An article over at TechRadar is reporting that Which? Magazine has found from tests that low cost supermarket TVs are a lot more expensive to run, which then makes the initial cheaper price far less relevant. The consumer magazine has tested a 40-inch Technika 40-270 TV from supermarket Tesco, against a 40-inch Sony Bravia KDL-40CX523.

The purchase price of the two TVs is just over £150 apart with the Tesco set costing £299 compared to the Sony Bravia at £459. When it came to actually using the sets surprising results were found, with the Technika costing around £42 a year to run. This compares to the Sony that only costs consumers £25 a year.

Over a five year period of being used with these figures the cheaper set will cost a total of £508, compared to the Sony of £559. So this makes you think that many consumers will think twice about buying the cheaper set if it was only £50 cheaper than a Sony Bravia.

Patrick Steen of Which? said “Cut-price TVs don’t always add up. Not only do they often fail to offer the best picture quality, they also hold a hidden cost”. It also has to be remembered that the cheap LCD sets on offer at many supermarkets are often cheap Vestel displays with a retail stores own branding. These can also have some reliability issues as well.

Will this news make you think about purchasing a cheap LCD TV?

A lot of people who have just bought a new TV just take it out of the box and connect everything up and switch it on. Modern TV sets now tune themselves to channels and set up is quite straight forward, but there are plenty of things which can be done to get the most out of the unit.

Screen calibration is a good way of improving the picture quality of a TV. There are professionals who can come out to you and do this for you, but not everyone can afford it. But there are cheaper ways to achieve this as many DVDs have THX picture calibration section which include Star Wars. There is also dedicated calibration DVDs available for a small price.

Positioning of the TV can also have a major affect on the screen image, as light coming in from a window can be an issue. Many flat screen TVs have small speakers which don’t do them justice when watching that blockbuster movie. This is where many people turn to a surround system, with 5.1 currently being the most popular and convenient.

Many people buy a dedicated receiver which nowadays can allow you to connect up many devices including games consoles and Blu-ray players. Unfortunately this can take up to much room for many, so that’s where all-in-ones come in handy. These can either be a DVD player of Blu-ray but still offer 5.1 surround sound and have everything in one box.

There are also many quality sound bars available now which although not quite as good as dedicated surround sound system; they are a great improvement over the standard TV speakers. A highly controversial topic is HDMI leads, and whether there is any difference between a really cheap one and a more expensive model.

Many people believe as they are carrying a digital signal of basically 1s and 0s, so the price of cables doesn’t affect picture quality. But on the other side you have the issue of cheaper materials causing interference from other sources, but some people think nothing spending a fortune on a HDMI lead.

Leads that can make a difference are speaker cables running from the receiver or an all-in-one to the speakers. Just replacing the cheap wire which often comes with some systems can lead to a vast improvement in sound quality.

Other notable improvements can come from better stands that the speakers are placed on. Some can have sand or a similar substance filled inside the stand to help improve sound quality. Have you done any of the above things with your flat screen TV? Or is there anything else you have done?

Plasma TVs were the first large flat-panel TVs to come to market, and some of the early versions were beasts, and also required a separate tuner box. They have come a long way since then, with Panasonic being a leader in the Plasma market.

We have known for some time that these new TVs struggle to match black levels of CRT sets, but new Plasmas are now coming close, which is a major factor when choosing a TV. There are two downsides to Plasmas, high-energy consumption and burn-in.

LCDs were next to market, these have now become very popular, but the larger models are much more expensive than their Plasma rivals. The main issue with LCD TVs is the poor black levels, although they have improved over the years. Another bad point is the viewing angle; older models were very poor and could only be watched in a limited field of view.

However, LCD TVs does not suffer with burn images on the screen and have greater resolutions.

Next up with have LED, this is like an offshoot of LCD. Remember that there are two types of LED TV, conventional rear and edge lighting. However, just remember that the latter carries a higher premium. The best part about LED is that they have greater black levels than LCD, and is more on par with Plasma black levels.

