Viewing Help

losthorizon

Ok heres my problem. I have a fairly big DVD collection ( I have no intention of upgrading my old DVDs to Blu-rays) however I would like to get a Blue ray player. I also dont have sky and I dont want sky as the cable company Im with is great except you cant record with them. (It also supplies my phone and top class internet connection). I also want to get a new TV as well.

For movie watching what do people think is the best TV out there and is there really much of a difference between DVD players and Blue-ray players. My DVD player at the moment is play only no record facility.


Any suggestions? Please!

krudler

losthorizon wrote: »

Ok heres my problem. I have a fairly big DVD collection ( I have no intention of upgrading my old DVDs to Blu-rays) however I would like to get a Blue ray player. I also dont have sky and I dont want sky as the cable company Im with is great except you cant record with them. (It also supplies my phone and top class internet connection). I also want to get a new TV as well.

For movie watching what do people think is the best TV out there and is there really much of a difference between DVD players and Blue-ray players. My DVD player at the moment is play only no record facility.


Any suggestions? Please!

Thats what everyone who gets a blu-ray player says :pac: blu-ray players upscale dvds anyway so they'll look even better. want my advice? get a ps3, itsa dvd/bluray/media centre all in one

losthorizon

krudler wrote: »

Thats what everyone who gets a blu-ray player says :pac: blu-ray players upscale dvds anyway so they'll look even better. want my advice? get a ps3, itsa dvd/bluray/media centre all in one

Can you record?

jaykhunter

As for watching DVDs (and the option for Blu-Rays) I'd personally recommend a PlayStation 3. It upscales great and always has the latest firmware, as well as being a powerhouse beast. If you ever want to download/stream movies/TV shows it's a fantastic media system (you can easily copy files to the PS3; or stream from your laptop).

Also, there's a fantastic selection of games. If you even just got Uncharted 2 in a bundle with it you'll know you've made the right choice. It's a beautiful, phenomenal game.

As for TVs, you'll have it for a while so get a good brand (Sony, Samsung, LG etc). Recommend LCD over Plasma (Plasma suffers from ghosting) and honestly; I'd go for the biggest set you can get. I have a 1080i 52" and everything i watch is an experience. I don't think you'd notice 1080i and 1080p (and for that matter, 720p and 1080i) unless they're side by side, but you'll know!

So in conclusion, my advice is to pick up a PS3 with Uncharted 2 (you can send away for some free blu-rays aswell!) and the largest 1080i TV you can afford

Here's a review of the game. Don't worry, it's easy to pick up and play.

There's some device called a Play TV for your PS3 to record off your TV onto your PS3 but I haven't looked into it!

Goldstein

Taking the record / dvd functionality, I'd recommend getting a hard Disc recorder. I have a middle of the road Sony one and it's perfect - you can't tell you're not watching live TV and it'll store hundreds of hours worth of goodies. Look for one that upscales DVDs to 1080P. Edit: I'm not sure if they sell Blu-Ray players with HD recording functionality but if not you may need a separate hd recorder if you want a record facility aswell as the Blu-Ray player.

With the TV firstly, and most importantly define your budget. How much would you like to spend and how far are you prepared to stretch the purse strings. The grass growing out of the next most expensive TV up will always be greener. Accept this and try to get the most bang for your buck within your scope.

Second, what size is appropriate? What are the dimensions of the room it's going into, which wall will it be mounted on and how far away is the primary viewing position? No doubt you've been stranded in the front row of a large cinema screen before - not an experience we ever want to repeat let alone live with day-to-day so it's important not to go too large aswell as too small - though you would err on the side of large. 40 / 46 / 50+ are usually the choices here depending on room size & layout.

The TV flogging has become very vulnerable to the marketeers distorting reality and stretching facts, with no real standards body to hold them in check. As a result truth has become a casualty particularly regarding the core specs contrast figures / black levels / refresh rates etc. Don't believe the specs alone. Also, an LED tv is just a differently backlit LCD TV. It always annoys me when sales people try to fool you into thinking it's some magical new technology capable of walking into Mordor.

Whatever way you go, my advice is to physically view the TV you're thinking of buying - head into a Sony centre, a peats, a Soundstore, whereever (Except Harvey Norman ) and have a good look, ask that they demonstrate standard def TV and high def and a Blu-Ray. An idea is to bring a Blu-ray with you to view in the different places - tat way you're always comparing like with like - pay close attension to black levels in dark scenes.

People have differing acceptability levels when it comes to ghosting/picture quality. You need to find out where your eye lies before you start listening to the likes of people online who think they can see ghosting at 1Hz.

Yes, a 1080P Blu-ray is a big step up from a 480i native DVD. People's ability to discern the degree of diffeence however will vary. Well worth it in my view.

Bear in mind when reading reviews that there is no such thing as a perfect TV but finding an excellent set that you'll be chuffed to bits with for years is not difficult if you do some research and read some reviews. Shop around - the modern era is a consumers paradise. Never before have we had so much choice about where to obtain our gadgets.

But, whatever you do, DO NOT for the love of God buy it in a shop - purchasing online will save you money, particularly if you're going above average or high spec - Many of the shops don't even stock the high end TVs. Have a look at places like Pixmania.ie, Amazon.co.uk, etc. The price variance is striking.

A starting place is the Sony, Panasonic, Samsung etc websites - see what different sets they have currently and the most striking diffeences between them. Then look up amazon reviews for them (with a grain of salt) and professional level reviews.

