Help buying a new TV please

pvr said:
Cheap cables will work in normal circumstances, but with HDMI it can often be a case of picture / no picture when something changes.

The cheap £10 cables did not work on my setup, the £50 cables (each) did work but then I use a Prof series Panasonic display which also has a lot of problems with Sky HD boxes as most don't work with the prof series displays of any make.
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I have to admit I've seen that but if you bought three x £10 cables at least one of them would be OK. Plus the OP is only talking of a home TV here.

Andi.
 
Andi - that is right, I was only replying to why there are different value cables out there.

For his application, the cheap ones should work fine. It is only when you starting pushing the limits of the cables either with length or with signal that you might experience problems.
 
remember that freeview only carries bbc1, bbc-hd, itv1 and ch4 in HD, all the other channels are in standard definition.
 
The sound on most of these thin screen tv's nowadays is generally very poor and somewhat tinny and even a decent sound bar will vastly improve the sound.
 
pvr said:
Andi - that is right, I was only replying to why there are different value cables out there.

For his application, the cheap ones should work fine. It is only when you starting pushing the limits of the cables either with length or with signal that you might experience problems.
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OK. Yes that's why I didn't want to start arguing with the guy from RicherSounds :wink:

Andi.
 
Sky has a number of HD channels - not sure if any are free or if they are all subscription. They also have one 3D channel.


Tapatalking...
 
dr_john said:
remember that freeview only carries bbc1, bbc-hd, itv1 and ch4 in HD, all the other channels are in standard definition.
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Freeview has four HD channels, Freesat has 5 (As Freeview plus NHK World) Virgin has 30 HD channels and Sky up to 65. Some of these numbers depend on the package you have bought and some depend on your local transmitter.

I think the normal free to air channels in HD are free one whatever platform you have.

Andi.
 
HDMI cables test here: http://gadgetshow.channel5.com/gadget-show/videos/news/hdmi-cable-test

Also don't forget that SKY puts out a 1080i not a 1080p signal. Can make a bit of difference in how sharp it is compared to a BlueRay disk. :wink:

Plasma or LCD can depend on the room they are in. If it has large or many windows and is very light, LCD is better, a dark room and Plasma can be a richer picture.
 
Regarding HDMI cables, there are different types depending on your usage, whichever you go for, there are varying quality - personally, if I'm spending hundreds on a large screen TV, I don't balk at spending around £50 on a good quality cable. If you are going 3D you should also look for a 1.4 compliant cable.


Tapatalking...
 
Bought a 40" LED Samsung for my parents a couple of years back, apparently Samsung have a good reputation for LED screens. They are more than happy with it, though I spent a full afternoon tinkering with the controls to get a picture that suited them, colour saturation, contrast, brightness etc. Picture quality was excelent though and as for 3D had a few friends try it and after an hour watching it gets tiresome or so they say.
 
Not sure how true it is (but seems reasonable to me), but this whole 3D thing was described a few weeks ago as the biggest invention that never was, i.e. the uptake was minimal and nowhere near as popular as thought.

Also, only Avatar was supposedly "excellent" in 3D, and the rest fairly poor.
 
We have 3D, through blu-ray and sky. Little bit of a novelty TBH, not worth the money. When they get it right without using glasses etc it may be different, but I wouldn't bother buying it again. HD though, worth every penny on a larger screen....


Tapatalking...
 
I never use 3d on my tv, only so many times i can watch avitar, and the novelty of skysports 3d has worn off!

All my devices run through my amp, so i only have a single hdmi lead to my tv, the turn themselves on/ off, through hdmi (turn on the ps3, it turns on the amp, which turns on the tv; turn of the tv turns all the devices off)

I used to have 1m monster cables, replaced them with cheapo ebay 20cm cables (as everything is stacked on my amp, and dont want messy long wires) and no loss of quality or sound.


Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk
 
Same here. 3D TV but after the novelty wore off I rarely watch the 3D! All about wearing those glasses!! The new Attenborough series in 3D on Sky is good mind!
 
markeg said:
Remember there are variations on the HDMI cables as well.... Just love technology :roll:


Tapatalking...
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HDMI is a digital signal, so quality of signal is never an issue no matter how little or much you pay. £5 or £55 same quality!!!

There are difference specifications of HDMI that relate to functionality, these are not just cable related but connection related on your equipment.

Example ARC need HDMI 1.4b connetions as well as a HDMI 1.4b capatable cable.

ARC ( Audio Return Channel ), very usefull when upgrading the sound andusing the TV as the sound source to be amplified..
 
3rdPillar said:
markeg said:
Remember there are variations on the HDMI cables as well.... Just love technology :roll:
Click to expand...

HDMI is a digital signal, so quality of signal is never an issue no matter how little or much you pay. £5 or £55 same quality!!!
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Couldn't disagree more with the final statement. I would not scrimp on the costs of a digital or analog lead - you get what you pay for.

Tapatalking...
 
... including HDMI plugs that just fall off when you plug them in :)
 
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