My brother has just bought a £600 Panasonic 37" LED television.
It replaced a five-year-old 26" LCD Philips.
While we both agree the picture on the Panasonic is a little better, viewed in isolation, it's not that good.
I reckon the picture on the 19" LCD Samsung in the caravan is sharper.
Am I right that smearing the image over a wider area is technically difficult?
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If viwing from the same distance a 37" will appear worse than a 26" if the TVs are identical. So for a 37" to look a little better that's a result.
I'm very sensitive to motion smearing and don't like larger LCD TVs for that reason.
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...If viwing from the same distance a 37" will appear worse than a 26" if the TVs are identical. So for a 37" to look a little better that's a result...
Thanks, happily brother's main reason for upgrading was to get a bigger picture.
The sound on the Panasonic is acceptable, bordering on decent, which is another result given that sound from flatscreen tellys is known to be poor.
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>> If viwing from the same distance a 37" will appear worse than a 26" if
>> the TVs are identical. So for a 37" to look a little better that's a
>> result.
>>
>> I'm very sensitive to motion smearing and don't like larger LCD TVs for that reason.
That should not happen with any LCD TV that's less than three years old. Most have at least 100Hz refresh rate.
I have a Sony 40" TV in the lounge and the picture is superb: no smearing or artifacts. On HD channels the picture is breathtaking. Although it hasn't got built in Freeview HD, I have a Humax Foxsat HD PVR and a Humax HD Freeview PVR connected. Both boxes give excellent pictures on SD channels. I sit exactly eight feet away from it.
I also have a newer - ten months old 32" Sony, with built in Freeview HD, in the kitchen, and again pictures are superb on both SD and HD.
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I have only been casually looking this year because we expect to upgrade by christmas. I haven't asked folks the age of their TVs but most larger ones I've seen in homes suffer to some extent in my eyes... as do most on display in PC World/Tesco etc. (My comments based on SD pictures).
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...Izzit this one Iffy...
Could be.
My brief audition was on ordinary Freeview, not sure if the telly has HD, or maybe brother can't get HD where he lives.
He has basic Sky, and is thinking of upgrading to Sky+HD, so that may be the way forward.
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I've noticed that BBC (for instance) has become more grainy in SD - I reckon they're turning the tap down and focusing on HD
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A digital picture either is or isn't - reckon the graininess is within the eye of the beholder ;-)
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I really recommend LG.
I bought a 47" HD LG in May to replace a 36 " Panasonic CRT .
I already have an LG 36" TV in the bedroom and a 22" LG computer screen
The big LG cost around £600 ( ex demo ) and the picture is absolutely pin sharp on Freeview .
Although we cannot get full digital and HD reception in my area until March next year it is wonderful to watch for the David Attenborough nature type shows and Strictly.
Good service as well, SWMBO noticed a single pixel vertical green line on the screen last month and LG sent an engineer who replaced the screen under warranty without quibble.
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>> A digital picture either is or isn't - reckon the graininess is within the eye
>> of the beholder ;-)
>>
Maybe there's a better term than 'graininess' but the the level of compression plus the characteristics of any de-interlacing and up-scaling employed are likely to have some impact on the observed picture quality.
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There's a significant difference between HD and SD pictures on out telly. I get the impression that ITV has a better picture than BBC - something to do with bitrates or somesuch.
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picture's?
Is that an abuse of the apostrophe?
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Depends - Pictures is plural, picture's if it's something belonging to the picture (as in picture's quality) or may be an abbreviation of "picture has" which become picture's (the apostrophe hinting at missing letters.) :-)
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...Is that an abuse of the apostrophe?...
No.
The apostrophe indicates the use of the shortened form of "picture is".
Same as "there's" for "there is".
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Personally I would have said "The picture isn't that good"
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>> picture's?
>>
>> Is that an abuse of the apostrophe?
>>
Get a life.
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>> Get a life.
>>
Where's your sense of humour gone Navy, Vx looks quite provocative with tongue bulging his cheek like that...hello big boy.:0)
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>> Get a life.
Hark at hue.
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My 'old' 32" Panasonic LCD HD oven-ready 100hz Freeview telly has never impressed me picture wise compared to my previous 28" Sony 100hz CRT telly - until I bought a Humax Foxsat box that is, now I can honestly say that the picture (on HD) is far superior to any CRT telly that's gorn before.
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www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-TX-L37E30B-37-inch-Internet-Ready-Freeview/dp/B004P1HVX4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1319193283&sr=8-3
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>> I bet the picture is brill on HD transmissions.
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I am certanly inpressed.
By coincidence friends bought this model and I helped them set it up on Thursday.
Compared with my ( just discontinued ) model, there is only one scart socket but two on the menu, no freesat built in tuner and a fixed plinth. I think there are some additional features but not yet explored them.
I have the previous model 32" and 37" and am very impressed.
Being able to view the picture from way off the centre line on all these models is a big plus in my book.
The picture on my new Sony 24" 1080 set I have is really awful unless you view it straight on else the colour very soon washes out. This of course applies both vertically and horizontally.
This is something that is easily missed when viewing in a shop environment.
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This is my old telly that I bought 4 years ago ~
www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-TX-32LXD700-Widescreen-Viera-Freeview/dp/B000Q320D6
At the time it was The best a man could get for the money, so although I'd like to update the critter, it's soooooo good that I'm lothe to out it.
Am I the only one (I wonder) who has never watched Avatar (until last night!)
