Recipie for finding your perfect LCD

I must have wasted 20 hours of time researching what LCD to buy

My guide to NOT waste your time:

Consider buying ONLY: Sony, Samsung or LG make LCD's

OK!! This coice is highly personal in some respects, but in others it definitely isn't

For some reason ALL other makes for some reason or another had specs that were much lower

Make sure you get a 1080p TV - also otherwise better known as Full HD - also otherwise recognisable by the pixels: look out for 1920 x 1080

...

I'll come back and finish wriitng this post later - laptop battery running out!

Houston: the Samsung 6 Series LE40A686 has landed!

Wednesday: 

- 2.30pm, got delivery of the blueray player

- 3pm, got delivery of the TV!!

(Had delivery of LCD bracket on Tuesday)

Yeeha! Unfortunately, I have to go to the office and can't unpack there and then and start playing with the new toy!

DAMN! Life is hard sometimes!

11.30pm: got home... unpacked everything

YES, YES!

Unpacked my Samsung 6 Series LE40A686 (exact model number LE40A686M1FX)

(Also known by other model number like Samsung LE40A656 - no difference here apart from cosmetic, so I understand)

Hooked it up on the normal roof aerial: picture quality amazing - but not quite right

(I've never liked the freeview - there's just something missing!)

Hooked upto Sky... wow!! Brilliant! Amazing. Lost for words to describe.

OK: so if you stick your head next to the TV, you do see pixelating in parts - but this is true for LCD and plasma TV's, so not really something to complain about

Time now: 12.30 am, just past midnight... sssshh... be quite, the neighbours are asleep

I've decided: heck, I'm just going to drill as silently as possilbe and stick up the wall bracket!!

Time does not wait for anyman and I do not wait to get my new TV ready and installed!!

I get drill ready... get all my tools together like screws and other things: ready for action!

I take out the bracket from it's box and...... erm, I see the biggest rawplug I've ever seen in my life!

I already know I don't have it... but I still go through my drill bits to see if I have a macthing size!

****! What am I supposed to do now?? Taking the damn TV out is a fiddly thing... putting it back is even more fiddly!

Damn!! The TV will have to wait for another day to dawn - but I'm away for the WHOLE day the next day!!

Message to other buyers: check EVERYTHING AND make sure you have a giant drill bit!

The instructions for the wall bracket say that you need a 3/16 drill bit

I've got a 3/8 drill bit, but this seems to be too small

About the Samsung 6 Series LE40A686, see what Dixon's have to say:

"With exquisite design and unique harmonious qualities, the LCD TV Series 6 reflects nature’s essential elements. Its inspirational design evokes the depths of emotion that have never been seen on a TV screen before. The combination of premium performance and aesthetic elegance makes for a truly stunning TV that sets new standards."

I would back up every word of this! The TV is amazing and georgeous and beautiful!

HDMI Cable: £70 cable or cheap £2 one?

Buy an LCD or plasma from Dixons and they'll happily charge you £70 for a HDMI cable

This will be cased in a well designed plastic casing that you can put on your mantle place and admire

(Unfortunately, to get to the cable inside, you have to tear the casing open)

Go to Tesco's and I've heard you can pick up a cable for £2

Hahahahaha!

Buy the Dixon's one right - much higher quality?

I have an admission to make: I'm an LCD virgin - until recently, when over Christmas I spent a few weeks trawling the internet searching for what to buy (while others spent their time rejoicing the holiday period and praising Lord Jesus)

USB cables: I've long known that its a COMPLETE con

No need to ever ever ever buy an expensive cable

Please note, there is a difference: a gold USB cable will last you 1000 years, while a silver one will only last 99 years - so why not pay £20 extra for the gold one instead of buying the silver one for £0.99!

HDMI: in complete ignorance I thought it had to be different

New technology... it just HAD to far superior!! (The more expensive cable that is)

Aparently not!

