Advice On Buying A New Television Please

[lyall]

Apologies if I have put this question in the wrong category, the Media and TV category seemed to be more about what’s actually on the television than rather than advice about televisions.

I am looking for a new television for my Dad, he is 80 years old and not technically minded so I need something very basic and easy to use/understand. If possible a remote with reasonably large or well spaced buttons would be handy as he has rather large fingers that seem to press 3 buttons at a time on our usual remote. I was thinking of a screen size of between 26-30, (a 32 inch screen is just a tad too big for the space it’ll go in).

I’m bewildered by all the adverts with all their lcd, led, hdmi, svga, dvb-t????. I would need to be able to connect a recordable digi box and a dvd/video combi player to this new television. Any advice on what to look for or even a specific television that you would recommend would be much appreciated.

[VHG]

Samsung and LG seem to make the best TVs.

Around this time of year most companies bring out new models and the old models get sold off (Currys had a lot of old models sold off during Easter).

So if he is not bothered about new features then go for "last years" model with some money off.

Most new TVs (like Samsungs) have very narrow bezels round the edge so a 32" may not be that big. I recently replaced a 4 year old 32" Toshiba (with a large bezel) with a 37" Samsung with a narrow bezel and the new TV was less height than the Toshiba and only a couple of inches wider.

If he wants to connect other devices like digi box and DVD unit make sure the TV has 2 scart sockets and 2 HDMI sockets (at least). I assume the devices he wishes to attach use Scart but maybe not.

Also try to get one with a Freeview HD tuner built in (which will show some HD channels) rather than just a Freeview tuner (non HD).

Also try to get one that is 1080 lines to show HD at its best.

Richer Sounds tend to sell off last years models at good prices.

http://www.richersounds.com/

[boxtops]

We got a Samsung from Tesco's - not too large, easy controls.

[VHG]

The 32" SAMSUNG UE32EH5000 is last years model but is 1080 lines, and has Freeview HD. It has two HDMI but only 1 Scart.

Richer sounds have it for £269 which is a lot cheaper than it was when it came out last year.

http://www.richersounds.com/product/tv---all/samsung/ue32eh5000/sams-ue32eh5000

[gingejbee]

I'll second Richer Sounds - excellent, knowledgeable and non-pushy staff and excellent prices. Failing that, John Lewis.

[knockavacca]

I would also recommend "richer sounds" where you can get advice from someone who knows what they are talking about,with the proper product knowledge unlike currys and the rest who just want to sell you the one with the most commission in in for them

[lyall]

Thank you all for the advice, I have made my mind up to use my local independent tv/music equipment retailer and not the larger stores, its true they always seem to sell you something bigger and fancier than you need.

I looked at the measurements for a number of 32 inch televisions and they are on average 2-2½ inches too wide, I have no room to play with as one side of the television will be against a wall and the other side will be next to a door so it cannot hang over the table for safety reasons

I have looked at the Richer Sounds web site and found them very reasonable but unfortunately my local store is nearly 40 miles away, but listening to your reports of how helpful they have been I may ring them to ask their advice.

Yes both the freeview box and the dvd/video combi unit are connected with scarts at the moment, thank you for that piece of advice VHG I would not have thought to check that the new television would need 2 scart sockets.

[Sycamore3House]

I would recommend Richer Sounds. Extended Gurantees are not something I usually buy but I did when I bought the last one. They only charge 10% of the purchase price for a 5 year term. And I found the staff totally knowledgeable about the products they were selling.