New TV for old parents?

HI all,

Before I try to drag my elderly (80+) and less than mobile Dad round a
few TV shops I thought I'd see if there may be an answer, or at least
general direction that could be gleaned here please.

They are looking to replace their ~36" CRT wide screen TV with a new
flat panel jobby but whilst one could walk into the likes of Tesco and
come out with something that would probably do, I think their needs
might require a slightly more specific solution, namely it would need
to be able to go fairly loud (and clear) and be reasonably bright.

Now that could be any set these days (not bought one myself and we
only have a 19" UMC TFT that was bought for us) but in case it isn't,
could anyone give us some pointers re particular brands / models that
may have impressed you in those areas please?

Oh, and a remote with /only/ volume, channel and on/off would be handy
(and Mute for when we go round joking). ;-)

A plain Freeview TV is all that's required as I don't suppose they
would use any fancy features even if they were present or particularly
care for HD or 3D etc (unless there are good technical reasons why
they might). A built in DVD player or PVR would be acceptable if it
meant they got the main things. I don't think money is a real issue as
long as it works and is good VFM.

Cheers and thanks for your time in any case.

T i m

T i m wrote:
HI all,

Before I try to drag my elderly (80+) and less than mobile Dad round a
few TV shops I thought I'd see if there may be an answer, or at least
general direction that could be gleaned here please.

They are looking to replace their ~36" CRT wide screen TV with a new
flat panel jobby but whilst one could walk into the likes of Tesco and
come out with something that would probably do, I think their needs
might require a slightly more specific solution, namely it would need
to be able to go fairly loud (and clear) and be reasonably bright.

Now that could be any set these days (not bought one myself and we
only have a 19" UMC TFT that was bought for us) but in case it isn't,
could anyone give us some pointers re particular brands / models that
may have impressed you in those areas please?

Oh, and a remote with /only/ volume, channel and on/off would be handy
(and Mute for when we go round joking). ;-)

A plain Freeview TV is all that's required as I don't suppose they
would use any fancy features even if they were present or particularly
care for HD or 3D etc (unless there are good technical reasons why
they might). A built in DVD player or PVR would be acceptable if it
meant they got the main things. I don't think money is a real issue as
long as it works and is good VFM.

Cheers and thanks for your time in any case.

Dunno if this is any help but my mother (84) recently had need to buy a new
TV. She was replacing an old 32" CRT TV and was adamant that she didn't
want anything bigger.

We went shopping and I tried to suggest to her that she ought at least to
look at some slightly larger sets and steered her towards a 37" Panasonic
Viera. After a bit more wandering around the shop she declared that she'd
rather have the larger (42") and cheaper Toshiba.

Anyhow, she's very pleased with it and she *does* enjoy the Freeview HD
channels so don't go penny pinching and buying an older "HD ready" set. ;-)

IMO, whilst sets with built in DVD might make sense, the range is too
limited and it probably makes more sense to buy accessories designed to
match the brand of the TV and that can share a single remote control.

If you can do without HD recording, the old TiVo is still the king of user
friendliness. You can pick them up cheap on ebay and with a new hard drive,
they'll carry on working after Virgin cut the program guide info in June.
Unless you buy one with a lifetime subscription though, it won't work until
*after* the 1st of June.

http://www.tivocentral.co.uk/unofficialtivoguide.php

Tim

On Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011 at 12:29:38h +0000, T i m explained:

A plain Freeview TV is all that's required ...

Whatever you buy, choose a model which has a DVB-t2 tuner and
MPEG-4 decoding, otherwise it is going to become increasingly
obsolete in the next 5 - 6 years.

And if your parents are interested in being able to watch
non-linear television eg iPlayer, consider a TV with Internet
connectivity and net apps, the best available at the present
time, being found in Samsung TVs.

We went shopping and I tried to suggest to her that she ought at least to
look at some slightly larger sets and steered her towards a 37" Panasonic Viera. After a bit more wandering around the shop she
declared that she'd rather have the larger (42") and cheaper Toshiba.

I suppose once focus her mind on size = cabinet volume instead of linier screen
diagonal measurement, you will make progress.

--
Graham.

