crazy.
d) Not interested in PS2/PS3/Xbox etc etc and hardly even rent DVD's.

Been told the V is the one to go for but dunno if it's worth the extra peso's. Might be better to pocket the change, leave enough to get Sky, go racing and buy a couple of pints of Guiness now and then?. As much as I hate giving money to the rip off sky new zealand (compared to here (http://packages.sky.com/heroes?&lid=MODULE_SKY_PRODUCTS_threefor26img&lpos=MODULE_CONTENT)) I can only get TV-2, Prime, Three & Maori at the moment. Tv-1 is a bit fuzzy and Four is unwatchable.

What really farks me off....with the exception of the Viewsonic they only have a 1 year warranty. Even the ones at 6 grand. How the hell do they get away with that?

Mibby I should just save up for one of these bad boys.
http://www.inition.com.au/inition/product.php?URL_=product_stereovis_philips_4you&SubCatID_=0

[pete376403]

I have a 28" Panasonic 100hz CRT in the livingroom and an AWA 29" LCD in the bedroom. I believe the CRT actually has a better picture, even when both are playing back from DVD (Have Panasonic HDD / DVD in both rooms.
The LCD wins out with far more inputs including VGA, so I can hook the computer up to it, among other things.

[Mully]

There is now an HD freeview box available - as well as the SD one. Saw at Dick Smith t'other week.

I understand you can't game on Plasma, as they are more prone to burn in than LCD. Other than that, just what you prefer as far as LCD/Plasma

[Kendog]

Might be better to pocket the change, leave enough to get Sky, go racing and buy a couple of pints of Guiness now and then?

From your description of how much you use the telly, I would say this is the best plan.


I understand you can't game on Plasma, as they are more prone to burn in than LCD.
That used to be the case, but not these days from what I have heard.

[CookMySock]

Sky has HD ready to go. Via satellite. I refer to their advertising campaign.cough, really? Thats a bit embarrasing innit.. :buggerd:

DB

[martybabe]

HD is up and running on sky in the UK but only on certain channels and guess what, you have to pay extra to receive them, yay. :nono:

[Blackbird]

Bravia U, V or P (dunno if it's in NZ?), or D?? I think there are others???
The U is $1000
The V is $1499
The D is $1899. Sony are throwing in a high def recorder thingie with the D & V but


It's the V. Forgot to mention that the total price included telly, recorder/player, topbox, satellite dish,HDMI cable and cabinet. Had to pay extra to get someone to set up the dish.

[McJim]

Need a slightly bigger telly. Our livingroom is a wee bit bigger than the old one so the 21" is making my eyes go funny.
.

'snot the TV mate, it's all the pollution from the ICI factory when you were growing up!

you're a schemo fae skinflats - you wouldnae appreciate a decent TV. Go get a wireless. :rofl::Pokey:

[Tank]

HDTV will never be broadcast via satellite. It's only domestic. However, the DVB freeview service IS VERY GOOD. It's not HD, and never will. (says my mate hooz a sky installer)

DB

1/2 the US of A receive their HDTV via Satellite.

[k14]

Yeah sky is supposed to start broadcasting HD on some of the movie and sport channels starting july. Its anyones guess as to what the makeup will be of the packages. I have read somewhere that the movies with be 1080i and sport 720p but wouldn't bet on it.

I just want My Sky HD to come out so that standard My Sky becomes cheaper. Only got a CRT tv so no point in going high def. My Sky is pretty cool but not sure about it for $600.

As far as TV's go. The sony is pretty good but comes with the typical sony mark up. The panasonics and samsungs seem to have pretty good picture too. LCD is probably better (depends who you talk to) for up to 42", but above that they become quite a bit more expensive than the plasmas with similar picture quality. I'd steer clear from viewsonic just seeing as they are a no name brand (should stick to computer monitors hehe).

But probably the best thing you can do is go into lots of shops and test as many as you can. You'll be the one watching it so you're the best judge in the end.

[offrd]

HDTV will never be broadcast via satellite. It's only domestic. However, the DVB freeview service IS VERY GOOD. It's not HD, and never will. (says my mate hooz a sky installer)

DB

So now sky are going to broadcast HDTV off satellite... tell ya mate to eat his shorts.....:Playnice:

LCD is the way to go, Plasma is old school, uses too much power and has screen failures (as in pixles drop out or go green) and only one company now continues to make the "plasma screen"

HDTV via Freeview should be good, once they get their ass into gear...... the UHF signal for the terrestrial boxes to work can get down pretty low and no problems! I pick it up from Hamilton here in Tokoroa!

[Kornholio]

LCD>Plasma.......... HDTV dunno...normal TV is clear enough for this banjo player....probably 37" is best value for money at this stage..........

