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Thread: Buying a HDTV off ebay?

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    Formerly known as Andehh Andeh13's Avatar
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    Buying a HDTV off ebay?

    With my birthday a couple of months round the corner im planning ahead as to what to get myself .

    Having had a look on ebay iv found several half decent HDTVs going for what i consider quite cheap (<£300). The only problem is iv never really looked into HDTVs so i dont really know what to get, LCD vs plasma, resolution that would be suitable, connectability etc.

    It would be used mainly for films ran off my PC(standard def, 720p, 1080p), general TV watching and sometimes as a 3rd monitor. I dont watch any sport (i heard that one type of TV was better for this) and like i said 80% of its usage will be films from my PC. Ideally id like a TV round 37", from looking in stores this seems to be a decent size for a medium sized room. I also think i want 1080p, but just because i like the idea of running fullHD off it when i get around to getting a blu ray player etc in the future.

    As im already running dual monitors, how would i connect this up to PC? Would i need to get a motherboard that cold handle dual graphics card and get a second graphics card with HDMI out? Is that even possible?

    And finally, what sort of TV would be better plasma or LCD? Any brands/series to avoid?


    Big thank you in advance guys


    (Had a look around hexus and couldnt find a forum to put this in, audio/visual forum gets a post every few days and i see posting it in there as a matter of waiting a week before i get much advice! )

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    Re: Buying a HDTV off ebay?

    Anything that's too good to be true almost certainly is! Just remember that when buying something.

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    Senior Member Stringent's Avatar
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    Re: Buying a HDTV off ebay?

    Personally if you are willing to take the risk then fine. But I would rather buy something like that off a store Internet or otherwise. All you need is a shoddy seller.

    26" should be fine. Have a look at the Sony or Panasonic range of LCDs. Most come with HDMI and D-SUB so you can connect to your PC. Or you can get a DVI->HDMI converter (most new ATI Radeons come with them!)

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    Re: Buying a HDTV off ebay?

    I'd look at 32" LCD televisions, you can get some nice prices on full 1080p 32" models. I would always advise looking for reviews before buying - there's no other way of finding out how your prospective television's black levels, contrast, etc compares to other models.

    If you can get to a nearby Richer Sounds, I'd highly recommend popping in to have a look - see what their advice is, and compare their internet prices to other websites as well (they should pricematch, even instore). I got a bargain from them, saved &#163;30 buying it instore rather than on the net from Amazon who were next cheapest - and buying instore always instils a bit of extra confidence when it's a big purchase. When I had a feeling it wasn't working properly an engineer was sent round within a week, which I never would be so confident about from an e-tailer.

    EDIT: I just realised I didn't make it obvious - I would highly recommend not buying off eBay. I have a lot of faith in eBay, unlike some others, but I still wouldn't buy something as important as a television from there. What if it breaks in 10 months time? It's a lot of money to lose.

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    Formerly known as Andehh Andeh13's Avatar
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    Re: Buying a HDTV off ebay?

    Good point about it possibly dieing, I do have contents insurance via Endsleigh though and they have been very good in the past to me & a flat mate (he broke my speaker & claimed under his policy, iv broken 2 mobile phones in the last year).

    What about lcd vs plasma, should i be aiming my searches at one of them? Like i said, it will be used mainly for films so im not sure which would be better suited to me.

    Richersounds come up time & time again as a very good supplier, been keeping an eye on them but was hoping for something a tad cheaper then what they offer!

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    Re: Buying a HDTV off ebay?

    I don't know why, but something's telling me that below 40" you should be looking at LCD, and plasma isn't really an issue unless you're looking at bigger screens.

    Could be wrong though, I've no idea why I think that. It's a very long time (in tech-terms at least) since I researched for and bought my TV - for reference, I paid &#163;400 about 12 months ago for a very highly recommended Panasonic 32" 720p LCD.

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    Re: Buying a HDTV off ebay?

    I would suggest looking at http://www.avforums.com both for advice and possibly picking something second hand. I got my projector from someone there, and while I was quite worried due to the value of the transaction (even made a thread about it), but it did worked out very well.

    Quote Originally Posted by snootyjim View Post
    I don't know why, but something's telling me that below 40" you should be looking at LCD, and plasma isn't really an issue unless you're looking at bigger screens.
    I am not sure if things have changed since, but I am quite sure that used to be the recommendation when you read up from various sources.

