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[kitz]

Quick question.

Some of you may be aware that my downstairs TV has been a right PITA since we went digital and there is no firmware upgrade, so Ive been stuggling for a few years and mostly resort to the upstairs tv / apple TV.

However Ive been offered a TV for xmas that involves the use of a heavily discounted Toshiba staff discount scheme.

Dilema - I understand the 50/100Hz refresh rate, but dont know how much this affects 'real time viewing'. 
Budget allows either a 32" 100Hz or a 40" 50Hz.   Out of the 2 which would you choose?

Im not a sports fan...  mostly movies, streaming/catch-up tv, documentaries type of stuff.

Have to make a decision soon so all input would be appreciated.

[kitz]

As an example this is one of the available TVs

Toshiba 40BL702 40" Full HD 1080p LED Backlit TV.

Please note that it isnt from Tesco though nor their prices.


I have been to Curry's to check out what they look like, but it wasnt much help when it comes to real life viewing as they loop through their own dvd because apparently  dont have a tv licence to view how it would look in the real world.

[roseway]

My personal opinion is that 100 Hz doesn't add much, because the transmitted frame rate is still 50 Hz, so the TV has to convert it to 100 Hz before displaying it. You might just see some difference in a fast-moving scene, but I wouldn't choose that in preference to getting the size I wanted.

[tonyappuk]

Remember that for many years all TV was 50Hz frame rate and very few people found it a problem. I would say if you would like a 40" TV and you've got the room for it, go for it.
Tony

[HPsauce]

I would go for the one that fits into the room best.
Like others I think 50Hz vs 100Hz is a red herring.
40" will show up HD programs in more detail than 32" though you do actually have to sit surprisingly close to tell the difference.

This is interesting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optimum_HDTV_viewing_distance
It suggests that you sit ONLY 4 feet from a 40" TV in some situations, just over 5 feet typically and up to 8 feet at most.

I'd say from my experience that any more than that and you'll not benefit from it being HD.

And don't forget that non-digital TV was actually interlaced so 25fps in reality.

[broadstairs]

We've been thinking about a new TV for the sitting room and at present we have a 24 inch LCD. I am thinking we could fit a 40in but my wife feels that is a bit too big for the room, not for viewing but for the look of the room  My feeling is that a Smart TV with WiFi built-n and an HD tuner are important considerations but again my wife looks at cost and not features  So right now I dont know which way we'll go. We probably sit about 6-7 feet from the TV at present most of the time and the room is not huge the most we'd be away from it is about 10-11 feet. I think two major considerations are sound quality and viewing angle, sound quality for my wife as she has some hearing problems these days and viewing angle (both horizontal and vertical) for (I think) the obvious reason that we cannot both sit directly in front of it, and we don't really want it centre stage on the wall so it's the main focus of attention.

I think we will have to go and see the sets in the flesh (the TVs not us  8) ) before we take the plunge and spend our pennies.

Stuart

[HPsauce]

Strange though it may seem I don't find the picture that important for most of the programs I watch.
It tends to be "radio with pictures" much of the time, except maybe for F1 and Rugby.
Even then, those two have excellent replays and close-ups for events that require it.  8)

In fact as I type this I have the TV on beside my PC and I'm listening to it.......

[kitz]

Thank you everyone for the replies so far. 
Its been helpful to know I dont need to worry too much about the 50Hz

TBH I quite liked the 40BL702B (32BL702B*) which I had seen in Tesco's and seemed to have a sharp picture (again only showing a dvd loop image).  It was when I went into Curry's,  I came out with my head spinning after being told 50Hz would be crap on a 32"/40" screen.

Actually Curry's did me the favour, because of the overload of info I walked out empty handed.
It was only then, after mentioning it to someone else that he offered to get one via his staff discount.  It is this that is now allowing me to go to 40" when I started looking at 32".

>> My feeling is that a Smart TV with WiFi built-n and an HD tuner are important considerations

Yeah..  now Im getting really tempted...  Ive just noticed the 40RL958B on the list for about £26 more than the above.

