Decide what to buy | the Reevoo.com blog, featuring news on TVs, cameras, laptops, mp3 players & other gadgets, shopping tips and deals, reviews and more

We’re all feeling the pinch in the run up to Christmas, but with all the great movies coming on TV it’s still the best time of year to upgrade to a home cinema system.  In a gesture of seasonal goodwill, major manufacturers like LG, Sony, Samsung and Philips all have cheap home cinema systems on the market suitable for the budget-conscious.  Although you still won’t be able to pick up a Blu ray system for much less than £350, there’s lots of choice in DVD home cinema systems under £150. Here’s the pick of the bunch, plus one to avoid.*

(*we’re basing our choices on the opinions of real shoppers who really own these products, not because these manufacturers have offered to send one of these systems over if we write nice things.  Although we wouldn’t say no if one arrived at Reevoo Towers, no strings attached. In case anyone from Sony/LG/Philips/Samsung was wondering…)

LG HT304SU

Whether you’re looking for something to fit into your living room discreetly, or you’re a fan of great design, LG’s HT304SU 5.1 DVD system is one to consider.  The front, centre and rear speakers are neat little glossy black balls, but they still give out a decent 300W when teamed with the subwoofer.  It’s impressively flexible, catering for DivX and MP3 CDs, and letting you copy tracks from CDs directly to MP3 players which can plug into its USB socket.  Reviewers are generally very happy, awarding on average a score of 8.4/10, but are irritated by the short rear speaker cables.

Panasonic SC-PT170

This Panasonic home cinema system has a more traditional look, but it’s still very clever under the surface.  As well as upscaling, HDMI connections and 5.1 surround sound, it has a couple of more unusual features.  It’s very energy-efficent - up to 50% better than previous models.  Whispermode is Panasonic’s smart way to make sure you get the full effect of surround sound even at low volumes, which keeps you and your neighbours happy. Whispermode does get mixed reports from Reevoo reviews, but they’re still impressed enough with the system to give it an average score of 8.6/10.

Sony DAV-DZ280

This Sony home cinema system is the right choice if you’re looking for something to double as a hifi.  It has an iPod dock and technical wizardry to give music back what compressed file formats like MP3 take away. And with 850W of power, you won’t want more volume.  Reviewers do report the system’s tricky to set up and there were complaints again about the length of the speaker wires provided. Apart from this, owners were very happy and it was rated 9/10 on average.

One to avoid: while reviewers are very happy with Goodmans TVs and set-top boxes, lots of them have had significant problems with its HEC142 home cinema system, which is cursed with slow response time and unreliable sound and playback.

Dick Tracy, eat your heart out. LG has come up with a futuristic treat from the past with the GD910 – a wrist watch phone. But if you thought it was going to be a second-rate mobile, it’s actually packed full of features you wouldn’t expect. There’s a pretty low-grade camera but its 3G HSDPA compatibility, 1.43” touchscreen, MP3 player and text to speech functionality makes it a decent phone and a pretty hot watch.

It also packs in bluetooth (so you can look even more spy-like with a headset), MMS and it’s water resistant. Want one? They’re due to be released in Europe later on this year.

Check it out in action:

Currently appearing in Coolest-Gadgets’ comp

Hi, I came across your site and your video explained alot, I have two questions:
1) What are the best three, value for money (up to £600) easy setup, standard definition, HD ready 37″ LCD televisions?
2) Is 1080p and 33,000 - 1 ratio as important for a 37″ TV as it is for a larger screen TV?

John, 51, NHS worker from Whitley Bay

I’ll tackle your second question first. People debate how important 1080p is for medium size screens like 37″. It partly depends on how close you are sitting to the TV and how good your eyesight is. If you don’t think you’ll be watching a lot of HD content I’d suggest that it’s probably not worth the extra outlay.

Contrast ratio on the other hand is important for all screen sizes, but as I said in the video it’s not the be-all-and-end-all of screen quality, and it’s often an unreliable number, so I would suggest using the ‘image quality’ ratings.

