Best Deal on Sony KDL32W4000

Just been looking for the best deal I can get for the Sony KDL 32 W4000. Seems to be pretty competitive out there at the moment and it is sub £600 now. Excellent. I was looking at this TV in September but it was £150 more expensive then.

£590 at Digital Direct including 3 year warranty.

When I looked at Kelkoo for this TV there were other e-tailers with the same price but digital direct is offering the 3 year warranty and I am also tempted by a years interest free credit. I have looked into this and it works as follows . . . You have to pay £62.30 deposit plus a service charge of £37 and then it's nothing to pay for a whole year !
The important thing is just to make sure you pay in full at the end of the agreement otherwise the interest rates are pretty hefty.

The free 3 year warranty is available if you buy before the end of Jan.

Win a 32" Sony TV with blu ray player and FIFTY bluray discs!

Just saw this at TheSun and though I would share it.

" HERE'S your chance to win a Sony 32" LCD TV, Blu-ray player and a whopping 50 Blu-ray discs!

We're giving away an outstanding collection of 50 Sony Blu-rays including Hancock, Bad Santa, Spider-Man trilogy box set, Superbad, Hellboy, Casino Royale, Kung Fu Hustle, Damages, The Tudors Seasons 1 & 2, Shrooms, Resident Evil: Apocalypse and many, many more! "

Enter here, you have to register / login to enter

And in case you missed it, here is another chance to win a Sony TV

environmentally friendly TVs LCD better than Plasma

Last month I wrote about the environmental issues of these large flatscreen TVs we are all getting

Well online TV specialist "digital direct" has done a lot of the hard work for me with this list of eco friendly LCD TVs. Eleven sets made it through, and eight of the eco friendly Television's are made by Sony. On closer inspection though that is because they have a range of smaller sets - 20". At the higher end (i.e Full HD and over 32") that I am most interested in only one TV makes it through but it does look cracking :

The JVC LT-42DS9 TV is very big (42") but very thin so the wife might allow the extra size as it looks so good.

It also comes with a 5 year warranty which is very reassuring !

Seems strange to be writing about eco-friendly TVs and end up with something like this : (!)

free 3 year warranty on LCD TV for rest of 2008

Digital Direct store review

Update : Feb 2009 - digital direct have extended the free 3 year warranty until the end of Feb.

This store is new to me but a friend recommended it. Seems to have a good range and good prices, and there is also an interesting promotion on right now :

"From 1st December 2008 Digital Direct will be offering a Free 3 Year Warranty on all LCD & Plasma televisions until the 31st December.
No voucher code is needed, warranties will be automatically added to the customers order."

The offer is well worth a look. They have the Sony KDL40W4000, which I love, for £685.

LCD versus Plasma flat screen TV

More views on the great LCD Versus Plasma television debate . . .





When you have made your mind up, check out our LCD TV buyers guide

Free 3 year warranty with Amazon on Sony TV

Was just looking at LCD TV prices again and saw a good offer from Amazon :

Free 3 year guarantee on 15 TVs from their range. Price start at £379 for a 32" HD ready upto £1626 for a 52" Full HD. I have done a price comparison on a few sets and Amazon are cheapest or within £20 on what I looked at. Given that they are a large and trustworthy e-tailer I am very interested in this offer.

The offer is available on the selected Sony BRAVIA LCD TV, purchased at Amazon UK until Wednesday 24th December 2008 and you must send in a form within 30 days of purchase.

To see the prices for the TVs included go to Sony TV free warranty page at Amazon

Win a Sony Bravia LCD TV

Just spotted a great prize draw at HMV that I wanted to share...

"This fantastic prize includes a Sony Bravia HD TV plus a state of the art blu-ray player for you to watch the unique film combinations from the 3 film box sets range - from mind blowing action in Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch and Layer Cake to sumptuous period dramas Elizabeth, The Other Boleyn Girl and Elizabeth The Golden Age to classic family entertainment in the Karate Kid collection."

How to Enter :

It's free to enter and quite easy too. Go to the competition page, leave your email address and name in the space provided. Only one entry per e-mail address allowed.

Closing date :

30th December 2008 11.59 PM GMT.

Full terms and conditions for HMV win a HD TV prize draw

LCD TV or Plasma which is best

So, you want a large flat screen TV but not sure whether to go for a LCD TV or Plasma TV ? Here is a decent discussion on the subject from a Canadian TV show.

