General Forum

Re: Alternative to the 7-40

The Beonic Man — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 17:22:47 GMT

I haven't yet commented on this post so now I will.

As some of you already know I am also a BV7-40 Mark III owner. I bought it around the same time Moxxey did. At first I really didn't like the TV and noticed almost every inconsistency and problem with it. I felt worried that I had bought the wrong set and spent a lot of money on a poor product that wasn't up to scratch. However, it has been 3 months now I have owned it and I love it more and more each day.

There have been some fantastic replies, all very positive and very honest from existing owners already for this post and I can confrim that what they say about the TV is true and inline with my own experiences of it. In the beginning I believed that bad footage I was watching was a result of the TV and its inability to perform well. But, when you feed a high quality digital signal through it the performance is second to none. I am extremely pleased with it. When you watch high definition; depending on the content (because a lot of it is SD that has been upscaled) it can be absolutly stunning. I refer to programs such as Planet Earth by the BBC which they show on the BBC HD channel Tuesday evenings; also various other pieces of footage such as Mountain, The Antiques Roadshow and select others. This footage has been recorded on the latest HD cameras and I am so impressed with the images.

I used to believe that the Avant TV produced a better picture but I know now it doesn't, at least not when watching what I term true HD. For SD yes, the Avant is by far a better perfomer. Even normal digital TV on the BV7 Mark III I feel is of a much better quality. It so much depends on what you are watching, whether or not it has been compressed and what cameras were used initially to record it. I can recommend the TV to anyone thinking of buying one. Does it justify its price? Tricky, I want to say yes I really do, but probably it would need to be a thousand pounds (or a bit more) cheaper to have my vote completly. I bought it because I want the B&O experience, not just the television, and I guess that is the premium you pay.

On a final note, we all know how much of a talking point B&O equipment to be to those who haven't seen it before. I had some guests over for dinner last week and you should have seen their reactions. They adored the TV and commented on every aspect of it. However, to be fair, they commented far more on the BeoSound 9000 which was a clear winner in terms of the WOW factor! Most of these people were artists, some quite reputable. They just couldn't get over the BS9000 and what a piece of artwork it was in its own right, at least in their opinion. Isn't that a great credit to the designers and everybody involved in its conception at B&O? A great buzz for me because of course I love demonstrating it all!

Simon.

Re: Alternative to the 7-40

a2bur — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 07:10:56 GMT

Didn't go in to PcWorld to see the Tv's , went to get a cable but they got my attention . I might be one of people that tend to look only at B&o as I couldn't tell you the name of a another quality speaker . I know there is better out there but one remote " rings my bell " ( got to be a B&o remote ) , been waiting 3 years and still might be to soon to change . He did say in the shop that he wasn't too happy with picture when first installed but after a couple of week it settled down and improved , don't know if that's a bit of sales talk , perhaps it takes two week to get used to imperfections .

Richard

Re: Alternative to the 7-40

moxxey — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 05:14:59 GMT

Puncher:
very much in the minority, worrying about details of picture quality etc. The primary reason that the flat panel revolution happened when it has (as a minor miracle of marketing triumphing over product quality) is that the majority bought the "flat is better" story without apparently noticing the poor quality pictures...

Worse, people care more about the size of their screen over and above picture quality. In fact, most people don't even 'notice' their picture until it's pointed out to them!

I've been around to friends houses and seen really poor F1 on ITV (Samsung), terrible football on BBC1 (Sony) and dark screens when playing PS3 games. Go back to my B&O BV7-40 MKIII and see the PS3 connected to my TV and it's absolutely stunning. Audio is also way above anything else on the market.

As my BV7-40 MKIII settles, I'm happy with the set. Apart from SD-based football, it's fine.

Do remember guys, we're actually rather freaky with our PQ requirements, compared to the majority..

Re: Alternative to the 7-40

Puncher — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 04:35:07 GMT

But you're taking the "B&O" consumer view again - most folk will only ever visit Comet/Currys/PCworld etc to but their TV's. Many will buy without ever having seen it in opertation from the likes of Argos etc. The point being we are very much in the minority, worrying about details of picture quality etc. The primary reason that the flat panel revolution happened when it has (as a minor miracle of marketing triumphing over product quality) is that the majority bought the "flat is better" story without apparently noticing the poor quality pictures of the sets on offer. It is only very recently that the quality has gotten anywhere near where it should be.

