Which size TV to buy

squink

Hi folks,

I want to buy a new TV (hopefully in the sales) and have kind of decided to buy in the Phillips shop in Dame Street, Dublin, as it is a small shop and I would not feel overwhelmed with choice like I would in Harvey Normans. Would appreciate opinions on which size TV would suit my 12 foot x 12 foot size room. Was thinking of a 26" but am wondering if the bigger 32" would have more features or better sound./picture quality. I will probably buy a rabbit ears aeriel for it also as I would find the cable channels annoying, but would like a set that would be ready for digital when RTE finally changes over. Many thanks in anticipation of your learned comments!

snappieT

I think you're a bit silly to restrict yourself to one brand, and in particular Phillips (I think very little of their current range of TVs). Try going to DID or Power City, the staff tend to have a decent idea and can guide you towards something up your alley. I would consider Samsung, LG, Panasonic and Sony to be good.

Each manufacturer has a number of models with a specific feature set. Within each model bracket, they will come in a variety of sizes. A Samsung 26" 5 Series will have the same features as a Samsung 32" 5 Series (excluding the screen size!). Think cars that are available in saloon, hatchback, estate... Same car, different "size".

Be aware that Ireland's free to air digital is not the same as the UK's technology. We use MPEG4, not MPEG2. If you see "DTT Compatible", don't assume that as "Irish DTT Compatible".

Good luck!

Kensington

You will in all likelihood get a far more informed answer posting your question here

dudara

Kensington wrote: »

You will in all likelihood get a far more informed answer posting your question here

Agreed - moved accordingly

dudara

eddiem74

If you are going with the Philips Shop be sure to let them know you are a boardie, as that gets you 10% off (most stuff).

They also have a forum on boards in conjuction with Richersounds, see here. So you can ask some questions, or get advice there if you wish. The Philips team (Ash & Nicola) are very responsive to posts.

With regards to size, I would say, pick a 32" you like, find it online, and note down the dimensions from the specifications, and then do a mock-up on the wall using newspaper or some leftover christmas cardboard packaging, as this will quickly give you some perspective, I think you might be surprised.

For example, my parents changed to a flatscreen a few months back, and 100% wanted a 32" that was big enough from the room, purely based on what they seen in the shops. When buying I got my dad to get a 37", and its just about right, in fact a 42" probably would have been perfect, and there room is around the same size as yours.

Good Luck !

Reg'stoy

Got myself a 32' LG lcd HD ready TV in the Power City St Stephens Day sale and having a similar size room we found it perfect. I'll be honest and say I read up both here and on the net and the general consensus says a 32' TV doesn't have to be HD so don't fret over that too much.

We find the LG excellent, great picture, superb sound and at 32 inches doesn't take over the room. We had a tubed 28' Tv prior to this one and again honestly didn't find it too small, I do reckon you can go too big though. A similar thread to this one also on boards mentioned something about the best viewing distance/ tv size/ room size.

Google tv size v room size and you'll get a couple of returns.

Also your budget should decide to a certain degree the size as I said above a screen size of above 32' should, to get the full benefit be HD. Now catch 22, to get the the benefit of HD by rights you should also get a blue ray dvd player (more expense) or in the future when most channels are HD get Sky in HD. Budget for a new TV plus stand/wall mount plus blue ray player also check that it will be able to get Irish Digital channels.

On a side note I got a PS3 as my blue ray player.

squink

Thanks for all that advice folks. Having read the posts now I would consider going to Power City or DID and first Im going to do the cardboard cutout experiment which sounds good.