Buying a HD TV for $600 Australian

Cannon Goose

I'm in the market for a HD TV so I can do all of my gaming (Xbox 360 and PS3 via HDMI) in my bedroom instead of the lounge room. I decided that 32" would be ideal and I have about $600 to spend but there's a few things I'm unsure about.

1. "Full HD" or no? In my bedroom I sit about 2 metres (a bit under 7 feet) from my current TV (a small and old SD thing) and I was wondering if the image quality difference is noticeable, especially on a 32" screen.

2. The TV in the lounge is a 50" Panasonic Viera Plasma which just looks incredible. Should I go with Plasma or LCD for my bedroom? The TV might have to be up on a shelf due to my odd room layout so viewing angle is a factor.

3. Are there any decent brands that are in my price range? What brands should I steer clear of?

4. Image retention/burn in. Does this still exist? I haven't noticed it on the family Plasma even after 5 hour gaming sessions. Do some brands burn in more than others?

5. Response time. There is zero input lag on the family Plasma but I'm not sure what it's response time is. What's a good response time for gaming?

I think that covers all the bases. If there's anything else I should know about when buying a TV, please let me know.

Thanks!

soxbox

Full HD on a 32" is a waste - until you get into the 50"+ range, it's probably not noticable.

http://www.dtvforum.info/ is the place to be for aus hdtv discussion. The posts there will cover a lot of what you need to know, including best prices. Not sure if you'll be able to get anything decent at that price level, but I haven't paid a lot of attention since buying my last tv 2 years ago.

Improvolone

Well, actually, that depends on how far you sit from the set...

Cannon Goose

Well, I'll be sitting about 2 metres from the screen. Will I be able to notice full HD from that distance?

Improvolone

Its kind of long, but I'd read the OP in the TV thread.
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=86179

It should answer your questions and then some.

bsjezz

honestly i'd just go around to a few jb hifis and dick smiths' and have a look around over a day. at a time when this kind of technology is moving extremely rapidly, prices are dropping fast, and really great in-store specials are the best way to get the best deal. you can have the best-laid plans and find out what you really want is out of stock, or you can wing it and end up with an awesome tv that's marked down because there's a slightly newer model in the catalogue, or because it doesn't have a box

i think at this point in time the price difference between 720p and 1080p is marginal - if you can even find a non-full hd tv these days - so i'd go for full. and i wouldn't worry too much about response times. i don't think it's generally a massive problem

Improvolone

Don't buy a set based on how it looks in a store.

bsjezz

better than buying it based on how it looks on an amazon page

Improvolone

And best would be buying it based on professional reviews and spec sheets. Which you know... isn't very hard.

bsjezz

this is a silly argument anyway, since there's no reason you can't be looking at a set in store while reading a review online. portable information is a wonderful thing

Improvolone

You can look at a set in a store, but the video feed its getting is crap, its calibration is fucked, and its under an insane amount of lighting that you probably don't have at home. So look all you want, but what you see doesn't mean a thing.

Alternatively, you can keep arguing with someone who does A/V work professionally.

Djeet

Cannon Goose wrote: »

Well, I'll be sitting about 2 metres from the screen. Will I be able to notice full HD from that distance?

I don't think so. Just got a 32" TV and sit about 2.5 meters away and I cannot tell the difference between 720p and 1080p at that distance. I did notice when watching the NBA finals I was getting up to watch near the tv and once I got under 4-5 ft I'm pretty sure 1080p would've made a difference, but that's more of a sizing issue (If I'd have gotten a 40" I probably wouldn't have gotten up from the couch, but then it wouldn't have fit in the space I wanted it). There are other considerations besides resolution though: for example reflections and viewing angles. Also I got a rather cheap tv and one thing I've noticed is that the cheaper tvs have slower boot up times and tuners (when you change the channel on the tuner it's black for several seconds until the tuner decides to decode the signal).

Cannon Goose

This television will be purely for gaming and watching DVDs, so anything to do with network shows isn't an issue.

I'll look around a few places tomorrow to see if I can find what I'm looking for.

Improvolone

I have no concept of Australian prices, but Samsung consistently makes a great LCD, and for a budget screen thats quite good, Vizio.

chrishallett83

I won a Samsung LA32B350 (Series 3, 32 inch) at work last year. It's great! Does up to 720p/1920x1080i, and sitting about 2.5 metres away, it looks fantastic whether I'm watching BluRays like UP or playing my PS3. It's not the worlds greatest telly, not by far, but if I were in the market to buy one now, I'd definitely be strongly biased towards this particular model.

I can't find the series 3 model at JBs, but they've got the series 4 for $750. Probably less if you can gte it in an end of financial year sale. Or there's this Toshiba 32 inch set for $596 which is nice and cheap.

Cannon Goose

Yeah, from what I saw today I've been leaning towards Samsung. Looks like I might have to spend a bit more money though.

The Black Hunter

chrishallett83 wrote: »

I won a Samsung LA32B350 (Series 3, 32 inch) at work last year. It's great! Does up to 720p/1920x1080i, and sitting about 2.5 metres away, it looks fantastic whether I'm watching BluRays like UP or playing my PS3. It's not the worlds greatest telly, not by far, but if I were in the market to buy one now, I'd definitely be strongly biased towards this particular model.

I can't find the series 3 model at JBs, but they've got the series 4 for $750. Probably less if you can gte it in an end of financial year sale. Or there's this Toshiba 32 inch set for $596 which is nice and cheap.

I have one of these exactly and it is rad

The tv guide is clunky, but everything else is spectacular

Blake T

Find a place with JB hifi, the good guys, harvey norman and retravision pick a tv and just start walking between them and see who wants to lower the price further. I got around a grand off mine when I did that, it may take a while but you'll save some money.