I have a project to replace the mother in laws dying Samsung CRT TV, and as she is now over 70 will only accept a good old CRT TV.

 I am looking at a Piano black Avant 28 inch with DVD but she commented that she liked the look of the Beocentre 1. Apart from their cosmetic difference what technological advantages does either have over the other?

 Please remember that i am shopping for a woman, and a woman that hates me so i have to get this right on so many levels.

This post was wine fueled so grammer might be a bit off!!!!!

Can't make a direct comparison as I have an Avant 32 DVD and BC1.

The Avant has a superior sound system (bass), but the TV is more difficult to handle/ transport than the BC1. If you can get one in good condition the BC1 makes a better TV if viewing distances are not too great, and it can be wall or pole mounted (better in a bedroom than having an Avant blasting its sound into the side of a bed!) Against the BC1 is the 4:3 format, but again, if viewing distances are not too great, even letter box films will look good on it.

The motorised base of the BC1 will only allow limited movement each side of the centre position if wall or Video table mounted, whereas the Avant can be set-up to move to any position depending on how you set-up the base. (Probably a good reason to go for a pole mounted BC1 which will be more flexible in positioning, like the Avant.)

The DVD on the BC1 is easier to use and access if the TV is at a reasonable height. Because of its accessibility there may be a greater risk of damage by a previous owner if children have played around with it.

I have been using a BC1 for 18 months (bought privately) and it has worked faultlessly. I wouldn't even comment on the sound/ bass other than having the Avant to compare it with........ it's far superior to most TV's. You also get the advantage of having FM radio stations on the BC1.

Graham

Thanks that was great stuff

Getting an Avant from a local dealer this week. What sort of, if any setup will i have to do?

chris:

Getting an Avant from a local dealer this week. What sort of, if any setup will i have to do?

Check out the set-up menu and select the freeview box or sky box depending upon what STB you are going to use. (The avants have a chip that can only be upgraded by substitution, so try to get the dealer to do any upgrading before he delivers it, because call-outs later are expensive.) Sky is the only STB where the codes do not change and is always present on the chip or PUC. Freeviews tend to be Panasonic TU20/30s (now out of production.) A pre 2004 Avant may not have a freeview box in the STB controller menu.... it will have the now out of date ITV digital box (not upgradeable to the post analogue digital frequencies.) You may have to use a Topfield box with Freesat if all else fails. (Get the dealer to give you a photo of the STB menu pages or go and view them yourself before delivery, and bear in mind that for any one country there are only a handful of boxes controllable out of the list of 60+)

You should then only have to set the stand positions: usually the position when the set is turned off, and two others selectable on the Beo4. (You can select any intermediate positions withthe Beo4 anyway, but it's usually convenient to store your main positions.)

Unless you are using external speakers you shouldn't have to set anything else. The Avant will auto-detect DVD's from CDs.

Graham