Smart televisions?

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  • Axe_meisterAxe_meister Frets: 4613
    I'd go for non smart plasma if possible.
    If the TV is a long way away even a non HD TV will look better than and LCD as the contrast ratio with Plasma is so much better.
    All my smart features I handle via chromcast or Apple TV.
    These are plugged into my AV amp going through some nice hifi speakers.
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  • littlegreenmanlittlegreenman Frets: 4959
    edited April 2014
    Rocker said:
    Flat screen TVs have very poor sound.  Budget for a soundbar or connect it to your home stereo system.  The built in speakers 'work' but so does the supplied guitar lead in your new Fender case.  And who uses that lead.....
    The supplied Fender lead will work fine unless it's a broken one. The analogy is what's broken here.
    Although I agree that most TV's have poor sound, so I put them through my hi-fi.
    littlegreenman < My tunes here...
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  • holnrewholnrew Frets: 8207
    Rocker;225651" said:
    Flat screen TVs have very poor sound.  Budget for a soundbar or connect it to your home stereo system.  The built in speakers 'work' but so does the supplied guitar lead in your new Fender case.  And who uses that lead.....
    MrsTheWeary is not keen on the soundbar thing. I think we would see how we got on without it first, although I fancy the idea for music programmes and films.
    Women have no business sticking their nose into A/V decisions. That's man's domain.
    My V key is broken
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  • stickyfiddlestickyfiddle Frets: 26753
    I prefer a separate box for all the smart stuff (PS3 in my case, and soon to be Apple TV too). That way when you need to upgrade that stuff you don't need to buy a new TV.

    It also allows you to get a bigger TV, which is always good :)

    Soundbars aren't bad but 5.1 is better. That said, if you're not gaming it's not so important.
    The Assumptions - UAE party band for all your rock & soul desires
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  • Phil_aka_PipPhil_aka_Pip Frets: 9794
    @thumpingrug's £1.2k for a decent soundbar is not excessive compared to the price of decent hifi.
    "Working" software has only unobserved bugs. (Parroty Error: Pieces of Nine! Pieces of Nine!)
    Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
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  • EricTheWearyEricTheWeary Frets: 16254
    @thumpingrug's £1.2k for a decent soundbar is not excessive compared to the price of decent hifi.
    it's excessive for watching Come Dine With Me though!
    Tipton is a small fishing village in the borough of Sandwell. 
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  • boogiemanboogieman Frets: 12315
    The high end Philips tv's have decent sound as well as excellent picture quality, that's why I bought mine. It did cost £800 though.
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  • Emp_FabEmp_Fab Frets: 24210
    http://www.apostrophethief.co.uk/when-use-apostrophe.php

    Sorry for being pedantic.  It drive's me nuts' though....  '   ''''''     '''''''''''''''''''''    
    Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.
    Also chips are "Plant-based" no matter how you cook them.
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  • boogiemanboogieman Frets: 12315
    To be fair, that was the autocorrect on my phone. I does acterally no how to use aspostrofees. ;)
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  • chillidoggychillidoggy Frets: 17136
    Emp_Fab said:
    http://www.apostrophethief.co.uk/when-use-apostrophe.php

    Sorry for being pedantic.  It drive's me nuts' though....  '   ''''''     '''''''''''''''''''''    

    May I also point out your own incorrect use of an apostrophe after the word 'nuts'?


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  • boogiemanboogieman Frets: 12315
    Attempt at comedy methinks ;)
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  • EricTheWearyEricTheWeary Frets: 16254
    Emp_Fab said:
    http://www.apostrophethief.co.uk/when-use-apostrophe.php

    Sorry for being pedantic.  It drive's me nuts' though....  '   ''''''     '''''''''''''''''''''    
    This Discusion was originally called Smart TV's? Now, Smart TVs looks wrong for some reason (I don't know why) so the apostrophe got carried through to the edit.
    Tipton is a small fishing village in the borough of Sandwell. 
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  • crunchmancrunchman Frets: 11414
    edited April 2014
    I'd echo the comments about the sound.  The stock speakers will be horrible.  Even if you go really expensive it might be better but it's unlikely to be really good because the new TVs are not deep enough for the speakers.  I've got mine plugged through my HiFi.