To answer your first question, here’s a link to the top rated TVs in your price range.

I’d suggest taking a look at the Panasonic Th-37PX80B.

It has one of the highest ratings for screen quality in this group, and a couple of the reviews mention good SD quality. You might want to watch out for a relatively low sound quality rating with that model however.

For all round performance at a good price, this Samsung 4 Series also looks like a good choice. One reviewer mentions that the Freeview picture is good.

For a Full HD (1080p) option, take a look at the LG 37LG6000. Not as many reviews, but several of the TVs ranked above it get poor reviews for their SD quality, and this model has a very good picture quality rating so far.

Time for another question from a reader:

I am looking to buy a new tv of around 37 to 40in and I am considering the Panasonic TH-37PX80B or Sony’s KDL 40V4000.

I will be watching standard defintion via Sky+ and DVDs. I do not intend to move to HD for some time.

I watch a lot of sport and I am concerned that the Sony could be subject to motion blur.

The awards in What HiFi have the Panasonic as the best 37in and the Sony as the best 40in.

My problem is which to chose between the tv?

- Paul, 51, Nottinghamshire. (’Man Utd fan’)

The main difference between these TVs, apart from the screen size, is that for ~£100 extra, the Sony is Full HD and has a higher reported contrast - but neither feature is particularly important if you’re planning to watch a lot of sport.

The Sony is also more highly rated than the Panasonic by confirmed purchasers on Reevoo.

A couple of the Sony reviewers did mention that this TV might not be great for watching football, but several of the reviews of the Panasonic mention positively that it doesn’s suffer from motion blur.

For me it would be the Panasonic of those two, but you should also consider the other highly rated 37 inch TV options.

For example this LG 37LG510 gets a good rating for image quality, with no-one reporting motion blur problems, and its even cheaper than the Pana.

This week’s Green Piece is about washing machines. We all use them but could we be investing in greener options?

LG’s recent Steam Direct Drive washing machines claim to be the greenest. They use 35% less water than other machines and 21% less electricity. Thanks to these stats, they’ve earned a rare A++ energy efficiency rating.

The steam also reduces creases so you will have little or no ironing to do after your wash - another energy saver and particularly fab if you have no time and hate ironing!

These have been out for a while but we wanted to wait until we had LG Steam reviews so that we could tell you what others thought of them. And, much to ours and the planet’s relief, they’re a big hit with their owners. Here are some reviews for the steam driven LG WM1437:

Jason, London:

“It’s looks are great, very easy to use, you can select standard programmes then ‘tune slightly’ e.g. spin speed, rinse cycle etc. It weighs the washing automatically first then calculates cycle times. It is very quiet and has a great estimate to complete timer. It also turns itself off when done to save power.”

Angela, Aberdeen:

“The load size at 8kg is brilliant and the steam option is very useful for engrained dirt. It is a very quiet machine and easy to use and it looks really good.”

“Looks good. washes and rinses extremely well. Very quiet. Environmentally sound.”

It all sounds great but what’s the catch? Well, as you may have guessed, all this washing brilliance comes at a cost. This model is currently around £500 but with your water, energy and ironing saving, it will work itself off pretty quickly.

If that all sounds a bit too much, there are plenty of other washing machines out there. Check out these A-rated washing machines so that you can still do your bit for the planet.

Maxine recently got in touch with Reevoo to tell us about her new TV. We thought she might have some interesting advice to share with people in a similar position, so we subjected her to a few questions!

Maxine is a PA from Birmingham.

Thanks for taking the time to help AV Review readers Maxine! What TV have you bought?

Maxine: I’ve researched and researched on the net and in stores and looked at TV upon TV for approximately 8 months, but kept coming back to the Samsung LE37A656A – the LG Scarlet did not compare looks wise – looked tacky and ineffective.

Wow, that’s a long time to be looking for a new TV! Did you know anything about TVs before you started?

