TV for £750 - worth it?

NotAGolf · 9 Dec 2012 at 15:47

Another spec me thread! I'm looking for a TV for around the £700 mark, £800 absolute max. A few criteria:
- LED (bright room so plasma is no good)
- 46" or 47"
- 3D (not essential, but it would have to be a LOT better than a 3D set)

The vast majority of sets in this range seem to be the Samsungs, but there's also a few LG and Sony offerings kicking around. Any recommendtions?

The thing that's bugging me is that I'm not sure whether it's worth the big outlay. I currently have a 2.5 year old LG42LD450. I've had a look at a few instore and they look superb, but I'm wondering if you 'get used to' the great picture after a while and then think "Was it really worth all that £££?". Anyone been in such a situation?

Thanks for any advice on either question!

Destination · 9 Dec 2012 at 16:14

Samsung - UE46ES6800 - LED-backlit LCD TV - Smart TV - 1080p (FullHD) if spending the money.
Its a decent set with lots of smart features.

Whats wrong with your current, almost new, TV?

sja360 · 9 Dec 2012 at 18:15

Panasonic 47et5b?

NotAGolf · 9 Dec 2012 at 19:33

Hikari Kisugi said:
Samsung - UE46ES6800 - LED-backlit LCD TV - Smart TV - 1080p (FullHD) if spending the money.
Its a decent set with lots of smart features.

Bit overbudget I'm afraid.

Hikari Kisugi said:
Whats wrong with your current, almost new, TV?

Nothing wrong with it, but a few reasons I would like to upgrade:
- Only has 2 hdmi ports
- No Freeview HD
- Bigger is always better!
- Newer set will have better picture quality (most important)
- SMART features (although this is not massively important as my Sony Bluray player has iPlayer and a couple of other bits)
- 3D would be nice to try

sunderland · 9 Dec 2012 at 21:53

the lg 47lm620 has a cracking picture and 3D is great on it but if you into football it has a bit of motion blur on it,

NotAGolf · 11 Dec 2012 at 09:50

I've done a bit of searching and narrowed it down to the following 3:
- Samsung UE46ES6300
- Panasonic TX-L47ET5B
- LG 47LM620T

I think I'm veering towards the Panasonic or LG as they get slightly better reviews than the Samsung, and I think I'd prefer passive over active 3D.

I did this research without seeing the recommendations above and came up with the same two sets which is good news.

My concern is that the reviews look good both from customers on the website and professional review sites, but then you head over to AVForums and half the thread is people saying how good it is, the other half are complaining about motion blur, clouding, banding and makes me think again!

JAMAL · 11 Dec 2012 at 10:34

sunderland said:
the lg 47lm620 has a cracking picture and 3D is great on it but if you into football it has a bit of motion blur on it,

I have the 42 version and it is indeed great, but the football /sports point is valid

Luckily i hate sports but a lot of people also report no issues.

shadow_boxer · 11 Dec 2012 at 12:31

JAMAL said:
I have the 42 version and it is indeed great, but the football /sports point is valid

Luckily i hate sports but a lot of people also report no issues.

Agreed it does have a very nice bright picture but gaimng is a liitle pants due to motion blur.

JAMAL · 11 Dec 2012 at 12:34

shadow_boxer said:
Agreed it does have a very nice bright picture but gaimng is a liitle pants due to motion blur.

Even in game mode?

shadow_boxer · 11 Dec 2012 at 13:57

JAMAL said:
Even in game mode?

It improves it a fair amount but its still noticable from time to time.

JAMAL · 11 Dec 2012 at 19:26

I just fired up COD MW2 to try it out as i haven't gamed on this tv yet and i get no issues with standard or game mode, guess i'm lucky or less sensitive.

Mine is a Oct build date BTW

tom_nieto · 11 Dec 2012 at 20:07

I still think my Panasonic plasma has great image quality 2 years down the line and have remained very impressed. If you've got the cash you should buy the absolute best that you can afford otherwise in another two years you'll be in the same situation. On the flip side, if you're reasonably happy at the moment, save your dollar. There haven't been any quantum leaps in tech over the last year. Perhaps wait until OLED sets arrive.

Mal X · 11 Dec 2012 at 20:41

tom_nieto said:
I still think my Panasonic plasma has great image quality 2 years down the line and have remained very impressed. If you've got the cash you should buy the absolute best that you can afford otherwise in another two years you'll be in the same situation. On the flip side, if you're reasonably happy at the moment, save your dollar. There haven't been any quantum leaps in tech over the last year. Perhaps wait until OLED sets arrive.

yes, Dont spend more than a thousand now and dont buy to jan/ feb... prices will be much lower then

Destination · 11 Dec 2012 at 20:47

Oh if you don't need to buy now, the the es6800 will certainly be within range.
It was at 799 somewhere this week, I don't recall where but one of the main online ratailers on a google shopping request. Currys frequently do 10% off, and then you can quid a % on top of that, so just pick the one you want, watch it over the next 6-8 weeks on all main sites and you'll find a week it is heavily discounted no doubt.

NotAGolf · 11 Dec 2012 at 21:48

Mal X said:
dont buy to jan/ feb... prices will be much lower then

Why's that? January sales, or is then when a bunch of new lines are released?

If I buy from John Lewis then they will price match for up to 28 days, but I don't want to rely on that as I'm sure there are plenty of loopholes. If it goes on sale in John Lewis I will definitely be covered though.

Mal X · 11 Dec 2012 at 23:36

Jan Sales m8, just ask my mum

never buy now, they'll be miles cheaper in jan/ feb, plus they'll be clearing away the old stock for next year..... prices will start dropping from Boxing day

you'll also find much better bargains in store than you will on the web, because Currys have loads of end of stocks that dont get online, they have a bargain basement area.... the place is massive, it's not worth putting them online, they just put a big sign on the tv and put it near the shop Entrance so everyone sees it as they walk in.

they also sell tv's cheaply that have damaged carboard boxes or have been out the back too long and covered in dust etc... one of the guys actually said this to me ! they dont send them back ?... no point bothering, they just drop them in price and they sell pretty quickly

i bet all Currys shops aren't the same, because ours is like a Pound Shop

but you do need to know which tvs are the best before you go in, because the staff are bloody useless, they only want to sell you the latest Backlight LED with Smart and 3D and costing no less than 2000 quid

Mal X · 11 Dec 2012 at 23:51

Hikari Kisugi said:
Oh if you don't need to buy now, the the es6800 will certainly be within range.
It was at 799 somewhere this week, I don't recall where but one of the main online ratailers on a google shopping request. Currys frequently do 10% off, and then you can quid a % on top of that, so just pick the one you want, watch it over the next 6-8 weeks on all main sites and you'll find a week it is heavily discounted no doubt.

you might find an 860 quid LG 60'' is only 700 quid in Jan...... Currys has a Sammy 60'' for 750 quid the other day, i dont know why, it just was