I am after a new tv – c 40 inch would be ok, maybe 42 & a nice sound bar (wireless subwoofer needed)as I listen to the radio mostly through it. I’ve looked at loads & can’t see any difference, only Sony are more but a better picture, the others just look the same to me.

Any good or bad experiences out there? old tv is 12 years old so anything will be a big improvement.

Many thanks in advance

If you are after a smart telly, Sony don’t have ‘apps’ for ITV player or 4OD. I understand Samsung have a licence for those which locks other TV’s out, (but you can still get them though a PlayStation?!)

If you buy from John Lewis you get a free 5 year guarantee.

I wouldn’t bother with a ‘smart’ TV. Far better to add those features with an external box as required, then you can upgrade without needing a new telly when it’s all obsolete a fortnight later.

When I bought mine the best brands I found were Panasonic, Toshiba, Samsung.

As per @Cougar, get the best quality tv you can find and add the smart features via (say) Apple TV. Sound bar or speakers definitely worth it. Amazing how much better the sound is on an old Sony Bravia flatscreen TV we have (7 or 8 years old with large forward facing speakers under the screen) vs 3 year old newer model.

I wouldn’t bother with a ‘smart’ TV.

[quote]add the smart features via (say) Apple TV. [/quote]Apparently the screens on the Sony Smart telly’s are better than the dumb ones, but you make good points in general. Mrs Tthew is going to buy a 10 quid Now TV box as that has the full range of catch up plus access to other stuff for a small payment, making the smart bit largely pointless.

We still got a free 5 year warrantee though.

I don’t know about that. Point is though, I wouldn’t pay extra for smart features, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s something to avoid if your otherwise perfect set happens to have it.

cheers all, I don’t want a smart tv – just a decent picture & something that will last another 10 years. Thanks for John Lewis tip – I’m just looking at their website & reviews.

Any bad tv s out there?

Plenty.

Same advice as laptops really, stick to brands you’ve heard of.

Any bad tv s out there?

Samsungs 🙂

Consider how much HD program content you are going to feed your new TV, as some TVs are better at ‘upscaling’ than others.

I personally think Samsungs are pretty poor at this.

If you need a freeview PVR then getting a YouView one, such as the Humax DTR 2000, will give you a lot of the smart functionality you require, in a nicely accessible manner.

I just bought a Denon DHT T110 soundbase for the MIL and it is not bad at all, although it needs to be run at a reasonable volume. Advantages are being able to stream bluetooth to it, disadvantages are no proper tone controls.

Sony or Panasonic for me – and from John Lewis, not Ripoff Sounds…

cheers Turnerguy, good call on the denon – I’ll give it a listen to.

LG tv and Yamaha sound bar. Very, very good combo.

If you buy from John Lewis you get a free 5 year guarantee.

So do Richer Sounds who also do open box returns if you’re looking for something cheap

I wouldn’t pay extra for smart features

Don’t these come as standard now on high end TVs? You’d be hard pressed to find one without them, I think!

Panasonic via John Lewis v.good, soundbar well worth it to improve tinny sound

Samsungs

Consider how much HD program content you are going to feed your new TV, as some TVs are better at ‘upscaling’ than others.
I personally think Samsungs are pretty poor at this.

I personally think you are wrong.

My ageing 40″ Samsung LCD has one of the best pictures I’ve seen.

Samsungs continually win What Hi-Fi Sound and Vision awards

Samsungs are generally a very popular choice by some pretty hardcore AV enthusiasts frequenting AV Forums.

I personally think you are wrong.

you probably need an eye test then.

we just updated our tv system 2 weeks ago, and I looked into quite a few options. We have SkyHD and most viewing is through that, rather than digital aerial. We ended up at John Lewis, as recommended above; they really are good and backup is great. We got a 48 inch Samsung Smart and Samsung soundbar and bluetooth subwoofer. It all went together in minutes and we are very pleased with it. The Smart functions are actually great, and the tv comes with a clever remote with an electronic pointer, which is good when selecting things off YouTube etc. The tv was about £600 and the soundbar a bit short of £300.

As an aside, our 3 yr old 22 inch kitchen telly (from John Lewis) was dropping it’s signal, so we took that in last week – they spent 10 mins with it in test room, then asked us to pick a replacement, of similar size, so we ended up with a second Smart Samsung, in 22 inch size – no hassle, all done in 15 mins, no charge.

LG 47″ LED Smart TV and Bose Soundbar here. Great combo.

you probably need an eye test then.

Charming, and I remember the delightful personal slights you aimed at me when I once disagreed with you on the subject of televisions. Good to see some things don’t change.