Page 1 of hello.whats the best 36inch crt tv.

are the sony ones any good.

Hi mate,
Panasonic TX36PD30. Bought one in Jan for £1600, they are now down to £1300 ish. Exellent tv, but f**kin heavy! check it out at kelkoo for some details or pannys website - cant go wrong mate! :)

Sonys are very good. But the Panasonics are also worth a look (as they tend to be cheaper).

Pop down to your local Comet or Currys, take a look at the picture on both & then buy off the internet.

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Sonys are very good

Let`s just say on this one I`m gonna disagree.....

Especially when you hit the larger screensizes, just look for the "digitised" look and blocky edges to any graphic. (Toshiba 36" "picture frame" show it badly too!)

Panny are pretty decent, as are JVC, but in reality, doesn`t matter what anyone says here, you have to go look at them yourself.

After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder ;)

Jimbo : oÞ

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Let`s just say on this one I`m gonna disagree.....

Don`t get me wrong, I`m NOT saying Sonys are the best (and obviously some models are better than others). But I think it`s fair to say Sonys are good/very good (rather than rubbish)

After your comments I took a look on www.electrictown.co.uk and the 36in Sonys score 4/5 and 5/5 (which in my opinion is pretty good)

But I do agree that you should never buy a TV on someone else`s recommendation (always see the picture quality for yourself) and the Panasonics are certainly worth a look.

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the 36in Sonys score 4/5 and 5/5 (which in my opinion is pretty good)

I`ll score them from personal experience of being in electrical Retail around 17 to 18 years.

And my score for them would be nowhere near 4/5 and certainly not 5/5.
Sony are "ok" TV`s. They aren`t "Great" or "Superb" or anything else, just reasonable and comparable to some others (Panasonic being a very good example)

However, they price themselves wayyy out of that category, and that`s where they drop off.
I would actually rate the Panasonic 36" CRT better in picture and sound quality than the Sony, and slightly less in build quality, but the price difference between them means Panasonic wins it hands down.

Again though, this is all down to the viewer. I like Panasonic styling, don`t like Toshiba`s.
Sony styling on the newer kit isn`t too bad, JVC are a bit bulky.

Go view them and let us know what ya decide Lol

Jimbo : oÞ

I`m not arguing that Sony are overpriced, but I wouldn`t call them "average" or "OK". Anyway, I think we`ll have to agree to disagree on this one...

Out of interest (for when I buy my next TV), if Sony and Panasonic are "OK", what do you rate as "very good" or "superb" and in a similar price range? (say £800 - £1500)

Reliability is an important factor when buying a television. I have had my Panasonic TV for 7 years & have had no Problems. Although Sony TV`s are good, one of my friends has had a bad experience with a Sony television so I wouldn`t recommend it. Also I`ve read in many forums about Sony playstation 2 reliability problems.
The Toshiba 36" TV has got good reports from many TV magazines as has the Panasonic.

What surprises me is that nobody has mentioned Loewe in this thread.
Highly rated by most.

The TV section of AVForums is well worth a browse too (avforums.com)

Chris Muriel, Manchester.

Agreed there Chris, Leowe is a terrific brand, but on the flipside, they are expensive and like many manufacturers line ups, there are a fair share of stinkers in the range. If i were to have a Leowe, it`d almost definitely be the Aconda - which is tremendous.

However, Leowe are expensive, and stands are an option!!!

I`d be erring towards either a Panny or Tosh set.

Yes, i know i`ve long been a traditionalist in recommending Tosh sets, but that`s beacuse they make simply brilliant tv`s. Whereas some rely on fancy gimmicks such as Pixel Plus, (which, although good, makes movies look like live action tv and hence very false - aren`t they meant to be FILM!!...sigh..), DRC and DIST to enhance the pictures, (see also, mega over processed), Tosh simply rely on a solid and highly impressive tube which relies little on said gimmicks. It is a total wind up, and also a baffling mind excerise to think that Sony and Philips both make Progressive Scan DVD players, yet NONE of their tv`s have either component video inputs or progressive scan capability. They will both argue that Pixel Plus and DRC MF do away with the need for this, but i say cobblers!! You either have the function or you don`t, no amount of pretending is going to gloss over the fact that it`s not REAL progressive scan!, (can someone help me from my soap box please?).

Tosh sets of late, most certainly the 36" ones, have progressive scan for both NTSC and Pal, and it works a treat, producing immense pictures of natural beauty. I love my Strata and wouldn`t be without it now! However, Panasonic are also another to see sense and fit their sets with the same technology. Ok, so Acuity is another semi gimmick, (which is far better than PP or DRC mind), but the PD30 models offer some of the most breathtaking images i have ever seen from CRT. Forget Plasma and LCD, none that i have seen have had the sheer jaw dropping detail of a good CRT, and that is FACT.

You can pick up either a Pana or Tosh for around £1200 if you shop about, and both will make great entertainment centre pieces. Jimbo strikes a good point that Sony tv`s are disticntly average and i`d agree. In my 10 or so years of seeing and hearing all sorts of AV wonderfulness and crapness, Sony have hit a slump and no amount of big model ranges will get them out. Tosh and Pana lead the field in the mass market of tv-dom, whilst Leowe proudly show what can be done at the luxury end with their pricey, but stunning high end sets.

As has been mentioned, it is YOU who is the best judge here, we are all here to guide you along the correct path - and as Chris says, a good browse at the TV forum at Av Forums will also give some excellent pointers.

Arrange a demo with a good, independent dealer who`s willing to let you have a play around with the tv settings and watch your OWN fave discs in comfort, DON`T be tempted by low rate superstores as they`ll give you rank service that`s guaranteed every time.

Think carefully with your head armed with these facts, then let your wallet decide :D

Best of luck

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