If you find yourself listening to a shop sales person and thinking "Hmm, today's episode of Sesame Street seems to be brought to me by the number "3" and the letter "D", kindly inform them that you have brought along a jerrycan of aviation fuel and a reliable ignition source for just such an eventuality should the 3D gibberish persist.

Some parting advice when mounting it - Use something like a Vogel's moveable mount and do not put it over a fireplace - fine for la-dee-daa showrooms but a television should be at eye height relative to where you are sitting - with your eye level with either the bottom or middle of the TV.

jaykhunter

Excellent advice there Goldstein

losthorizon

Thanks Goldstein. Heaps of advice. Plenty for me to chew on.

Sad Professor

I recently got a new 40-inch Sony LCD Bravia. It actually has a recording function built-in. I'm not sure how well it works though. You have to connect an external hard drive. I'd imagine there are superior standalone solutions out there, as already suggested.

Excellent post from Goldstein above, I would just add the following:

Re: buying online, yes, it is a great deal cheeper, but I would recommend some caution. Keep in mind that if you experience a problem outside of warranty the reseller you bought it from can make big difference. I wouldn't want to be chasing after Pixmania, for example, who have a very poor reputation for dealing with faulty products. Once the voluntary warranty runs out, the manufacturer is under no obligation to help you, and the (legal) responsibility falls on the reseller. For this reason, many people prefer to go with a bricks-and-mortar shop for things like televisions.

Re: physically viewing a TV in-store, yeah but I wouldn't place too much value on it. Keep in mind that display models are usually very poorly calibrated. It can take quite a bit of tinkering with your settings you get a new TV looking good. So I'd recommend checking out reviews more so. In particular, do a search of the UK discussion forum avforums.com. Googling for reviews can be a bit head-wrecking as Google will bring up a lot of spam, but a detailed review or feedback on a tv can be very helpful.

losthorizon

I know I'm bumping a really old thread I started but there is a reason. First of all a big thank you to all who replied especially Goldstein.

I actually havent bought a new TV yet but a carpenter is coming to our house next week to fit new floors and a new cabinets and Im getting the whole room refurbished. Theres only one thing missing and thats a TV. I mainly want one for viewing Films and Sport and its got to be 42".

I know I dont want a 3D TV. Can anyone suggest a good Model and the best plces to read up about them. I know Goldsten already has but I wonder have things changed since then. What would people suggest are the best makes? I probably have about €1000 to play around with give or take.

Cantona's Collars

PowerCity have a good range of tv's and are pretty decent with prices.

Here's an example of one that also has movie playback via usb (I use this feature a lot on my Samsung) http://www.powercity.ie/?par=10-13-42LS560&pages=1&prod=42LS560&brands=LG&image=

Get one at around €600 and spend the balance on a surround sound system.

http://www.powercity.ie/index.php?par=10-22&cat=TV,%20DVD,%20Camera,%20Computer%20&action=brandstory

TheIrishGrover

In my own opinion, as with Goldsein's original post, avoid 3D. It's a fad that did not take off and will not take off. Unless there is some kind of Star Trek, full colour, HD genuine projected image that everyone can see from ANY angle without cheap shades and eyeball-splitting headaches, it is a fad and a gimmick. Do you REALLY want to see Coronation Street, even a football match in a pathetic attempt of 3D? No.

You gotta think about where you're going to put it in your gaff also. As G said, avoid over the fireplace. I've been in houses that have one there. Brilliant in a pub when you're having a few scoops with the lads watching a match. Spending max 1 1/2 hours craning your neck up at that angle. But, at home? Avoid. You gotta be aware of strong light from behind the viewers (Through a window or standing lights etc) with reflections (esp on a plasma screen) or beside the screen which dulls the image, often making it practically unviewable on a bright day (like today).

Everyone has their own opinions as to which tech is the best. However it's up to yourself to decide your own tech. Some prefer the matt, non reflective display of an LCD screen, some prefer the brighter colours and darker blacks but highly reflective display from a plasma screen (If they watch at night or without bright light sources behind the viewers). Some prefer the ultra thin-ness of an LED display.

These days the problem of ghosting is generally gone in that most TVs allow for a refresh rate of 100Hz and up. But it can still be an issue on cheaper models. As Goldstein said, if you want to try out a screen, bring a disk. Maybe even two.

Animation (esp computer generated ala Pixar etc) look AWESOME on Blu-Ray but there aren't many (in my opinion) that REALLY outclass their DVD counterparts to a great degree. It's not like going from VHS to DVD.

But, you'll probably be mostly be watching non-animated Blu Rays so, if you can borrow them off a friend or somewhere, I recommend trying out the initial bank heist in The Dark Knight (Was shot on IMAX. Looks fantastic on Blu-Ray) to check out how good the screen is at displaying clear HD live pics and how dark the blacks are on the screen. And to check for refresh-rate, to check for ghosting, try The Blue Planet or any movie/series that concentrates a lot on scenery. You're looking for a panning shot over scenery. It should look smooth and crystal clear.

Don't be fooled by the bright colours in the shops. They're all great at displaying bright colours but you want to check out the dark colours, the blacks. (That's why you should bring a liveaction Blu-Ray instead of an animated one as most animated disks are very colourful). Ignore the brightly coloured fish swimming around and conventrate on the darker backgrounds.

Thankfully, these days 1000 can buy you a great TV so you can rule out the cheaper models. Ask the shops to show you what they have in the 700-800 euro range and then, see what you like, go home, and have a look at reviews/prices on the next step up from those models. (They'll probably only be about 100 more expensive.)

losthorizon

Great Thats a lot of help!