SINOTEC 47" (119cm) LCD HD TV (1080p)

[xrapidx]

Anyone seen/bought one of these?
http://www.makro.co.za/ProductDetail.aspx?cat=6273&prod=36132&SKU=000000000000119479|EA

[farcry]

Going to go take a look tomorrow. So far its the cheapest FULL-HD LCD I've found in SA by about 15k Rand.

Will attempt convincing them to let me test the LCD with my laptop, if it supports a VGA input that is.

[acidrain]

would be nice to get some info as this puppy ( dunno if same size but def a sinotec hd lcd ) will be on the table for my next cell upgrade.

[xrapidx]

would be nice to get some info as this puppy ( dunno if same size but def a sinotec hd lcd ) will be on the table for my next cell upgrade.

Cell upgrade? You in prison, or cellphone? :D

[xrapidx]

Going to go take a look tomorrow. So far its the cheapest FULL-HD LCD I've found in SA by about 15k Rand.

Will attempt convincing them to let me test the LCD with my laptop, if it supports a VGA input that is.

Let me know of the out come, I'm also going to go check on the weekend.

[acidrain]

Cell upgrade? You in prison, or cellphone? :D

lol, i must be very important to have luxuries like that in prison :D.
but ne ways yes cellphone

[PearlJam]

Cell upgrade? You in prison, or cellphone? :D

lol :D

[dotVIBE]

that does look nice, but are you sure that it's 1080p? @ that price i would guess 1080i.

[acidrain]

prob both cos i found the specs on the 107cm sinotec:

• Brightness: 500nit
• Contrast: 800:1
• Resolution: 1366 x 768
• HD Compatibility: 1080i, 1080P, 720P
• TV System: PAL, D/K, I, NTSC-M,
SECAM, B/G, D/K/K
• Inputs: HDMI, S-Video, D-SUB 15,
CbCr, YPbPr, RF, RCA

This one goes for R8999 @ makro

[dotVIBE]

not to burst your bubble bro, but a screen with a max res of 1366x768 is 720p. 1080p & 1080i inputs will be accepted but will be downscaled to 720p on that monitor. it is NOT full HD. The cheapest full HD (1080p) monitor i have seen to date in SA was a SONY Bravia 46" for R 43k

[acidrain]

not to burst your bubble bro, but a screen with a max res of 1366x768....

no worries, as long as its big and colourful im happy, seen it in the shops and found it satisfactory.... ne ways ill be getting one for free ( sort of ) so what the hell it can/can't do doesnt really phase me

[dotVIBE]

Well, what can one say? I have a 720p LCD and I love the frikken thing. you are 100% guaranteed to be happy with it :D

[arf9999]

not to burst your bubble bro, but a screen with a max res of 1366x768 is 720p. 1080p & 1080i inputs will be accepted but will be downscaled to 720p on that monitor. it is NOT full HD. The cheapest full HD (1080p) monitor i have seen to date in SA was a SONY Bravia 46" for R 43k

http://www.sony.co.za/product/klv-46w300a/sku/klv-46w300a%2Be32?site=hp_en_ZA_i

http://www.sony.co.za/product/klv-40w300a/sku/klv-40w300a%2Be32?site=hp_en_ZA_i

[Blue]

Sinotech sounds like your typical chinese companies knockoff version of some other brand. I would most definitely try and get a chance to see it in action and playing some HD material etc before buying it.

OT-Whats the point in getting a HDTV when there is no HD material to watch? I mean it even degrades normal television viewing as the TV image becomes stretched. In addition, it doesn't seem likely that DSTV is going to be providing us with HD TV material anytime soon(if the rumours are true).

[xrapidx]

MP-47HU27
120cm HD LCD TV

MODEL SPECIFICATIONS


• Brightness: 500nit
• Contrast: 1500:1
• Resolution: 1920 x 1080
• Response time: 6.5ms
• Viewing Angle: 176
• Inputs: 2 x HDMI, D-Sub,

component,
RF, RCA & S-Video
• HD Compatibility: 1080i /

1080P / 720P
• Includes Specialised wall bracket

[xrapidx]

Looks FULL-HD to me... and the actual look of the TV is nice, I think I'll go have a look at one over the weekend.

My only issue is its a lot of money, and only 8k of a decently spec'd Samsung.

[arf9999]

8K for a 46" Samsung? I'd buy that waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay before even considering *****otec. Hell I'd buy a 32" from Samsung or Sony before Chinese crap, no matter how big.

[BCO]

Has anyone actually had some experience with Sinotec? Their prices are great, but if the products are terrible then they're pointless. I've got another budget brand LCD... a Sansui 32" and I've actually been very happy with it. The only problem is my lounge is a little big for a 32" so when I play games with small menu text, I have to move the couch forward, so a bigger telly would be nice.

