Going to buy one tomorrow on a whim, probably with a built in DVD player.
Any major differences to look for, I imagine they all come out of the same factory...?
Cheers
no they wont come out of the same factory. The actual LCDs are probably made by 4 or 5 suppliers, but the electronic components, design and manufacture will all vary in quality. 1st thing to look for is picture quality. 2nd sound quality. Take your own favourite DVD to try, but to be honest at that price point a combo unit is going to have a lot of compromises.
this week I took delivery of a SOVOS DVD combo TV 19".
From play.com and cost £189.
Screen is really quite excellent for the price (I went for one with good contrast and brightness specs for the price) esp since we've always used an old illyama LCD monitor to date. Loads of input choices - most importantly for me a VGA one to run from the laptop (iplayer serving). We dont plug into an aerial (no licence) so its just for watching the odd iplayer programme and Thomas the Tank Engine DVDs for Jr.
Sound hardware is pretty rubbish so Im considering some externally driven speakers for films, but am in no hurry - TV doesnt mean that much to us.
Also the GUI can be a bit clunky but its adequate - more expensive suppliers have better chipsets etc, but you're then into the £300 range.
we got a Technika 22" HD ready flat screen with DVD player & built in Freeview from Tesco for £189 - well every little helps.
Great picture & great value for money. We bought a wall bracket & mounted it on the wall out of the way 🙂
Watch out for cheap computer monitors with a TV tuner slapped on. These are generally 16:10 format and produce a distorted 'tall' image which is very annoying. Look for genuine 16:9 displays.
