advice on wide-screen tv's

[shoshntosh]

hi

we are about to buy a wide screen tv (finally giving in) and don't know too much about it.

our room is really bright (south-facing with huge windows). in this case is plasma better than

LCD? anything specific we should watch out for?

we are looking at the sonia bravia KDL46V3000 if that means anything to anyone. it is 1920 x 1080(p)

with a 16000:1 contrast ratio (all of which means little to me). are there websites that compare/rate/review

these things?

obviously technology not our strong point.

THANKS

[will dex]

Hi there SST,

im a TV buyer for a retailer.

LCD will be brighter than plasma but it is less able to show a wide variation of dark and bright on the screen at the same time, thus darker colours appear 1 tone, when plasma can reproduce them far more lifelike in the many different tones as they were intended (eg the black bars on films appear grey on lcd, but black on a plasma, same with all other colours on the screen)

re contrast ratio, these are largely meaningless as the measure is so subjective, infact from the next generation of screens most manufacturers will drop the measurement after ***** manufacturer (in some peoples eyes) discredited it by quoting one of their screens at 500,000:1

If you absolutely must put your screen in direct sunlight then yes, the LCD would be best as it will go brighter, but if you want the best picture (lifelike, many colour tones, less motion blur) then go for a quality plasma like a Pioneer PDPD428XD or any Pansonic. A Palsma will function nearly aswell as LCD in bright direct sunlight.

Sony screens are good but Samsung is the market leader and some sonys (all until recently) were rebadged Sasmung's.

The model you list is a good model but check if the new 4000 model is available in 46" yet. Samsung make some excellent screens at that size and are worth considering.

A 46" screen is very large and you will need an exceptionally large lounge for it to not dominate. Consider you will need to be at least 4 meters away from the screen in order to not be able to see individual pixels (undesirable).

Screens are available online but willbe difficult to return if you have any problems. Much better to investigate online, go to a good store (john lewis/sevenoaks sound & vision etc) and get specific advice , armed with a web price for them to try to get close to.

Plasma screens cost more per " than LCD.

Panasonic now do a (TH42/46/50 pz81) model with a freesat hd tuer, which recieves high definition freeview through your sattelitle dish.

screens come in high def (720p) and full high def (1080p). Very little content is available in 1080p and the difference is not that significant, so full HD is a "nice to have" feature, not essential.

I could go on forever but dont want to confuse with too much info..

hope that helps. If unsure my view: Plasma will by far and away produce the best most lifelike picture. LCD will be cheaper, and go brighter 9if you feel that is desirable)

have fun

Will dex

[shoshntosh]

thank you so much, will dex. hugely helpful.

i owe you a pint.

we are shopping from john lewis so i'm hoping

if we aren't happy we can return it.

[Asset]

I did a bit of research before buying and got the impression that LCD is better. It used to be that LCD couldmn't cope with a larger size but that is not the case anymore.

I got a 26" Bravia and it's great, no reflected sun on the screen and a great picture.