Page 1 of New to the site! looking for advice on a 32 inch Plus Flat Panel

Hey everyone, just found this site and joined up and was wondering if any of you have any recommendations for a flat panel for my living room, need something about 32 inch plus but not as big as 42inch.
will be used for TV, DVDs and Video Games(maybe PC also).
ive been looking at a few panasonic vieras and im not sure what exactly i would be looking for?

C2 Lad :)

Welcome to the family :)

Regarding a 32" screen and what one to buy I really do not have much of a clue so sorry mate.
That said, a 32" widescreen Toshiba/JVC or other make can be had for a reasonable price and as so many "Experts" rate the standard CRT as producing/displaying a better picture than the majority of LCD/Plasma`s a 32" W/S may be a good option at the mo`
Not what you really want to hear but just a fat 50 year old , bald, angry mans opinion :)

Choagy FFCUK The SPL :)

The Hitachi 32LD7200 is great - have a look on www.homecinemachoice.com for some reviews. Were hard to get hold of a few months ago, not sure what the situation is now.

Thanks for the welcome and advice guys, ive actually got a 28 inch CRT in the living room at the moment but ive convinced the missus to upgrade you see! so looking for maybe a even a 37 incher!

oh yeah and around this size bracket which is better? LCD or Plasma??
ive heard LCD is better suited for games? and cheaper too!

Can anyone help here?
i really want a 37 inch LCD or Plasma but dont know which is better for my needs?

32" you are looking at LCDs, 37"+ Plasmas, although larger LCDs are coming onto the market.

My Hitachi handles games fine, only noticed a bit of blurring on Donkey Kongo on the gamecube as the notes flew across the screen. Have to sit close though as the bongos aren`t wireless.

Actually Wad, there are a fair few 32" panels with nice pictures on `em.

On High Def displays, you get cracking quality results.....but really only if it`s getting a hi-def feed (42%er, feel free to come in and correct me here with anything new n up to date ;) )

LCD technology is a panel lit from behind, and as such, has lower brightness ratios, and lower contrast ratios. However, they generally show a decent enough picture and are more resistant to "Screen Burn" or "image retention" than Plasma.
Downside to LCD is something called screen lag, or picture switching. Basically, it means if you have fast eyes (for want of a better description), you would see the picture strobing, especially on fast moving items (and as Wad has described, blurring)

Plasma switches faster than LCD, so although the problem is still there, it`s to a much lesser degree, and therefore less noticable.
Plasma have higher contrast ratios, higher brightness and bigger sizes.
Downside on Plasma is generally a thing called artifacting or solarisation (as well as screen burn). Even newer hi-def displays suffer some artifacting, and more noticable on weaker signals.

Plasma is two sheets of glass sandwiching little gas pockets to make the display, and therefore are heavier too.
Might seem a daft point, but a 32" LCD can be hung on some walls that a 32" plasma can`t simply due to the panel weight.

End result is:
1) DO NOT go cheap panel for what you describe;
2) It`s really down to you as to what you prefer the look of.
Go into some stores and *look* at the sets with the same signal in them.
(if you intend to buy it from that store and have a laptop or portable DVD player, most stores will allow you to try it on the set if you have the right connecting stuff and ask first!)

As something I`ve mentioned way back on the Plasma/LCD debate, try to have the set turned OFF.
You will notice Plasmas vary between murky green, dark grey to reasonably black, and LCD go in differing shades of grey.

Generally, the darker the screen when off, the better it`s colour definition when it`s on!
(Take a look at the small Hitachi plasmas againt something like a Goodmans or Matsui etc for an idea.)

Panasonic Vieras (think you mentioned them above...?) are generally pretty good too, including their LCD model (albeit pricey IMHO)
Personally, my next stop is a DLp, but that`s just too big for your screen sizes :)

Hope that helps and don`t confuse too much!

Jimbo : oÞ

"Making Teenagers depressed is like shooting fish inna barrel"

I have the Samsung LE32BDX. It`s a 32" LCD set which is HD ready and has a built-in Freeview tuner. The picture quality is superb and has plenty of connections, ie, component, scart (RGB), s-video, HDMI etc. Curyys etc sell it for around £1200, but I picked mine up from Digi UK for £850.

"I`ve not seen someone taking a beating like that, since someone put a banana down my pants and set a monkey loose.."

This item was edited on Tuesday, 4th October 2005, 22:26

As a follow on about the Hitachi, there is a new one comming. 32LD6600. I know it is Hi-Def ready. HDMI, Componant, 2x Scart, side AV imput, 1366x768 res. Other specs to be confirmed.

All the best,

Dr 42%er.


It`s not easy being different. It`s not easy being cool....but somehow I manage....