Is BBC HD any good? or should I not bother?

Okay guys... advice please!

I need to shell out for a new TV. The old one is just too crappy now (would you believe it is a big old CRT box tele!).

Not sure about what to do though, as everyone seems to be shouting about 3D and HD. To me, HD is new! 3D? That's something for watching Jaws at Christmas years ago, and trying to make 3D glasses out of quality street wrappers!!!

So anyway, I am trying to figure out what to buy. I want a 42" jobbie to mount on the wall, so that much I know!

So next up is if I go with Feeeview HD, or buy a proper TV plan with one of the companies. So I checked here - http://www.digitalchoices.co.uk/hd-t...e-checker.html and it says where I am, I can get Virgin, Sky or BT (didn't know they did TV! Now I am even more confused!).

So despite my confused head, it comes down to just two questions really...

1) Should I go with just a HD tele, or go for one of the 3D ones (minus the quality street wrappers!)... Does anyone know if 3D tv's show 2D 'normal' tele just as well? Are they as sharpe n stuff?

2) To get 'decent' HD (like sports really!), is Freeview HD good enough, or am I really going to have to pay for a package?

Phew! I would rather clean out my sump with a tooth brush than go through buying a new TV again any time soon! WAYYYY too many options!

[maviczap]

I'm not sold on 3D but I am a big HD fan and its worth getting a good Tv

Pretty sure you can get HD Freeview or HD Freesat, so go for these as they are free

Depends what you want to watch, as not much on free to view channels now

[muzikill]

I bought a lg passive 3d tv. Fantastic tv.

Originally Posted by muzikill

I bought a lg passive 3d tv. Fantastic tv.

Oooo! great - I can ask you questions then

On the 3d TV, when looking at things in 2D, is the TV as clear/sharp as normal 2d TVs ?

[tigersaw]

Freeview HD is very good.
ONly 4 HD channels on freeview, though thats plenty.

Originally Posted by tigersaw

Freeview HD is very good.
ONly 4 HD channels on freeview, though thats plenty.

Cool - do they have sports in HD much? That's my main interest

[Bibio]

first thing's first. CRT telly's usually have a cracking picture so you are going to notice a change there.

depending on your price bracket for a new telly there are flaws.

cheep LCD. don't even think about it if your into sports as the 'lag' will drive you nutz.

good LCD (LED back lit) better as they usually have better driving software and panels but still 'lag'.

Good LCD (LED edge lit) ok'ish but sometimes suffer from the same problems computer screens do and highlight the edges more due to the light being more focused in that area.

pros/cons of LCD/LED great colours and brightness but tend to look a bit false and depending on price range have lag. when i say lag i mean fast moving objects like golf balls, foot balls, runners will have a 'trail' or 'shadow' to them. LCD/LED are cheep to run and consume very little leccy.

now on to plasma.
plasma TV's don't suffer from lag but aren't as bright or vivid as LCD but they do give a lot more tones of black. so if your watching a horror you can see the monsters in the shadows where LCD will just be a black hole. if your watching footy you wont get the 'trails' or 'shadows'. plasma cost an absolute fortune to run. mines consumes around 300 watts an hour where an LCD will be about 70.

now onto digital TV. this again depends on the signal and hardware. cheep nasty freeview boxes are just that 'nasty'. virgin HD is cracking with no dish on the side of your house to get blown about by the wind. i'm not saying anything bad about Sky but i'm not saying anything good.

HD is the doggyzz and more like a good CRT/analogue picture.

you are looking to get a TV with 1080p. 3D is good and yes your 3D telly will still show 2D. to watch 3D you have to have 3D compatible hardware e.g. bluray player or 3D set top box (Sky/Virgin) and the glasses, depending on the brand the glasses are either passive or active.

[muzikill]

Originally Posted by mikeSV

Oooo! great - I can ask you questions then

On the 3d TV, when looking at things in 2D, is the TV as clear/sharp as normal 2d TVs ?

Yes, the tv is full hd and a great picture at that. Passive 3d uses the same glasses as the cinema and lg updated the firmware on their tv,s so they do full hd 3d. So no expensive glasses and no headaches you get from the active glasses that cost a fortune.

If you go down the route of getting Freesat HD look at the VU+ boxes, the image and sound quality is second to none and you can get sky HD/3D with all movies/sports for around 8quid a month if your not concerned about it being legit - Not that I would condone such activities

Sky Package
http://www.c-linie.com/en/buy_a_cline_for_sky_uk.html

Satellite Box's (I would recommend VU+)
http://www.world-of-satellite.co.uk/

[muzikill]

Bibio did you get those 3d movies to play btw?