HDTV Help!

[KaosuHamoni]

I've saved up for about a month and a half now, and i have enough for an HDTV. I'm not geting anything over £350 and nothing bigger or smaller than 32", and it has to be full HD (1080p). I was looking at a Sony Bravia, as it was cheap and seemed to fit the bill, but now i have people telling me, contrast ratio this, backlighting that, confusing me and putting me off. What should i get? Keep in mind that it will be used for gaming and blu-rays primarily, and television second.

 

[Baby Tea]

I got a Samsung, and I don't regret my choice.
The Sony TVs, the LGs, the Sharps, and the Panasonic TVs didn't look nearly as clear, or as bright.
When you shop, though, try not to look at them on a big wall bank of TVs. The connectors they use to show off those TV split the signal to each TV, and it's isn't as good quality as it being directly plugged in. Close, but not quite. The brightness, though, will be the same, so you want something that isn't going to be super dark.

I personally suggest Samsung (I got my 40" LCD about 2 years ago and it's perfect), but do the research. Get customer reviews, consumer reports, and take a look at them at the store.

 

[DuplicateValue]

To be honest, whatever you get will be an improvement on an SDTV, so I wouldn't worry too much about contrast and the like.

 

[Cherry Cola]

Before you buy it, remember that without an HDMI cable, you'll basically be throwing money down a bottomless pit.

An HDMI cable will usually run you about £30

 

[KaosuHamoni]

Before you buy it, remember that without an HDMI cable, you'll basically be throwing money down a bottomless pit.

An HDMI cable will usually run you about £30

I've found one for 2.99, with gold connectors and the whole shabang, so I'm covered =]

 

[Sexual Harassment Panda]

I tend to go for Samsung, they're very good. I'll PM you a link, as I know there are rules about this sort of thing.

 

[Baby Tea]

Before you buy it, remember that without an HDMI cable, you'll basically be throwing money down a bottomless pit.

An HDMI cable will usually run you about £30

No and no!
Belkin HMDI cables are $19.99 Canadian, first of all (I have one, works perfect).
Secondly, component cables are totally capable of 1080p.

HMDI will have nicer blacks and such, and it will, indeed, be a slightly cleaner image then component (Plus the audio and video in one simple cable is very nice), but components will do 1080p just fine.

 

[Cherry Cola]

Before you buy it, remember that without an HDMI cable, you'll basically be throwing money down a bottomless pit.

An HDMI cable will usually run you about £30

No and no!
Belkin HMDI cables are $19.99 Canadian, first of all

Where were you when I had to purchase one myself!?

HMDI will have nicer blacks and such, and it will, indeed, be a slightly cleaner image then component (Plus the audio and video in one simple cable is very nice), but components will do 1080p just fine.

I barely see a difference between my HDTV and my ol' fatty TV when using normal cables.

And even then, the difference in quality between HDMI cable and no HDMI cable is still huge.

 

[mad825]

Sounds like you are getting an LCD?

keep in mind that you need at least a screen with 5ms or less response time otherwise you might notice some lag but any screen will do really if you are after a greater value to quality

 

[Darktau]

Before you buy it, remember that without an HDMI cable, you'll basically be throwing money down a bottomless pit.

An HDMI cable will usually run you about £30

You got ripped off, sorry

Many big stores sell them for way in excess than they are worth, I got a gold plated one for just over £5 and its amazing

 

[Cherry Cola]

Before you buy it, remember that without an HDMI cable, you'll basically be throwing money down a bottomless pit.

An HDMI cable will usually run you about £30

You got ripped off, sorry

Many big stores sell them for way in excess than they are worth, I got a gold plated one for just over £5 and its amazing

Well now I'm sad.

I miss my money...

 

[KaosuHamoni]

Before you buy it, remember that without an HDMI cable, you'll basically be throwing money down a bottomless pit.

An HDMI cable will usually run you about £30

You got ripped off, sorry

Many big stores sell them for way in excess than they are worth, I got a gold plated one for just over £5 and its amazing

IM GETTING THAT... oops... caps... I'm getting that one! =D Amazon Ftw!

 

[Darktau]

Before you buy it, remember that without an HDMI cable, you'll basically be throwing money down a bottomless pit.

An HDMI cable will usually run you about £30

You got ripped off, sorry

Many big stores sell them for way in excess than they are worth, I got a gold plated one for just over £5 and its amazing

IM GETTING THAT... oops... caps... I'm getting that one! =D Amazon Ftw!

It's amazing, its like a rope of HD awesomeness.

