Recommend me a TV please

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 kipper12 26 Jan 2020

Hi

I’m in the market for a new tv, but the plethora of sets has left me confused.  Briefly, I’m after a set around the 40 to 45 inch mark and a budget of around £400.  I won’t be using a satellite connection, only free view, either in built or a box.  I do want a smart tv though.  A bonus would be a hard drive recorder, but not a deal breaker.

If anyone has done this recently, I’d be interested to know what you went for and if you are.

thanks

 Neil Williams 26 Jan 2020
In reply to kipper12:

Whichever one you get also budget for a sound bar (or connect to your hi-fi speakers if you have one).  ALL flat screen TVs, even expensive ones (and £400 is well down the budget end for a large screen), have awful sound.  This is because the demand for almost frameless designs means the speaker is on the back.

Post edited at 16:05
 elsewhere 26 Jan 2020
In reply to kipper12:

Count the number of HDMI inputs and count how many you might need (Blu-ray, laptop, digibox, Google/Amazon/other device).

Don't buy a new digibox yet, TV might do that if you plug in a usb drive to record onto. Try that first.

Mini keyboard with mousepad connection by Bluetooth dongle - another usb socket. Makes a built in browser usable compared to using TV remote.

Ethernet if possible better than WiFi or maybe I just have poor router.

We got LG with webOS* I suspect any TV "smartness" will obsolete long before the TV packs up so you'll eventually end up plugging more gizmos in - hence count the connections.

*already obselete or TV CPU just lacking oomph for some websites

 Tom Valentine 26 Jan 2020
In reply to kipper12:

I have a 26" set, fits in the chimney breast alcove nicely, viewing distance is in the order of 9 or 10 feet (front room, pre-war semi).

This set-up produces howls of derision down at the pub where it seems that, unless an entire wall of your house is covered by pixels, you aren't getting the full benefit. 

Accepting that there are different bands of efficiency for TV sets, I still suspect that as a rule of thumb, larger sets use more energy.

Compared to heating and electric ovens ,TV energy use is obviously not in the same league, but then , neither were light bulbs.

 Jamie Wakeham 26 Jan 2020
In reply to Tom Valentine:

My six year old 48" Samsung claims a typical 63W. A four hour session is going to consume about 240Wh, or 0.24kWh, or (at 15p/kWh) just over 3p of electricity. 

I would guess that power consumption will probably scale with screen area, so a gargantuan 96" will be about four times as much. Compared to old CRT TVs that's still peanuts. 

In reply to kipper12:

I had very good service from the local branch of Richer Sounds when I was last looking for a TV. They know their stuff, based on my experience. Plus you can see the TV operating, which is far better than deciding based on specifications or someone else's opinion.

Find your local branch and go in for a chat. You'll get more and better advice there than you will here, for all the splendid people that make suggestions.

T.

No connection, just a happy customer.

 wilkie14c 26 Jan 2020
In reply to kipper12:

My mate has got himself a new one this week, An LG, fits your size and budget but what impressed me was the remote, point it at the screen and a kind of mouse pointer appears and you just move the remote and the pointer moves, just like using a laser pointer. Excellent for youtube, amazon, netflix etc. It has 4 HDMI ports too.

Something I want on my next telly.

Post edited at 19:21
OP kipper12 26 Jan 2020
In reply to Pursued by a bear:

Sounds a plan

OP kipper12 26 Jan 2020
In reply to wilkie14c:

Thanks

 Blue Straggler 26 Jan 2020
In reply to wilkie14c:

Mate of mine who works in high end AV has been swearing by LG for this sort of size and budget for years. 

 Ridge 26 Jan 2020
In reply to Neil Williams:

> Whichever one you get also budget for a sound bar (or connect to your hi-fi speakers if you have one).  ALL flat screen TVs, even expensive ones (and £400 is well down the budget end for a large screen), have awful sound.  This is because the demand for almost frameless designs means the speaker is on the back.

Depends how high quality audio you want. We were weighing up soundbars, but when we got our new tv (43” Samsung Q 60) we found the sound was absolutely fine for watching TV/films.

Samsung are very good in terms of the hardware, but it took me a while to work out how to disable a lot of bloatware and annoying ads when the menu bar opened.

Also a +1 for Richer Sounds, excellent company to deal with, even if we we did it all online as we don't have a local branch.

 Neil Williams 26 Jan 2020
In reply to Ridge:

Personally I want the audio not to be worse than an old style TV with the speaker on the front, which every flat-panel I've come across is.

One thing that makes a difference, FWIW, is where you mount it.  Rear speakers sort of work if it's on a wall bracket against a flat wall.  If you put it in the corner as per a traditional TV on a stand, you get distortion.  But even so the quality just doesn't seem to be there on the ones I tried, though I've not tried that particular model.

I'm no audiophile nor do I spend out on premium kit, but I do get miffed when a £400 telly doesn't match the sound quality of a £25 Amazon Echo Dot.

Post edited at 22:32
pasbury 26 Jan 2020
In reply to kipper12:

Is this the most boring thread ever on UKC?

8
 Timmd 27 Jan 2020
In reply to pasbury:

Not if one wants a new TV.

 Blue Straggler 27 Jan 2020
In reply to pasbury:

Not by a mile! I did one about drills in 2005 which was literally “boring” 

Post edited at 02:21
 Hat Dude 27 Jan 2020
In reply to kipper12:

As you don't appear to be looking for a top of the line, state of the art model, have a look at

https://www.electronicworldtv.co.uk/

They sell end of line, discontinued & customer returned models

I bought a very nice 43" LG 4k model from them last autumn having been put onto them by a friend who'd purchased from them earlier.

They are very straight about what you are buying and their service is good.

Rigid Raider 27 Jan 2020
In reply to kipper12:

I visited a massive TV factory in Jaszberenyi, in Hungary, where most of the TVs for Europe are manufactured. I think it was Samsung, Technics, Panasonic and one other. I asked the production manager which was best and he replied that they are all the same - the brand owner specifies the components and the factory builds them. When I pressed him and asked which he would buy he replied "Samsung, but only because I like Samsung stuff."

 nikoid 27 Jan 2020
In reply to pasbury:

No more boring than what hire car company, shoes,computer, clipstick, quickdraws,etc,etc shall I buy!

It's the lifeblood of UKC isn't it?😁

Rigid Raider 27 Jan 2020
In reply to kipper12:

You ought to look at some of the topics on Singletrack, the mountain bikers' forum. Most of them are youngish men with families, cars, jobs, bikes and holidays to maintain and arrange so there are lots of DIY and lifestyle topics. 


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