So the old Samsung LCD needs to be replaced as it's about 10 years old and the wife wants in the bedroom (against my wishes!)

I haven't really kept up with TV technology since buying the last one so I'm not sure what I'm looking for.

In terms of criteria I'd like it to be around 40" and with a stand (rather than being wall hung).

A friend has a 'Smart TV' which I like the idea of if I can get it for the money. I'm not bothered about turning it on by blinking or being able to talk to it but the internet connection seems like it offers some nice features.

We don't have a separate speaker set up so I suppose sound quality needs to be decent as well.

I'd like to spend less than £1000 if possible.

ETA; I'm not worried about it being 3D, I'd prefer not, actually.

Toshiba 32" non-smart are around two hundred quid, three hundred for smart. You should have plenty of choice for a grand; to be honest I wouldn't spend that much. Basically you're paying for the software and not much else.

In my humble-but-informed-by-thirty-five-years in broadcasting, 3D is an utter waste of time.

We bought an LG smart 3d (although we very rarely use the 3d - but if you are spending that much on a telly these days they will pretty much all be 3d capable)

A 47" one was around £800 at the time. We bought it because of the very sleek design. No problems with it at all.

John Lewis give a you a free 5yr warranty when you buy a TV and also price match if you find it cheaper elsewhere.

1000 will get you an awesome tv,

May I suggest a Samsung ue40f5500.....smart, led, wifi etc, around the 500 pound mark I believe, they did do a 42 inch model of it but it was discontinued but I'm sure some online retailer would still hold stock of it

Adam

Edit, all sound quality is pants, you'll have to make peace with it

Cheers for the replies so far, guys.

So it seems clear I don't need to spend a grand which is good news. I paid over £700 quid for my 32" Samsung LCD and that was nearly 10 years ago. My budget was really based aroun that plus wanting it bigger and with a few newer features.

So I'm now thinking about sound given that we should have some spare cash once we've found a telly. What's good though?

I don't really want to be running cables everywhere to have a surround sound system and I have to consider that I have a neighbour upstairs so I can't have it can't going up to 11 all the time.

What are these soundbars like that I keep hearing about?

Same here in just about every respect - the picture quality on these LG's is excellent imo

In 1999 or thereabouts I had for a while every widescreen LG flatscreen in the country, pre-proto models for an exhibition. On the way back, the plane that delivered them crashed and burned...

A few years back I came on here & asked the same question. I was led to an av forum. Read through all the specifics that I thought suited my needs & in the end purchased a 40" Sony Bravia top of the range at the time. Picture quality is superb. Obviously Sony will have moved on with up to date technology, might even be better. I've never regretted my choice.

Ok. So I've looked into this a bit more and I'm just as confused.

The chap in Currys who earns commission if I buy a TV from him says that Samsung are the best. When I ask why he says because they have more features on their smart TVs than anyone else. For example, you can change the channel using your voice or by drawing the number on a trackpad on the remote. Wooooow!

Thing is, the cost difference between a smart TV and non-smart (but still LED, which seems to be the TV type to buy right now) seems crazy.

I can pay £700 (only because it's on offer) for this 47" Panasonic link

Or I can pay HALF AS MUCH for this non-smart Sony LED link

Ok, there's 7" difference between them but Richer Sound also have a 50" LED for under £500.

I have Virgin TiVo which has all the catch up and on demand stuff I want and I have a laptop to plug into the TV if I feel like browsing the web on a big screen. Is there any other reason I'm missing which means I should get a smart TV?

one thing I will say about the Panasonic, don't count on the SD card slot supporting any kind of useful video formats, although the jpegs work fine.

I have that very same Panasonic, can't fault it, menu system is a bit slow though

If you have all your catch up stuff on your virgin box then you need not worry about a smart tv as your box will do most of it, Panasonic lacks in smart content anyway.

Although the pana is a very good tv you can't fault the Sony what so ever,

Did you look at the Samsung I mentioned?

No he doesn't

My mistake, I assume as they are sales based and using loads of basic sales tactics.




Yes I did. Looks a good TV for the money (£450 at Richer Sounds). If the wife wasn't nursing the hangover from hell we'd be heading over to Southampton today for a look in their store.

samsung EH5300 40" smart tv at Argos for £399 looks a good deal. Am looking at this for my father in law.

I thought the currys guys earned pooled commission......

I could be wrong

any tv I buy, I always get pricematched at johnlewis. as they will pricematch any other retailer, but instead of other companies only giving you the manufacturer's 1 year warranty, john lewis give a 5 year!

last tv I found cheapest at electrical experience.co.uk and then pricematched with john lewis. simples

I'm COMPLETELY unbiased but my new Philips 6000 series LCD smart TV is very good - really impressed by the picture. The only downside I've come across is that the remote isn't IR so doesn't adjust my Sonos Playbar volume.

I think it really depends upon all the interface malarky you want on the back too. I wanted optical digital sound output and a few other specifics (it's set up for the local cable TV without a separate box. The remote has a QWERTY keyboard on the back which is useful for smart TV functions.

Panasonic viera. We got the older LCD version on sale, but still full HD 37". Very pleased. I think it was in the mid £100s.

The John Lewis idea is inspired.... !

You are, they don't

they match the customers needs and requirement and sell them the RIGHT one

I'm not sure about that. If the guy yesterday had listened to me properly he'd have realised I don't really need a smart TV, just a plain LED.

And, the only justification he could give for why one Samsung was better than than another (everything looked exactly the same to me) was that the stand was 'cooler'.

I can't imagine they aren't on any commission whatsoever,

Besides, they would earn commission off the extras and not the tv itself, now that I know for a fact