I like the Samsung LE32R74BD. That is in your price range.
If it is the Monitor Audio I-Deck (not the mini) it is stunning fro the price. It beat all comers at £250. It still spanks all comers. Buy one now if you need a static unit (not for portable use) you will not be sorry.
Dr 42%er
It`s not easy being different. It`s not easy being cool....but somehow I manage....
I`m looking for a 32" set at the moment as well, as I decided against buying a 37" Harwa TV from my brother-in-law because of the poor black levels and lack of features (even if he did only want £250 for it). I`ve read quite a lot of negative reviews of the Samsung set mentioned above, specifically poor picture quality from the tuner, ghosting and flickering.
What other 32" LCD TVs would you recommend at the sub-£600 price-point? I`ve read good things about the Panasonic sets, but they seem to be very expensive. I also remember reading about a very good Sharp set a while back, but I`ve forgotten what model that was. I also just saw an add for the LG 32LC2D, which looks very nice. Any opinions on those?
Obviously price is a major consideration, but I really want a set with a great picture for the money (not too concerned about the audio side of things as I have an external amp). Black levels are of primary concern; a set with good de-interlacing and scaling would be nice as well. The LG set looks good on paper, but I can`t find a lot of info on the others.
Ths one?
Sharp LC32GA8E £499 VIP member price is still valid BTW - No digital tuner is the only drawback.
I consider myself an optimist, albeit an optimist with cynical tendencies and a dark side that Lucifer himself would find a little creepy. (Perhaps you've noticed.) You don't normally associate cynicism with an upbeat pov. But I have exactly that combination and will defend it.
Todays goal is to exceed yesterdays record level of totally unverifable productivity.
I don`t understand why people knock ASBO`s, they are good things as for most of the recipients, these are the only qualifications they will ever have.
Aye, that`s the one. What`s it like? I`m really curious as to whether the blacks look `black`, as that`s been a major issue for me with LCD sets so far. The one I`ve borrowed at the moment just looks grey with Telewest RGB and DVD over component (although curiously analogue is march darker). Also, do you know if it has a decent de-interlacer/film mode? The LG set does pulldown detection and removal among all of its other enhancements, but the Sharp site lists nothing of the advanced specs. Do you ever see any jaggies? How sharp (if you`ll excuse the pun) are SD images from cable and DVD (in other words, do the de-interlacer and scaler suck)?
To the other poster, the refresh rate refers to the 50/60Hz bit, the thing you`re talking about is the pixel response time. 8ms seems about the norm now, but the Sharp has 6ms. Faster is generally considered better. The contrast ratios don`t really seem to make much difference. If you do any reading on the subject you`ll see that they`re pretty much meaningless as there`s no standard definition between manufacturers.
The Sharp overall looks good in our living room & I for one am glad I bought it.
The main points are that there is room for improvement with better SCART leads & playing with some of the settings for optimum. Kids & THO tend to object to set up menu`s getting in the way of their AV entertainment..
Blacks do look black, to me based on the fact my eyes don`t feel they are conciously or otherwise picking up the fact that black is murky grey
Main source is with a Sky Box (SD) , from a distance picture looks comparable (better) to the CRT it replaced, up close to it you can see its pixallations but I no longer sit with my nose to the screen. ;)
Also what appears to be Pin 19 ghosting has resurfaced since everything was disturbed over Christmas.
Second source is with a LG home cinema set up via S-VHS lead & that looks far more respectable especially as I tried it out with The Incredibles.
Third source is the Mico R311 via a SCART, playback is good but now feels a little soft focus. Thats a limitation of a 2 - 3 year old budget DVD recorder more than anything I feel.
Fourth source is a PC VGA\progressive scan input, it didnt like my HDD media player & I ended up playing back standard DiVX files on SCART 2 instead. Looks crap, but then it did on the CRT as well. Unless its definately a HD AVI file I will stick with the Zodiac for playback. As yet I have not connected any laptop\console or even my Cyberhome portable DVD player with PS to further play with it.
Fifth source is the HDMI socket alas as yet unused.
Conventional UHF channels reception is also crap, mainly due to the cable lengths & other devices to multiplex signals down one lead into the living room. I am not carrying it up stairs to to verify how well it looks in the bedrooms. :p
Watching feature length BSG was great last night on it, real test will be the "turbulence" in Ep 4 I think.
Overall a cracking set IMO with pictures as good as you would expect to see in Currys etc....
I consider myself an optimist, albeit an optimist with cynical tendencies and a dark side that Lucifer himself would find a little creepy. (Perhaps you've noticed.) You don't normally associate cynicism with an upbeat pov. But I have exactly that combination and will defend it.
Todays goal is to exceed yesterdays record level of totally unverifable productivity.
I don`t understand why people knock ASBO`s, they are good things as for most of the recipients, these are the only qualifications they will ever have.
This item was edited on Friday, 5th January 2007, 15:34
Cool. You noticed any unusual cropping when viewing? I`m talking TV logos being cropped off (Sky and BBC interactive missing etc)? Happens ont he TV I have now, and it sucks.
All pictures appear well proportioned & the Sky logos are clear & unclipped (this may not be a good thing) away from the top & well to the right of the left hand side of the screen.
Not that I have a HDMI connection but just bought a 6M gold plated cable from US via Ebay for £1.28 + £5 carriage, while looking into other better cables as when the TV goes onto a wallmount. Even if it`s crap its still a better value experimental cable than £13 for a UK 1.5 - 3M length.
As the main point is space reclaimation & coupled with the "ghosting" I will need thinner, flat cables to tuck into behind the dado rail that hides the principle & surround sound speakers, the varying AV sources that I want moved into a alcove, while the TV itself goes onto the chimney breast (don`t panic Dr 42% there`s no fire\heat source underneath it) .
Hope that makes things clearer still.
I consider myself an optimist, albeit an optimist with cynical tendencies and a dark side that Lucifer himself would find a little creepy. (Perhaps you've noticed.) You don't normally associate cynicism with an upbeat pov. But I have exactly that combination and will defend it.
Todays goal is to exceed yesterdays record level of totally unverifable productivity.
I don`t understand why people knock ASBO`s, they are good things as for most of the recipients, these are the only qualifications they will ever have.