[xrapidx]

8K for a 46" Samsung? I'd buy that waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay before even considering *****otec. Hell I'd buy a 32" from Samsung or Sony before Chinese crap, no matter how big.

Where'd you see that?

[xrapidx]

Has anyone actually had some experience with Sinotec? Their prices are great, but if the products are terrible then they're pointless. I've got another budget brand LCD... a Sansui 32" and I've actually been very happy with it. The only problem is my lounge is a little big for a 32" so when I play games with small menu text, I have to move the couch forward, so a bigger telly would be nice.

My parents have the 42" Plasma... TV quality is good, but plugging it into my laptop and it looks crappy.

I think the best way to judge is to go in and check for yourself :)

[BCO]

Gotta hook it up to an xbox methinks.

[farcry]

Sinotech sounds like your typical chinese companies knockoff version of some other brand. I would most definitely try and get a chance to see it in action and playing some HD material etc before buying it.

OT-Whats the point in getting a HDTV when there is no HD material to watch? I mean it even degrades normal television viewing as the TV image becomes stretched. In addition, it doesn't seem likely that DSTV is going to be providing us with HD TV material anytime soon(if the rumours are true).

I agree. The huge saving is motivation enough to check this puppy out. Testing this LCD on a PC will give a good `indication` if its true 1080p FULL HD.

;)

[xrapidx]

I agree. The huge saving is motivation enough to check this puppy out. Testing this LCD on a PC will give a good `indication` if its true 1080p FULL HD.

;)

Only problem is how high can your laptops res go?

[Ebo]

Any company that can offer a 5 year guarentee on an electronics item deserves support. Fair enough the Sony's have brilliant pictures but if it breaks after 366 days you are stuffed.

[BCO]

5 year guarantee on a Sinotech?!

[xrapidx]

Any company that can offer a 5 year guarentee on an electronics item deserves support. Fair enough the Sony's have brilliant pictures but if it breaks after 366 days you are stuffed.

Yes... but do they actually do that?

[arf9999]

Where'd you see that?

sorry, misread your post...


But I'd still pay more for a Sony or Samsung with lower resolution and a smaller panel.

[xrapidx]

sorry, misread your post...


But I'd still pay more for a Sony or Samsung with lower resolution and a smaller panel.

I know... I'm stuck at the moment deciding. As far as I remember, in a Men's Health article they claimed that Sinotec use Samsung panels.

[arf9999]

I know... I'm stuck at the moment deciding. As far as I remember, in a Men's Health article they claimed that Sinotec use Samsung panels.

naaaah, maybe it was Sonic.

[xrapidx]

Sonic have the LG/Philips ones.

[farcry]

naaaah, maybe it was Sonic.

Okay, just got back from Makro after testing this Sinotec LCD for a good hour or so.

Plugged up my laptop and started testing the resolutions. When i switched displays the first resolution it gave me was 1280x1024, this looked okay but wasn't the native resolution of the monitor (you can usually see this by looking at the fonts, they will be cramped if its not native) so i kept increaseing the rez... 1600x1200 worked fine but still not native... increased to 1920x1080 and it failed the first few times, tweaked some refresh rate settings and got it working at 50&60hz refresh.
When it worked it looked great but a third of the screen was missing. It looked like some type of alignment problem, long story short I had to take the rez up to 1920x1200 at 60Hz to get it aligning correctly.
I'll just take a moment here to express the wow effect of using windows explorer on a big lcd. You see everything! It looks amazingly huge.

Next I began testing the LCD with some apps I downloaded today. It passed the majority of them nicely but I should mention that the black isnt good on this monitor. Maybe if i had time to tweak the settings I could get it looking better, but stock its not black but rather a very very dark black/purple.
Somewhat satisfied with the technical testing I viewed some series on my hdd with alright results, the monitor has such a high resolution that it had to scale up alot, so its like zooming when watching a vid. This I hear is a problem with HD's LCD when watching low quality videos or standard tv signals.

Next i launched up my trusty copy of Quake II and used the resolution of 1280x1024... here, suprisingly the game looked really good, the fonts where perfectly readable and the colours vibrant and alive.
I also tested MOHAA at the same rez, this looked okay but I reckon it would have looked far better at 1920x1080, course my laptop gfx card cant really run games smoothly at that rez.

finally I watched a Blu Ray movie running on a PS3 at the FULL HD. Fook me is it detailed. The quality is hectic... but this is where I began seeing minor cutting, and in some places what appeared to be incorrect colours for just a second.

Summary:
This LCD has a USB, component, dual HDMI, vga 15 pin, svideo inputs +
and a native resolution of 1920x1080p though a bit difficult to get configured via the vga input. You may need to invest in a DVI to HDMI cable instead to get it working correctly.

