Some time ago ( in the other place I think) I mused with others about which way to go with High Definition.
The choices were Freesat or Freeview. I decided that for futureproofing and flexibility I would go Freesat for HD. Been looking at various sets and I almost m,ade the choice to go Panasonic. and then.....
Sony are offering 100 quid off all 32 inch Tvs.
So I sauntered off to John Lewis and bought myelf a Sony KDL-32W5810 for the very attractive price of £449. Its Full HD on Freesat, has Analogue tuner, and Freeview tuner.
While (in my opinion) the picture is not as bright and vibrant as a Panny, the sony is good enough with a nicely sharp picture. It has a network point, so being Freesat it can implement BBC Iplayer. All I need to do is stick a Dish on the wall.
If, in the future I need to go Freeview HD as well, I can just replace the Freeview Humax with a Freeview HD PVR.
So boys and girls, if you are in the market for a new TV, JLP is doing a very good price (with the aid of the Sony offer)
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....along with the best customer service in the business - bought a telly with a free five year guarantee three years ago (and a free stand) - it broke before Christmas and they replaced it, no quibble.
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Yes they are still doing the 5 year guarantee (Sony are currently offering 3 years warranty in the UK)
Forgot to mention two things.
1/ you need to rock up with your old tele to get the discount, I am toddling back there today with mine to get the 100 quid back
2/ ASDA at High Wycombe are doing the cheapest petrol I have seen £1.18.9
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IIRC JL will accept any TV for the £100 discount. Worth a visit to the local tip before you go? You then get to keep your good old one as a maintenance spare.
It maybe worth looking round for a price match - M&S are doing it for £499 so depending on the terms of the JL offer you may actually be able to get an additional £100 off!
The last Sony I bought from JL they gave me £130? back, after the event, when I produced documentary evidence of a retailer (not local either) with it in stock at the lower price. You then get the benefit of the 5yr warranty as well.
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John Lewis were advertising a 40" Sony with a Freeview HD tuner and Freesat tuner for £699, or £599 with part ex.
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Itsa 100Hz as well so's a bargain.
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>>or £599 with part ex.
Looks interesting.
Are they fussy about what sort of TV you bring in for exchange? Would an old portable be acceptable? Or better still, would they be likely to take away our very heavy five year old telly? Both sets are sony, and in good working order.
Or perhaps they might give this discount regardless - a word with the manager, etc.
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"...Yes they are still doing the 5 year guarantee (Sony are currently offering 3 years warranty in the UK)..."
Suggest you don't read the Kia/Hyundai warranty thread in the Motoring section - anybody who offers extended warranty periods is apparently offering inferior goods which would be otherwise unsaleable
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...Suggest you don't read the Kia/Hyundai warranty thread in the Motoring section...
lancara,
I suggest you do read that thread.
You would then discover actual quality has little to do with it.
The public perceive some makes as fringy and a risky purchase, so those makes offer a longer warranty to reassure prospective customers.
Back to tellys, my local retailer offers five-year warranties on LG and Samsung.
Sony are arguably better-respected, but their marketing men may have found they still needed to offer an extended warranty to compete.
You could say Sony are like Ford/VW, and the likes of Samsung and LG are the equivalent of Kia/Hyundai.
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Sony ain't what they used to be, but I think you have pitched it right Iffy - they used to be the BMW brand. Thought Zero would have gone for an Apple TV ;-)
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...Sony ain't what they used to be...
I think that's also true.
While looking at netbooks recently, I saw a Sony Vaio for about £310 - only £30 more than an equivalent spec Samsung.
At one time Vaios were nearly twice the price of anything else.
I was tempted - it had a better keyboard than the Samsung - but the quoted battery life was only four hours.
Apple seem to be the one brand which can still command a healthy premium over similar spec good from competitors.
Their laptops start at about £700, and I think my 16gb iPod Nano was £120 - you can get a decent make 16gb MP3 player for £70.
I know which I'd rather have.
I'd rather have an Apple laptop, too, if money was no object.
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People still pay the Apple premium, maybe they are the new Sony ?
Edit: All I've said doesn't stop me buying Sony by the way.
Last edited by: Pugugly on Thu 6 May 10 at 11:40
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Panasonic are the BMW of tellies (IMO)
I was a 'Sony man' for yars & yars til I bought the Pana - great sound too (for a flattie)
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>> Sony ain't what they used to be
Indeed they aint. I have two Sony TV disasters, but one that was still going after 20 years.
It was bought on price and features, not percieved quality. Its a mainstream brand with mainstream support and mainstream quality, only in this case at Amstrad prices.
>> Thought Zero would have gone for an Apple TV ;-)
Would have done, but Steve Jobs would insist it only worked with Apple programes.
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>> Are they fussy about what sort of TV you bring in for exchange?
no - I chopped in an Old 26 inch JVC. Good set in perfect working order but large enough and heavy enough to be the anchor for USS Enterprise.
Would an
>> old portable be acceptable?
yes
Or better still would they be likely to take away our
>> very heavy five year old telly? Both sets are sony and in good working order.
yes if you order online, they take it away
>>
>> Or perhaps they might give this discount regardless - a word with the manager etc.
No, much paperwork to be filled in by various departments in JL.
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And I just updated the firmware on said tele.
Boy is that a scary process.
Many warnings about failure on web site, you even have to agree to a disclaimer in case it all goes TU.
