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I'm normally very good at deciding which electronics to buy but I'm pulling my hair out (well, whats left of it!) over choosing a cheapish 32" for my kids.
Its amazing the choice out there, nearly as bad as mobile contracts and phones!
I'm looking for a 32" LCD with freeview, HDMI, VGA, SCART, component etc. Something not to big (i.e. not a huge housing around the screen) and under £450. Its going to be used for tv, video and Xbox 360 and PS3 so it must support their HD output (some TVs with HD support don't seem able to cope with 1080 or even 720 HD resolutions and drop back to non-HD 576)
The best I have come up with so far is this
viewsonic N3246w for £379.97 which I saw in Currys today (their price is £450). I think its an older model
I'd prefer suggestions from people who actually have what they are suggesting and therefore can give direct feedback, rather than people suggesting stuff because they read it was good somewhere.
what have you all got that meets these needs?
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Posted: 2007-05-13 16:31:54
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Well, to be honest I wouldn't trust these noname brands. I know Viewsonic is a big time computer screen maker, but there LCD's are not very good at all. So, you can imagine the TV's they making. What I always, say, if you want something buy it from people with experence in that product. I guess you wouldn't buy a Ford mobile...
So, the thing is it seems like you have to spend a bit more, but believe me it will well worth it. I found 2 models on the Curry's website and both of them is proper.
http://www.currys.co.uk:80/ma[....]sku=439888&category_oid=-30633
http://www.currys.co.uk:80/ma[....]&tm=0&sku=417065&category_oid=
What you have to know is, the Samsung isn't a new model, but it's well made. Picture quality with SD sources aren't that great, but with HD matterial such as PS3 or SkyHD is just breathtaking. I know because my mum has 2 of them.
The Toshiba is a very strange model and it's only a ouple of weeks old. It has a very, very good, maybe the best picture quality with SD, but not very good with HD.
As you see, it's not so easy to find a best model, but with a bit of time you will find something, which will be OK, for 4-5 years.
Some reviews:
1, Two random Viewsonic review:
http://www.trustedreviews.com[....]iewsonic-n2060w-20in-LCD-TV/p1
http://www.trustedreviews.com[....]iewSonic-N4060w-40in-LCD-TV/p1
2, The Samsung I was talking about. It's almost the same model:
http://www.trustedreviews.com[....]sung-LE32R74BDX-32in-LCD-TV/p1
3, The Toshiba's, big brother, but the screen is a same in the 32'.
http://www.trustedreviews.com[....]-Regza-42C3030D-42in-LCD-TV/p1
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[ This Message was edited by: chrisfirst on 2007-05-13 16:22 ]
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Posted: 2007-05-13 17:14:44
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thanks. yeah I didn't want to get into that sort of money. If I did I would go for the newer version of the Samsung that you mention, that is the
LE32R88BD at Dixons which, with voucher codes 25MAYAW and SAM32 can be had for £517 (
Hot UK Deals thread)
I must have looked at 50+ different TVs now and Samsung have always stood out above the rest...
but... this is for my kids and I need to get 2, one for each of their rooms, and I don't think they will be as critical as me. They'll just be happy to have a big(ish) lcd
I stood in front of the viewsonic this morning for 15 minutes and I thought it was good. it was only being fed by a coaxial signal too! I also thought currys own brand Orion 32" was not bad but it didn't have freeview.
I also saw a fantastic 52" Samsung plasma for £1200 but thats another story!
So I appreciate the comments and if money was no object I'd get a couple of the 32" samsungs, but I have to keep to a bit of a budget really
any other suggestions for me please?
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Posted: 2007-05-13 17:42:18
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Recently bought a Panasonic Viera 32" for the study, and I'm happy to recommend it. I't's got buit-in freeview, and HDMI (only one input though). Picture seems quite vibrant and clear. Had it for a month or so, and am happy with it.
Got it from Richer Sounds
http://www.richersounds.com/s[....]showproduct&pid=PANA-TX32LXD60 who list it for £499.95, but I got it for £450 from them (London Bridge shop, in case you fancy some haggling).
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Posted: 2007-05-15 00:50:24
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thanks. I should get down to Richer Sounds some time as I've heard good things about them, and someone at work yesterday was giving good comments about Panasonic Viera too.
For now I've gone a for a special deal for this week. Its an
AOC L32W551T which is available from
Intekx for £325.50
I've had a couple of AOC lcd monitors in the past and they have been very good. Also these have had good reports in a couple of threads, one
here on The DVD forums (with live pics) and
here on Avforums
you don't get freeview for that price but its the one spec I mentioned that can be added externally and I already have 2 digiboxes, a standard philips one and the fantastic
Humax PVR-9200t twin tuner with 160gb hard drive. If anyone is looking for a pvr then this is definitly worth a serious look. Its limited only by freeview capabilities i.e. no link-to-series like sky has but apparantly that is coming to freeview too soon.
anyway, this tv will arrive today so if its as good as the reports suggest I'll order a second and if not I'll go check out that Panasonic
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Posted: 2007-05-15 07:27:31
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I have that very Panasonic.... And gotta say its bloomin fantastic.
My xbox 360 looks awesome on it and the picture quality through normal TV is also very good. Has plenty of connections on the back... Only thing missing really is lack of PC input but i would never want to use it for that anyway
All in all an excellent TV and for £450 a bargain as i paid £600 two months ago!!!! And not so long ago it was £1000!!!!
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Posted: 2007-05-15 11:45:36
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sounds definitly worth checking out for the kids second one then, thanks.
I'm learning my lessons by getting the kids sorted first before spending the big bucks on a 50-52" screen for the living room.
So far Samsung and Sharp have caught my eye but following these comments I will also see what Panasonic have to offer.
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Posted: 2007-05-15 11:53:01
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richer sounds are good as mentioned above, i bought a Phillips 26'' HD lcd from there and its great. they are very competitive on price, and will beat Empire direct, who have rubbish cust service.
Richer have good cust service too. apart from that theres dixons online, and theres usually discount codes on google to make them even cheaper.
from personal experience, Phillips and Sony make the best LCD's and i have spend a lot of time with 2 Phillips, 1 sony 1 LG and 1 Samsung.
hope this helps
EDIT: for the big bucks you must try out one from the Philips Cineos range - i have one in my living room and its awsome, has Pixel Plus 2/3 and Clear LCD, where you cant actually see the surface of the LCD when watching!
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[ This Message was edited by: batesie on 2007-05-15 11:02 ]
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Posted: 2007-05-15 11:58:11
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Do they sell Westinghouse LCD TVs where you are? Their 1080p monitors are an amazing value. I have a 42" for 4 months now and could not be happier.
http://www.westinghousedigital.com/
IMO 1080p resolution is a must for computer usage, and also for "future-proofing" should the HDTV standard by upgraded.
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Posted: 2007-05-15 16:58:40
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in Australia Westinghouse make fridges and freezers
mind you so do LG
1080p is good for most things these days but I've read that in Japan you can get upto 4320p now!!
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Posted: 2007-05-15 17:15:46
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