Thats changed the ballpark a bit..  still 50Hz though.
Decisions decisions 

[kitz]

I would go for the one that fits into the room best.
Like others I think 50Hz vs 100Hz is a red herring.
40" will show up HD programs in more detail than 32" though you do actually have to sit surprisingly close to tell the difference.

This is interesting: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optimum_HDTV_viewing_distance
It suggests that you sit ONLY 4 feet from a 40" TV in some situations, just over 5 feet typically and up to 8 feet at most.

I'd say from my experience that any more than that and you'll not benefit from it being HD.

And don't forget that non-digital TV was actually interlaced so 25fps in reality.

Thanks HP.

Just got the tape measure out..  Lounge is about 16 ft.  'My seat' is about 6-8ft away from the TV depending if Im sat up or sprawling  , The other sofa is 14 ft away from TV.    Im not putting it on the wall...  it would probably pull all the plasterboard off

[sheddyian]

If you're mostly watching broadcast TV, then it's going to be 50Hz material anyway.  I'd stick to 50Hz.

That said, and regarding your recent comment, getting something with a network connection in it (wired or wireless) is a very good idea.

My 2010 model Sony has iPlayer and various other free and subscription services in it, and I like at least some of these.  The iPlayer is particularly nice.

But also, the TV is DLNA compatible, so it can access my media server computer fro the TV's own menu. 

I run a free program callled Serviio on the PC, and have my own tv recordings there, as well as DVDs I'm watching.  I find the upscaling of DVDs far superior if I view them through the network DLNA interface than if I play them on my upscaling DVD player.  They can look quite impressive.

On Windows 7, you can right click on a video or MP3 file, and choose "play to", and it'll play out on the tv.  All quite fun.

There's lots to tinker with!

DLNA websitehttp://www.dlna.org/ - you can serach for certified devices.

Ian

[HPsauce]

'My seat' is about 6-8ft away from the TV depending if Im sat up or sprawling  ,

Before #2 son moved out recently he had a 42" screen which was watched at exactly that distance.
For football (his passion, definitely not mine) in HD it was a very good picture (on Sky) and actually an appropriate distance to sit.
Same for F1 and Rugby.

On the other hand our main TV (HD Ready with and HD FreeSat box) is only 32" and we watch from about 10ft away.
You can barely tell if it's an HD program or not.

[tonyappuk]

I'm very satisfied with my Smart Panasonic TV (37" I think) but to connect the TV to my router wirelessly as I could now I have a spiffy new Technicolor router courtesy Plusnet, I would need to buy a special Panasonic USB wireless dongle which is very expensive. However having run a long Ethernet cable into the lounge across the carpet I'm not overly impressed with what the set offers that way and certainly not worth spending out for a special dongle. I have made a few searches on the net for means to show dvds stored on my PC but that needs a media suite of some sort. This is a spur to install and use Win 7 which has it built in I believe. More expense!
Tony

[sheddyian]

I have made a few searches on the net for means to show dvds stored on my PC but that needs a media suite of some sort. Tony

http://www.serviio.org/ is what I use.  It's free (though there is a paid version with extra features, but I use free one and it's excellent).

TV menu then has Serviio PC appear and you can select the content stored on there and watch it, listen to it or view it (does video, pictures and music).

I've been using it a while, and don't remember having many problems setting it up.  I run it on a Windows XP machine.

Ian

[renluop]

...
On the other hand our main TV (HD Ready with and HD FreeSat box) is only 32" and we watch from about 10ft away.
You can barely tell if it's an HD program or not.

Likewise me and OH on our 4yo Panny that is 100Hz. I am not a sports fan, but it does cope with movement very well. As to HD or HD Ready there is a marginal improvement @720 but my son's
Phillips full HD does have an edge. My perception is that HD colours are somewhat more vibrant than SD.

[kitz]

Thank you very much for everyones input.   I have to make the decision this w/e if I want to take up the Toshiba offer.

I certainly feel a bit happier now about the 50Hz

I may well go for the Smart tv because theres so much more in the specs for the extra £26..   Im dashing out now (Dads Taxi again) but will perhaps write more later.