Stick in the USB stick, select update, reads the firmware, then says "tele will now reboot may take longer to turn on"
Thats an understatment.
It turns on and off a few times, along with many of what looks like failure codes (series of flashing lights in the operator panel).
I had just reached for the box, receipt, car keys, and a story about how it just wouldnt turn on, when it all sprung into life with "system updated" message.
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>>Boy is that a scary process>>
Surely you could have let the TV update the software overnight whilst left in standby or checked the current software version via the menu and used the Update Check?
My TV can be updated via the downloading of the software and using a flash memory device, but as you have pointed out it's fraught with potential danger so I use the two latter methods...:-)
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>> Surely you could have let the TV update the software overnight whilst left in standby
>> or checked the current software version via the menu and used the Update Check?
>>
>> My TV can be updated via the downloading of the software and using a flash
>> memory device, but as you have pointed out it's fraught with potential danger so I
>> use the two latter methods...:-)
Different type of software. This update cant be downloaded over the air.
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>>Different type of software. This update cant be downloaded over the air. >>
It can in my case (Panasonic).
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.
Last edited by: Zero on Sun 9 May 10 at 12:15
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Thanks, Zero.
(edit: re part exchange)
Last edited by: Clk Sec on Thu 6 May 10 at 14:32
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"large enough and heavy enough to be the anchor for USS Enterprise"
I assume you mean the sea ship and not the starship? Because weight or mass wouldn't anchor a starship. You'd need some kind of tractor beam (which you won't get on a 26 inch JVC).
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I meant the Nimitz class Aircraft carrier.
the 28 inch came with the tractor beam.
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to keep you glued to the screen?
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you could only use it once, it snatched the remote out of your hands
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sony like pioneer used to go to great lengths to make their products the best in the world
whip the top off a 70"s product by them if you dont believe me,they were so over engineered it was a delight to drool
my tv is sony but only because i wanted rear projection and it was sony samsung or toshiba
having had a good stint in the electronics market i neither favoured tosh or sam to sony,in fact im still getting over the fire at harrogate as i remember many happy hours there when it did a real hi fi show
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"you need to rock up with your old tele to get the discount". Well you can, or they (JL) will collect it when they deliver your new one, free of charge. That's what we've just done and collection was essential as the old one was a 32 inch CRT weighing about 70kg.
Sony Centre wanted £50 for delivery / collection and only give a 3 year warranty, so JL got the business.
JH
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AHa Yes indeedy BUT
its 50 quid cheaper in store. 599 online, 549 in store. or mine was anyway.
32 inch CRT? Holly smoke that must be HUGE
Last edited by: Zero on Fri 7 May 10 at 14:09
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OK so I pay £50 more for tv but pay zero for delivery / collection v £50 at Sony and get 2 extra years warranty. I'm still winning. I didn't go in store but it's one of the new EX models with built in HD Freeview, not sure if there's any discount in store on that but nothing was mentioned when I rang and I gently queried the delivery charge so I think it would have been mentioned.
Yup, the old one was HUGE. No excuse for not decorating now :-(
JH
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you wil be shocked at how light the new one is.
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Zero, just under 15kg!! I'm watching F1 practice on it now. And it sips electricity, 79w v 122. Though the manual for the CRT showed 122w for the 32 inch and 170w for the 28 inch model so I was always dubious about that. Hey! I've gone green!! :-)
JH
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>> Zero, just under 15kg!! I'm watching F1 practice on it now.
Snap!
but we have to wait for F1 in HD till next year!
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Really! Damn!! :-(
JH
Last edited by: VxFan on Sun 9 May 10 at 12:17
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Have to say, I have an LG 37" HD TV used on Virgin+. The signal is so good, and V+ upscales so well, that it's sometimes quite difficult to tell HD from ordinaire.
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...quite difficult to tell HD from ordinaire...
I recall the results of an 'is HD worth it?' thread were inconclusive.
Several purchasers thought they had wasted their money.
I've only seen HD in a shop and was not impressed, although I was impressed by a Blu-ray showing of a James Bond film.
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Recently bought a new range internet TV enabled Sony with built in HD freeview, 37", the ideal size for our lounge, HD is superb!
Panasonic advertising is misleading IMO, they claim 600mhz though as WHICH says relative to 50mhz processing, "Instead of increasing the frame rate in the same way as 100 or 200Hz models, 600Hz TVs rapidly flash the pixels (that make up each frame) on and off in an attempt to create the illusion of smoother movement".
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Well,,, I have just been clinging to the chimney breast and installed a satelite dish for the new Sony TV. (while up there I had to re- lash the terrestial Aerial which was on the point of making a break for freedom). Managed to get great signal strength (and the correct satelite first time round!) on 43cm dish and Quad LNB ( future proof for more tuners if I need them) I chose merridan local feeds as it gives me more southerly local news.
I have to say - Sean the Sheep is *STUNNING* in HD.
And as bonus, BBC Iplayer is working well. All in all, well pleased, good afternoons work.
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You didn't get a crowd and a police counsellor with a megaphone trying to talk you down?
Sean the Sheep - best programme on tv :-)
JH
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No, but while I was up the ladder I had a good nose at the neigbours gardens tho
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Remember how it ended for Rod Hull?
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and that was a a bungalow!
JH
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I left the Emu on the ground
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I bet it was that bird that pushed him
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I left the Emu on the ground
That works with the other EMU as well - European Monetary Union !
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Sony - cheap TVs - R.P.