LCD best for - gaming, connecting to PC, energy efficiency, brightly lit rooms.
Plasma best for - films ("movies"), sport and very large screens.

How green is your LCD TV ?

Interesting article at the BBC looking at how confusing it is to compare energy efficiency of televisions these days. In general LCD - TVs are more energy efficient than Plasma screen TVs but there is a wide variance. To test this I had a look at a great offer at Play.com - a 32" Sony Bravia LCD TV for under £400 including a 3 year warranty and correct me if I'm wrong but I couldn't see any reference to the energy consumption so eco-awareness does seem to be a "problem". However things will only change if enough people demand it !

One of the things I liked best about the BBC article is actually the comments. A few are copied below :

I've got a 4 year old 42" plasma screen which I was amazed to find out pulls 4.3 Amps which is 1032 Watts! I've just purchased a new LCD TV which only uses 185 Watts of power which will save me almost £1000 in electricity over 5 years and reduce my contribution to CO2 emissions. Richard, Middlesbrough

I was in an electrical retail shop last week - not to buy a mega-silly TV. But I reckon plasma TVs can save CO2 emissions and energy because if I had one I would never need my central heating on. They get so hot I felt like I was in the tropics in the TV section. Stu, Braintree

...there's always somebody sticking their oar in, whinging about eco this and eco that. If they're that concerned about it, why don't they develop a TV that doesn't use as much power. I have a 42" Plasma, it's switched off at the mains at night watched for 25 mins while I get ready for work and about 4 hours on an evening after my evening meal. The majority of people are not like these un-employed people who buy TV's like this from credit companies and sit on their rears all day watching Trisha and eating pot noodles, pumping out children all year so they don't have to work.... Steven, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne

LCD TV market share

According to market researcher DisplaySearch, Samsung sold over four-point-eight million units in the second quarter and accounted for 20-point-four percent of the global market share.

Samsung became the first company to possess at least 20 percent of the market share for LCD televisions. It has led the market for the eighth straight quarter since March 2006.

Meanwhile, Sony’s share of the LCD TV market stood at 13 percent, LG Electronics’ at ten percent and both Philips’ and Sharp's at about nine-point-four percent.

Big Mistake This Evening

Big "mistake" tonight..
Popped into a Sony store, with the result that now, I really want a Sony LCD TV.

& a PS3
& a new hi-fi
Oh, and I now realise that I will need a "home theatre" i.e. surround sound system.

It's quite different - shopping online compared to going into a store. Online shopping is the new equivalent of window shopping, but going to a store where the products are well presented really turns up the I want one of those factor !

John Lewis "Free" 5 year guarantee on TV

Edit : Feb 2009 - M&S also have a free 5 year guarantee on TVs, the nice think is . . . no paperwork, just keep the paperwork that comes with it. Well worth a look.

Remember that cheapest is not always best. Tonight I have been looking at the offers on the John Lewis website. They include free delivery and more significantly a 5 year guarantee.

Not so long ago I had a really good experience with John Lewis customer service. Won't bore you with the details but it was the "no quibble" nature of how they dealt with my claim that impressed me.

Part of me thinks this 5 year guarantee is in a way forcing you to buy an extended warranty as they are a bit more pricey than the cheapest I have found (e.g. using Kelkoo) so I'm still weighing it up.

LCD TV Buying Guide

LCD TV Buying guide :

1) Figure out what you want, this is a whole separate process !

2) Draw up your shortlist. (Here is my LCD TV shortlist)

3) Rule some out, talk to friends and family, get it down to 3 or 4 TVs

4) Use Kelkoo to search for the model(s) you want. Compare the total price including delivery and check that the item is in stock. If not clarify how long you will have to wait.

5) Consider some of the hidden extras, cables, wall-mount, extended warranty all come to mind.

6) Check for cashback at the site you have gone for.
It's such a big purchase that it will be worth seeking out some cashback.
e.g. at the time of writing they have 2% at comet, 3% at sony style, 2.5% at currys and many more.

7) Go for it ! !

Shortlist of the best LCD TVs around

This is my current shortlist of LCD TVs.
Feel free to use the comments section to let me know which LCD TV should go for or what I may have missed !

1)Toshiba 40XF-355D

2)Sony KDL-40W3000

3)Panasonic TX-37LZD70

LCD TV purchase, what to consider

Here are some of the things to think about when you are choosing one of those beautiful new flat screen LCD TVs



1) What will you use it for?
Start to think about cables and inputs. Is there enough inputs for your digibox, PS3, PC etc ?

