Can anyone recommend an LCD TV?

I don't have much time to do any research, and I don't know much at all about TV's but I really would like to get a new one before Christmas.
I am not looking to spend anymore than £450 ish and I do not need anything bigger than say 36" I could even get away with smaller.
I like good sound but dont want to hook up an amp etc. So it must have fairly decent in-built speakers.
Can anyone recommend something? (and links to on line or real stores in UK would be a great help...I have been down to Currys but don't know where to start)
Regards
Jem

If I were buying an LCD TV, I would give the highest consideration to Sharp Aquos. But, when I put my had earned money down, it was for a Panasonic plasma.

Tim

..thanks for that

Read This!
http://hdguru.com/hdtv-christmas-buyers-guide-and-recommended-models-part-ii/323/#comments

stumbled across it... states the best makes and models of tvs.

Plasma...go Panasonic or Samsung (hands down the best)
LCD...Samsung, Sony or Panasonic.

Many thanks for that, some good links on that page too.
I have to get one very soon so I will post up which one I finally get

I bought a Sharp Aquos earlier this summer.

We're still a CRT family here (well, aside from the PC Monitor) - but from what I've seen, Samsung seems to have the purest blacks.

I would go LCD over plasma - I think plasma will be phased out before long.

Best bang for buck is either Samsung or LG - between them those two companies make something like 75% of screens for ALL makes. After that, stick with the big four - Sony, Panasonic, Hitachi and Toshiba. You'll probably pay more but get less if you go with Sony or Panasonic as you'll be paying for the name, but you can't really go wrong with them. Best thing to do is look at reviews on Amazon - anything with 4 stars or more across the board is worth considering.

Avoid the cheap no-name ones - they may seem like a good deal and have a decent screen (probably made by either Samsung or LG), but the innards will be of very low quality. Also, pretty much all LCD and Plasma built-in speakers are generally rubbish - no room in flat panels for the same quality speakers as in CRTs, so speaker technology in HDs is actually a bit of a step backwards. Best thing to do is try them and, if they don't sound that good, rather than swap it for another TV (which will almost certainly have the same problem), invest in a low price external speaker kit, a fairly decent one of which you can get for about £60 these days.

Sony

If you're going 36" or less I'd save money and get 720p instead of 1080p. You won't notice a difference at that screen size.

hamelfarm1 said:

I would go LCD over plasma - I think plasma will be phased out before long.

Click to expand...

I don't mean to single you out, but I take exception to this argument. It, quite simply, is illogical; based on your it, one shouldn't buy anything, ever. Yes, one day plasma TVs will no longer be produced. For that matter, LCDs won't last much longer, either. The sooner they're both gone, the happier I'll be, too. In the mean time a plasma TV is a great choice for someone who is serious about great image and colour reproduction. Unfortunately, they do have certain limitations; the material one in this instance is that they are not available in a size convenient for the original poster.

As far as LCD screens go, every brand has its own drawbacks, but I quite like the Samsungs.

Sony Bravia

A while ago I was with my dad buying a big LCD, and having done a bit of research on the internet, it seems that generally speaking, as long as you stick to one of the major brands like LG, Hitachi, Sony, etc. etc. etc. and don't have any special requirements it's tough to go wrong.

What we did was get one of the previous year models, an LG 50 inch, and it was a great deal and looks amazing - though I'm no great discriminator of television quality given that my set up is a 40 inch or so Hitachi that my parents bought in 1989.

As for plasma vs. LCD, I've heard that plasma can be annoying if you have it in a room with lots of window because some get lots of glare on them vs. LCD which isn't a glass kind of surface. I think the concern in the early days was response time, especially if you play games or like to watch sports and stuff, you'd get that trail when the pitcher throws and whatnot, but I think today middle of the line LCD's don't have response times much different than Plasmas.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-KDL-32...8?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1228924092&sr=1-6
(I didn't get it from Amazon though)

A Sony Bravia 32" LCD 3020 KDL32.

The clincher was that because it is being phased out for a newer model and some places are not carrying stock, there are other dealers very keen to get rid of old stock and I got one for £300 cash,brand new in the box with a Sony warranty. If I hadn't been so desperate to get one I could have played a game of poker and waited til after Christmas and perhaps got it cheaper...?


Quick review- this must be the simplest TV in the world to set up.
Picture and sound quality are plenty good enough for me. Lots of nice features and easy to use.

Thanks for all the posts with advice- I appreciate your time!

Regards
Jem

sooper8 said:

A Sony Bravia 32" LCD 3020 KDL32.

The clincher was that because it is being phased out for a newer model and some places are not carrying stock, there are other dealers very keen to get rid of old stock and I got one for £300 cash,brand new in the box with a Sony warranty. If I hadn't been so desperate to get one I could have played a game of poker and waited til after Christmas and perhaps got it cheaper...?


Quick review- this must be the simplest TV in the world to set up.
Picture and sound quality are plenty good enough for me. Lots of nice features and easy to use.

Click to expand...

This is what I've got. Brilliant telly. Nice sound from the Bravia engine.

if your getting an LCD make sure it has 120GHz refresh rate... that way when your watching a fast action scene or a sports game you wont get any distortion.. if your looking for something bigger than 42 inch i think a plasma would be better. Colors are more accurate and blacks are deeper. just some thoughts....

Here is an interesting debate on refresh rates and motion blur on fast action
http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6449_7-6792632-1.html
Regards
Jem

sooper8 said:

Here is an interesting debate on refresh rates and motion blur on fast action
http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6449_7-6792632-1.html
Regards
Jem

Click to expand...

The dude that wrote that got it wrong in so many ways. CNET is a great place to get misinformed :S although it's handy to point people to for simple stuff. Any way, film's low frame rate and judder are not the same thing, and 120 hz refresh rates have nothing to do with motion blur, so it's no surprise that he didn't notice an improvement. 120 hz is good if you only have room for an LCD screen (or you fulfill one or more of the other reasons to avoid plasma) and you can find one that doesn't interpolate.