Everyone out there: please text this gospel and preach as given above to 10 people you know

And in turn ask them to text 10 people you know

If you do, God will take notice and will bring you 5 steps closer to heaven for saving people from being conned into buying expensive HDMI cables

Here endeth the lecture

Disclaimer: above, I chose to give Dixon's as an example. This is not exactly fair - there are plenty of other con merchants out there worth a mention as well.

Sticking onto a wall, best advice: have close to the wall + have extension cables

I've been scratching my head about how to stick my LCD to the wall

(Haven't received yet)

I want to be able to access the back and be able plug cables in and out loads of times

i.e. connecting and disconnecting loads of other devies like PC's and game consoles etc

You can get brackets that will come away from the wall nearly 1 meter!!

That sounds brilliant and innovative

Without having seen this in real: I can tell you that this will be an ugly solution!!

Yuk!

In the end... I have gone for a bracket that you can tilt a little and gain access from the back

Stop press: I've just been advised by another LCD/Plasma expert that the best solution is to use extension cables

This sounds brilliant - I was compeltely ignorant of the fact that such existed

Oh well...!

This sounds a much much better solution for the reasons explained above

Personally, if the TV is stuck to the wall, then I think it looks much more elgant and beautiful

I may still go for this solution - I'll see what the one I have purchased comes out like

(I'll simply resell on eBay - may lose £5... but that loss for getting what I need and want)

Depending on the bracket you get, you can get ones that are more tightly close to the wall than others - given hindsight, I think I would prefer this + extension cables

Looking into the prices of extension cables now... I'll write back if I find any useful information to report

You've either done lots of research, or are an expert already on LCD/plasma TV's
You've bought a new LCD/plasma!

How much would YOU sell your brand new LCD/plasma for 12 months later?

12 months later: how much would you be prepared to accept for it?
10% less? 20%? 50%!?
You'd be surprised - if you don't know what you're doing, then you might be looking at 50%
Yes, yes: I know most of you will want to sell for maybe 10% less; fact: you'll ONLY be able to sell at whatever the market price is (if you actually want to sell the thing and not wait a million years for your perfect buyer to come along)

Warning: an LCD/plasma TV is for life, not just for Christmas
Erm... no!! I personally don't think so! 12 months later the technology is now bigger and better than ever before: picture is better, sound is better, new TV's are lighter! And you've been left in the stone ages (OK... it's not really as bad as that!)

I've bought a 6 series Samsung 40 inch (+ free DVD recorder!)
I got a good deal for it: paid £667!

(If you want to find out where and how to get the same deal, read one of my posts below!)
The market value of the same TV right now - an average of what everyone else is paying is £750 - just weighing up what others pay at expensive places + shrewd buyers who know where to buy from (This figure is *just* an estimate that I've made up on the spot!)

I've done some research on eBay and 12 months down the road, I could realistically get £400 - £500 for the TV
(I'm a Powerseller on eBay... and sell 10,000's of items a year... so if you're not experienced... just take my word for it to be true about the price)

The price you get is dependent on a few factors:

- obviously condition
- is it boxed? does it have manuals? does it have original paperwork?
- the quality of your eBay listing: how good it looks (assuming you are selling on eBay)

I based my price guide above on some research: the prices of 4 and 5 series 40 inch Samsungs being sold right now (you need to be able to distinguish between used ones being sold + new ones still being sold)

Let's assume you buy for £700 for arguments sake and let's assume you get a lower end price of £400

Would you be happy!!? 

My take on it: if I could sell for £500, then I would - I'd go out and buy the current latest model/best offer

I'd be interested to hear what others say!

