Classic British Flight Sim

I am in the market for a new lounge-size TV (say 26-28'' or so). I want a digital set (preferably with freeview built in) but, do I really need a 'HD Ready' Set?
I don't subscribe to SKY and understand BBC will only transmit HD free from 2012. Also, the marketplace is very confusing with many lookalike sets , together with the fact there are varying specs of sets within the same manufacturer/screen size, coupled with many baffling abbreviations and thus, I am sure I will now buy a set which ultimately won't display the best HD picture - when it eventually comes!

I feel that a normal PAL good quality digital picture together with a DVD Player/Recorder coupled with a Hard drive is sufficient at present.

However, I am there to be converted, if experts/experienced here consider otherwise.

Any thoughts/comments?

Hi,

'HD Ready' aside, you will usually find the image quality of HD ready TV's much better as they have to be of a certain native screen resolution to meet the HD standard. The cheaper TV's that aren't HD ready tend to use cheaper lower res screens and therefore inferior image. Some TV's will also 'upscale' non HD signals to a sort of HD res to give a better quality picture as well. You can also now get DVD players for less than £100 which will also upscale the picture for better quality but you will probably need HDMI connectivity for this. Lots of different manufacturers with variations on a theme and it's a bit of a minefield. Best bet is to nip to WHSmiths and get a couple of mags and have a read. What Hi-Fi review tv's etc as do others. Comet and Curry's usually have loads of TV's running so you can see what the pics look like. Don't be afraid to ask to see the signal from a normal aerial or dvd player as they sometimes are feeding the TV's from a pc with HD signals so they'll look good. Signals from an aerial are poorer. I've got a 26" Samsung which is superb. When/if my 32" tube tv packs up it'll be replaced with a larger HD flat TV.

Depending on models etc, the price differentials between say a 26" and a 42" has closed quite a lot this last year so you may be pleasantly surprised at the cost of say a 32" LCD.

A good site to check deals on LCD tv's : http://www.lcd-tv-deals.co.uk/
and for plasmas check here : http://www.plasma-tv-deals.co.uk/

Rgds

John

Tks John,
All of your info noted/appreciated.

You say the signal from an aerial is poorer - surely though, if you are receiving say freeview digital - would that not be the best quality presently available?

I have shortlisted some sets (Samsung, Sony Bravia, Philips) but just want to check before I jump-in. Despite the reductions I notice there is still quite a gap between 26 and 32 inch size models.

Hi,

As long as you've got a good aerial and built in free-view you should get good picture qualtity. The analogue signal is slightly poorer than the freeview signal. I've got an indoor loft aerial which feeds to a signal booster in the loft and then feeds cables to my lounge and bedroom. The lounge feed goes to a diplexer in the loft which combines my terrestrial aerial, sky sat and an FM aerial into one cable down to the lounge where it's split back into the 3 signals again. I do lose a bit of quality in the lounge but that's probably due to cheap cable that the builders put in and losses in the diplexer. I might try and see how easy it is to pull a better cable through at some point. The signal from the booster to the LCD Samsung in the bedroom gives a superb signal.

Rgds

John

My friend has got a HD Sony TV and I have to say the picture quality out of that is far superior to that of my tv, gives everything an edge...

I'd be tempted but Im not sure whether the picture quality is good because its a sony, or because its HD.

From what I've read as a totally disinterested luddite (nothing worth watching on TV anyway - grumpy old man), John's comment

Some TV's will also 'upscale' non HD signals to a sort of HD res to give a better quality picture as well.

seems to be quite important. The standard aerial output is 576 lines interlaced. But the new HD ready are not interlaced so there is the potential for flickering as the 288 lines on each sweep try to fit into 720 lines on the TV.

I may have misunderstood all this, but one of the those who know about this may be able to give the pros and cons.

I don't have Sky and I won't be paying for basic Sky and then the HDTV top up fee in the next 5 years (if ever). And 2012 is so far away.

I cannot remember the last time i watched TV

If only i had time.

Sleep
Eat
Work
FSDS
Sleep
Eat
Work
FSDS
etc etc

you need HDTV like a Fish needs a bicycle mate

Regards
Rick........................................................................................
..........................................
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("hey !, I say !
that bloody fish has nicked me bike again")

Regards
Rick

I heard someone say that HD TV makes you feel like you are there, but how? It's still only a moving picture at the end of the day.

I bought a 32" Samsung LCD tv last year and have to admit that the picture quality is far superior than the old set we had, also size and image quality comes into it's own when watching DVD's. My wife wasn't that bothered about DVD's until I put one on and now she won't watch films unless there DVD's!
Haven't had a chance to watch HD-TV yet as NTL doesn't seem to broadcast it at the moment.

As the originator of this thread, I really appreciate the input/suggestions to date.

Yesterday, in Tesco Extra they were selling a Grundig 28 inch flat screen (but CRT) digital TV set incorporating freeview for £229. Now, as I said before, without any free HD transmissions until 2012 - why pay out for a, admittedly aesthetically pleasing, Sony Bravia 32 inch HD ready set at £1,299 for the top of the range out of three models? Would I not be better buying the former and then, in 6 years or so, buying the then state of the art HD set, probably at half the price!

Don't get me wrong - I am happy to pay out for a decent computer to run Flight Simulations, etc., well but, I find the current normal PAL standard transmission quality satisfactory - even better with digital. Also, standard DVD's are fine and noticeably improved over VHS videos, especially when 'digitally re-mastered'.

In fact, to me the main TV technical advance worth up-grading for is the fact you can now easily and reasonably buy a DVD Player/Recorder incorporating a 130 Hours plus Hard Drive.