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    Re: Buying a HDTV off ebay?

    I am currently very happy with the models i have purchased on behalf of family members and friends, but for 37" models, its gonna be a bit more than &#163;300, and as above, would heartily recommend using a retail outlet or an etailer such as Amazon.

    As far as i can tell, the best available model for all round performance is Panasonic, with the Viera range. I have recently bought a couple of Samsung models, both of which are stunning, and a fair bit cheaper than the Viera, and my own is a Philips, ex display from Comet, and its pretty much perfect, no issues with it at all.

    Not entirely sure how you would use it as a 3rd monitor, don't know if theres cards out there with 2 DVI and an HDMI port on them, I would expect you to need a 2nd graphics card.

    I would say to buy a big name, mainly for reliability, seen too many cheap panels pack in after a couple of years. so Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba, all good buys, or Hannspree if you can get one, excellent make at usually very affordable prices (they tend to make showcase panels, not really a recognised home brand).
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    Re: Buying a HDTV off ebay?

    I don't know if its been stated already but there are plenty of stores selling on Ebay as well:

    i.e. http://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/Ebuyer...subZ1168883018
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    Re: Buying a HDTV off ebay?

    my 9800gx2 has 2 DVIs and a hdmi slot iirc
    I think it should be the same for most high end cards

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    Re: Buying a HDTV off ebay?

    Id rather avoid buying a new grapics card, I spent &#163;180+ on my 8800GTS 512mb 18months ago and id rather avoid replacing it, would it be possible to buy a DVI switch between my 2nd monitor & the TV?bI dont spose there are any PCI cards that could output to a monitor?

    Would there be any other way of adding a HDMI out to my PC? (specs listed in m profile)

    Iv been looking on avforums & the classified's have a few bargins listed, some with a year+ warrenty left which look very tidy. As for asking them for help iv found them deceidedly unhelpfull especially when i was looking for advice into A/V receivers & speakers. Turns out hexus pointed me in the direction of my receiver & i stumbled accross the speakers i was after!

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    Re: Buying a HDTV off ebay?

    Ah fair enough. Projector wise, I must admit that I didn't get as much help as I was hoping for. But when I enquired about a specific soundbar, someone explained to me in pretty good details about how I may able to get all my devices connected to it.

    Still, you can probably pick out some consensus if you spend some time reading through what's already posted there.

    And I've picked up quite a few kits from the classified forum there and it was well worth it. Sometime you do get good kit in fairly new condition being sold simply because the owner decided to go with something even bigger/better (or, the other way, found it too big for the room).

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    Re: Buying a HDTV off ebay?

    Check out my bargain 32" LCD thread, the TV is very good quality and &#163;240 brand new delivered with 2 year warranty, plus quidco on top

    (&#163;10 discount code)
    http://forums.hexus.net/current-barg...cdiscount.html

    To be honest you wont see a difference between 720p/1080p at that size that warrants the extra cash, save it for when you want a proper tv
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    Re: Buying a HDTV off ebay?

    Also be careful of the couriers - many couriers wont insure TV's even in original packaging and unless the seller is a large retailer they may just use the cheaper services available.

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    Formerly known as Andehh Andeh13's Avatar
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    Re: Buying a HDTV off ebay?

    Thanks for all the advice guys, ill post my HMDI out questions in hexus.hardware when it comes closer the time.

    Iv seen a few bargains on avforum's classified section (they are of use for something) and with the inc warranties many of them still have & my contents insurance ill risk getting a tv thats 6-12months old!

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    Re: Buying a HDTV off ebay?

    Quote Originally Posted by Andehh View Post
    Thanks for all the advice guys, ill post my HMDI out questions in hexus.hardware when it comes closer the time.

    Iv seen a few bargains on avforum's classified section (they are of use for something) and with the inc warranties many of them still have & my contents insurance ill risk getting a tv thats 6-12months old!
    Be careful about classified, especially in relation to warranties. Presumably, you're talking about second hand sets if it's in classifieds? Many warranties stipulate that they're "non-transferable". If so, even if there's several years left, as second owner, it won't protect you if it's non-transferable. There might well be exceptions to that, but if you intend to rely on the warranty, check it out before buying.

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