OT: Another Telly Query

[fred]

In article , Dave Plowman (News) writes

Any problem with letterbox? No distortion.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Older TVs may not support this mode. And on a 14" 4:3 the resulting picture will be tiny.

[fred]

In article , Dave Plowman (News) writes

How so? The TV sees a 4:3 picture, just with black band top & bot, no special mode.

Well, 20-25% shorter but it worked here for a few years on my kitchen telly (14") before I went dig flatscreen.

[Roger Chapman]

snip

Something basic I think. It is after all for the kitchen.

Smaller models seem rather uncommon to say the least but 19" should do me fine and anything over about 21" might be counter productive given the size and layout of the kitchen.

[fred]

19" is pretty compact and given that it is widescreen it ends up being not much taller than a 14". Although wider it should be far less obtrusive that your old 14" CRT.

I have used cheapies for kitchen and bedroom as they are really for incidental viewing, expect 100quid for a cheapie if shopping around and up to 140 for branded. Not Panasonic if you don't want an AD supported

14 day EPG.

[Pete Shew]

EBay - 19" monitor with DVI-D - £26 Morrisons - Freeview STB with HDMI - £22 (letterbox mode) EBay - HDMI/DVI-D cable - £3

It doubles as a second monitor to my laptop. Only problem is that the inbuilt speakers are rubbish so I use scart to phono to my sound system.

Pete

[Clive George]

Ah, memories of seeing a few minutes of The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover in letterbox on a 14" telly. I don't go for huge screens, but that was just silly.

[David WE Roberts]

Which? usually likes Panasonic, LG, Sony.

[airsmoothed]

18 quid on Amazon as mentioned upthread.

[Alan]

In message , David WE Roberts wrote

Which? often gets things wrong.

Furthermore, at the lower (cheaper) end of the market even the well known manufactures have been known to "badge" no-name electronics to extend their range.

A recommendation for, say, a 40 inch TV from one manufacturer doesn't necessarily mean that a TV of a lesser screen size is to the same standard. Some manufactures use different screen technologies within their ranges even though the model numbers may not indicate that this is so.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

They tend to comment on reliability etc from a database provided by their members. So much more likely to have an unbiased view than any individual or dealer.

I've never quite understood this irrational dislike of Which. Often based on just the one item, many many years ago.

[Alan]

In message , "Dave Plowman (News)" wrote

A self selecting survey group is unlikely to give a true representation of reliability.

If you happen to know anything about what they a surveying you will see the flaws in their methods.

[John Rumm]

Indeed.

Any many analogue viewers will be used to the 14:9 letterboxed format that the broadcasters have been using for the last few years anyway. That introduced small black bars top and bottom on most broadcasts when viewed on a 4:3 set.

[hugh]

In message , Roger Chapman writes

Last year when we switched over local Comet was selling "expensive set top box" for non-scart Tvs at about £25.00

[John Rumm]

Remember the VCR needs to be told to select its AV/Camera input rather than its normal tuner one.

[Roger Chapman]

Not any more apparently.

The website shows the "full range" of freeview set top boxes as just two, one of which is HD and neither of which appears suitable for TVs without scart.

[Roger Chapman]

Sorry but I don't understand how. According to the instructions the camera input is by jackplug. I can't find the remote which might have more functions but the VCR itself doesn't have a suitable button to press.

[Roger Chapman]

I see from other replies that not everybody likes Which but one of my problems is the huge range of makes and models available which makes personal recommendation the best filter. Unless anyone has anything bad to report about these three makes I will restrict my choice to one of them and try to keep the purchase price below £150.

Thanks again to everyone who has contributed to this thread.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Any survey is selected by someone. The only truly accurate one would be a survey of everyone - where everyone told the truth. However, the Which results which include reader surveys are generally pretty accurate. Those who take part have a vested interest in being honest, and seeing a true result - unlike most surveys.

Hmm. On the odd occasion I get asked things in a 'survey' I take great delight in lying. I find them an intrusion to my privacy - and also the company conducting it wanting something for nothing, which they then make money out of. And I'd guess I'm not alone in this.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

The whole point of Which is the recommendations based on reader's surveys are sort of personal. As those readers have generally no axe to grind.

'Which' members aren't generally enthusiasts so give just an ordinary view on the things they own. So fine for other non-enthusiasts. If you are a keen photographer, for example, you may well have different views on a camera than someone who just takes snaps. And so on.