Max: I had no idea whatsoever about TVs. Back in the day I never had unlimited access to the World Wide Web or even a car to go from one store to another. When you’re on public transport you want to get on and off as quickly as possible so rarely ventured too far from home. With your own four wheels however, you can go as far as the petrol in the tank can take you and the WWW’s access is unlimited.

I learned about TVs by speaking to people, visiting a lot of stores looking at loads and loads of TVs, but it wasn’t until I really got the internet research bug that I began to really understand what was important for me, what ticked the boxes that made me decide - yeah - this is it the Samsung Rose/Black Series 6 LEA37A656.

What were your reasons for getting a new TV? Did your requirements change as you learnt more about televisions?

Max: I decided on a new TV for 2 reasons. One, I’ve done a massive make-over on my whole house, the lounge in particular had not had a facelift in ages. Two, once I had a colour scheme (black, silver/grey, white with splashes of red) I also found that the TV I had for a while not only did not fit in with the rest of my décor but also needed updating. It was very bulky and took up unnecessary floor space. Besides, the colour tube was on its last legs frittering between green and blue screens whenever it felt like it to the point I got used to it.

My initial requirement was just a flat screen - what do I know? I had an idea on size but wasn’t sure - I had the space but didn’t want overbearing so researched that element too. And I definitely had no clue whether I wanted LCD or Plasma - in fact I’m not ashamed to say I didn’t know the difference. It definitely changed by the time I made that final decision to buy. The specifications were compared against similar models, price was at the forefront as there had to be value for money and the look - very very important. These all became the top key factors on my wish list.

It sounds like you’re very happy with your final choice - do you have any tips for other people who are thinking about getting a new TV?

Max: It’s imperative that we take time out and research research research. Make a list of what is important to you to convince you to buy that item and tick as many boxes on your wish list as is possible - not all will be ticked because we can’t get everything we want, but we can indeed get close to it.

We all have a preferred make or a make we have been using with satisfaction over the years ie. Samsung, Panasonic, LG whatever. Mine’s Samsung. Select your preferred 1st and 2nd choices and produce a ‘wish list’, listing what YOU think (no one else, just you - you’re the one paying for it and have to live with it - furthermore too many people putting in their ten pennies worth can be confusing and you’d end up getting something not fit for your purpose nor suits your personality) are the important factors that you want to ensure are met before you decide to make that purchase - again not all need to be ticked but if you put them in order of importance they’ll be little or no doubts about the purchase.

If, however, both your 1st and 2nd choices meet all or most of your requirements but you still can’t decide on a make and model, get on to one of the comparison websites and compare each against another popular or top make - Samsung Rose/Black 6 Series compared with the LG Scarlet for example. You should be able to make a firm decision from there. Before you press that button though pop back into a store and have a final look at the exact make and model TV you’ve decided on - seeing it in the flesh so to speak and having it demonstrated in front of your eyes is advisable and more convincing. This should then remove or confirm any doubts that may have crept into your mind. Once satisfied don’t ponder any further - click that button and go for it - you’ve done your homework so now follow through to the exciting stage of waiting for it to be delivered and enjoying your purchase.

Thanks, that’s very helpful. Any final thoughts?

Max: Trust me it can get very boring and tedious at times trawling websites, popping in and out of one store after the other, but your hard work will pay off in the end. Making purchases via a website is also easy just make sure the site is secure and reputable. Phone them up if not sure and read the reviews left by other customers both positives and negatives - take the good with the bad but weigh them all up to fit your needs and you’ll find the balance. Happy researching and enjoy your new purchase.

Thanks Maxine, hope you enjoy the new TV!

If you would like to be interviewed for AV Review, drop me a line at tv@reevoo.com, or leave a message in the comments.

We’ve been looking at what people like and what they don’t when it comes to their mobiles. We asked 31,000 people to rate their phone’s features and it turns out there’s not much hope for big, ugly phones.

15% of people love the way their phone looks above any other feature. One of the sexiest phones seems to be the LG KU990 Viewty – 31% of purchasers rated its look above all its other offerings. And fat phones are a no-go - 14% boasted about how their phone’s compact size was a winner.

