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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.

Need some tunes to liven up your week? You can get this Panasonic PM38EB-K hifi system for just £105 from Tesco, £28 pounds cheaper than the next best price.

Here’s the latest bargain, the Panasonic DMR-EZ28E, down to £152 with FREE delivery at 24 Electric!

We’re going to have a Reevoo Tidy Up now with this bargain Panasonic MC-E3002 upright vacuum cleaner - down from RRP of £100 to £54 with free delvery at John Lewis.

Found a microwave deal!  This Panasonic NN-E273, down from RRP of £90 to £69 with free delivery at Laskys.

Since our last post on what Panasonic TV model numbers mean, Panasonic have changed the way they use model numbers.  Here is a quick guide to decoding the new product numbers, part of our ongoing series on understanding TV model names.

The first two letters are no longer a simple guide to the type of screen.  In the new system, both plasma and LCD screen model numbers start with TX.  Older plasma screen models start with TH.

- TH is used for older plasma screens (pre-2009)
- TX for LCD screens and newer plasma screens (2009 onwards)

The third letter refers to the type of screen

- P for plasma
- L for LCD

The first two numbers refer to the screen size in inches.

The next numbers and letters are the series. Full details of the newly launched series can be found at Panasonic’s website: click here for information on Panasonic’s new LCD TVs or click here for information on their new plasma TVs.

Finally, the B that’s sometimes included in the product name stands for region B – the UK.

Heard about all the 3D TVs ready to rock our world? Well gear yourself up for a new range of 3D appliances – the Panasonic 3D washing machines. Oh yes. Viewing goggles not included. But before you think we’re all going to be sitting watching movies on our washers, it’s not that exciting.

Panasonic have recognised the need for our washing machines to handle their loads in a different way. They say that the machines of today will spin your washing and as a result, it will all stick to the sides of the drum, meaning that your clothes suffer from an inefficient wash. But with this 3D jiggery pokery, it will sense the weight of your load, how fast and hard it falls from the top of the drum to the bottom and then use just the right amount of spin to make sure all your threads get a good dosing of soap on all sides.

And if that wasn’t enough, they’re also super green. One of the machines, the NA-16VX1, operates to the prestigious EU A-20% energy efficiency standard and so uses 20% less energy than an ordinary A-category washer. All of the washers have shorter washes and use less water than the average machine too.

The tilted drum contributes to the water saving and the spin sense magic helps save energy by reducing unnecessary spin.

If you’re loving the concept, check out the Panasonic website for more details. If you’re looking for a more conventional machine, check out the washing machine reviews before you buy.

via Electricpig

NB - this guide has been updated.  See the updated Panasonic TV model numbers post.

Today we’re continuing our guide to understanding TV model names. At first glance, TV product names are generally pretty complicated, unmemorable and unpronouncable combinations of letters and numbers. To the uninitiated this doesn’t help when you’re trying to find your way around the large television market.

However, closer inspection does often reveal some logic behind the names manufacturers give to their latest gift to the world. Today I’m going to walk through Panasonic’s naming conventions.

The first letters tell you a little about the type of screen:

- TH for plasma
- TX for LCD

The first two numbers refer to the screen size in inches.

The next letters and numbers are the series:

- P series are always plamsas
- L series are always LCDs
- A Z means the TV is Full HD
- An X means the TV is HD Ready, but not Full HD

Panasonic currently has the following series:

Panasonic Full HD LCD TVs:

- LZD800 (37″)
- LZD81 (32″, 37″)
- LZD85 (32″, 37″)
- LZD80 (32″, 37″)

Panasonic HD Ready LCD TVs:

- LXD85 (32″)
- LXD80 (26″, 32″)
- LXD8 (19″, 26″, 32″)

Panasonic Full HD plasma TVs:

- PZ800 (42″, 50″, 58″, 65″)
- PZ81 (42″, 46″, 50″)
- PZ85 (42″, 46″)
- PZ80 (42″, 46″)
- PZ8 (42″, 46″)

Panasonic HD Ready plasma TVs:

- PX80 (37″, 42″)
- PX8 (37″, 42″, 50″)

You can find out more about each series in Panasonic’s brochure (10mb pdf)

Finally, the B that’s sometimes included in the product name stands for region B – the UK.

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.

We’re onto DVD recorders this week. I know that most Christmas telly is awful but you do get the odd great film that’s worth recording. They’re also really handy for recording series of your favourite dramas and sitcoms so that you have your own set.

Top ten DVD recorders

1.       Samsung DVD-R155 - £101

2.       Sony RDRHXD890 - £160

3.       Panasonic DMR-EX78 - £205

4.       Panasonic DMR-EX768 - £171

5.       Panasonic DMR-EZ28E - £115

6.       Sony RDR-HXD870 - £100

7.       Toshiba RD-17 - £100

8.       LG DRT389H - £103

9.       Panasonic DMR-EZ27 - £100

10.     Sony RDR-GX350 - £80

The Samsung DVD-R155 has some impressive reviews, despite its lack of a tuner which means that you won’t be able to record two programmes at once:

“Good solid recorder, easy to use, very impressed with the upscaling.”

“Does what it says on the tin. Great quality recorder/player for the money and looks slick.”

“Not multi regional but you can re code it for all regions easily from the internet”

If you want a good all-rounder that’s great value for money, go for the £155 Panasonic DMR-EZ28E. It comes with built-in a Freeview digital tuner and it will play and record on most discs.

When you’re looking for a DVD recorder, make sure it has the functionality you require. If you like recording the odd episode of Eastenders quickly, make sure it has a hard drive so that you don’t have to fiddle around with discs before you can record anything. Also check for how many tuners the machine has. If a DVD recorder has more than one tuner, it will let you record more than one programme at the same time. Do you need a recorder with built-in VHS so that you can still watch all your classics? And finally, make sure it will play and record on the discs you’ll be using.