The black is quite bright, the full hd via HDMI showed some cutting in horizontal action scenes, there where some colour problems in certain cases.
I reckon you could fix or dampen this problem by adjusting the LCD settings.

Conslusion:
R15000 for a 47 inch monster LCD supporting FULL HD is quite unheard of in SA. I've not seen anything that comes close to this price.
This makes it quite appealing if you have R15k laying around and are short R18k for that Sony Bravia X series.


cheers!

[arf9999]

<snip>... 1600x1200 worked fine but still not native... increased to 1920x1080 and it failed the first few times, tweaked some refresh rate settings and got it working at 50&60hz refresh.
When it worked it looked great but a third of the screen was missing. It looked like some type of alignment problem, long story short I had to take the rez up to 1920x1200 at 60Hz to get it aligning correctly.

Seems like the scaling is doing something strange if 1080x1200 fits the screen. I'd suggest that you compare the set against a set that you know is Full HD.

[xrapidx]

You probably find the scalling has to do with his laptop... not the screen.

[xrapidx]

...ps... good review... my company just bought me a 37" Mecer LCD... they knew I was shopping and decided to buy one for me until FULL-HD is a viable option. Came to just under R7500 including shipping.

[Dolby]

Geez man ... what company do you work for? My company knows I'm looking for tons of stuff, but never offered to buy them!

[xrapidx]

Hehe... I'm actually a contractor, they did it cause they need a tax break or something.

[arf9999]

You probably find the scalling has to do with his laptop... not the screen.
huh? He is setting the resolution on his graphic card... no scaling takes place.

[xrapidx]

huh? He is setting the resolution on his graphic card... no scaling takes place.

Yeh, but sometimes PC's mess up when it comes to resolution... all dependant on your graphics card, I've seen it a few times at higher res.

[GTi]

I know... I'm stuck at the moment deciding. As far as I remember, in a Men's Health article they claimed that Sinotec use Samsung panels.

You're spot on xrapidx, they do use Samsung panels as it states in the manual, before I got my 37" Mecer, I had a 42" Sinotech Plasma , It was great and all after 8 months it started buzzing and I took it back to Makro and they gave me my R10k back so I went to Mecer's offices in CT and bought a 37" LCD for R8k and I never looked back. Mecer LCD much better than the Sinotech plasma.I can't say much about the Sinotech LCD, never tested one.

[farcry]

You're spot on xrapidx, they do use Sansung panels as it states in the manual, before I got my 37" Mecer, I had a 42" Sinotech Plasma , It was great and all after 8 months it started buzzing and I took it back to Makro and they gave me my R10k back so I went to Mecer's offices in CT and bought a 37" LCD for R8k and I never looked back. Mecer LCD much better than the Sinotech plasma.I can't say much about the Sinotech LCD, never tested one.

Thanks for the info.
Curious, why did they give you a refund, were they unable to repair the unit?

[xrapidx]

It was probably his choice...

[naudefj]

This LCD TV has PIP with only one tuner. The salesman told me that you don't get LCD's with dual tuners. Is this true?

Also, it seems that it doesn't have "virtual surround sound".

[GTi]

Thanks for the info.
Curious, why did they give you a refund, were they unable to repair the unit?

Makro shipped it to JHB, to the wrong repair agent, the right agent was right here in CT. That process take 5 weeks. I was unhappy with the service level and they once call me to collect my LCD and it was the incorrect unit, so naturally I demanded a full refund because they had no leg to stand on even though the unit was now repaired and on its way back to Makro, I said no thanx, money please. Just as well by then the LCD prices had dropped and I could afford one for less then the price of the plasma.

[arf9999]

This LCD TV has PIP with only one tuner. The salesman told me that you don't get LCD's with dual tuners. Is this true?

.

no. http://www.sony.co.za/product/klv-46x250a/sku/klv-46x250a&#37;2Be32?site=hp_en_ZA_i
http://www.sony.co.za/product/klv-40w300a?site=hp_en_ZA_i

[xrapidx]

Makro shipped it to JHB, to the wrong repair agent, the right agent was right here in CT. That process take 5 weeks. I was unhappy with the service level and they once call me to collect my LCD and it was the incorrect unit, so naturally I demanded a full refund because they had no leg to stand on even though the unit was now repaired and on its way back to Makro, I said no thanx, money please. Just as well by then the LCD prices had dropped and I could afford one for less then the price of the plasma.

I know there were screw ups, but the fact that they gave you your money back is pretty good service. Most SA companies wouldn't budge, even if they knew they were in the wrong.

[bwana]

I know there were screw ups, but the fact that they gave you your money back is pretty good service. Most SA companies wouldn't budge, even if they knew they were in the wrong.In my experience I cant fault Makro when it comes to returning things - they do seem to be one of the better companies in that regard.

