Freeview HD TV purchase

[fiesata]

I'm thinking of finally replacing my trusty old Panasonic CRT which has given years of faithful service and never needed a repair

In the area I live freeview HD is available from 21st September,2011 my question is if I buy the TV now will it receive the standard freeview channels available at the moment or should I wait until freeview HD is switched on ?

thanks

Paul

[Buenchico]

Just a word of warning first. There have been loads of posts from people who've bought an 'HD Ready' Freeview set and who've then been surprised to find that it can't receive Freeview HD. Please ensure that you don't make the same mistake!

If the box (or set) only has THIS logo
http://www.ksat.co.uk...ges/freeview-logo.gif
then, even though it may be 'HD Ready' it WON'T receive Freeview HD.
The 'HD Ready' bit simply means that it can display HD signals from an external source (such as a SKy box or Blu-ray player). The 'ordinary' Freeview logo tells you that the set also has a (standard definition) digital tuner built into it.

To get a set which will receive Freeview HD, you must look for THIS logo:
http://www.cnet.co.uk.../freeview_hd_logo.jpg

(Please accept my apologies if you already knew all of that!)

The simple answer to your actual question is:
Yes, a Freeview HD set will receive standard definition Freeview signals while the HD service is unavailable.

Chris

[fiesata]

No need to apologise Chris your answer was very helpful

Tthe set I am looking at is the Panasonic Viera TX-L37E3 LCD/LED HD 1080p TV, 37 Inch with Built-in Freeview HD..... seen here
http://www.johnlewis....31263083/Product.aspx
Never purchased from John Lewis before but the free 5 year warranty (over £200 at Comet) and the fact they will take away my extremely heavy 32 CRT for £9 persuades me to buy from them - any experiences with this company would be useful before I finally decide

[Buenchico]

Panasonic products are generally regarded to be as good as those from Sony (but usually quite a bit cheaper). That particular set is generally well-reviewed, e.g. here:
http://reviews.cnet.c...7e3b-review-50003578/

John Lewis is probably the 'safest' High Street retailer (in terms of customer service) which you could buy from. However Amazon appears to be cheaper:
http://www.amazon.co....qid=1313007938&sr=8-1

Chris

[fiesata]

Thanks Chris I would buy from Amazon my favourite online seller but their 3 year warranty is £89 they don't do a 5 year warranty

I'll pop into Comet tomorrow to get a feel for the TV's