Complaints against officers

[Administrative Account 7]

I'm looking at buying a new telly, a flat-screen LCD digital with Freeview since we are being forced to go digital. Of course I can get a Freeview box, but I thought a TV would make more sense.

However, I've just seen a report on telly saying that HDTV sets, or HDTV ready, aren't going to be all they're cracked up to be, on top of that they might have to be payed for via satellite which I have absolutely no intention of doing.

The question is, if I bought a telly, is it worth my while getting an HDTV ready set (even if I don't take advantage of it) because an ordinary, non-HDTV set will be useless in a few years time? Or can I buy a standard, non-HDTV flat screen LCD set with no worries?

I'm only looking at a 20" screen, hardly cinema proportions; are there any recommendations over makes? I've been into Currys and seen names I've never heard of, Mikomi and Acoustic Solutions... who on earth are they?! I'm happy to pay a bit extra for quality.

The strange thing is, the LCD screens I have seen do not match the sharpness and clarity of my current CRT television - so much for progress.

[Mad1000 0]

I'm looking at buying a new telly, a flat-screen LCD digital with Freeview since we are being forced to go digital. Of course I can get a Freeview box, but I thought a TV would make more sense.

However, I've just seen a report on telly saying that HDTV sets, or HDTV ready, aren't going to be all they're cracked up to be, on top of that they might have to be payed for via satellite which I have absolutely no intention of doing.

The question is, if I bought a telly, is it worth my while getting an HDTV ready set (even if I don't take advantage of it) because an ordinary, non-HDTV set will be useless in a few years time? Or can I buy a standard, non-HDTV flat screen LCD set with no worries?

I'm only looking at a 20" screen, hardly cinema proportions; are there any recommendations over makes? I've been into Currys and seen names I've never heard of, Mikomi and Acoustic Solutions... who on earth are they?! I'm happy to pay a bit extra for quality.

The strange thing is, the LCD screens I have seen do not match the sharpness and clarity of my current CRT television - so much for progress.

I'm as bewildered by the whole thing as you are but one thing I would recommend if you're happy to pay for quality and get some good advice is to go to a specialsit. I had some bad experiences with the likes of Currys, Dixons etc. giving bad advice, not making me feel confident they knew what they were talking about, supplying poor quality products and being more concerned about flogging finance than decent equipment.

I got some good, simple advice on my TV and home cinema kit a couple of years ago from a specialist chain called Sevenoaks Sound and Vision. If there's one near you they're very good and stock good quality brands (or any other specialist nearby would be a good idea). I just went in, said what I wanted and they recommended the right kit and answered all my questions and then delivered and set the kit up and not a mention of finance! - 3 years on and its all still going strong. I completely understand your reservations about the Mikomi and Acoustic Solutions brands, a bit 'plasticy' for my liking.

[Professional_Cynic 74]

try richer sounds too.

the issue with LCD is that it uses a resolution and refresh rate different to that of CRT tv's, so the picture never comes out as well, hence the need for HD and the HD resolutions

It may be a bit of a trek for you David, but your best bet would be for you to go to Southmapton and pay a visit to John lewis. All of their LCD's come with a free extended warantee (uts either 3 or 5 years) and their salesmen do know their stuff

[Administrative Account 7]

Yeah, thanks both for the replies, very much appreciated. Nicholas Angel you are spot on regarding John Lewis/Richer Sounds. I got an idea Richer Sounds have opened up somewhere in Southampton too. I'd rather try and buy from either of them as opposed to Currys and Dixons because, like Mad1000 I have had bad experiences from those kind of shops (not just them, but ones of a similar nature too). I think they're fine if you know exactly what you want, but not for guidance.

It is a bit of a trek for me, but John Lewis are fabulous when it comes to help and products and are deserving of custom. I shall go over one day soon.

[Godfather1546080762 11]

You don't have to have HD, and will be fine without it, but if you can afford it go for it. 99% (probably 99.9%) of all screens sold today are not proper HD anyway, yes they are better than standard definition, but true HD is loads better. But, you pay a lot more for true HD.

You also found that the picture is not as good as a CRT screen - this is true! The best screens still are the old fashioned CRT beasties, if I was you I would buy one of those. Yes they are heavier and go back further, but the picture is better and they are cheaper. Stay away from the names you don't know, there are some new comers out there who are actually enormous companies but who have just sold in the UK before, but many of them are rubish. Stick to the big names - you can't get better than Philips, Sony, JVC, Panasonic and some of the other. My personal favourite is Philips, have had their sets for years, my current one is a 32" CRT widescreen, have had 36" before and that was stunning - better than prety much any LCD or Plasma. You don't get the ghosting, blacks are black, and you know where you are setting them up.

If you do want an LCD go for the biggest set you can afford, and don't worry too much about HD, just make sure it is widescreen! The budget ones are really not worth looking at. If you can afford a bigger screen go for a decent brand, widescreen, HD will come as part of the deal.