    My in-laws have a sound bar they payed about £200 for.  It's a big upgrade on the stock speakers so you don't ahve to spend a fortune.  It's not as good as my HiFi though. 

    It's quite nice to have stereo.  I was watching a concert on Sky Arts the other night and it was good getting the two guitars panned left and right.

    If might an excuse to buy a half decent HiFi if you don't have one already!

    I went dumb with the TV I bought last year but the Virgin Tivo box does all the smart stuff.  I've got to get another TV for another room at some point so I'll need to look at the pros and cons of a Smart TV vs an extra box from Virgin.  It might be a case of whether I can haggle a good deal out of Virgin.
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  • chrispy108chrispy108 Frets: 2336
    I've got a £130~ DVD/Surround sound cheapy, and it's miles better sound quality than the built in speakers on my LG.

    Through magic, they talk to each other via the HDMI cable, so turning on the TV turns on the surround sound, and the TV remote controls the surround sound volume.

    We use the smart stuff quite alot, as it does iPlayer, Netflix and Amazon. We've got a HDD plugged in to record Tv, and it works fine, you can't watch another channel whilst it's recording, but you can still use the other smart stuff or watch the other inputs.
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  • Phil_aka_PipPhil_aka_Pip Frets: 9794
    @thumpingrug's £1.2k for a decent soundbar is not excessive compared to the price of decent hifi.
    it's excessive for watching Come Dine With Me though!
    Yes, but instead of that, I'd be watching a dvd of a live Camel gig. So it wouldn't be excessive (to ma at any rate) ;)
    "Working" software has only unobserved bugs. (Parroty Error: Pieces of Nine! Pieces of Nine!)
    Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
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  • boogiemanboogieman Frets: 12315
    You'd get a massively better sounding AV amp and 5.1 speaker set up for less than a £1200 sound bar though. Check out some of the package deals that Richer Sounds do, a grand would get you a stonking sounding system.
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  • chrispy108chrispy108 Frets: 2336
    Yeah, the only reason I can see for a soundbar over a proper setup is the look/space of it.

    I bought my cheapy as a test to see how we liked it, full expecting to upgrade to a £500~ setup a few months down the line, 4 years down the line it's still going strong and I don't really find it lacking. I'm sure a more expensive system would be better, but we're more than happy with ours.
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  • EricTheWearyEricTheWeary Frets: 16254
    Staring at all the tellies in Tesco at lunchtime. Does me poor little 'ead in I tells ya.

    I think the only thing I worked out is for that kind of size plasma does look basically better, more natural, especially up close. It does seem to be more prone to picking up reflections and stuff than the backlit LED's though. Due to where the tv sits in our lounge and where I end up sitting when MrsTheWeary, kids and dog have grabbed the better seats I do end up struggling with the light from the window messing up the picture so the LED might work out better for me and I won't be watching a 42" screen from a few inches away anyway.

    We need a new stand and if I then have to budget in for a soundbar as well its starting to look expensive. At least a soundbar is something I can add later and is less of a cluttered look than a hi fi system sitting there ( although our house is pretty cluttered, I have to say, so why that one thing would bother my lovely wife I don't know).
    Tipton is a small fishing village in the borough of Sandwell. 
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  • EricTheWearyEricTheWeary Frets: 16254
    Well, went to our local Tesco, the tv we wanted was £529 everywhere so thought might as well get 529 clubcard points. However, it was labeled on the display as £479, an error as that was the price of the non smart one.
    We took our ticket to the desk:
    '£529 please'
    'It says £479 on the display'
    Assistant goes looks at display.
    '£479 please.'

    On the way out we had a quick look and it had been changed to £529 on display.
    Every little helps :)
    Tipton is a small fishing village in the borough of Sandwell. 
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  • RockerRocker Frets: 4947
    Nice one @Erictheweary, I wonder how many people would accept that the £479 price tag was a mistake and pay the £529 price?
    Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. [Albert Einstein]

    Nil Satis Nisi Optimum

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