New TV recommendations

[Vae]

Basicly the girlfriends mother wants to buy a new tv (and possibly might need sound system as well) and is after some advice.

She wants some form of flatscreen so I guess that means LCD/Plasma and presume Plasma is cheaper but LCD a superior choice. A size of 28 or 30" would be best considering the room she has for it.

She's on cable with telewest so is getting a HDTV a good idea now as I know there won't be HDTV on terrestrial TV until the analogue signal goes off but I recall reading that Sky are introducing a few HDTV shows now and presume cable will follow in the next year or two?

She may also want/need a new sound system to go with the TV however she is partially deaf so surround sound does absolutely nothing for her so i guess it's probably not worth it.

Any advice/recommendations?

 

[DaGaffer]

Basicly the girlfriends mother wants to buy a new tv (and possibly might need sound system as well) and is after some advice.

She wants some form of flatscreen so I guess that means LCD/Plasma and presume Plasma is cheaper but LCD a superior choice. A size of 28 or 30" would be best considering the room she has for it.

She's on cable with telewest so is getting a HDTV a good idea now as I know there won't be HDTV on terrestrial TV until the analogue signal goes off but I recall reading that Sky are introducing a few HDTV shows now and presume cable will follow in the next year or two?

She may also want/need a new sound system to go with the TV however she is partially deaf so surround sound does absolutely nothing for her so i guess it's probably not worth it.


Any advice/recommendations?

Telewest have already launched their DirectDrive HD service in some areas. I'd definitely go for an HD ready TV now, and tbh they'e not much more expensive than non-HD sets of similar size. Having said that, to see it at its best I'd recommend a 32" set as a minimum (bear in mind an LCD/Plasma has a smaller 'footprint' than its equivalent CRT so you can up-size without losing living room space usually.

As for which one, there are a lots of deals around; try Richer Sounds. Prices can vary wildly, from sub-£1000 sets to £2K plus for a 32". I'd suggest you check out a few reviews to decide on the best price/quality mix you want. Plasmas are a bit cheaper but won't last as long. As for sound, you can get pretty cheap AV systems now, but if she's not going to get a benefit, why bother?

 

[PLightstar]

Also heres a tidbit I learned the other day, if you are watching mainly movies and Documentaries buy a TV that supports 1080i but if you are mainly watching fast moving things like sports or Video games get a TV that supports 720p.

Samsung and LG are doing some great LCD TV's at the moment.