The sound n' vision via my £50 'graded' LG upscaling DVD recorder was magnifico! (brilliant film n' all)
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Got one of those too. Why do you want to update? Bigger screen? I have a Blue Ray Player and must admit that for a 32 inch TV it is little better than watching upscaled DVD. Don't think I will bother with HD box
Didn't rate Avatar much though - special effects might have been better at the cinema but didn't have much of a story to it.
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A while ago I was in Richer Sounds, where I eventually bought an LG which is very satisfactory. When I was looking at the wall of demo tvs, some with the screen split to show sd left and hd right I commented on how great the HD picture was and asked if it was a Satellite signal. The salesman admitted that it was a direct feed from a BluRay disc so it should have been good! What you see in the showroom may not be what you see at home, a bit like official fuel consumption figures!
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In my limited experience, blu-ray is noticeably superior to broadcast high definition.
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I agree. However on a 32 inch TV Blue Ray is not much better than an upscaled DVD. I suspect HD TV will barely be noticeable compared to non HD
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>> I agree. However on a 32 inch TV Blue Ray is not much better than
>> an upscaled DVD. I suspect HD TV will barely be noticeable compared to non HD
I have that combo, and it is a noticeable difference.
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Since both you and Dog think its worthwhile might think about an HD box then. Running out of ports and room under the TV though. Already have Blue Ray player, Humax recorder, Wii machine, Amplifier and Apple TV plus Net Book and a bowl full of remotes.
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>>Why do you want to update? Bigger screen?<<
Good question CG ... had thoughts of a 42 incher, but it would look silly in this 18th century cottage :)
The HD box I would thoroughly recommend though - it brings out the best in the LXD700.
Re: Avatar, I just didn't know what to expect having no idea what the film was about,
The story, well - same old theme there of course, but I did enjoy the film, and that's from someone who hardly ever watches films these days.
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If you really want cinema 'feel' to your films, try a proper surround system, the TV speakers and the all in one box surround systems do not compare.
At the heart of which should be a substantial sub, obviously much depends on your house construction and how close your neighbours are, this sub provides the feel through your bones possibly better than good cinema.
Once you've gone down the intial purchase sting of separates they are quite economical to own, as you only replace the odd item as it fails.
Richer Sounds unfortunately did not deal in serious subs last time i needed one (they used to) so it's not the place to hear one, though the rest of a system can be tried out and bought reasonably there.
Avatar's soundtrack is superb for bone trembling sub sound, you don't want it all the time but for action adventure type films it makes all the difference.
The 40" Sony's picture is fine on normal satellite feed, we are tempted to relegate that to the bedroom and replace with a larger screen in the main room.
Won't be spending ridiculous amounts again though, my daughter picked up a 40" Toshiba flat screen for around £300 at the Argos clearance warehouse near us, unles you get close enough to touch the screen the picture is excellent.
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...update...
Brother has upgraded his aerial and is now getting Freeview HD.
He doesn't do enthusiastic, but he was struck by the rendition of the pattern on Bruce Forsyth's waistcoat on Strictly.
The telly can record to memory stick or SD card, and he's showing some interest in using that feature.
Does it make much difference which storage device he uses?
USB sticks seem simpler to me, in that some SD cards are class something-or-other, and some are not.
I've suggested he buys a medium sized capacity, because I've heard some of the biggest cards/sticks won't work in all devices.
Any pointers welcome.
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It can also record to a USB hard drive but the recorded format is not useable on a PC
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Thanks Henry.
I was wondering about that, partly because I might treat myself to a new telly in Iffy Towers and would be interested in higher capacity recording storage.
Brother is looking at 'watch and wipe', so a few gig on a stick should do him.
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>> I was wondering about that, partly because I might treat myself to a new telly
>> in Iffy Towers and would be interested in higher capacity recording storage.
>>
I have yet to explore this myself. In theory it means unlimited recording capability as it is just buy another hard drive. The downside is it only works on Panasonic.
I send DVDs recorded off the TV to a friend abroad so am still interested in burning DVDs.
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My 18-month-old 42in Panasonic TX-42PG20 delivers superb SD and HD displays on both Freeview and Freesat transmissions - it was one of the very first sets to offer Freeview HD as well as Freesat HD. Using the menu's THX display setting is basically a one-touch configuration and provides outstanding pictures.
You can use a standard external hard drive (I have a Seagate USB 1TB Essentials model) to record programmes, but care must be taken when setting the timer to ignore Record from External Device and scroll down to Record from USB Device. This was something that even Panasonic's own service department was unaware of when I first used the former setting and queried why there were no recordings made...:-)
The most impressive screen displays, however, do come from Blu-ray disks as the screen's maximum resolution capabilities are brought into play. More kudos come from the fact that it's a plasma set, a point that might upset Zero...:-)
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Hi Stuart, was just thinking the other day we'd not seen you in here recently!!
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>> Hi Stuart, was just thinking the other day we'd not seen you in here recently!!>>
I pop in quite regularly...:-)
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So are we saying that neither a USB drive or memory stick will play back through a PC?
Brother goes to head office in Edinburgh on the train sometimes and might want to play a TV programme on his laptop.
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Unfortunately many of these TVs with USB recording use fairly uncommon file systems which aren't recognised by PCs.
Recent thread on the subject here:-
groups.google.com/group/uk.tech.digital-tv/browse_thread/thread/78bf216d58b0cb10/cd6863b162cbf2cf
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The picture's not that good - Fenlander
