TV has gone pop, it was a cheap LG plasma thing, 8 years old and owes us nothing. So, TV shopping this weekend then.

Sadly, I’m somewhat out of the loop on what is good and/or useful. We don’t watch much TV, a bit of Eurosport, the occasional film, some documentaries, maybe the odd hour in an evening. My first thought was to buy a “normal” HD job, we’ve got a TiVo box so I’m not sure we need smart functionality.

So, what should I look for? What should I avoid, and any specific manufacturers to aim at? I don’t want to spend loads on it, as I say, it doesn’t get that much use anyway. Current TV is 42″ if that helps, I expect to buy something similar in size, maybe a touch bigger.

A good quality panel. Anything else is marketing and window dressing. Panasonic / Toshiba / Samsung.

Ten seconds’ Googling,

http://www.richersounds.com/product/tv—all/panasonic/viera-tx49ds500b/pana-tx49ds500b

Samsung got pretty much all the best TV’s in any size in the latest Which magazine.

Just be careful if you are a spy or belong to a terrorist group

Well I spent ages looking… My budget was 1k.

Looked at loads of panels and settled on this… Very very happy with it. Picture is great! Could not tell much difference if any between this and the higher spec models costing over a grand.

Didn’t like curved screens as you need to really be looking straight on.

The ‘smart’ functionality is pretty good… BBC iplayer, YouTube etc quick and nice simple interface.

LG panels are pretty good too but I preferred the sammy.

https://m.johnlewis.com/samsung-ue55ku6400-hdr-4k-ultra-hd-smart-tv-55-with-freeview-hd-freesat-hd-active-crystal-colour/p/2693380

Excuse my ignorance, what is a

good quality panel.

? Good screen I’m guessing? In which case, is it just a case of looking at a few and deciding which you like or is there more to it than that?

Oh, and budget, was hoping to be under £500 which means Cougar’s Panasonic would work, thanks!

Good screen I’m guessing?

Yes. Buy a known brand and not a supermarket special, basically. Avoid the very cheapest models from names (less of an issue at the size you’re looking for), but don’t be lured in by smart curved HDR 4K etc etc either. File this lot under “nice to have,” no reason to avoid it (well, apart from curved which is insanity) but little reason to pay a premium for it either.

Not a smart TV unless you want to end up on a database lol

Dude, we’re all on databases already.

In unrelated news, the price of Bacofoil has risen.

I’d look for plenty of HDMI inputs.

You can plug in a Chromecast or similar, if you want to make it smart.

Panasonic or Sony for me. The Sony bravia engine is superb.

Thank you all, any other guidance before I hit the shops on Saturday?

FunkyDunc – Member

Samsung got pretty much all the best TV’s in any size in the latest Which magazine.

This. 3 years ago I too decided I didn’t need a “Smart” TV, and bought a 42″ LED Samsung from Richer Sounds for £399. Never any issues and its still looks smart today.

Edit: For Scotroutes benefit I’ll add that I’ve been searching for a Smart curved OLED 60″ >£10k just to impress the neighbours who may peer throught the window*

* I havene;t but thats what he expects to hear.

I asked a similar question just after Christmas as our ancient Sony CRT was finally starting to give up the ghost.

We ended up with an 43″ 4k LG from Richer Sounds.

I’ve no idea if it’s better or worse than the competition, but the picture seems very good, the sound is much better than I was expecting given that most TV advice is tag-lined with ‘oh and you’ll need a soundbar’ and the menus are relatively easy to navigate around.

The one thing that was a minor annoyance is the remote – more expensive versions of the tv come with a ‘magic remote’ which works like a Wii remote. Our tv is compatible with that, but didn’t come with one – just a bog standard one. It’s fun, but I’ll probably end up buying a magic remote as well….

*Minor Hijack* is there a way or a formula of some sort to figure out optimal viewing distances for a given tv size? I need a new tv for a fairly long but narrow living room (12m x 4.5m).

At present the tv is in the far corner and given the size of the room I have no doubt a big tv won’t be a problem, however I’d considering wall mounting the tv above the fireplace opposite the doors in the centre of the room which would put it much closer to the viewer. I don’t want to end up feeling like the front row of the cinema.

Check out the menu and tv guide structure. You could have the best picture in the world, but if its got a sh8t menu system it will bug you forever.

I bought an LG recently that has a magic remote (bit like a wii remote) that moves a mouse pointer on the screen. It makes on screen typing and selecting a doddle.

plenty of usb slots, a wireless mouse really makes a smart tv, well, smart.

*Minor Hijack* is there a way or a formula of some sort to figure out optimal viewing distances for a given tv size?

The site that’s taken from is worth a read.

https://www.cnet.com/news/why-ultra-hd-4k-tvs-are-still-stupid/

Not a smart TV unless you want to end up on a database lol

That aside, I wouldnt buy a TV based on its built in ‘smart’ functionality.

Thank you all, any other guidance before I hit the shops on Saturday?

yeah…find your closest currys clearance store then head down there for a bargain…you can haggle and you’ll still get the full warranty

you’ll get a few usb slots and digital sound output anyway but make sure the tv has as many hdmi slots as possible

also check the picture quality for motion blurring and also the sound quality/output

It’s best not to be lured in by tech buzzwords but HDR looks genuinely worthwhile. It’s a new colour standard rather than a gimmick feature, and good colour is one of the most immediately noticeable things about a TV.

4k probably not necessary unless you’re buying a giant screen. I do like high dpi displays but I spend way too much time in front of screens.