Richer Sounds - 47" LCD TV for 599 from 899. Good/Bad?

[liverpool ste]

Hi to all looking in on this thread:thumbs:

I have just joined the forum as we're in the market for a new tv to replace our battered 32" CRT:( This forum appears to be one of the most knowledgeable around too BUT it has opened a can of worms and confused us somewhat. We basically want the full set-up of TV, sound system, Blu-ray player and HD Sky thingy-majig.

From reading here we now know we're looking for a 1080p, 100Hz minimum LCD TV.

We were gutted when Bennets online sold out of the 50" Samsung Plasma for 599 this week but in a way are now glad as we've heard horror stories about Plasma.

Moving on, Richer Sounds seem to have come up with the IDEAL mega-deal I've been looking for but is this truly a great deal? It's the LG 47LF7700 - 47" LCD TV 1080p HD Ready freesat model that's been reduced by 300 quid. In Comet it's still over a grand:suspect:

Here's the link and suggestions/assurances are greatfully welcomed;) : http://www.richersounds.com/product/lcd-tv/lg/47lf7700/lg-47lf77starstar# and http://www.richersounds.com/products/home-cinema/lcd-and-plasma/all-tvs

[Alan b]

Moving to Hardware Forum

[Kryten]

..but in a way are now glad as we've heard horror stories about Plasma...

:eek: Plasma is better than LCD for sure! Old plasma's (by old I mean 1st to ~6th generation) were known for their screen burn and potential re-gassing, but the current generation (12th) are much better and the quality difference over cheaper LCD's is astonishing!

Take a look at the Panasonic 50" 1080p in the bargain forum. It maybe above budget but that is the sort of target I would be heading for. I have a Panasonic 46PZ80 and love it, I will e getting the 50" or 54" one in the US in a few months when I move there.

Some of the newer LCD's are getting better with regards to motion blur and colour quality, but they just never seem as good as a plasma to me.

[lsba02853]

As Kryten said, the horror stories about Plasma are all old and now unjustified.
At the end of the day its all about personal preference, go and view as many TVs as you can, even take some DVDs you like and ask for a demo.

Pick the one that YOU think gives the best picture quality and don't be swayed by the sales people.

I'm on my 2nd plasma (ex wife got to keep the 50" panny i bought) and wouldn't entertain an LCD. To me, the plasma gives a much more natural looking picture, whilst LCDs just seem to be overly bright. Obviously you'll get plenty of opinions and people loving LCD over plasma, so I revert to my earlier comment. Demo as many as possible and pick the one that YOU like.

[KRW]

The only issue I have with Plasma is the phosphor trails, and I do tend to watch a lot of B&W stuff, in HD and SD. Is that still an issue? Sorry to hijack. Am also in market for upgrade.

As for the link, it looks ok to me. I'd be interested to know a) if it exists instore anywhere (i've had bad experiences with Richer Sounds) and b) if it is any cop.

[lsba02853]

I know people have had experiences with Phosphor trails but i have to say i've never seen any other than on YouTube.

[KRW]

Isn't B&W stuff worse though, for Phosphers? And as a good roughly 20% of the stuff i watch tends to be B&W its a consideration.

[jester]

The only people who compare LCD favourably over plasma want to sell you one or is into purchase justification.

[liverpool ste]

Hi all and thanks for replies ;)

Called in store @ Liverpool today and the young lad (I'm only 31:lol:) said it's a cracking deal BUT there is a warehouse stock of around 200 sets which needs to supply 50 stores. Of which there's 30 customers already waiting for the said LG 47" LCD @ 599, so basically their allocation is already over-subscribed and "the chances of me now getting one were very slim"....:brickwall

As I left the store I asked could he kindly call the nearest stores to see if they'd get us one?:help: We'd be calling back for the answer AND I took a leaflet (the important bit!).

We then called the Chester store by phone and the guy there said there was no such thing as store allocation and once the tv's are gone, they're gone - regardless of who orders them:clap:

....... I'd be interested to know a) if it exists instore anywhere (i've had bad experiences with Richer Sounds) and b) if it is any cop.