%Profound_observation%

In article ,
T i m writes:
Oh, and a remote with /only/ volume, channel and on/off would be handy
(and Mute for when we go round joking). ;-)

I suspect that the only way to get a remote like that would be to remove
the unwanted buttons.
--
John Hall

"The covers of this book are too far apart."
Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914)

"John Hall" wrote in message
...
In article ,
T i m writes:
Oh, and a remote with /only/ volume, channel and on/off would
be handy
(and Mute for when we go round joking). ;-)

I suspect that the only way to get a remote like that would be
to remove
the unwanted buttons.
--
John Hall

"The covers of this book are too far apart."
Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914)




No, One For ALL used to do a simple remote with on/off and
vol/chan up down, replaced perhaps by this?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...V9HEQSG78W0XG2

As for the TV think very carefully. Does the viewer sit in front
of the set or to one side? Many of the cheaper sets have problems
if the screen is not viewed within a few degrees of straight on.
The Panasonic range are one of the least sufferers and would be a
good one to look at.

If you can find one in your price range look for one with LED
illumination as (a) they are more reliable than standard
fluorescent backlights and (b) they take significantly less
power. The downside is that as the case thus becomes very thin so
do the speakers and the sound quality suffers. In such an
instance consider adding a pair of PC speakers which will
increase both quality and volume.

Although there has been a thread on here somewhat anti, look at
what price John Lewis are doing it for as they include a 5 year
guarantee. Failing that Richer Sounds is a good bet as they only
charge 10% or purchase price for a five year.

As for HD, my daughter bought a Sony 32EX403 with built-in HD. I
have to say I was suprised how poor the SD picture was/is,
whereas the HD picture IMO is no better than our Sharp SD TV.
Having said that JL are doing them at £380 at present. At the
moment there is realistically very little on HD unless you have
Sky HD. You must ask yourself if the extra cost is justified.


--
Woody

harrogate three at ntlworld dot com

"Woody" wrote:
HD tuner.

You must ask yourself if the extra cost is justified.


I think it'd be a huge false economy not to go for built-in
Freeview/Freesat HD if they're not going down the HD PVR route.

Sure as fate, the phone would ring one evening and you'd be asked "Why can
we see anything on channel ...."

Tim

On Wed, 2 Mar 2011 22:14:18 +0000 (UTC), Tim
wrote:

"Woody" wrote:
HD tuner.

You must ask yourself if the extra cost is justified.


I think it'd be a huge false economy not to go for built-in
Freeview/Freesat HD if they're not going down the HD PVR route.

Whilst I like the flexibility of the external tuner(s) it may add
further complication for them. I'm still happy with my Toppy TF5800.

Sure as fate, the phone would ring one evening and you'd be asked "Why can
we see anything on channel ...."

Blessum. When I first got the external Freeview box I'd go in and find
him watching snooker with at least 5 white balls on the table. They
hadn't turned the STB on and were back watching analogue through an
iron railway bridge and off the side of Canary Wharf. "We didn't like
to disturb you ...". ;-(

Anyway, thanks to all who have replied so far. I've made some notes
and will particularly re-think the iNet access thought, especially as
they have reasonable broadband that is not far away from the TV and
idle most the time. The /trouble/ is they don't think they will use
stuff because I'm not sure how much of it they fully understand.

The viewing angle could be an issue as Dads std seat is right in front
of the set and Mum sits beside it (normally knitting though).

If HD doesn't take it up too much price wise I can't see that being
issue (he'll probably go for it, especially if the tuner is internal
and HD). Talking to mates both Panasonic and Samsung seem to come up
quite a bit and I've heard mention of the LED lighting as well. PC
speakers could be a good self-contained solution if sound volume or
quality turns out to be an issue.

I like the Thomson ROC4206 remote. Perfect. ;-)

I popped round there today (their existing set is only 28" btw. The
box makes it look a lot bigger!) and whilst chatting they showed me a
DVD they hadn't watched because they don't have a DVD player (I've
offered, they said no thanks). So, I stuck it in Mums 15" laptop and
put it on the coffee table in front of them. The 'picture' was
probably quite a bit bigger than if they were watching it on the TV
across the room. I think they will be wanting a DVD player now. Next
time, another iPlayer demo. ;-)

Thanks again to all and I'll check back if I find a deal on a
particular model etc.


