Do I need HDTV?

[YorkieBen]

Well the question should be, 'do my parents need HDTV?'

My parents want a LCD tv for the lounge, but want one with a freeview tuner built in

They dont want any bigger than 26" (23" would be fine for them) and want to buy it from a high street store

Anyway, should they bother buying one with a 'HD Ready' sticker? Or not. They dont get sky, so I doubt they will be watching HDTV in the near future.

However, the only non-HD LCD tvs I can find are by brands like Wharfdale and other peeps I have never heard of.

any help would be appreciated

[Funkstar]

I wouldn't worry about the sticker or not just concentrate on getting a decent panel from a decent manufacturer.

[JimmyBoy]

id say get a hdtv if possible, people seem to keep tv's for years and they may aswell have something that is as future proof as possible even though it costs a lil more...

as for wharfdale, i wouldnt of thought u'd need worry about them, they're a decent company

[5lab]

the sony store near me was doing a nice 23" widescreen telly with a few quid off - i think it was hd ready but not entirely sure - my boss got one for the bedroom. at that size i'd personally not go flat panel unless space was really tight.. save a fortune and get a normal telly imo

[Nick F]

I would wait tbh. Sony and Sky are joining up together to create some kind of special offer to get people to join Sky HD.

[limpduck]

sharp do a good panel with a resolution designed for pal broadcasts, so they look good with normal tv, however ive not seen somthing at that size with freeview built in.

[Bob Crabtree]

The time when you NEED an HD TV set is when you go for a large screen and then watch it at the same sort of distance that you watched the smaller TV set.

When you are close to a big screen, you more easily see the picture's line structure than you do on a smaller screen (cos the lines are bigger!) - but when you go HiDef, there are many more lines, each is smaller and, therefore, you don't see the structure.

Of course, if you sit RIGHT up close, you'll still see it, but not at a normal sort of viewing distance - unless, that is, the screen is HUGE.

The reason why HD sources (whether broadcast, DVD or tape) are in demand, is that a huge number of people have bought into large-screen TV sets and have discovered the problem with seeing line structure on their expensive sets - so now they want sources that has finer line structures.

I suspect that line structure will be apparent on screens of 37in and larger for many people at normal UK viewing distances (whatever the heck they are).

This piece may help put the above comments into context.