Macworld Forums

Not Mac related but I thought I'd ask for some help here...

I'm looking to replace my 28" Sony CRT TV which is a 100hz screen. Films look excellent on it but it's not HD.

I'm thinking of get a Sony KDL-37EX403U 37" which is a 50hz TV. I've a had a look at one in currys and the picture quality seemed OK but I couldn't play a DVD or link an Xbox to it for a demo.

Should I be looking at a 100hz screen to replace my CRT or will a 50hz HD screen be better than my current CRT??

Thanks

NotVeryPC,

IMHO it's not so much whether it's 50Hz or 100Hz, it's the quality of the image processing software that the TV uses.

Although that faster refresh should help in faster moving action, such as sports and movies, some 50Hz models might easily out perform 100Hz models if the software is rubbish.

Buy one that you think produces the best picture.

MacOS10,
Thanks for the reply.

That's what I was thinking but it's always nice to have it confirmed by someone else..

NotVeryPC,

I never trust the 'visible' screen quality in shops as it is totally dependant on the source and set-up, and it is very easy for a shop to make a certain tv appear better than the ones along side it!

Much prefer 'independent' review sites, cnet.co.uk for 'non-professional' reviews or maybe the likes of techradar.com et al for more in-depth.

HTH

handy*,

It's also worth buying one or more of the specialist publications (er, no, not those kind of publications) - something like 'What LCD & Plasma" which regularly has a round up of the latest TVs available.

That's what I did when I was last buying my current TV, after reading a few of these mags plus plently of online research I narrowed it down to 3 models (a Panasonic Viera, a Sony Bravia and a Samsung). The Panasonic won, and I must say I've been mightily impressed with it over the last 3 years.

Don't forget, if buying it in a high street shop, make sure you get the salesperson to show you what it looks like on standard definition input (Freeview etc). They always have them on a HD feed in the shops, to make them look as good as they can. But if you'll be spending most of your viewing time on SD content then it's critical to see what this looks like. It's only then that you discover the average TVs from the truly great ones - and much of that is down to the built-in image processing software. With TVs, it's usually a case of you get what you pay for - there's a reason why Sony Bravia and some of the Pansonic range are quite pricey and that's down to the quality of the software they have inside them.