2) Screen size
Don't get a screen that is too big for the room. For a screen over 32" you need to be at least 2 metres away.

3) Where will the TV be in your room?
Here you need to consider the viewing angle, also this is where its better to go to a real shop, make sure the image remains watchable when viewed from off-centre

See also : Handy guide to HDTV

LCD TV buying guide

Spotted this LCD TV buying guide at Kelkoo.

Some good explanations, will have to go through it soon. Hope it is all up to date. TV technology is moving so fast at the moment !

Video Review of Sony KDL40W3000

Found a video review online for one of the LCD TVs I am thinking of buying.

The Sony KDL40W3000 :


It's pretty old and seems to be from a preview show when the model was first released.

Panasonic TX-37LZD70

Option 3) Panasonic TX37LZD70

• Pros Detailed, bright picture. Low levels of background noise and digital smearing
• Cons Panasonic’s same-sized, cheaper plasma offers notably better black insight

Panasonic is one of the very few manufacturers still making both LCDs and plasmas – Sony, for example, has long since hitched its star to LCD. Its reasoning is simple: LCD suits smaller screens best, while for anything big, plasma is where it’s at.

But the new TX-37LZD70 blurs that boundary in no uncertain terms. It’s the largest LCD TV Panasonic has made to date, putting it firmly into territory the company previously reserved exclusively for plasma panels. Not only that, but it’s pitched head-to-head with a same-sized plasma rival from within the Panasonic camp, the TH-37PX70.

So what gives? Simple answer: market forces. Pressure to adopt 1920x1080 Full HD resolution has driven Panasonic to introduce a new range of Full HD sets. The PZ-series plasmas are priced to sit slightly above its HD-Ready PX-series 42in and 50in panels. The LZD-series LCD does same ‘bigger brother’ job for its 37in plasma sibling, but Panasonic has made the switch to LCD simply because packing all those pixels into a 37in plasma screen was just too difficult.

Mediocre looks
So, now you know the history – what about the set itself? It’s an elegant enough design, if not as sultry as the best LCDs from Samsung or Sony. The chassis seems wider than is ideal, with a bit too much frame around the screen.

It’s well-enough equipped for the cash though. Aside from the high resolution, you get a Freeview tuner, an SD card reader and a PC input, plus Panasonic’s well-developed Viera Link system network bus. The only downside is that there are only two HDMIs, which seems mean in the modern market.

Set-up is a doddle. This being a Panasonic, it starts to auto-install the minute you pop in an aerial, and the process takes mere minutes. The remote, while no beauty, is also superbly laid out.

Cinematic pictures
And the image quality? Largely fabulous. Panasonic has clearly made strenuous efforts to endow its largest LCD screen with something of the black depth and contrast feel of its acclaimed plasmas: the LZD70 is notably richer and more involving ‘out of the box’ than, say, a Samsung.

Of course, once you’ve fine-tuned things a little the gap closes a tad, but the Panasonic continues to impress. It’s sharp and natural to look at, even with off-air TV. Motion-handling is swift and assured, and support for 24fps video from HD-DVD or Blu-ray assures a nicely cinematic feel when you’re watching movies.

The downside – and there had to be one – comes when watching night scenes: watch the final third of The Bourne Ultimatum, and you’ll struggle to make out the action. Predictably, Panasonic’s cheaper, lower-resolution plasma alternative looks far better here.

Should that put you off? Not necessarily. We can’t think of any LCD that can go toe-to-toe with a plasma with that sort of material. For almost everything else that you want to watch, including gaming, this is a cracking TV. It also sounds better than the plasma – that wide chassis gives plenty of space for two decent, properly spaced loudspeakers, which ensure a good stereo image and fair bass for a flat TV.

Sony KDL-40W3000

Option 2) Sony KDL-40W3000

• Pros Sharp, bright, colourful pictures. Very impressive contrast for an LCD. Plenty to play with
• Cons Same-priced plasmas offer better blacks. Not cheap

After a slow start in the flat TV business, Sony has caught up in some style: the company is now firmly at the head of the pack, its vast range as comprehensive as it is slightly confusing.

A devoted advocate of LCD technology – once, you could buy Sony plasmas, but no longer – the Japanese giant proffers no less than seven Bravia TV ranges, within which this, the W-series, is almost the top dog, being beaten only by the pricier X-series line-up.

