So this evening, the wife announces that a new TV would be a really good thing to have, to replace our ancient (and massive CRT). Apart from the obvious better picture etc, it would give us back some space in the sitting room, and be a whole lot less likely to crush a child to death of it got knocked over.
so now she's gone to bed and I'm clicking about on ebay, Richer Sounds and John Lewis, but have no idea what to look for.
Physically, a 40" screen would be th ebiggest I can fit in the corner where it'll live (obviously, I want to go as large as possible). I want a good pictue, reasonable sound (with a soundbar?) as minimalist frame as possible. etc. don't want a cheap Tesco/Aldi "Technika" or similar.
Quite happy for something a few years old. Smart TV would be fun, but I can cope without it. Got a freesat humax PVR so not too bothered about freeview receiver, but I know that's not an issue or option. DLNA streaming off a NAS would be cool too, but again, its not necessary.
Worth looking anywhere else? Amazon, DABS etc? Anyone know of any really good deals?
Costco
Depends what you want to spend, next month is the start of silly season so there will be plenty of bargains to be had. The one in our living room was from john lewis, service was good, bedroom tv was a Samsung from PC world, didn't want to spend as much and at £300 it's a nice tv.
Richer Sounds. Good prices and they know their stuff.
[url= http://www.costco.co.uk/view/product/uk_catalog/cos_1,cos_1.1,cos_1.1.1/142976 ]gulp[/url]....
Yea, but comes with a five year warranty 
John Lewis every time. 5yr guarantee and they matched Richer Sounds price after a online request. Reduced price of gorgeous Panasonic TV I bought from £670 to £540. Ace delivery folk too.
JOHN LEWIS.. if you go any where your certifiable... FREEE 5 yr warranty and they will match any price whats not to like.. the warranties are 70- 140 elsewhere
Do John Lewis price-match Amazon?
Just sent my mum and dad off to John Lewis, price was only £10 more than the best internet, so they didn't even ask for pricematch, happy with that.
U got my 36 in panasonic .
I'm getting on well with Richer Sounds, my 4 year old Tosh was playing up and my 5 year warranty got me £200 towards a replacement. (Cost 10% of the tv price).
Thankfully I didn't go big and my living room still looks ok.
Another vote for Richer Sounds. Cracking shop.
Recently bought a new TV from Richer Sounds. The price with their 5 year warranty was the same as John Lewis, but Richer Sounds was more convenient for me. Could park outside the front door and take the telly there and then.
Richer sounds for a Panasonic here too, they gave me a discount for taking an old working tele in, check if they still have that promotion on.
There was a thing in which magazine recently about the reliabilty and performance of television brands. I can't remember the specifics but Samsung came out well and if I remember correctly toshiba weren't so good these days. Might be worth the £1 membership for a month to gain access to their website
Panasonic TV from JohnLewis will fix it. OrbitSound sound bar from JL if you don't already have hi-fi, DAC from Richer Sounds if you do.
My boss just had his TV go wrong. He bought it from John Lewis 4 years and 10 months ago for £430.
Without a quibble they gave him £430 to put against a brand new one, which of course buys a lot more than it did 5 years ago. He put another couple of hundred quid in and got something WAY better. Plus, another 5 years warranty.
My next TV will be bought from John Lewis.
[i]obviously, I want to go as large as possible[/i]
Nope.
A good measure is that the 'size' of the screen should be no more than 2.5-3 x the distance you sit from it.
But, our current TV was bought under the 3x rule, and now we've a bigger house and it's nearer 7x now - still looks fine, although the move to a HD feed helped.
And, John Lewis.
Yep, had the same warranty experience with John Lewis, superb service. Will always use them and recommend them.
Costco or John Lewis for their excellent 5yr no quibble warranties.
My brother bought a TV from Costco a few years ago. He got a huge discount on an ex-display model. 18 months later it packed up - he took it in not expecting much. It was immediately replaced for the very latest brand new model despite it originally being supplied with a significant discount as an ex-display model. they're not the cheapest around, but reasonably competitive.
As for the size of the TV - go for the very largest you can fit in and get past the wife. I wanted a 50" but the wife stamped her foot down and I ended up with a 42" as a compromise (she wanted a 32"). It initially looked huge, but very soon started to appear smaller and even the wife later admitted that we should have got the 50" screen. I said a few swear words under my breath! When it comes to TV's bigger is always better.
john lewis
I found richer sounds good, got a 42" Panasonic plasma for 330 with 5 year warranty
John Lewis will only price match local stores, and they check stock. So Amazon prices, or the crayzee "instore only" Richer prices that occasionally get published on the web when they've only got one TV at that price in their Belfast branch, are no help to you.
Last time I bought a TV it was from JL, I'd to do a good deal of legwork to get them to pricematch, but it saved me over £100 quid in the end. If you're going down that road, know exactly what you want them to price match [i]before[/i] you go to the store. "I've seen this price on the Internet" won't cut it.
Some high street competitors have a different nationwide shop price to their online price; in that instance we'll match whichever is the lower of the two across our shops and on our website. We also know that some high street competitors have a lower price in specific shops. Where these shops are in the local area of a John Lewis branch, we'll lower our price in that branch to match.
the 'size' of the screen should be no more than 2.5-3 x the distance you sit from it.
I think you've got the ratio the wrong way around. By that rule, I need a 250"- 300" TV....
(Thinking 40" would fit in the corner nicely, and fits the 2.5 rule the other way around)
we went to John Lewis recently to have a mooch at tvs with a view to buy, ignored reviews etc and just went and looked at what we liked in the flesh so to speak. Came away with a samsung tv and we absolutely love it. Still not looked at reviews and dont really care so I wouldnt put too much stock in them. I have heard from many sources that John Lewis customer warranty procedure is second to none and they price match like for like so that for us sealed the deal.
the 'size' of the screen should be no more than 2.5-3 x the distance you sit from it.
Great, I'll tell Mrs Coolhandluke that we need a 52" tele.