Re: Alternative to the 7-40

Alex — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 04:00:57 GMT

Flappo The Grate:
i'd hardly choose pc world for my a/v demos
why not look up one of the independent hi-fi shops in the back of what hi-fi ?
grahams spring to mind for example

Agreed. My local hifi store (where I shall be going today) are more than happy to allow you to demo the TVs extensively (they stock Loewe and some other less mainstream brands).

PC world should stick to selling cheap PCs.

Re: Alternative to the 7-40

Flappo The Grate — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 03:10:39 GMT

i'd hardly choose pc world for my a/v demos

why not look up one of the independent hi-fi shops in the back of what hi-fi ?

grahams spring to mind for example

Re: Alternative to the 7-40

a2bur — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 02:34:27 GMT

I've ordered a Bv7-40 . viewed one a couple of time and can't fault it . I know it's not the best picture , probably down the list a bit but was the easiest and less messy way to use my speakers and keep one remote . Going back to sets at PcWorld that were showing a stunning picture of Star Wars , I assumed it was HD but this film isn't available on HD or Blu-ray , can it have only been SD or was it a special demo format ?

Richard

Re: Alternative to the 7-40

darioazul — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:53:53 GMT

Dear All:

How do I check the software version on the BV7? My dealer is many hours away. Can I upgrade the software myself if the dealer provided it?

Dario

Re: Alternative to the 7-40

darioazul — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:50:34 GMT

Dear all:

How do I check the software version on the BV7?

The closest dealer is several hours away. Is is possible for me to upgrade the software? If so, how?

Dario

My guess......

symmes — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 06:48:19 GMT

Makes you wonder why B&o went for the Lcd screen over Plasma in 7-40 , would appear to have solved a lot of picture issues .

Because BV7 tends to be mounted on a motorized stand, the 40 pound difference between the relevant LCD and Plasma panels would make a huge difference in engineering. r

Re: Alternative to the 7-40

moxxey — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 05:29:41 GMT

a2bur:
Makes you wonder why B&o went for the Lcd screen over Plasma in 7-40 , would appear to have solved a lot of picture issues .
Richard

There are NO picture issues with the right source. Upscaled SD content is excellent and true HD content is superb. The only downside is poor SD content and that really applies to fast-moving content, such as football. Indeed, SD-based football is the only thing that I find disappointing about the BV7-40 MKIII.

Get the right source and the picture quality of the MKIII is oustanding.

If you only have SD content (ie not upscaled SD), stick with a CRT.

Re: Alternative to the 7-40

355f — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 04:33:00 GMT

a2bur:

I thought B&o's boast was whatever's the best that's what we use , the bulk price difference between the two panels can't be much , got to be more to it than that .
Richard

W.ell the problem with BnO boast of 'whatever is the best we will use' is that they tend to be stuck with one supplier for product, and one supplier is neevr consistently ahead. Additionally, it seems that the later panels take a long time to filter through into the BnO range.

When the first HD p9 came out from panasonic I waited 5 months before they strated to use this panel

The price difference between panasonic and BV4 is about £2700, it helps of course that panasonic can be bought at a discount.

Re: Alternative to the 7-40

a2bur — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 04:20:41 GMT

I thought B&o's boast was whatever's the best that's what we use , the bulk price difference between the two panels can't be much , got to be more to it than that .

Richard

Re: Alternative to the 7-40

Flappo The Grate — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 03:35:14 GMT

couldn't agree more

i think it just makes more profit - which is very short sighted

i've got an lcd , but the best pic i ever saw was a plasma at john lewis , it wasn't even hi def !

it was a 4 x 3 40" pioneer 1024 x 768 showing a dvd and the picture was STAGGERINGLY GOOD

left an indelible image in my brain !!!

Re: Alternative to the 7-40

a2bur — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 02:51:14 GMT

Makes you wonder why B&o went for the Lcd screen over Plasma in 7-40 , would appear to have solved a lot of picture issues .

Richard