Some advice, if you want to sell:

- if you can... keep the original box
- keep EVERYTHING! the paperwork (no I'm not just referring to the warranty paper but also the manuals and enviromental notices!)
- obviously, I don't need to say: look after it with TLC 
- if selling on eBay, put some effort into creating a good looking listing
('good looking' doesn't necessarily mean top notch professional design - just lots of honest info, technical specs + loooads of pictures)

Do this and when it comes to selling, you'll get a much higher price than just an open TV: 'take as seen' sale

Disclaimer:

- keeping and storing a big box + not knowing when you might ever actually sell might not be realistic for most people!
- if having read this, you decide to keep the big giant box + other bits and bobs and as a result, the wife gives you a beating, please blame me (but don't give her my details)

Cheapest SatNav - less than £45!

WOW, wow!!

Well I never

I've purchased a FULLY working Satnav for UNDER£45!

I never ever would have believed this would be possible

Check this out: my Satnav plays videos and MP3's!!

Tomtom? Who wants you!!

Plasma vs LCD screens - which one is best?

Plasma??

LCD?

I thought I had it all figured out!

I'll come back and write a detailed report on LCD vs Plasma

Or Should it be Plasma vs LCD?

Whatever floats your boat!

I am an expert on flatscreens

I know everything there is to know

I've recently purchase a Samsung 6 Series at an astonishing LOW price (see post below to see how you can get the same deal yourself!)

But erm... erm... has someone seen my hat... I think I need to eat it or at least do something embarrassing like that!

It seems as though I only know half the story!

Plasma TV's: DO NOT write them off

They have MANY MANY advantages over LCD

(Also, LCD has some advatages over plasma)

If I could go back.... I would at least look at and consider plasma's

Scenario: faaast moving action with amazing filming and graphics

FACT: on this test, plasma's will p*** on the por perfomance given by LCD's

It's far superior!

As I said: I'll come back and write a detailed report later

What wall bracket to buy for your LCD?

What wall bracket to buy for your lcd?

Where from?

A few options... quite a few actually

I've spent too many hours researching and finding out the answer:

1. Google on 'LCD Plasma brackets'

You'll get lots of ads selling

Look and and compare several sellers from the internet

Look out for the big well known names as well as not well known (but still very good suppliers)

Aim: educate yourself on what's available

2. Buy from eBay

Yes: step 1 is needed!!!

Fact: the big boys are making WAY tooo much money on brackets for flat screen TV's!

WOW: go to PC World and you could spend £200 on something you could have bought from eBay for less than £30

3. No need for something that stretches out of the wall!

Damn uuurgerly!  This is my opinion - I am always right and have never been wrong: just take my word for it

Wha you want: something that keeps your LCD flat against the wall + give a way of accesing the back to plug cables in and out

Answer: get a tilting bracket

I'll come back and tidy this article up if I have time - ALL the information is there above - don't think, don't question, jusr do as I say!

What SD memory card do I buy?

I need to buy an SD memory card

What do I buy?

1GB? 2GB? 4GB?

What make should I buy?

Kingston SD? Sandisk SD? Toshiba SD? Panasonic SD? Transcend? PNY?

But then I have to decide what speed I should buy!?

AND: should I buy a cheap one from a foreign seller on eBay?

I've bought a Satnav and want to upgrade the memory + install newer and better software + install new maps

Where can YOU also get the Samsung 6 series 40" LCD for £667 + FREE DVD Recorder?

My mouth hasn't stopped talking: I don't think there's anyone else left that doesn't know about my fantastic purchase of the fantastic Samsung 6 Series 40" LCD TV for £667 + FREE Samsung DVD recorder

(Incidentally: the Samsung DVD recorder looks georgeous!)

Many have asked: where can I get such a deal? Show me proof! You're telling fibbs!

Scouts honour: I've purchased a Samsung 6 Series TV for £667 - the same TV (on it's own) else where is being sold for £800 - £900

(Heck go to www.samsung.com and try and buy, I don't think you'll get much change out of £1000)

Here's how you can get the same deal I got: in the search engine below, search for 'Samsung LE40A686M1FX'

Let me know if you have trouble - good luck and good TV hunting

In one of my next posts, I'll be writing about why this particular TV is amazing and better than others