Went back and now the manager dealt with us - said he's very confident of us getting one next Friday when delivery comes in, THERE'S ONLY 5 PEOPLE WAITING - NOT 30 AS SUGGESTED:suspect:, and when I asked of which deals were the best/he'd buy for himself/his mother!, he did say that LCD over any Plasma:thinking:

SO made some headway but now got 'til next Friday to decide IF LCD is actually the way forward?

WHY DIDN'T SOMEONE MAKE THIS MORE SIMPLE?:?:

If anyone can shed more light on a very confused mind then please do put your penneth worth in.

Ste:thumbs:

[jester]

Hi all and thanks for replies ;)

... and when I asked of which deals were the best/he'd buy for himself/his mother!, he did say that LCD over any Plasma:thinking:



Please see post #8 :lol:

If the manager of RS is saying that he would buy this LCD over ANY PLASMA then he is obviously

a - lying
b - part of the care in the community programme

You will spend a LOT of time looking at this so best to dig deeper and get some more research done and read some independant reviews. Good luck :thumbs:

[driver8]

didn't you take a look at the LCDs & plasmas whilst you were in the RS store ?

[liverpool ste]

didn't you take a look at the LCDs & plasmas whilst you were in the RS store ?

Yeah - they all look stunning to me and my missus:luv: Remember we're upgrading from a 32" CRT:lol:

And yes I do see the point raised about the manager of RS telling us anything to get a sale. He did actually say he was reducing a 50" LG Plasma as it's the last one which we could have for 599. BUT it's not 1080p - was 1080i and 50Hz. We passed........:thinking:

Today there was an advert on the tele from the Curry sale for a SONY KDL40S550 40" 1080p LCD TV which is 599 but reduced by a further 100 if you trade in an old TV. This could be our bedroom TV while we work out the best option for the living room one:clap:

[KRW]

This is why I hate Richer Sounds. If they have something that's 'only available in store' you have little chance of actually getting one. They are full of crap.

[lsba02853]

educing a 50" LG Plasma as it's the last one which we could have for 599. BUT it's not 1080p - was 1080i and 50Hz. We passed........:thinking:


Your eyes won't see the difference.
My Plasma's native resolution is 720p, i can't see the difference between that and 1080p, granted some people will tell you they can but they all look great from where i'm sitting

[liverpool ste]

Yeah the big plasma/lcd debate has confused me somewhat - more than I needed to be TBH and the whole 1080p/1080i/720p thing opened up a bigger can of worms!

Maybe the effect is psychological and all in our heads as they also look the same to me (although I am slightly colour blind so my not be receptive to the true HD brilliance!lol)

[Edwin Fong]

I was going to post a thread asking about this TV as well, but thought I may as well wade in on this one. I was looking at this as an upgrade to my 720p set, but having looked around it seems there is general agreement that it is hardly noticeable, if at all.

Now, i wouldn't mind a new TV, but don't particularly need one. I currently have a 46" Sony Bravia that is 720p, and the noise about plasma in this thread is making me consider that instead of LCD (current TV is LCD). Does anybody reckon its worth an upgrade or is there some new technology round the corner (3D I guess, though I'm assuming that will ridiculously expensive for a while).

[essydyk]

Always something better around the corner!!;)

3D TV will be pretty expensive yes as Panasonic are hoping to launch a 3D 50" Plasma soon ...
http://www.trustedreviews.com/tvs/news/2009/10/07/Panasonic-50in-3D-TV-Unveiled/p1
Price will be roughly £3,000 according to that report and with a lack of 3D material available - not sure if Sky will charge a premium for their 3d service it looks a bit of a non starter for the majority I would say.

The only major thing that might put me off getting a new TV for the moment is inbuilt HD Freeview Tuner - I would say that they will start cropping up in any new models from the start of next year.