[Naki Rat]

If you are after a great picture you cannot beat (digital) LOEWE. They are Europe's biggest selling TV and even though they have now gone the LCD/plasma their CRT version still beats ANY LCD/plasma hands down. Our 32" widescreen Planus has a 3 way sound system that sounds great too - who needs a home theatre system!

Go the Trade Me way and you should find a 32" a couple of years old for a grand or so.

[Usarka]

i watched my first HD blu-ray movie the other night on my lcd. My immediate thoughts were how visible skin imperfections are on actors (pores etc).

this may *not* be a good move for the porn industry!?! :innocent:

[edit:] it wasn't a pron movie that i watched, sheesh!

[vifferman]

If you are after a great picture you cannot beat (digital) LOEWE. .
We had a 28" Loewe, and a couple of weeks ago, it crapped out (for the second time!). This time, it was terminal: "Sorry, Mate - the transformer's gone, it's not worth fixing, and even if we did fix it, it would just need further repairs down the line..." So, I paid $28 to have it recycled.

We shopped around, and I was going to buy either a Samsung or Sony LCD, but ended up buying a 37" Panasonic plasma. Why 37"? Well... it fitted in our nice rimu cabinet, with about 1.5cm to spare on each side...
Why Plasma?
Well... we looked at a plasma and LCD side by side, and the picture on the plasma was better (better contrast, crisper picture), so my wife said "I want that one!" I asked the repairman about brands, types, etc, and he said most brands are good, and that LCDs not uncommonly blow their backlighting tubes, which cost $400 or more to replace, so to get an extended warranty. I asked the salesdude, and he said pretty much the same thing. The big problem with plasmas is the screen is glass so it reflects light, and the power consumption. Our CRT used 90W, the LCD was 190W, and the plasma uses 310W.
But we're really pleased with it - the picture and features (such as the link with our Panasonic HDD/DVD recorder) are really good. Unfortunately, the PS3 works really well on it, and BlueRay movies are incredibly clear, so the PS3 has moved upstairs permanently...
And it was only $1630. :clap:
I'm not so pleased that last night when we turned Prime on to watch the eejits go to the magnetic North Pole, the picture was crap. "Uh... oh yeah - that's been like that since last night/"
Fuckit.
Up on the roof in the dark (it was rahter slippery on wet tiles), CRCed everything, unlatched the connector on the UHF aerial and emptied out all the water, and the pix fine again. And I didn't fall off and break my neck, so that was a bonus (to some...)

[ynot slow]

If reception is crap go the sky way over freeview,you can get prime on sky,not f/v so I am told.With sky you can pay the decoder rental which is $20month?and get free install if they are promoting as long as it is signed up for 12mths.

[T.I.E]

LCDis better than plasma over a long term. plasma being plasma like in blood, will degrade and the picture will become blurry over time. you will not notice it over a long period, as it is a slow degrade.
LCD liquid crystal display will not degrade. it like a television is made up of dots like pixles. they however can stop working. you will start losing one dot at a time but resolution will not change.
so a slow blur or a dot at a time.
and i would go high defination if you can, it wont be long before freeview will transmit high def, they can and they will. they can also do it via satellite and have had the ability to do so for quite some time. also there are some movies out (yes only some) that are blue ray or high def movies. but you need a DVD player to use them.
if you have the money my choice i would go high def LCD. otherwise hold out and wait. save the money and wait til they get a bit cheaper. and wait for the movies and or for the tv stations sky or freeview to transmit high def.

[imdying]

Someone mentioned to me the other day that you can sign up for Sky for a month and cancel within 30 days... is that the case? If so, easy way to get a dish installed :laugh:

[Trouser]

I have got freeview HD on my sony 32" u series and it rocks the party. The sony tuner is quite rubbish but the freeview is very clear. The HD programmes on tv3 look very good.

DSE sell a rebranded zinwell decoder for $100 less than the actual zinwell.

[Hitcher]

Freeview? I don't want two set-top boxes and another remote control, thank you very much. I also don't want to have to invest in some sort of switching device to allow me to change from one box to the other, and all of the other faffing around that would be required for me to want to record anything. I also don't want to have to fanny around with an external aerial or a satellite dish.

"Free"view my arse.

But come the Olympics, I can see the State broadcaster playing silly buggers as they endeavour to exploit their position. Bugger them.

[ynot slow]

The Olympics,can't wait (serious),except for the adds we will endure.You think they will put a coke or visa add in during the 100mts?If they could they bloody would,imagine the fun of that.