For those of you who are concerned about how much energy you use, then you will be interested to know that LED TV has the lowest energy consumption over all the flat panel TVs. Choosing between the three is not that hard for me, i would choose LED; yes they carry a higher premium, but the difference in quality will be worth it.

For a greater understanding of each TV set, then visit Wikipedia for Plasma, LCD and LED.

This impressive looking TV is Energy Star 3.0 compliant, meaning it consumes less energy than many other HDTV’s. There is a contrast ratio of 8000:1 and a 7ms response time to improve blurring with fast action screens. Plenty of inputs include three HDMI ports, two component, and one VGA/PC.

For fans of home theater sound there is a digital audio coaxial output to connect the TV to your audio system. Other features include 1080p, 60Hz screen refresh rate, and a resolution of 1920×1080. Target has a similar TV in their sales today, which is the APEX LD4688 with a 46-inch screen, features 60Hz and 1080p. This TV is on offer in stores only for $449, which you can see here.

Design wise, the RCA 37-inch Class 37LA30RQ is very basic, so will in no way threaten the sexy looks of your shiny new Samsung TV. I do not mean to sound negative about this TV, it certainly serves it purpose well. If you have a low budget, or looking for a TV to put in your child’s room to keep them occupied – then this is it.

Some of the features include 10,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, 720p, 1366 x 768 pixels, and 3HDMI inputs, which alone make the TV much better already. What’s surprising is its weight, 41 pounds, but then again it is not one of those new ultra-thin LED TVs.

There are a number of accessories that you can purchase with the RCA 37LA30RQ LCD HDTV, such as a Planet 3 Tilting Wall Mount or a Ready-Set-Mount Fixed Wall Mount. Something else that could go perfect with this TV is an extended warranty, more details can be found here.

When choosing a TV, do you go for price, looks, or technology?

The reason I say this is simple, you only have to look and the price and specs to understand just what I mean. The TV has a dynamic contrast ratio of 2500:1 – do not expect the same quality as you would from a Sony BRAVIA TV. However, this model is not all about that.

This TV can still be used in the living room, but just try not to expect too much. However, if you are looking for a new TV to put in a bedroom, then the Emerson LC320EM1 could be just what you are looking for. So let us look at some of the main specs to see just what you will be getting for your $330 price tag.

This TV has technology such as 3D-Y/C digital and Clear Pix Engine Plus. Having 3 HDMI ports certainly makes life much easier when connecting other devices. Do you think that this TV is something that you would want in your home? This TV could even make an appearance as a Walmart Black Friday doorbuster, which we recently discussed; more details on the TV here.

We understand that this will be a hot TV over the Black Friday weekend, so we thought we would take a look at the official details and user manual. The first thing that you need to know is just how compact it is, so ideal in any room, and because it offers Full HD will be ideal when connected to a Blu-ray player.

By now you would know that the Westinghouse VR-4085DF TV is not going to compete with the range of Samsung, Sony and Panasonic TVs that will be hot deals during Black Friday weekend, but they will certainly serve a purpose for those with a lower budget.

You have a contrast ratio of Contrast Ratio of 2000:1, and a 1920 x 1080 Native Resolution. You will be pleased to know that there are 3 HDMI ports and 2 Component inputs.

Download the user manual here to learn all there is to know before you head down to Target on November 26th to get your hands on one of the hottest bargains.

The recall has been issued in conjunction with the Consumer Product Safety Commission who say that the TV’s neck stand is at fault. The problem being that the neck is too weak and can break causing the TV to topple over and potentially cause injury to the consumer.

Out of the 9,000 televisions sold so far, Sharp say that they have had no reports of injury so far that are related to this issue.

Be aware though, not all televisions with the same model are affected. Only sets that were made from March to April 2010 are in the recall list and have the serial numbers 0028 32837 through 0028 35190; 0048 57501 through 0048 59020; 0048 61401 through 0048 64020; 0048 72001 through 0048 78800.

If your model is within the above serial numbers, Sharp will replace the stand at no charge.

Are you affected?

Source: SlashGear