37" LCD shortlist. Help me choose please.

milltown

Probably going to take advantage of Hardly Normal's 24 month interest free deal and get a 37" telly for the home office/den. Difference in monthly payment over 24 months isn't a great deal so budget is wide enough. There's an analogue NTL connection in the room which will be used a bit. Otherwise it'll be mostly PS3 and Bluray. All are 1080p sets. I'm not convinced dtt/mpeg4 will be an issue soon enough to concern me.

Samsung LE37B550 €899
http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/detail/detail.do?group=television&type=television&subtype=tftlcd&model_cd=LE37B550A5WXXC
Have a Sammy 40" hd ready tv in the sitting room that I'm v.happy with so faith in the brand. Also the only contender with DVI connection afaik, which may never be used anyway.

Sony KDL 37S5500 €899
http://www.sony.ie/product/t32-s-series/kdl-37s5500
For no other reason than all the recommendations on Boards I had kind of decided my next TV would be a Sony. Looks a strong contender to me but I'm unsure of the difference between the S, W and V ranges. Could be the TV equivalent of Ballyfermot, Terenure and Dalkey for all I know.

Philips 37PFL5603 €699
http://www.consumer.philips.com/consumer/en/gb/consumer/cc/_language_gb/_productid_37PFL5603D_10_GB_CONSUMER
Seems to have all the boxes ticked at a good price but apart from the Richer Sounds/Philips commercial interaction forum I don't hear many recommendations for Philips tellies. Are they in the same league as Sony and Samsung?

Philips 37PFL7603 €945
http://www.consumer.philips.com/consumer/en/gb/consumer/cc/_language_gb/_productid_37PFL7603D_10_GB_CONSUMER
To my uneducated eye this looks like it might just be a newer version of the above, with the addition of ambilight. Thoughts?

Rank outsider:
Harvey's flyer has the LG 42LG5020 on the front page for €699. I had sort of decided 37" was the right size for the room but 42" full HD for the same or less money from a known brand probably shouldn't be ignored. General vibe online doesn't seem great though. Thinking any issues will be magnified by sitting at 37" distance away from a 42" TV, if you get my meaning.

All thoughts and opinions gratefully received, thanks.

P.S. I have read a couple of glowing reviews of the Panasonic TH37PX80 plasma (720P I know), which RRPs at £699 (so should be within range) but haven't found anywhere selling it, online or B&M.

Caruso

You may not be paying interest at HN but you are paying -- in the form of inflated prices. Just to take the Sammy that you mention: it's €730 from Elara, who deliver for €9. Similar price from Samsyerman in Belfast (they deliver to ROI for £25). I understand the appeal of the monthly payments (been there myself), but it will cost you. Btw, Samsyerman has the Panny plasma you mention for £600. They're offering it with the 5-year warranty that's available this month from Panasonic (the warranty's supposed to be for B&M sales only, but who's telling?). Richersounds in Belfast is another option, but I gave up on them when I discovered that every model I was interested in was "in-store only" (didn't fancy the trip from West Cork to Belfast).

My short-list was similar to yours (except for the Philips models -- too many bad experiences with Philips gear to even consider them). I had also considered the Panny 37" LCDs (some very good reviews). In the end I went for the Sammy 40" B650. Got it for €984 delivered from Elara (it's cheaper on Komplett, but their delivery charges are outrageous, so really only a deal if you pick it up from Dublin). It's 1080p but does a simply stunning job on sd sources. Very pleased.

You might want to check out some of the discussion on avforums re. 37" panels from Sony and Samsung. They're sourced from different manufacturers than their 32" and 40" models, and there seems to be concern that they're not of the same quality (for example, the listed contrast ratios are lower). Not sure if it actually means you'd notice anything in the real world, but it's worth considering.

big_moe

just to input here, i work in alliance electric and theres on offer on the panasonic 37 full hd 100Hz, from the previous range. the new model of it costs 979 and doesnt have 100Hz.

http://allianceelectric.ie/test/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=379

its on offer at €749, and it was genuinely €1400 when it first came out last year

heres the review of the UK version of it, the Irish model has the same quality but just not the proper tuner (which you'll need for NTL analogue)

http://www.hdtvorg.co.uk/reviews/lcd/Panasonic_TX37LZD85.htm

adam

milltown

Thanks for the input lads.
I'm well aware that pretty much everything can be got cheaper than at Harvey's but to be fair to them, and to my surprise, they are discounting. For example, the Sony I mentioned is €100 dearer from a Sony centre, and one of the Philips sets, I forget which, was mentioned in a recent post by Ash on the RS forum and quoted, again, at €100 more than Harvey is asking. I also notice that HN have it splashed all over their latest flyer that pricing is negotiable. I wonder to what extent? 5%? Maybe. 10%? Unlikely, but once I've decided what to go for I'll haggle like a pikey! Then give him 10% and a signature

Adam, are you saying that the Irish model of the Panny has not got the UHF/VHF (I can never remember which) band on the tuner that most of my terrestrial channels will be on? Also, the TH37PX80 I mentioned is a plasma is it not? That was something that had piqued my curiosity. I was willing to forego the full 1080p bragging rights to see what all the fuss was with plasmas. The deep blacks and vibrant colours and smoother motion and everything else you read about them.
Would you recommend the TX-P37X10L on the Alliance site as a plasma alternative or is the 1080p LCD set too good, disregarding the price difference? I'm interested in your personal opinion on the LCD vs. Plasma debate. Taking models from within the past year, euro for euro, is either technology looking better? Or is it going to be another betamax/vhs scenario where the higher quality medium loses out to inferior tech?

big_moe

all irish model Panasonics will have uhf/vhf tuners and will work fine on ntl analogue. to be honest, analogue doesnt really show off any flat panel! but if its only going to be the odd time then you'll be fine.

on the plasma vs lcd thing... i prefer plasma for the reasons you stated, colour, movement etc. depending on how much gaming you're planning on doing though i would consider the lcd. i have a 42" panny plasma and do a small bit of gaming (main use is Blu ray) LCDs tend to be a bit sharper and brighter which is great for gaming.

the X10 sets are excellent value for money. the irish X10s have the uhf/vhf tuner built in and also have an MPEG4 digital tuner which means that with a regular indoor aerial you can get the 4 irish stations in digital quality, for free. the new models are also coming with a 5 year warranty.

the last generation LZ85 is stunning value. if you think you'd use the MPEG4 tuner or would prefer the 5 year, then i'd go with the 37X10, otherwise the 37LZ85 is a no brainer.

zAbbo

milltown wrote: »

Samsung LE37B550 €899
http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/detail/detail.do?group=television&type=television&subtype=tftlcd&model_cd=LE37B550A5WXXC
Have a Sammy 40" hd ready tv in the sitting room that I'm v.happy with so faith in the brand. Also the only contender with DVI connection afaik, which may never be used anyway.

I've this TV, works with the Digital tests and can play Xvid/Divx/MKV (via service menu)

Also has Anynet+ which lets you control devices which support HDMI 1.3 - handy if you want to cut down on remotes.

Got it in DID for €730