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[kitz]

Anyone know of any good deals on TVs going atm?

The tele in my bedroom has been on the blink for several weeks, but now seems to have given up the ghost and become totally un-watchable.
Either 17 or 19" would be ok but I think if Im getting new I may as well go for a the 19" as long as the surrounding border frame thingy isnt too big.

Not quite sure yet what I want till I see it kinda thing.

All the usual stuff needed eg scart
In built freeview -  although I have a  freeview box, it would be good to get it out of the way.
inbuilt dvd would be good but isnt essential

Anyone have any suggestions please?

[roseway]

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/152168

or have a look in Tescos perhaps?

[tonyappuk]

We've just bought a new LCD TV for the kitchen. It's a 16" wide screen Alba with integrated digital TV and it cost £99 from Argos. It has all the usual inputs but no DVD player but it is very cheap. So far it seems fine although I have had to build a shelf over it to house all the things we used to keep on the other old CRT TV!.
Tony

[oldfogy]

I think Aldi had some a couple of weeks ago, but can't see them in any of the stored emails.
Might be worth having a look in the shop, just on the off-chance they have some left.
If I remember correctly about £250

[kitz]

Thanks for the input so far guys.
ebuyer look to have some reasonably priced ones.

I do recall an aldi one, but iirc it was a large one more suitable for the lounge than the space I have available in my bedroom... and a bit more than what I wanted to pay.


This one seems good value, has anyone bought any of their "Extra Value"s before, I normally have branded names TVs but not necessarily the high-end ones.
Extra Value 19" HD Ready LCD TV/DVD Combi Freeview 1440x900 800:1 1xHDMI Grade A

The thing thats putting me off is this

Grade A Goods are "Factory Reconditioned" to the Manufacturers original specification. All goods supplied are 30 day high street store (30 days) returned products. With grade A stock there is always a chance that there may be a minor cosmetic mark, Considering the price however these are considered to be very minor and will not affect performance of the product.

Has anyone heard of Foehn & Hirsch before?  It looks quite smart.
Foehn & Hirsch 19" HD Ready Widescreen LCD TV Freeview 300cd/m2 1000:1 8ms HDMI/VGA/Scart Glossy Black 3 Years Warranty


The tele in the bedroom probably gets far more use than the one in the lounge since I tend to fall asleep with it on.. or leave it on when Im getting ready or pottering around upstairs.

[UncleUB]

Has anyone heard of Foehn & Hirsch before?  It looks quite smart.

Foehn & Hirsh are basically E Buyer,they're buying  generic screens and re badging them(Foehn & Hirsch sounds better tha E Buyer)


Don't know what your budget is Kitz.

19" Technika with freeview and DVD player for £165 @ Tesco Direct

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.205-7328.aspx

or same but 17" screen for £145.83

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.205-2760.aspx

If you want to buy a good brand the John Lewis have a 19" Toshiba with freeview and DVD player for £219 inc 5 year guarantee

http://www.johnlewis.com/230564432/Product.aspx

[broadstairs]

Because of the problems there have been recently with the Freeview changes which were made I think its important to buy a TV (or any thing which receives TV signals for Freeview like PVR or DVD recorder) which is likely to have good support and be easy to update, so personally I'd always go for something with a recognised name behind it with good support, I know this often means you end up paying a bit more.

[roseway]

The thing thats putting me off is this

Grade A Goods are "Factory Reconditioned" to the Manufacturers original specification. All goods supplied are 30 day high street store (30 days) returned products. With grade A stock there is always a chance that there may be a minor cosmetic mark, Considering the price however these are considered to be very minor and will not affect performance of the product.

Almost certainly that will be a customer return which has been tested and put back into stock at a reduced price. It won't have been repaired in the conventional sense, because it isn't financially viable to repair this type of equipment. The question in my mind would be why it was returned, and I don't think I would personally choose a grade A TV because of the doubt over that question.

[kitz]

Thanks for the clarification on Foehn & Hirsh UB, wondered why I hadnt heard of it before. 

My budget is/was £150, although I dont mind paying a lil bit more if it includes Freeview and a DVD player, but it would have to be under £200.
If the above are included then it will clear space and free up electrical sockets on my dressing table which would be worth it.

In fact the more I think about it, doing away with a pile of wires and the old DVD/VCR player would make it much easier for me to plug in my hair straighters in

So having looked again it seems to be these 2 that are in the running so far. 

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.205-7328.aspx

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/154970/show_product_overview

[HPsauce]

I bought one like those recently and had to send it back, so this highlights something to check.

It looked like a bargain; Freeview and DVD 19" widescreen with PC (VGA) input so could also be used as a monitor.
The reality was that the screen wasn't actually a true 16:9 ratio (16:10 I think) and it just didn't display widescreen freeview correctly - everything was a bit narrow/tall. It could have done, with a narrow black stripe top & bottom but obviously they economised on the firmware. Oddly it did display widescreen analogue in the correct ratio - 16:9 was an option, it was only digital inputs that it wouldn't - so DVD's were equally distorted. The help line was 100% useless, so I sent it back and got a full refund.

All that said, the models you've listed look good and appear to have correct 16:9 screen shapes. 

[exo]

Slightly over your budget but has built in DVD player and 5 year guarantee.
http://www.johnlewis.com/230564432/Product.aspx

[roseway]

Actually you have a point there HP. Both models have a pixel resolution of 1440 x 900, which is 16:10, and the EBuyer one actually says 'Screen size    19" 16:10'. Maybe this is standard in these screen sizes? I'll measure up my larger TV and check.

I just measured my 26-inch TV, and its physical screen dimensions are exactly 16:9 ratio.

[roseway]

Further to the above, I've looked at a few more models in 17/19-inch sizes, and they all have pixel resolutions of 1440 x 900, but they do vary in physical aspect ratio. This one, for example, specifically says 16:9 at the bottom of the page. I recommend checking this carefully before buying.

[sevenlayermuddle]

ISTR that, surprisingly, the apsect ratio doesn't (and isn't meant to) match the pixel ratio, but I'm, not sure where I got that from.

I think one of the problems is that the set makers assume people will want a picture that fills the screen, even if that means stretching it.   In my view, it's worth making sure that any such features are user-selectable (and so can be disabled) but I've come across a few TVs that seem to impose it regardless.

I'd recomend you make sure any digital TV with built in freeview has the digital tick logo.  The broadcasters are starting to include an Active Format Descriptor (AFD) that tells the TV more about the intended aspect ratio. If the TV doesn't have the tick, it may not be able to decode the AFD properly.

The link below allows you to see if a TV has the tick...

http://www.digitallogo.co.uk/company_search.php

[kitz]

eke... thanks for the info guys... now Im not quite so sure.
Ive seen what you mean occur on some TVs and it looks awful when the picture is squished.