[soundbeltfarm]

got one of those panasonic 42 inch plasma tv that are on special yesterday ,
it looked good in the shop compared to a couple of others.
still not set on which size i'll get because i was getting the 50 inch but it did seem pretty big so will try the 42 and if it seeems to small they'l bring out the 50 to try that.
also got a home theatre sound system thingymajiggy.
hope it sounds good,
dont know nothing about it except it was about 800 , it panasonic and has speakers with no wires for the back ones.
as you can see i no not much about this sort of stuff,
if i am happy once we get it all going, well thats all that i care about.
a couple shops said we wont get hd here for ages yet anyway, and it upscales blu ray pretty good. we put the one we bought and the true hd model side by side and ran that panasonic blu ray demo disc and could tell no difference, well i couldn't anyway.
do you think getting a ps3 is better than getting a proper blu ray player as i can kill 2 birds with one stone?
only thing i was told is that to play ps2 games i'll need the high spec model. is this correct?
karl

[ynot slow]

Hell aint the drying off of farming great hehe,mind you with the crap weather lately,after feeding out,drying yourself what better than sitting in front of the box with a fire and beer(coffee).

[Mikkel]

TV sucks!

Get cable broadband - download what you want to watch and beat the commercials (i.e. www.piratebay.org) - get a projector and you're set.

You can not buy sanity points...

[vifferman]

LCDis better than plasma over a long term. plasma being plasma like in blood, will degrade and the picture will become blurry over time.
That was true of earlier plasma TVs, but newer ones have similar lifetimes to good LCDs - about 60,000 hours.


LCD liquid crystal display will not degrade. it like a television is made up of dots like pixles. they however can stop working. you will start losing one dot at a time but resolution will not change.
so a slow blur or a dot at a time.
Also the backlighting can go, at a cost of up to $500 - very common.

Some other advantages of plasma:- better contrast, true blacks, no blurring of movement, wider viewing angle.

[NZsarge]

Mmm, go the LCD or Plasma but make sure it's HD "ready".:niceone:

Pioneer plasma Tv's are mint! But you do pay for them!
If you go LCD I reckon Sony.

[ynot slow]

WTF put money towards a bike much better idea,can still see from a 21" as a 42"LCD,but the extra coin gets a good deposit.:scooter:

[T.I.E]

That was true of earlier plasma TVs, but newer ones have similar lifetimes to good LCDs - about 60,000 hours..

they start degrading well before that. 60,000 hours is when they are almost non watchable. and yes they do have a better contrast not that many people notice that. and i totally agree with the blur on the movement, thats very annoying with LCD. espically with sports or motogp....:eek5:
long gevity LCD will outlast plasma.

[Fub@r]

I did the whole LCD vs Plasma thing last year.

Decided who had the best deals on which was Harvey Norman at the time. Spent probably 2 hours looking at the various brands for both types.

Noticable thing for me was LCD's during a pan shot seemed to either have a blur or were jerky. Also it seemed like the LCD's appeared more "pixely".

The final crunch came (seeing I didn't have Sky etc) was to get them to switch the TV's off the HD stuff they were playing and flick it to normal TV tranmission........Plasma won hands down! The LCD's you might as well have been watching it in a hailstorm, the picture was grainy from the cheapest LCD right through to the 8k LCD's.

So I purchased a 42" Panasonic Viera Plasma, I've had the TV now for nearly 12 months and have had no change in the power bill. Also ditched the Freeview and got Sky :) Got tired of watching 30 yr old episodes of Country Calender

[vifferman]

So I purchased a 42" Panasonic Viera Plasma
Oooh... it's gonna go blurry / fadey / catch on fire / burn a hole in the ozone layer / blah blah blah. :crazy:

We've got the 37" Viera, and a five-year warranty. Love it!
Have you tried watching summat hi-def, like a BluRay movie on it? It's gob-smackingly good! :niceone:

The only 'issue' we have with ours (and it's probably summat simple like a setting) is that sound coming through the Viera link from the DVD/HDD is quieter than through the other DVD or the receiver.

[ManDownUnder]

Hi Steevie - just bought a Sony Bravia 32" flatscreen LCD. Had to go Freeview as the picture is pretty crap in Coromandel on a conventional aerial. Quality of the Bravia is very good indeed. Got it from 100% in Thames. Approx $2500 which included a Sony HD recorder/player. You get what you pay for in terms of spec and life.

Ditto! Good choice my man.

Waiting for the video DVD recorder thingy as we speak.

[bladerider97]

We have both. A 42" Panasonic Plasma & 32" Sony LCD.
The plasma is brighter and easier to watch in a sunny room, and seems better at fast moving things like sport & gaming.
The LCD is sharper, but does suffer a bit when you feed it a poor quality signal.
Other things to note, the LCD has a matt screen so you dont get any background reflection, but you do on the plasma.

As for plasma life the early ones did burn out rather quick. But now there is no difference than an LCD, they loose half there brightness after 60,000 hours thats 5 hours a day for 32 years (and I only have my brightness turned up to about 60%).

Make sure you buy a HD one this will future proof you, cause you never no what will happen in the next 32 Years.