Advice on buying a new tv?

[Seahorse]

Please speak slowly and in words of one syllable or less

At the moment, we have a big tv in the family room, which is connected to a Virgin box. I don't watch much and tend to use iplayer/4OD etc on my laptop if there's anything I especially want to see. However, I thought it might be nice to have a small tv in the front room that I could maybe move to the kitchen sometimes, or even up into one of the bedrooms.

I have no idea how to connect a second tv to my Virgin thing (and if it involves drills and wires, it just won't happen without assistance!). However, I note that you can buy tvs which say they have 'integrated digital Freeview'. Like this one. Does that mean I can buy it, bring it home, plug it in and all the Freeview channels will just magically appear?

[SarzWix]

Yup Well, you might have to set it to 'search for channels' once, but otherwise, as long as it's plugged into an aerial, it'll get whatever Freeview channels are available in your area.

[Hans Mum]

Does that mean I can buy it, bring it home, plug it in and all the Freeview channels will just magically appear?

yes in a word......

you will need to tune it to your area but its easy honest even i did it & i dont do technology - you have to have an ariel cable to connect it to though

[Sprocket*]

If you have one near you then the best place to look is Richer Sounds (they are on the net). They are a good old fashioned shop who offer advice rather than try to sell you the most expensive thing in the shop that you don't want (Currys agghhh!!!).
I went to them and knew nothing at all about TV's, came out with one that was cheap, highly recommended and managed to haggle a discount.
OH (techno phobe) managed to set it up in minutes without the ususal associated electronic paddy.

[Seahorse]

Thanks.

But... ariel? As in one on the roof (don't have) or would one of those indoor ones work?

[smallblueplanet]

I've not looked into this because I don't watch lots of iPlayer & the like but can't you also feed the signal from your pc to a tv/lcd screen?

Have a read of this link for a bit more idea on choices (its a 'simple' guide)

Watch TV In Other Rooms - Help and Advice

ps I wouldn't touch a brand like Alba with a barge pole.

pps 22" doesn't seem very big, especially in a big room?

[Hans Mum]

Thanks.

But... ariel? As in one on the roof (don't have) or would one of those indoor ones work?

if you havent got a roof ariel (or like us couldnt connect to it without loads of hassle & running extra cables) we got one of these
One For All SV-9215 | digital tv aerials | indoor aerials | tv aerials | best tv aerial | indoor aerial Test Reports | summary report for the One For All SV-9215

& its giving a very good picture

[Bigmallly]

You definately need a digital aerial plus it depends on the signal you have where you live. I spent £300 on digital installation for freeview including boosters but the reception was rubbish & the picture kept pixillating. I ended up signing up with Virginmedia.

[HeyWayne]

I'm not your typical man in this respect - I'm kind of rubbish with gadgets and TV's/DVD's/Surround Sound etc etc.

Can't really offer any advice, but my brother-in-law recommends Richer Sounds too.

[Seahorse]

Hmm, it's all sounding potentially complex and expensive! I don't 'need' one at all, so I think I might be better saving my cash and braincells

Thanks for your advice everyone