SD and HD TV viewing advice

A question about : SD and HD TV viewing advice

Official MoneySavingExpert.com insert

For a full list of the best HD TV deals, see the main website's Cheap HD TV guide.

Back to the original post...

Hi we are looking at getting a new TV but most of what we will see will be on SD TV rather than HD. However we do want a TV that will be good enough for 5 years+ and so need to get a HD TV.

We were looking at 40inch but were a bit worried that when watching an SD program it would appear grainy at that size unless we were a long way back from it !!

We will be about 8ft from the screen...

Any advice?

Best answers:

• https://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/26...distances.html
  Go to a GOOD TV store and look and ask - NOT cuurys, comet, dixons etc, etc ! I would try John Lewis, they also give a five year warranty on all TVs.
• How much are you looking at spending? Would you be willing to goto 42" or is 40" a max?
• I think there is a lot of doubt whether even in the age of digital tv in 5 years time, we will be getting High Defination broadcasts as the norm.
• Thanks for the comments so far...
  42 inch is okay too - the sizes of a sony 46inch are too big for the wall alcove where we'd want it.
  Price?? hmm - what would we need to spend to get something of quality - we will try and scrape together for a good quality one with a 5 yr warranty. - any suggestions?
  will sd still look okay - at 42inch from 8 ft away - the problem with shops is they normally play dvds or blue what nots so you don't get to see normal TV quality!
• ^^^
  Ask them to demonstrate the TVs with normal broadcast quality programmes for you.
  Maybe make up a DVD of your own with various quality videos on it and take that with you for them to play.
  You are a potential customer.
  If they won't oblige you shop elsewhere.
• First choices you need to make are between LCD and Plasma, and between HD Ready (720 res) and Full HD (1080 res). Your budget will determine the latter.
  Do some research on this before you go to view.
• If you are watching mainly SD TV i can highly recomend the Panasonic Plasmas, plasmas are a bit more forgiving on SD broadcasts thats why i went for one, SD looks fantastic on ours
  I wouldnt go for full HD as this compromises SD viewing from the reports ive read, we have Sky HD and that also looks fantastic
• HD Ready can be 1080 or 720 - you're more likely to get 1080 (referred to asFull HD) if you go for LCD than plasma. TV pictures come in lots of different sizes. HDTVs, and often set top boxes come with upscalers (which also downscale btw) and it is often the quality of the upscalers that can determine how good a picture is.
  If you're looking at standard freeview on a 40" screen at say 8 feet away, a rubbish channel will look rubbish. You've only got 500ish lines of information to display, no matter what TV you're using, HD or not. TV processors as well as scalers help refine these pics a bit - the most famous would be the Sony Bravia engine, but all brands have their own.
  Personally I would choose a new TV on it's best picture, not the SD stuff, as long as the SD stuff is acceptable.
  If you're happy to stick with SD, stick with a CRT for the moment, they have great pictures!
• My recommendations as I have recently been n the same boat....
  LCD not Plasma..... as much as they say they have improved, you will see that plasmas can still get screen burn and with many, if some pixels blow, it is not considered enough to prplace under warranty.
  Also you will see that Plasma extended warrantys are more expensive
  5 year warranty
  John lewis and costco do offe these as standard, but tahts not to say you cant buy a decentone.
  Last for 5 years
  Steer clear of the bargain basement brands as it is a false economy. Saying this, dont go crazy aswell. Brands such as samsung and LG are great.
  To HD or not to HD
  720 is good whilst 1080 is obviously full HD. You do howeverhave to pay the premium. It is important to note that HD is not as dramatic as people make out. Of course the picture is better, but its not dramatically better, ie like when you first saw the quality of a DVD against your old vhs machine.
  Best offers
  Shop around and look at cashback sites aswell to get a little more back when you decide what you want.
  At current I have seen an offer on a Hitachi 32" HD TV for Ј269, but that is too small for what you have posted.
  I would say you can get a decent set with a warranty for under around Ј500, just dont fall into the trap of being ripped off by the warranty salesman... I was quoted Ј250 by one retailer!
  Hope this helps
• 40" screen size, plasma are certainly the best for SD viewing, no if's...and's or but's.
• P.S. if you are looking for a wall bracket, makro has some exceptional offers on at the moment with wall mounts starting from Ј24
• Don't forget the viewing angle point also. I can watch my plasma from almost anywhere in the room, but most lcd's are pathetic at anything more than a few degrees. Plasma, no contest, at that size, and can be viewed comfortably at 8 feet.
• We bought a 46" samsung plasma, fortunately with 30 day money back gurantee (QVC). The picture on SD was a let down - the screen was just too big and recommended viewing distance was minimum of 10.5 feet (we are about 9 feet away). Also the sound was muffled because no speakers at front and sound is bounced of the wall behind. Most shops will say if you want decent sound, get a separate sound system on top.
  We sent it back and trawled the shops all day, making sure we considered sound output too. In the end we decided on 42" panasonic plasma 1080p (only got 1080 cos it was on offer at same price as 720 at the time).
  Bear in mind the only HD inputs that are 1080 are blue ray and games consoles so unless you use those the best HD you'll get is 720 which is still v. good compared to SD. Transmissions in 1080 are years away yet IMO.
  As for LCD Vs Plamsa its horses for courses - I was dead set on 1080p LCD, mainly because thats what ppl say, future proof etc. Go look at all the TV's next to each other.