TV equipment...time for a rethink?

[RogerS]

Bit of a long haul this but hopefully it will be of value to others facing a similar dilemma.

It's come to that moment, I think. We currently have a 32" Sony plasma and are very happy with the picture quality although for watching films we'd prefer a larger screen and HD. Indeed, LOML would appreciate HD for watching gardening programmes and Strictly. So I took a flyer and bought a secondhand inFocus 5700 DLP projector and a Samsung BluRay DVD player (allegedly with iPlayer built-in but so far untraceable!). Outlay under £250 so dead chuffed. 800 hours on the bulb and so a lot of life left. At several hundred quid a spare bulb, I hope that there is. Kept it as a big secret from LOML until the other night when I got it all set-up to watch a DVD. Initial reaction favourable but there are a lot of negatives.

1) The best place to put it necessitates slewing the seating arrangements round 90 degrees and also changing over the 5.1 speaker alignment to follow the seat....connectors not really designed for continual in/out.

2) No live TV HD source available at the moment...so if Samsung get their act together (and I get my network cable in place) then iPlayer is a possibility......but then we get into wearing out the bulb quicker...and having to mess around with seating arrangements constantly.

3) Although the projector is HD, it doesn't have an HDMI input. DVI, component, VESA. OK...the Samsung Blu-Ray has component out. I got that bit right!

So then my thoughts came round to maybe changing the TV..a 32" Sony plasma. But for what? An HD plasma? LCD? LED? Picture quality is paramount. No interest in 3d or gaming.

Then we come to the interconnects. A quick scan suggests most sets have moved away from RGB/SCART which is a bit of a downer since we have :

a Hitachi/Vestel PVR
a Sony PVR/DVD recorder
a Humax 9200
a TiVo (LOML's favourite)

and all lovingly set-up using SCART. So now I'm into a converter from SCART to HDMI (especially if LOML wants to keep her TiVo...which incidentally we have ploughed money recently to refurbish it post-TiVo demise.)

So I am currently going round and round in circles. If it wasn't for TiVo commonsense says eBay the lot and start again! Oh but then after I've chosen a TV for excellent picture quality, SWMBO comes along and says that she doesn't like the style..... :evil:

 

[Dibs-h]

Rog - last year we needed to upgrade from our square CRT, as the sounds was going on the blink. Ended up selecting the Sony KDL40EX503, which was What HiFi & TV's best buy for 2010. Saw it a few times alongside other TV's and couldn't see why I'd pay more for the others.

At the time it was around £800.

Then last Decemeber - Sony did a VAT back and 5yr warranty (with them) offer, so bought it. In the end cost me around £550 or thereabouts.

Very happy with it and so are the children\Swimbo. The sound on all these sorts of TV's isn't awesome as they are very small speakers, but other than that very good.

HIH

Dibs

 

[RogerS]

mmmm.interesting. What's the wireless LAN all about?

 

[Blister]

LG is worth a look

I have a 52" LCD and on HD its great

also has lots of bits I never use , including bluetooth

so you can connect to you mobile phone and view photos

several family members have now gone down the LG route after seeing the picture quality

They now do the latest LED models as well

 

[marcros]

mmmm.interesting. What's the wireless LAN all about?

Internet tv and youtube I think

 

[RogerS]

Which technology is supposed to give the better picture? Black blacks, for example.

 

[knappers]

Plasma gives best picture by a country mile. Panasonic plasma - you can't go wrong.

Si.

 

[Dibs-h]

mmmm.interesting. What's the wireless LAN all about?

Don't be daft! :lol:

We plugged a Cat5/6 cable into the RJ45 socket and therefore don't have to suffer with rubbish wireless. :mrgreen:

Dibs

 

[RogerS]

mmmm.interesting. What's the wireless LAN all about?

Don't be daft! :lol:

We plugged a Cat5/6 cable into the RJ45 socket and therefore don't have to suffer with rubbish wireless. :mrgreen:

Dibs

Is that what they call a Bravia Internet Video socket? Does it have iPlayer?

