Dumb question for the forum guru's....

[lukehawkins]

I am looking at buying a new 32in HD television, i was wondering what donates the picture quality when watching a dvd player or freeview? I thought it was the contrast ratio and obviously the tv with the highest ratio is best. Just wanted to make sure before i spend tones on a tv, cos the tv i have now is hd but when i watch dvds or freeview the picture quality is awful, worse than my previous tv which was a standard definition television. Any advice is welcome, cheers! :thumbs:

[rwniel]

There are many elements that contribute to a good quality picture, have a look at the following link (http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/Article/Elements-Of-Picture-Quality.php). But ultimately, it's also a case of garbage in, garbage out - so some content is never going to look that great especially when blown up to larger sizes or if you are viewing it from up close. There's also the issue of how a source is connected to the television, so you should ideally use the best one available; hdmi, component, rgb scart, pal scart with composite avoided if at all possible.

One difficultly you have when comparing contrast ratios between manufacturers is that there's never an indication of how they've been calculated or that they've used the same testing methods. So I would be wary of using on-paper specifications. Manufacturers also generally quote huge dynamic contrast ratios which aren't an accurate way of saying how they'll work with actual content (- there may be quirks that show up with certain combinations and if the changes are too abrupt then you'll get flickering, for example).

The best thing is to decide on your maximum budget, shortlist a few models and then go view them in the flesh with the understanding that in a shop they may not be set up to their optimum. Your choice may well be influenced by personal taste in the end (for example the styling) especially if you have to allow for the wife/girlfriend factor. :)

Robert

[lukehawkins]

Cheers for the link, was looking at this TV and for the price seems as tho i aint gonna get any better. Sony 32Inch TV (http://www.thedvdforums.com/affiliatelink.php?localaffiliateid=2) I have a budget of £400 and just want the best picture and size i can get really. That sony chappy looks sweet.

[rwniel]

The V4000 models are a popular choice for a budget television given their cost. You can get it a little cheaper from Amazon UK (http://www.thedvdforums.com/affiliatelink.php?localaffiliateid=8&url=http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0018PKEIY/thedvdforums-21) (3 year warranty).

Robert

[lukehawkins]

Was v happy with the Sony Tv which was mentioned in this thread earlier, but then at work today i saw this, Technika 37" TV 1080p (http://www.thedvdforums.com/affiliatelink.php?localaffiliateid=79&url=http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.205-0787.aspx). It has full HD but the contrast radio is shocking, 1600:1 when the Sony has 30,000:1, i am gonna be using it for dvd usage and playing my 360, anyone got an ideas? Wondering whether the cheaper TV, cos i get 10% discount would be better? Or would the picture be noticeably worse and so not worth it?

[rwniel]

Well, I guess you can return it if you're not happy with it? I don't have any direct experience of the Technika, is that Tesco's own brand range? I suppose it depends on your expectations really - you'll have to judge whether the trade-off for the larger size is worth it; the 30,000:1 contrast ratio on the Sony won't be anything like that in practice though (as it's a dynamic one - based on the figures I saw for the 40" version which may or may not be directly comparable the contrast ratio is about 2400:1) but I would expect it to have better picture processing for example.

I suppose there's no way you can increase your budget? The Panasonic TH37PX80 37" hd ready plasma television for example is currently £499 delivered from Martin Dawes (http://www.thedvdforums.com/affiliatelink.php?localaffiliateid=369&url=http://www.martindawes.net/ProductDetails.aspx?pid=TH37PX80&cid=plasma&pcidl=television%2cplasma&language=en-GB). Picture quality with a range of different souces (particularly SD content) is pretty good.

Robert