Also, I'd look to buy online which will save you money and mean it is delivered. You can go and see them in the shops, then when you have chosen buy online. As for Currys/Comet, makes no difference. You are not buying something only they sell, you are buying a product with a warranty, the service from both companies is pretty good and they will replce it if it goes wrong. John Lewis will give you an extended waranty. Depends whats most important, you can just look around and get the best price, or you can get someone to make you a coffee while you are looking - but expect to pay for the drink at the till.

[Santini 3]

If you are going to go with LCD rather than plasma then make sure you get a good one and you will be fine, if you get one of the cheaper brands then it will be nowhere near as good, looking at the pixel and contrast ratios are a good start.

At the moment on dixons website they have an offer on their samsung TV's which are fairly good quality and HDTV ready. about £100 off.

HDTV isn't the be and all and end all, it just gives slightly better picture quality IF you have an HDTV compatible supplier such as SKY HD or whatever so you do need to pay more. The only reason im getting an HDTV is because I have an xbox 360 and it makes a huge difference over a normal TV, but for normal use, I dont think its worth it.

That said most of the TV's out now are HDTV as standard anyway. HDTV will never be useless, you may be getting confused with Digital TV when they switch off the analogue signal, they are different things. Some of the samsung TV's on the dixons website have a built in freeview box so they are even better.

Make sure you can recieve freeview though,some areas can't, mine included and I live in a fairly populated area just outside london so the only choice is satelite or cable and satelite wins everytime.

http://www.freeview.co.uk/availability

[ParochialYokal 1,119]

If you are only buying a 20 inch I wouldn't worry.

Its cheap enough and disposable enough to buy a larger HDTV in 5 years when hi-def becomes the norm.

My only advice is to makesure you get one that is 16:9 (widescreen). My partner got a cheap LCD TV for Christmas and it was 4:3.

Edited March 5, 2007 by DGP

[Basil the Rat 26]

Just for David, press

[JS_ 26]

From our favourite public service broadcaster : BBC HD site

Have no fear that if you don't buy an HD set that it will be obscelete - the freeview SD servive will continue for a long time and any phasing out will be done in a similar fashion to the current analogue services. There are plans from the BBC to have a free to air HD service and this will be going before the Government soon for approval - it will be delivered in a similar fashion to freeview but won't be rolled out until analogue switch off.

My opinion about HD is that it isn't really needed - most people are not watching TV for quality but for entertainment, if you can make out what is happenning you are happy. I always ask "Does the quality pass the Mum test", i.e. would your Mum notice the difference - I know mine doesn't !

Feel free to PM me - I work in this area ....

James

[Hotlush + 1]

At the moment Plasma TVs still have the edge over LCD for picture quality, although the LCDs are catching up.

The report on the BBC was that Freeview (the digital carrier) may not broadcast HD signals but I think it isn't down to a limitation with Freeview but with the number of frequencies available (HD requires more than SD).

[Administrative Account 7]

Many thanks to you all so far regarding this; it's helped a great deal, things are a little clearer in my mind now.

[JS_ 26]

The report on the BBC was that Freeview (the digital carrier) may not broadcast HD signals but I think it isn't down to a limitation with Freeview but with the number of frequencies available (HD requires more than SD).

Quite correct - one HD service takes up a whole multiplex at present, you can fit 4-6 SD services in that "space", but there is a plan to try and persuade the Government to release some of the old analogue spectrum for HD transmissions and it is expected that compression technology will improve to allow more HD channels to fit in. It is all upto the politicians and officials to make such a decision as to releasing or selling the spectrum to the highest bidder.

In my opinion it is important to have a DTT option with HD as otherwise you are artificially biasing the market towards Murdoch and the cable firms, a battle which Murdoch will win due to the massive reach available via satellite and similar transmission capacities of both media.

James

[Administrative Account 7]

Why are they closing the analogue signals anyway?

[Cargo + 166]

David

One other thing there is a world of difference between a set that is 'HDTV' ready and one that is actually capable of HDTV.

However that said if you are looking at a 20" set, then a 16:9 widescreen LCD will be fine, the LG sets are good, as is the Sony models.

If you want informed opinion I really would look at somewhere like John Lewis or Richer Sounds rather than the Currys type, also it is worth getting a DVD or something that you like and know and ask to watch it on the tv that you are interested in, any shop worth their salt will let you.

If you want to know more let me know, for my sins I work in the high end side of this business, but we would normally watch at HD or greater resolutions.

Clive

[JS_ 26]

Why are they closing the analogue signals anyway?

At present there is a complicated set of band planning that needs to be done to prevent the analogue signals from interfering with each other and to prevent the digital signals interfering with the analogue. As such we have reached full capacity within the UK for terrestrial TV in this band.

You can fit 4-6 digital SD channels in the same "slot" as an analogue FM TV carrier so ergo get more channels transmitted just by substitution, additionally there has to be a gap left between analogue carriers to prevent them from interfering with each other this is much less the case with digital - they can virtually butt up to each other, therefore saving spectrum. I'm ignoring the quality of the pictures in this discussion as it only clouds the issue.

So, in summary, the reason the Government is switching off analogue is two fold - to increase the number of channels available to everyone by improving the use of the band and to release some spectrum so it can be used for other purposes (read sold off).

James