The third most popular feature was the camera. A whopping 43% of Sony Ericsson K850i owners cited its 5 megapixel camera as their favourite feature.

But not all phones got off so lightly. With all these fancy frills and features, that age-old problem of battery life seems to be getting worse. It was the most disliked aspect of phones with clunky navigation and awkward keypads coming in second place. One of the worst offenders was the feature-packed Nokia N95. 35% of people rated battery life as its worst characteristic. And it seems looks aren’t everything for the LG KU990 Viewty. It may have come top in the sexy stakes but 25% of respondents said its worse feature was its navigation and keypad.

Check out the graphs below for all the stats on what people liked best and worst about their phones:

And here’s a look at what people thought were the best and worst bits of the top phones:

Lots of interesting things to think about when it comes to buying a mobile phone. Limit the risk of getting a dud by reading what other people say in mobile phone reviews first.

I’ve been looking at the prices you can expect to pay if you buy a TV from the top brands. This will help if you’re shopping for a TV by brand - how much can you expect to pay for a Sony these days?

This data comes from thousands of purchases from Reevoo’s retail partners in 2008.

There’s no suprises at the top and bottom of the table - you can expect to get a Matsui TV for just over £200, while the average price forked out for a Pioneer set is over £1000!

Here’s the full list:

Matsui - £209
Goodmans - £250
Hitachi - £282
Philips - £522
LG - £547
Samsung - £578
Sony - £627
Toshiba - £639
Panasonic - £717
Sharp - £841
Pioneer - £1,258

This list tells us a lot about the screen sizes where manufacturers are selling the most products. For example, Matsui make televisons from 14-42″, with prices ranging from £60-550, but on average people are paying around £200, so I’d be cautious if I was looking at a £500 Matsui - not many people are buying them.

While that’s helpful, it’s also really valuable to look how the average cost for each brand varies within a particular screen size. Here’s how things pan out in 32″ TVs:

Toshiba - £414
Hitachi - £418
Philips - £445
Sharp - £455
LG - £456
Samsung - £458
Sony - £538
Panasonic - £600

Overall the average price paid for a 32″ TV was £465. Within a screen size, you’d expect to pay more for extra features, like 3 or 4 HDMI ports rather than just 2; higher picture or sound quality; or perhaps just to get a shiny logo on the front.

Of the top manufacturers, it’s interesting to see that only Sony and Panasonic sets are selling for above the average price. Although both manufacters produce models available for around £400, they stand out as the premium brands at this screen size.

On the budget end, few manufactuers are selling 32″ for much less than £400, but Hitachi and Toshiba’s low end models are very popular, making them the value-for-money pick of the 32 inchers.

Which brand do you think offers the best value-for-money? Who do you think is just charging for their logo? Share your thoughts with other shoppers.

LG shocked the world of washing machines in 2006 with the launch of its proprietary Steam Direct Drive unit. The range has continued to evolve, and since May it has been possible to purchase one of the new F1402FDS5/6 machines capable of washing 9Kg of laundry.

While fantastic to be able to wash so much in a single go, it’s still the technology behind the machine that deserves the most attention. Like Dyson introducing the bagless vacuum cleaner to the world, LG decided to throw conventional washing machine design principles out of the window and try something new.  By converting the water into steam before mixing it with your laundry, these machines are able to achieve the same or even arguably better cleaning results, whilst saving on the amount of water and energy used. This is a huge plus point, in a time when energy and water costs are rocketing sky high, and saving resources is high on people’s agendas. Another fantastic feature of a steam powered washing machine is its ability to rid your clothes of creases, so no more ironing!

All this does come at a price though, with the range retailing at between £600 and £700 from places such as Boots, Sainsburys and Currys. In the long run however, the extra initial outlay could pay for itself further down the line. For those of you out there that might not want such an expensive and feature rich machine, there are cheaper ranges also available that use the same core steam technology. If you are hungry to delve further into the world of steam powered washing machines head over to the LG website.

[Guest post by Andy]