Cheers, T i m

On 02/03/2011 12:29, T i m wrote:
HI all,

Before I try to drag my elderly (80+) and less than mobile Dad round a
few TV shops I thought I'd see if there may be an answer, or at least
general direction that could be gleaned here please.

They are looking to replace their ~36" CRT wide screen TV with a new
flat panel jobby but whilst one could walk into the likes of Tesco and
come out with something that would probably do, I think their needs
might require a slightly more specific solution, namely it would need
to be able to go fairly loud (and clear) and be reasonably bright.

Now that could be any set these days (not bought one myself and we
only have a 19" UMC TFT that was bought for us) but in case it isn't,
could anyone give us some pointers re particular brands / models that
may have impressed you in those areas please?

Oh, and a remote with /only/ volume, channel and on/off would be handy
(and Mute for when we go roundjoking). ;-)

A plain Freeview TV is all that's required as I don't suppose they
would use any fancy features even if they were present or particularly
care for HD or 3D etc (unless there are good technical reasons why
they might). A built in DVD player or PVR would be acceptable if it
meant they got the main things. I don't think money is a real issue as
long as it works and is good VFM.

Cheers and thanks for your time in any case.

T i m



I recently purchased an LG with built in Freeview, and was pleasantly
surprised that it came with two remotes one of which only had 3 switches
(buttons), two rockers for sound and channel changing, and one OK
button. :-) . The other remote has 30ish buttons :-( .
Haven't connected up yet but I'm expecting the sound to be crap as the
TV is so slim the speaker(s) must be even slimmer. However, It will be
connected to an 80W Lindsley Hood Amp and B&W Speakers. :-)
As an elderly I require a simple remote for everyday use, a good picture
and a good sound, so it seems to satisfy my requirements, I hope :-\ .
The Big Power up is on Friday.!!! So if the lights dim in North
Shropshire you'll know why.
Regards
Don

"Donwill" wrote in message
...
On 02/03/2011 12:29, T i m wrote:
HI all,

Before I try to drag my elderly (80+) and less than mobile Dad
round a
few TV shops I thought I'd see if there may be an answer, or
at least
general direction that could be gleaned here please.

They are looking to replace their ~36" CRT wide screen TV with
a new
flat panel jobby but whilst one could walk into the likes of
Tesco and
come out with something that would probably do, I think their
needs
might require a slightly more specific solution, namely it
would need
to be able to go fairly loud (and clear) and be reasonably
bright.

Now that could be any set these days (not bought one myself
and we
only have a 19" UMC TFT that was bought for us) but in case it
isn't,
could anyone give us some pointers re particular brands /
models that
may have impressed you in those areas please?

Oh, and a remote with /only/ volume, channel and on/off would
be handy
(and Mute for when we go roundjoking). ;-)

A plain Freeview TV is all that's required as I don't suppose
they
would use any fancy features even if they were present or
particularly
care for HD or 3D etc (unless there are good technical reasons
why
they might). A built in DVD player or PVR would be acceptable
if it
meant they got the main things. I don't think money is a real
issue as
long as it works and is good VFM.

Cheers and thanks for your time in any case.

T i m



I recently purchased an LG with built in Freeview, and was
pleasantly surprised that it came with two remotes one of which
only had 3 switches (buttons), two rockers for sound and
channel changing, and one OK button. :-) . The other remote
has 30ish buttons :-( .
Haven't connected up yet but I'm expecting the sound to be crap
as the TV is so slim the speaker(s) must be even slimmer.
However, It will be connected to an 80W Lindsley Hood Amp and
B&W Speakers. :-)
As an elderly I require a simple remote for everyday use, a
good picture and a good sound, so it seems to satisfy my
requirements, I hope :-\ .
The Big Power up is on Friday.!!! So if the lights dim in
North Shropshire you'll know why.
Regards
Don




Ah, someone with taste. Long may the soul of the sainted JLH rest
in peace.


--
Woody

harrogate three at ntlworld dot com