I would like some help buying a widescreen TV.
What are the types of things I should be looking for when choosing
one? Could you  sugest a good buy. My budget is about £650 (ukp)
unless you can convince me that I should spend more or less. Any
sugestion needs to have an option for UK mainland delivery.
I would also consider buying second hand, so it would be good if you could
point me to some reputable seconhand dealers.

Hi oliver-ga,

I limited my search to shops and items that are for sale in the UK, as
the transportation cost of a widescreen TV to the UK would eliminate
the benefits you might have when shopping internationally.

Here are some important factors to consider when buying a widescreen
tv:

Tube size:
The bigger the better of course, especially for widescreen TV's. After
all, if you view a movie in 3:4 format on both a widescreen and
traditional TV with the same tube sizes, the movie size will be
smaller on the widescreen TV. Since a lot of stations in the UK still
use the 3:4 format, this might be an important point to consider. A 32
inch size would be great ion this price range.

Refresh rate:
The higher the refresh rate, the less the image will flicker. TV's
with a refresh rate of 100Hz offer a very smooth and clean (stable)
image.

Sound decoder:
More expensive TV's offer built in Dolby pro logic/digital decoders.
Whether this is important or not, depends on your sound system. If you
don't have a home cinema sound system (with 5 or 6 boxes), it really
doesn't matter that much.

Design:
The design is of course also important when making a choice, however,
this is a very subjective matter of course. More expensive sets will
have tv's can be extremely slim (for instance some philips models).

Image quality:
One of the most important factors is of course the image quality and
this can't be rated in an objective way. Usually however, the better
known brands offer better clarity, contrast and image quality then
lesser known brands. If you're willing to spend up to 650ukp, I
suggest you don't go for brands as Daewoo, Sharp, Grundig, Toshiba,
Hitachi, Sanyo, LG... Personally I found televisions from Sony and
Philips to have excellent image quality.

Flatness of the tube:
The flatter the tube the better of course. More expensive models have
a nearly flat tube. Tubes that are not entirely flat may result in
some image distortion.


There are several other things to look for, such as the HDTV
resolution, ability to play both PAL and NTSC formats, fastext (fast
teletext), digital tv or not, ...  but with a limited budget, these
are really less important factors.

Some TV's also have a TV cabinet included in the price, so watch for
that as well when comparing prices.

If you're looking to buy a second hand television, it might be a good
idea to check for burn-out. When televisions have been playing a
similar image for a very long while, that image might be "burnt" into
the tube. You can check for this by examining the tube when the TV is
off. It's also a good idea, to find a place where you get a warranty
(for instance 3 or 6 months) on your second hand purchase.

If you're willing to spend 650ukp however, I'd personally consider
buying a new television in stead.


New dealers:

You can get a list of dozens of shops in the uk with their items, and
ordered by price on dealtime:
://www.google.dealtime.co.uk/SearchResults/DoItemResults/1,2440,-30215--------,00.html?linkin_id=1034582&keywords=widescreen+televisions

Another list of dealers in the UK:
http://www.2020shops.com/ukshops/electrical-goods/televisions.html


Second-hand Television Dealers on e-bay:

http://www.stores.ebay.co.uk/vfmwholesaleltd
http://www.stores.ebay.co.uk/wescowholesale
http://www.stores.ebay.co.uk/cmdirect


Here are some excellent products in you price range:

Philips 32PW6006 / 76cm (32in) Nicam Widescreen Superflat TV  (great
price/quality!)
530ukp and 29.99 for transport
http://www.24-7electrical.co.uk/cgi-bin/main.pl?pgm=co_disp&func=displ&prrfnbr=405&sesent=0,0&source=DEALTIME&ref=DT

Sony KV28LS35S  66cm (28inch) Visible FD Trinitron Wega Screen
£579.75
http://www.prcdirect.co.uk/PRC/PRC.storefront/EN/product/KV28LS35S

Philips 28PW6515C 66cm/28 Inch Widescreen Nicam Televisions With
cabinet
£ 594.99
http://www.easibuy.com/shop/powerstore.cgi?product_id=134547&refer_id=dealtime


Some extra information on widescreen TVs:
http://hometheater.about.com/library/weekly/aa042801a.htm
http://www.high-techproductions.com/widescreen.htm
http://widescreen-tv.net

Hope this helps you make a choice,

rhansenne-ga.

Search terms used:
"widescreen tv" dealer "second hand" "16:9" on google.co.uk

Another excelent answer from rhansenne and answered quickly, thanks.