 

[KaosuHamoni]

Sounds like you are getting an LCD?

keep in mind that you need at least a screen with 5ms or less response time otherwise you might notice some lag but any screen will do really if you are after a greater value to quality

Yeah LCD, Can't get a small plasma, unfortunately. As i am constantly being reminded by my mum. Her 42" Panasonic Plasma came today. Kinda sucks to be 15 =/

 

[Baby Tea]

I barely see a difference between my HDTV and my ol' fatty TV when using normal cables.

And even then, the difference in quality between HDMI cable and no HDMI cable is still huge.

Make sure it's component, and not composite! The red, white, blue, green, and orange! Not the red, white, and yellow! A buddy of mine is borrowing his brother's Xbox, and he didn't even have it set to HD. He just thought it would be. When I did it for him he was floored. "OH MAN! This looks SO MUCH BETTER!"

I have a blu-ray player using HMDI, and my 360 is using component, and both look awesome.

 

[Sronpop]

I can vouch for component cables being able to display 1080p perfectly fine, I could barely notice the difference when I upgraded, and yes I have everything set up right. But everyone has HDMI cables now anyway, so its not like it matters.

The bigger the contrast setting is usually the better the tv. The really good ones are like 1 million to 1 ratio, its basically the color spectrum the have, the bigger the ratio the deeper the blacks will be and the brighter the whites will be. Back lighting is and optional extra really. I find that it can get annoying. Just get a Full HD tv and make sure it has 1080p, you can't go wrong really. 90% of tv's these days are fucking awesome.

 

[KaosuHamoni]

I barely see a difference between my HDTV and my ol' fatty TV when using normal cables.

And even then, the difference in quality between HDMI cable and no HDMI cable is still huge.

Make sure it's component, and not composite! The red, white, blue, green, and orange! Not the red, white, and yellow! A buddy of mine is borrowing his brother's Xbox, and he didn't even have it set to HD. He just thought it would be. When I did it for him he was floored. "OH MAN! This looks SO MUCH BETTER!"

I have a blu-ray player using HMDI, and my 360 is using component, and both look awesome.

Pfft. Ps3 ftw, as i have a blu-ray player and console in one. Seriously though, HD and SD are hugely apart in terms of quality. I'm gawping at our new Panasonic. Just wish i had the £800 it cost. ¬_¬ Ah well, Alienware comes first i guess.

 

[Cherry Cola]

I barely see a difference between my HDTV and my ol' fatty TV when using normal cables.

And even then, the difference in quality between HDMI cable and no HDMI cable is still huge.

Make sure it's component, and not composite! The red, white, blue, green, and orange! Not the red, white, and yellow! A buddy of mine is borrowing his brother's Xbox, and he didn't even have it set to HD. He just thought it would be. When I did it for him he was floored. "OH MAN! This looks SO MUCH BETTER!"

I have a blu-ray player using HMDI, and my 360 is using component, and both look awesome.

I ask again, where were you the day I decided to buy an HDMI cable?.

Now I'm even sadder. I'll just have to comfort eat this pizza to feel better.

 

[Gigano]

I've got a 32" Samsung LE-32A656, and it performs beautifully for gaming. Other than picture quality, you'll want a model with low input lag for gaming. The B600-series has more picture enhancement options, but more input lag due to this increased processing, and would be hard to find at the specified price.

Generally, any midrange Sony or Samsung should work out just fine quality-wise (stay away from budget models). I'd probably recommend the Sony KDL-32V5500 if it's still on the market, if apparently offers a great quality-to-price ratio, and is Full-HD unlike its predecessor (not that Full-HD is really necessary at 32").

Whatever model you end up with, be sure to Google calibration settings of it (if you're not planning to get it calibrated yourself), preferably from professional review sites (CNET etc.). While they are to some degree individual and influenced by subjective views, the difference in quality from out-of-the-box settings can be positively vast.

As other's have mentioned, be sure to use cables capable of HD-transfer. An ordinary cheap HDMI cable (and a separate optical cable if you plan on surround sound) will do just fine.

 

[VanityGirl]

I got a Samsung, and I don't regret my choice.
The Sony TVs, the LGs, the Sharps, and the Panasonic TVs didn't look nearly as clear, or as bright.
When you shop, though, try not to look at them on a big wall bank of TVs. The connectors they use to show off those TV split the signal to each TV, and it's isn't as good quality as it being directly plugged in. Close, but not quite. The brightness, though, will be the same, so you want something that isn't going to be super dark.

I personally suggest Samsung (I got my 40" LCD about 2 years ago and it's perfect), but do the research. Get customer reviews, consumer reports, and take a look at them at the store.

You seem to know quite a bit about these. I want a big HDTV, but I'm afraid it will be too dark. My home has a lot of natural sunlight shining into it and I've heard that some of the LCD's are not great inside with a lot of light.
Do you know if that's true or not?