Hello, I want to buy an HD ready LCD tv .. any help?
I am not sure what to look for (apart from screen size), i found one named BEKO, a 32″ HD TV in argos for 230 quid !!
these are its specs.. are they any good?
Resolution 1366 x 768 pixels.
Brightness 500cd/m2
Contrast ratio 800:1
Nicam stereo sound
2 x 10w RMS power output
thnx for the help .
It won’t be any help to you if I just listed my favourite television sets. So, I will suggest things to look out for and then you can go around the shops and ask the assistants the right questions.
You get what you pay for.
£230 suggests something that is either very low spec, shop soiled and/or end of line.
For a decent 32″ LCD set I’d expect to pay at least £800. Stick to main brands for a purchase like this. You don’t buy a telly often so it should be as good as yiu can get. Anything less will lead to disapointment in a year or so. Trust me on this.
There is no doubt that the cheaper sets are not as good overall as more expensive ones. However, the features which may be less well specified, or not such good quality, on a cheap set may not be important to you.
The resolution, brightness and contrast figures should be ok. Sound should be judged by quality rather than just “Watts”. A good sounding 5W is infinately better than a tinny or muffled 10W.
All televisions (except ‘toys’) have NICAM sound. This is simply the stereo sound system which is used on “analogue” broadcasting. Do not allow this to influence you, it should be just “there by default”.
Not all television sets, even the ones claiming to be HD ready, have built in digital tuners. You need a digital tuner to receive Freeview, unless you want to mess about with separate boxes. When your area switches over to all-digital in a year or so time the analogue tuner will be useless.
Check that the “channel change” buttons on the set work when you’re using the digital tuner. Not all of them do so you would be left with an untunable telly if the remote got mislaid, damaged or flat battery. It’s a cheap and nasty trick by set makers so don’t buy one like it. It will be false economy. They’ve probably also skimped on other parts of the set so you may find the ‘angle of view’ is limited, the colours not true, contrast ratio is poor or it’s simply unreliable.
Check how many connectors it has on the back. Try and ‘future proof’ your set. As well as the aerial, you need SCARTs for DVD player, VCR, Satellite box and an HDMI connector for HD Satellite/DVD player. You also should have phono sockets for camcorder connection.
If you don’t do this test then you’ll end up either changing plugs (tedious and risk of damage) or using a bulky combiner box.
Don’t buy your main set from a supermarket. Go to somewhere like John Lewis where you’ll get expert unbiassed advice and not pay any more than Curry’s.
2010 HDTV Shootout Part 17 – Kevin Miller: Color & Contrast Ratio Comparison
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