The grey sheep
Dressed in dark grey, rather than the me-too black finish sported by almost every telly on the planet these days, the W3000 is bang-up-to-date on every spec front: it boasts Full HD resolution, three HDMIs (one of which is side-mounted to suit PS3 users) and much more besides.

Most intriguingly, it includes a high-definition-capable TV tuner: should free-to-air HD ever become a nationwide reality (as opposed to the very limited trial service that ran in London last year), this Sony is poised to receive it.

As there’s no likelihood of that happening until after the digital switchover is completed – and even then, there are no guarantees – it’s not necessarily a killer feature, but bravo to Sony for thinking ahead, if nothing else.

As with most Sony products, the KDL-40W3000’s on-screen menus are models of clarity: it’s a breeze to set-up and a delight to use, helped by an oversized remote that, while not especially elegant, is undeniably well laid out.

However, delve deeper into the set-up menus, and you’ll find every manner of adjustment imaginable. This multi-faceted adjustability is one of the Sony’s biggest attractions: it’s either plug-and-play simple or endlessly adjustable, as your needs dictate.

Stunning pictures
And the performance? One word: superb. Okay, let’s try a few more: we’d really, really like one. Even with the pixellated stodge that is Freeview TV, the Sony manages to be spectacularly sharp (which isn’t just a factor of its high resolution), defining edges with a confident vibrancy that eludes almost any rival.

It also punches out the colours – as you’d expect from a company that places a fair bit of emphasis on ‘colour like no other’.

1080p from Blu-ray suits it better, of course, with terrific edge-to-edge colour consistency and a wonderfully three-dimensional feel, although very fast motion can produce some slight lag, even when the set is being fed film-quality 24fps content.

And while we’re nit-picking, a same-priced Pioneer plasma will also give you notably more insight into black areas of the screen – as, in fairness, will a cheaper Panasonic. That’s not enough to mar our enjoyment: consider it more ‘food for thought’.

Toshiba 40XF-355D Reviews

Option 1) Toshiba 40XF-355D,

• Pros Excellent picture performance. Comprehensive spec. Gorgeous styling. Compact dimensions for screen size
• Cons You can get better black depth for this price from a plasma

Toshiba is one of the biggest names in flatscreen television, but its success has mainly been with affordable, smaller-sized screens. To date, most of Tosh’s larger offerings have struggled against the best Panasonic, Pioneer, Samsung and Sony can offer, despite being competitive enough in terms of specification and often more aggressively priced.

But with the 40XF355D, things are set to change. This is a TV giant pulling out all the stops in a bid to get noticed –and boy, has it succeeded. This so-called ‘Picture Frame’ set succeeds on every level: it’s technically competitive, its picture performance is excellent, and it looks, as you can quite clearly see, the nuts.

Super-slim set
The 40XF355D has a notably smaller screen surround than a conventional flat TV: it’s just 23mm thick. Aside from making the set far easier on the eye, this approach also means you can buy a bigger screen without taking up any more space in your living room.
Compared directly to a conventional 37in set from Toshiba’s range, the new 40incher is only slightly wider (14mm) and considerably less tall (30mm) – it really is something of a televisual Tardis.

Of course, size isn’t everything: the Toshiba has to have what it takes in the ability department and here the 40XF355D is more than up to the job. A Full HD 1920x1080 screen, support for Deep Colour and 24fps content, three HDMI ins, admirably powerful video processing and a PC input. There’s no card-reader, but superior loudspeakers, courtesy of audio specialists Onkyo, provide considerable compensation.

Superb image quality
Image quality is almost uniformly superb on this set. It works best with Full HD signals from Blu-Ray or HD DVD, or from a console: here, the combination of sharp edge-to-edge definition and considerable brightness helps to deliver an image that’s always involving.

However, the Toshiba copes just as well with off-air TV: the low quality of Freeview broadcasts can sometimes betray it, giving rise to some uncomfortable shimmer in backgrounds, but overall, this is a composed and convincing picture.

It’s also one blessed with decent black levels: like the Panasonic TX-37LZD70, Toshiba seems to have tried to endow this set with a more plasma-like black depth and, largely, it’s succeeded. Only low-light scenes – which are especially demanding of contrast – really trouble it.

The rest? Given that it’s hard to see the speakers at all, they sound rather good, with more weight than we’d expected, and if the usability isn’t quite up there with the best Philips and Sony sets, it’s still very impressive. As, indeed, is this whole package.