Thoughts/Advice on this TV please?

[piggeh]

http://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/...roductId=30781

I am looking for an LCD TV for my bedroom, to accompany a PS3/Xbox once I get one in a few months. Just wondering whether this TV would be suitable. Being arianet branded it's very difficult to find reviews. However it comes with a 3 year replacement warranty so reliability wise I'm pretty reassured with that warranty. I just don't know much about features for HD TVs and what to look out for.

[shadowmaster]

It does not look too bad for the money. Its not full hd, but that would be expected at the price.

The contrast ratio seems a bit low though, so I am not too sure how the picture quality will be like. I always recommend that before you buy a tv, try to see what picture quality is like by visiting one of the major high street chains (if they have it available).

It has three years warranty though which is impressive.

[bigblue]

It's pretty much impossible to give an opinion based on specs I'm afraid. It could have every feature possible, but the image quality might be poor.

It is a very good price though, you'd be looking at around £400 for a big brand 32" screen. And once you get to £400 it pays to spend a bit more, as you'd get a Sony or Samsung 37" for £500.

You're not really going to get anything cheaper, but I guess I'd be a little worried by that!

[bigblue]

Sorry to double post, but I wanted this to get noticed!

Richer Sounds have a good deal on at the mo, but again, I dunno about performance! Last few, so if you like it be quick!

http://www.richersounds.com/showprod...PHIL-32PFL5322

[Butuz]

Do you need the actual TV part of it??? I wouldnt fancy playing on a 32" at 720p really - I run my 20" Widesrcreen PC monitor off the Xbox at 720p and i find myself still longing for 1080p.

For that sort of price you could get a nice 24" Widescreen PC monitor and play games at 1080p. Guess it depends if you need TV functionality (I dont) or how far your sitting from the screen (I sit close). 24" Screen at 1080p = stonktastic image quality.

Butuz

[shadowmaster]

I might be wrong, but if you are more then a couple of metres away can you tell the difference between 720p and 1080p?

[piggeh]

To be honest I doubt I would know the difference between 720 and 1080 - may take a trip down Bluewater in a moment to do some shopping so will try and pop into Currys/Dixons whilst I'm down there to try and have a look at both and see if they're noticeable.

What's all the i and p thing about? And would that philips TV be able to display a 1080 HD signal but just at 720 res?

Bit of a noob when it comes to HD TVs as I didnt see myself buying one for a while.

Thanks for advice so far (and Philips TV looks quite good, though I think I'd get the 5 year protection as 1 year guarantee is pretty rubbish these days).

Edit - It's not for my PC. Would hook it on the wall at one end of the bed and link a PS3 to it probably, so HD movies and PS gaming. I might stream some downloaded stuff to it but thaat wouldnt be HD anyway.

[piggeh]

oh well, just back from bluewater. 1080p does look good

Contrast seems to make the biggest difference though, I'd say (from my brief in-store comparison!), which rules out the 800:1 contrast sets and similar unless I can be persuaded otherwise.

[Blackmage]

I would really consider buying this http://www.ebuyer.com/product/144348

[kr00t0n]

Originally Posted by Blackmage

I would really consider buying this

£363 del here:

beyondtelevision.co.uk/thisProduct.asp?ID=1463&gclid=CImopLuhoZQCFQHilAodjGbptQ

I am very tempted, but need to sell the exes engagement ring first

[piggeh]

tempted by that as well, looks a good tv for the money.

Thought I read somewhere that it had a top up tv slot (I have setanta currently so it would allow me to get rid of the crappy top up freeview box I have as well!) - cant find any confirmation though. Is there a technical slot name for top up tv cards?

[bigblue]

Originally Posted by piggeh

tempted by that as well, looks a good tv for the money.

Thought I read somewhere that it had a top up tv slot (I have setanta currently so it would allow me to get rid of the crappy top up freeview box I have as well!) - cant find any confirmation though. Is there a technical slot name for top up tv cards?

Well, I don't know what this set in particular has, but the common "slot" on a TV is a CAM/CI slot. The CI slot itself doesn't accept a viewing card, you need a CAM (like a card reader) in the slot, which you put the viewing card in.

Most set top boxes have the CAM integrated, as they're aimed at one service, so you just put the card straight in. Many TV's on the other hand, aren't locked in to one service, so that in theory you could buy various CAM's (for different services) and use them. It's possible that if you currently use a set-top box, you may need to buy a CAM to put your card into the TV.

*edit* as I'm very bored I looked up the manual for this TV on Samsungs site. http://downloadcenter.samsung.com/co...00Eng-0318.pdf It seems like it does have a CI slot, so you would need to buy a CAM for Setanta to use it with this set. Probably cheaper just using the freeview box!