 

[newt]

Panasonic Plasma

 

[Harbo]

Pioneer Plasma but they stopped making them!

Rod

 

[knappers]

Pioneer Plasma but they stopped making them!

Rod

Yes, fair point. The Pioneer sets were awesome... Panasonic a close second.

Si.

 

[Dibs-h]

mmmm.interesting. What's the wireless LAN all about?

Don't be daft! :lol:

We plugged a Cat5/6 cable into the RJ45 socket and therefore don't have to suffer with rubbish wireless. :mrgreen:

Dibs

Is that what they call a Bravia Internet Video socket? Does it have iPlayer?

Yes it has IPlayer. Don't know what they call the RJ45 - but if you look at the connections the TV has, it will list an RJ45 connection.

HIH

Dibs

 

[RogerS]

...... Don't know what they call the RJ45 - but if you look at the connections the TV has, it will list an RJ45 connection.

HIH

Dibs

That's what's thrown me..

4 x HDMi inputs
2 x Scart inputs
1 x Component input
1 x RCA Audio-video input
1 x Optical Audio output
1 x Coaxial (aerial)
1 x PCMCIA card slot
1 x PC input
1 x USB 2.0 input
1 x Headphones
BRAVIA Internet Video
Wi-Fi Ready
SCART connectors 2
DVI Input No
HDMI Input 4
PC Input Yes
Audio output 1 x Optical Audio

 

[chunkolini]

TV?
Whats that for?
I chucked my last one out of the front door 18 years back.
Dont miss it.
Chunko'.

 

[RogerS]

TV?
Whats that for?
I chucked my last one out of the front door 18 years back.
Dont miss it.
Chunko'.

I didn't really ask for your comment. Nor care less if you did chuck out your TV.

 

[Hudson Carpentry]

Plasmas don't last as long. You want LCD. The LED's TV are just LCD's but back lit via LED.

For the projector you can get LED ones now that cost very little when the "bulb" blows. With yours saying its HD but has no HDMI port I reckon its more a business projector than a entertainment projector. It will display HD via the monitor in cable and digital signal from the PC/laptop/player. You can get a HDMI to monitor style lead.

In my opinion you don't by a screen thats the biggest you can get or afford but you buy a screen at the size to suit the room its for.

Do you have a room you can dedicate into a cinema? This is what I did. Got fed up of the kids mis treating my speakers and 5.1 amp plus I couldn't put the speakers where they needed to be, so I got a projector and made a room in my commercial space into a cinema, 83" screen plus loud and powerful 5.1 perfectly set up. Watch films in there and anything that don't need fantastic sound or a large screen (like emmerdale street or x factor, in fact your better off without any sound for x factor) we (sorry she) watch on the 32" in the front room. Our front room is 15 foot square and a 42" would dominate the room. I would maybe go up to 36" but no more.

LG are good screens but Samsung are my preference. All brands have there pros and cons, now days it more about what suits you, your budget and your requirements.

Most TV's come with at least 1 scart in still.

 

[knappers]

Sorry, but you are absolutely wrong... Lcd's do not last longer than plasma. You'll be spouting the old "plasmas need regassing" myth next.
LCD has much higher breakdown rate. As for LG - don't touch them with a barge pole. Samsung are fairly decent, though - their lcd's are very good (at least for lcd's).

Si

 

[Hudson Carpentry]

Right or wrong its my opinion based on my own and others experience and im sticking to it. Never heard of "plasmas need regassing".

 

[cutting42]

Another vote for Panasonic Plasma. Best picture for films by a country mile (since Pioneer stopped). LCD is a crude picture by comparison, OK for soaps and general TV but for Films needing colour rendition, contrast, the blackest blacks and lack of eye strain plasma is still the king. Reliability is of no concern over and above any other TV format in my opinion and I have had several Plasma TV's as have many friends and I also frequent AV forums where you will hear similar feedback.

The ultimate are the top end projectors but they are many thousands of pounds and really require a dedicated room to work best.