adhock Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 (edited) After a couple of years, I've decided it's almost time to replace my trusty Acer AT3705 37" LCD screen. It's a great screen and has served me very well, but there's some vertical banding on it which is getting harder to ignore, unfortunately. That and I'd like one with slightly better black-levels. But, it's been a few years since I actively looked into LCD panels, and I'm not really sure what brands/models I should be considering. I'm looking for either a 37" or 40" screen (I suspect 42" is a bit large for the room it's in), and aiming to spend something in the vicinity of $2000. 1080p is a must, not sure about 100hz (is it worth it?). It's primarily going to be used for watching movies/TV/video (through a HTPC and/or my Toshiba XE-1 HDDVD player), and also gaming (X-Box 360 and Wii). Armed with a pen and paper, I wandered around my local Harvey Norman to get a rough idea of sets to consider. From what I could find in the 37" screens, there were Samsungs (Series 6, LA35B650 T1F), Panasonic Vieras (THL37G10A), and LG models (37H56YD). In the 40" range, there were both S6 and S7 Samsungs, and a Sony (KDL40V5500). The LED Samsungs were very, very tempting...but probably a bit out of my price range. In terms of in-built media functionality, it'd be nice (I saw the Sammy's had 2 USB2.0 ports for video/photo/music playback), but I'm not greatly fussed. If there's a panel with substantially better PQ, I'd take it over the extras, since I can play videos through my PC which I plan to hook up to it. Does any one have any particular recommendations for screens this size, or ideas of particular models/brands to avoid? Looking around online, it appears that the Samsung and Panasonic models seem to have a good reputation, so I'm guessing they may be a starting point? Edited July 18, 2009 by adhock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Leece Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 Does any one have any particular recommendations for screens this size, or ideas of particular models/brands to avoid? Looking around online, it appears that the Samsung and Panasonic models seem to have a good reputation, so I'm guessing they may be a starting point? Yup, they are about the best to look at. Sony Bravia would be worth a look, too - friends of ours have one and it is a nice picture. I have a Panasonic Viera and love it (especially when calibrated away from the shop settings.) Mine is the TX-37LZD800A and it has an SD card slot which is a handy and easy way to display photographs - I have made use of this a couple of times myself but it is only a nice-to-have. But in terms of PQ I regard it as pretty damn good. The model you quoted is probably this year's model, but if you found mine at a cheaper price it would be a good bargain for you. Cheers, Al. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kulfi Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 After owning a 37" LCD, I can't understand why you would like to replace it with another TV of a similar size after forking out $2000. For that kind of money, I'd be looking at a serious size upgrade - preferably 46" or 50". The only reason why I wouldn't make that suggestion is if the TV was meant to be located in a bedroom. I've got a 46" Full HD Samsung in a modest lounge room and I just love it. Sure, it looked like a massive piece of equipment for a week but I got used to it. Besides, your Acer 3705 has big side-mounted speakers, increasing the width to almost 46" LCD panel proportions ..... I've seen people grabbing end-of-line 46" Samsung LCD and 50" Samsung plasmas for around $2000. Keep an eye on the forum and some local catalogues to score one of those. I paid $2099 in Feb 2008 for my Sammy and got a bonus 19" LCD free. Just my $0.02. Good luck with your search. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adhock Posted July 18, 2009 Author Share Posted July 18, 2009 (edited) Thanks for the advice so far - sounds like Samsung and Panasonic are definitely options to look at. Will check out the Sony range as well. The reason I'm still looking at a 37" is that it's a fairly small room (probably bedroom-sized, now that I think about it), and I'm not seated that far away from the screen, about 2 meters away, maybe a bit under. So I have a feeling, as tempting as the larger screens are, anything bigger and I'll be craning my neck around just to look at it. I'll probably ultimately end up with a 40", because it's a bit larger than the current one, but not too big. And you're right about the huge speakers on the Acer. I took them off a couple of months ago, and every time I walked past the screen for a week, I was surprised at how small it now looked... Edited July 18, 2009 by adhock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diesel Posted July 19, 2009 Share Posted July 19, 2009 From 2m a 46" would be a good size IMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adhock Posted July 20, 2009 Author Share Posted July 20, 2009 (edited) From 2m a 46" would be a good size IMO Hmm..okay then. I might investigate slightly larger options then. Thanks for the advice! If I were to look at either 42" or 46" screens, are Panasonics and Samsungs still reliable potential choices? Edited July 20, 2009 by adhock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diesel Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 If I were to look at either 42" or 46" screens, are Panasonics and Samsungs still reliable potential choices? Most definately! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts