Best Budget 40" TV

pocketrocket

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Hi, novice here.

1. I am looking to buy a 40" (at least) TV, at lowest cost. Max budget is 50k.
2. My viewing distance is between 10 and 20 feet.
3. Viewing habit is mostly STB SD channels.
4. My fear with Plasma is only about the power consumption. Is it a huge difference?
5. Sound Quality not important, as I have a HT system. Features like PIP would be great.

So, my priority is VFM. Please recommend the ideal Television for my needs.

Cheers,

Dr. Alexander.
 
Hi, novice here.

1. I am looking to buy a 40" (at least) TV, at lowest cost. Max budget is 50k.
2. My viewing distance is between 10 and 20 feet.
3. Viewing habit is mostly STB SD channels.
4. My fear with Plasma is only about the power consumption. Is it a huge difference?
5. Sound Quality not important, as I have a HT system. Features like PIP would be great.

So, my priority is VFM. Please recommend the ideal Television for my needs.

Cheers,

Dr. Alexander.

LG 42PQ70 is plasma which have had good reviews recently and fits within your budget and good for your viewing distance. Power consumption is shown as 200W which is good considering it is a Plasma.

Surely do some research and look at a demo of the 42PQ70. It is a feature rich Plasma and VFM with good PQ. People who have purchased it are very happy with it (as indicated on some of the forums).

If you want to spend about 5K +- above your indicated budget and want to go the LCD path, do consider the SAMSUNG 40B530, which is also a good LCD.
 
LG 42PQ70 is plasma which have had good reviews recently and fits within your budget and good for your viewing distance. Power consumption is shown as 200W which is good considering it is a Plasma.

Surely do some research and look at a demo of the 42PQ70. It is a feature rich Plasma and VFM with good PQ. People who have purchased it are very happy with it (as indicated on some of the forums).

If you want to spend about 5K +- above your indicated budget and want to go the LCD path, do consider the SAMSUNG 40B530, which is also a good LCD.

agree with Geo, PQ70 give good performance. i am happy with it. But regarding the power consumption point, it is shown as 200 W under standard operating conditions. But inside the back cover, on the panel, it is written 350 W max power. i could see it through the grill. one of the reason for deciding PQ70 over S10 or G10 was the lower power consumption.
For Panasonic plasmas, the rated power consumption is between 350 - 400 W. what is this, under standard conditions or max power. Is there anyone who saw whats written inside any other plasma. i just want to know if LG is just playing with the numbers. is there any easy way to measure the power consumption in normal working condition ?
 
Thanks for the (prompt) replies. What's the power consumption for the LCDs? And what should I expect to pay for the Plasmas and LCDs?
 
Thanks for the (prompt) replies. What's the power consumption for the LCDs? And what should I expect to pay for the Plasmas and LCDs?

40" LCD power consumptions could vary between 175W to 225W, depending on make / model.

LG 42PQ70 (Plasma) is around 44K+- while the Samsung 40B530 (LCD) is around 54K+-.
 
40" LCD power consumptions could vary between 175W to 225W, depending on make / model.

but figures are mostly the max power consumption.when the backlight,volume are set to max and with all ports occupied like USB devices.
in a typical home settings it will consume around 90 to 120watts,unless u place the lcd in outdoor where u have to crank up the backlight to max.
 
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but figures are mostly the max power consumption.when the backlight,volume are set to max and with all ports occupied like USB devices.
in a typical home settings it will consume around 90 to 120watts,unless u place the lcd in outdoor where u have to crank up the backlight to max.

Agree.

However, on LG website it says "Consumption (Typical) - 200W". On the SONY & SAMSUNG websites it says either, "In Operation" or "Operation Power Consumption". Not sure if they mean "max. power". From the way it reads, it indicates "for typical usage".
 
If you are looking for an LCD,

go for LG 42LH50. - Price is around 63K.

Features: 1080p Full HD, 3 hdmi inputs, USB direct play. 200Hz speed.

Sudhish.
 
HDTVs make sense?

Thanks for the replies. A nagging doubt I have about Plasmas is that if none of the old disadvantages remain, why are all the major manufacturers aggressively pushing LCDs? Isn't it a no-brainer for normal folk, i.e. who watch SD TV most of the time, and the occasional DVD to want maximum bang for the buck and in this context, don't Plasmas make most sense?

Also, please tell me how widescreens make any sense when watching normal SD TV. You buy this big TV and watch shows either with a totally distorted aspect ratio, or you have to resize it, and watch TV with nearly half the screen wasted when switched to 4:3 ratio. I thought the primary function of a TV was to, well, watch TV. But the modern widescreens make no sense in that regard. Adding to this, the picture quality when watching SD TV in these modern newfangled TVs is worse than our trusty old CRTs!!! It is totally bizzare. Or am I missing something here?

So, please tell me what HDTV makes sense to watch normal television and DVDs.
 
Re: HDTVs make sense?

Thanks for the replies. A nagging doubt I have about Plasmas is that if none of the old disadvantages remain, why are all the major manufacturers aggressively pushing LCDs? Isn't it a no-brainer for normal folk, i.e. who watch SD TV most of the time, and the occasional DVD to want maximum bang for the buck and in this context, don't Plasmas make most sense?

Also, please tell me how widescreens make any sense when watching normal SD TV. You buy this big TV and watch shows either with a totally distorted aspect ratio, or you have to resize it, and watch TV with nearly half the screen wasted when switched to 4:3 ratio. I thought the primary function of a TV was to, well, watch TV. But the modern widescreens make no sense in that regard. Adding to this, the picture quality when watching SD TV in these modern newfangled TVs is worse than our trusty old CRTs!!! It is totally bizzare. Or am I missing something here?

So, please tell me what HDTV makes sense to watch normal television and DVDs.

well plasmas do have there own set of disadvantages,apart from the know possibilty of burn-in(quite hard to get) & temporary image retention.they also have poor whites when the majority of the image show is white,this is also the same time their power consumption and heat generated are at their peak.
many of the other disadvantages or drawbacks have been discusseed in various threads.

as far why manufactures are pushing Lcds is that they have lot more potential,if u compare a lcd 4 years ago and compare it to a lcd today,u will notice thats that their contrast levels have increased as much as 5 times,some lcds cross that mark to.the viewing angles,response time,power consumption have shown significant improvements.
where as in a plasma the improvements are mainly in the power consumption to some extent in contrast levels,chances of burn in have been reduced significantly.

as far as how wide screens help,well most DVD certainly look better in widescreens tvs,even if u watch it from a STB and even though its SD content,if the orginal source was shot in widescreen format,then streching the image in ur tv will make no difference in the aspect ratio,offcourse only in some channels does it work like WB,UTV world movies,these tv channels i have personaly tested the movies shown in them and compared it to a DVD and found that their is no difference in aspect ratio once u streched it in ur tv.

well todays flat panels plasma and lcd are easily better then CRTS,sure they may not match the black levels,but are pretty much better in every area.a company like sony whose crts are still unbeaten by other crts stopped selling them.
 
Re: HDTVs make sense?

Thanks for the replies. why are all the major manufacturers aggressively pushing LCDs? don't Plasmas make most sense?

the picture quality when watching SD TV in these modern newfangled TVs is worse than our trusty old CRTs!!!

manufacturers are pushing LCD's because they are cheap to manufacture and all big companies are minting chunks of money on them.

plasma sure is a far better technology and will absolutely make sense if you are using it in a non-bright room(specially for movies and gaming).

you can now see many companies returning back to plasma's after the success of Panasonic.

like you said DVD's does look much better in a good CRT than in plasma or a LCD.I can still remember watching the movie gladiator on a 34 inch wide screen pixel plus Philips CRT from Netherlands and the picture quality was just jaw dropping.Lighting conditions wont effect CRT's.

These two are he best CRT's ive ever seen personally.
UltimateAVmag.com: Philips 34PW9818 16:9 HD-ready direct-view monitor

UltimateAVmag.com: Loewe Aconda Direct view 16:9 HDTV monitor

Plasma = far better than LCD IMO.

go for a panasonic or LG plasma if your budget is under 50k
 
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Re: HDTVs make sense?

Thanks for the replies. A nagging doubt I have about Plasmas is that if none of the old disadvantages remain, why are all the major manufacturers aggressively pushing LCDs? Isn't it a no-brainer for normal folk, i.e. who watch SD TV most of the time, and the occasional DVD to want maximum bang for the buck and in this context, don't Plasmas make most sense?

Also, please tell me how widescreens make any sense when watching normal SD TV. You buy this big TV and watch shows either with a totally distorted aspect ratio, or you have to resize it, and watch TV with nearly half the screen wasted when switched to 4:3 ratio. I thought the primary function of a TV was to, well, watch TV. But the modern widescreens make no sense in that regard. Adding to this, the picture quality when watching SD TV in these modern newfangled TVs is worse than our trusty old CRTs!!! It is totally bizzare. Or am I missing something here?

So, please tell me what HDTV makes sense to watch normal television and DVDs.

pocketrocket, i would say blame the market, not the technology.
as you observed rightly, current tv signals look crappy on those tv's..because an hdtv is meant to play ...well hd content!

in the U.S...even the news are in hd...while here our news channels show clips picked up from youtube(try ajab-gajab on india tv)!
SUN has tried to introduce hd tv...but as of yet it has not picked up....but i say in the next 2 years we should have hd broadcasts..
till then people who own hdtvs here will continue to live on 720p bdrips

p.s. plus you barely saw crt's in sizes bigger then 29"....while lcd low-end nowadays starts at 32" and goes way above...so lcd's are beig pushed up
 
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I think I hit a nerve regarding the quality of TV we see on the latest systems.

So for someone not obsessed with how great the picture will look when hell freezes over, and we get HD broadcasts, the Panasonic/LG plasmas will do nicely right?
 
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