[Roberto]

I have to be honest. I was walking around the ASK store in central London and had a good look around. They were all fed the same HD video feed. Which had a combination of movie clips and demo videos (you know, the naff ones with some ramdom hot chick walking around some med countryside/village)

It was really hard to tell the difference between the latest plasmas and LCD's, apart from the brightness levels they were all pretty much same picture quality. I liked the 50" Pioneer Plasma very much but there was the latest Samsung LCD (series 8?) which was a little bigger (52") and several hundred pounds less and seemed to be equally good.

[splobber]

Deffo gotta get 1080p. Anything else looks like pirate rips.

[rwniel]

How far away are you going to be sitting? For HD content you can sit much closer, but if a lot of what you watch is inevitably still going to be SD then it may end up looking worse if you're sitting too close. By the way, I wouldn't get too hung up on the discount, just decide the maximum you want to spend and then just get the best television that fits your budget. :)

Compared to Plasma, LCD models tend to be brighter so that may be a consideration depending on your room. Also bear in mind that some models are quite glossy which is a consideration if there is a window directly behind your viewing position.

All Plamsa televisions do suffer from phosphor trails, but the majority of people do not seem to notice them (me included). The Youtube videos do exagerate the issue IMO. Basically every techology has its pros and cons (- increased power usage with plasma, but better viewing angle and motion display for example).

Robert

[Nebiroth]

Remember that the only HD format to use 1080p in the UK at present is BluRay. None of the broadcasters use it.

I honestly couldn;t tell the difference when I reviewed the sets, and I made them play SD broadcast, HD broadcast, SD DVD and BluRay in every supported mode on all of them.

In the end I plumped for a plasma screen because it looked better than anything else even though on paper the spec was lower.

What constitutes a "good image" is so subjective that you shouldn't get hung up on technical specs.

Just make sure you view a variety of material from different sources and then pick whatever one you think looks best in your price range.

Technical specs are a lot less important than you think. You could end up buying something with whizz-bang specs and think it looks horrible.

The same goes for buying something just because someone else says it "looks great". What they like and what you like might not be the same thing.

A friend of mine raved over her LCD TV and I thought it looked awful.

Always remember, bigger numbers do not always mean better. You should also be wary about screen size. Get one that matches the size of the room and viewing distance, rather than the biggest one you can cram into it.

[Edwin Fong]

Thanks for the info. Think I'm just gonna stick with my set, it looks damn fine from where I sit and I think I just got a bit excited by the low price.

[jester]

Check out the 60" monster LG in the bargain thread! :nuts:

[liverpool ste]

Hi everyone;)

Collected tv but it's staying in its box for now (as we may be moving in nxt mth):brickwall

I'm slightly confused over the HDMI thing now - Currys seem to recommended a Pure AV HDMI lead costing £99, Richer Sounds a £40 version. I've read a £10 cable is no different from a £200 one:thinking: Any feedback ppl:help:

Also, my blu-ray player of choice (to unleash my 90+ blu ray collection) would be the hanging Samsung BUT in Richer Sounds there's a Panasonic DMP-BD60 for £179 which has a redemption for X-men trilogy, Wolverine:Origins, Australia and 3 others (will confirm). BD80 version is also available for £269.

Are these good buys - even buying the plyers to sell on ebay and redeem the blu-rays myself THEN buy the Samsung:D

Ste (even more confused!):notworthy

[jayok]

Buy the £10 one

[Nebiroth]

Buy a cheap HDMI cable. First, the ones that highstreet stores sell are grotesquely overpriced for what they are. They just offer them to people hwo are buying a TV there by saying "you'll need an HDMI cable for this, would you like to buy one now?" - lots of customers do this for the convneience or because they don;t know how cheaply you can buy such cables elsewhere.

The other sort of really expensive ones, are more for the geeks who get twitchy over signal losses etc that are completely indetectible to the human eye/ear. You could spend a huge amount on some fancy cable that would make absolutely no difference in a domestic setup.

So buy a five or ten quid one off amazon marketplace etc.

[Kryten]

As above, I had a load of cheap ones from play.com that worked perfectly for me and were 1.3b compliant. I think they were around 8 quid each for fairly long ones that had good quality cable outers to stop them getting tangled. DO NOT buy expensive digital cables, waste of money.