[bboy]

i had to return my 50" plasma to makro after 11 months, a board blew, after faffing around trying to get it fixed they gave me my money back too

[farcry]

Hey Guys,

I went ahead and purchased the LCD from Makro. I've got 14 days to play with it before I take it back.

This LCD has far more features than I realised such as Divx, Mpreg, MP3 and picture play back via the USB interface. Also 'Picture in Picture' just to name a few.

I'm willing to do a full on review on this LCD and post it on overclockers.co.za should you guys want even more info about it. Let me know.

Cheers!

[efitol]

hows the black levels?

[Ebo]

@farcry, I have been debating about getting this LCD, if you have time would you mind doing a review - Much better than speaking to a salesman about it, at least here we get an honest unbiased report...

[bboy]

so is it really 1080 native res?

[GTi]

Hey Guys,

I went ahead and purchased the LCD from Makro. I've got 14 days to play with it before I take it back.

This LCD has far more features than I realised such as Divx, Mpreg, MP3 and picture play back via the USB interface. Also 'Picture in Picture' just to name a few.

I'm willing to do a full on review on this LCD and post it on overclockers.co.za should you guys want even more info about it. Let me know.

Cheers!

Keep us updated. Does the divX playback works via USB, if so then you don't need a divx dvd player, cool.

[farcry]

Guys, I'll do the review over the long weekend and have it ready on Monday for you to checkout.
If you have anything you want me to include in the review, add a comment here making mention of it for me to look at.

Have a great long weekend!

[getafix33]

Any news on the LCD review. I think many are waiting to hear.

[mac_mac74]

heard a rumour that sinotec is samsung , just rebranded and aimed at lower end of the market. can anyone confirm!!

[xrapidx]

heard a rumour that sinotec is samsung , just rebranded and aimed at lower end of the market. can anyone confirm!!

Lol....sure you didn't hear it here? Cause I said it earlier... I read it mens health a couple of months back.

[mac_mac74]

well for anyone who is deciding LG vs Samsung, they have a JV that develop the LCD screens (just the screen component). I wouldnt be surprised if all the other parts come from same factory as well

[rvanwyk]

watch out when buying lcd's claiming to be 1080/i/p. read this thread first:

http://www.dstv.com/Gysmm/Forum/threadView.aspx?sid=22644&Id=132

[dotVIBE]

thanks rvanwyk. That was a very useful piece of information.

[arf9999]

well for anyone who is deciding LG vs Samsung, they have a JV that develop the LCD screens (just the screen component). I wouldnt be surprised if all the other parts come from same factory as well
No. LG and Samsung do not have a JV. LG and Philips do, and Sony and Samsung do. The JV is only for the panel tho', not electronics.

[Trioptium]

The improved detail of HD is addictive, and although broadcasting will only be 720, I’d decided on full HD should I get a 1080 capable console down the line and with the inevitable availability of 1080 content in the near future. Like everyone here – I had spotted Makro's special, and was full of suspicion and was trawling the internet for any info mainly because of my fear of such an "unknown" brand. It almost seemed too good to be true, as the equivalent Sony Bravia and Samsung full HD panels are close to R20k more. I’d been looking at the latter two with interest, waiting for their prices to come down.

I thought I’d write a bit of a review in the event that it may assist someone out there who was in the same boat as me. It’s a little long, but when making a big purchase I reckoned more info would be helpful than less.

On Tuesday I spent about 2 hours at Makro testing the panel. The gentlemen (Jon) at Makro was incredibly friendly and patient, and we unhooked the panel from the in-store DSTV feed, and moved it over to the Sony Bravia display area where we placed it among the Sony Bravia screens (a variety of sizes, some full HD (1080) and other HD (720), and hooked it up to the HD player feed(its a collection of various scenes highlighting screen detail, colour reproduction and motion, ranging from 720p to Full 1080HD, 24 frames/sec up to 60 frames/sec).

Being a cynic at heart and a bit of brand snob, I was really just going through the motions to ease my conscience and establish that there is a difference and the image processing electronics of the superior brands (DNIE and Bravia engine) are worth it, and so that I would feel justified later coughing up and treating myself later to one of Samsung or Sony's finest.. Reading so many forums and learning of the all the JV’s and production sharing across the brands it seems this is the only area of differentiation at the end of the day. And with such a comparatively low price, in my mind I had already renegaded the Sinotech brand to the likes of Hi-fi-corps Diamond or Wharfdale products.

I was caught off guard though - the difference imperceptible. Initially there was a difference in colour reproduction (the Sony's appearing more vivid with darker shadow levels), and after spending a couple of minutes tweaking the picture settings on the Sinotech (turned up contrast, and colour saturation as well as turning on an option called "flesh tone"), the two were absolutely identical . I asked 7 other people in the store looking to buy LCD/Plasma TV’s, and they thought they were the same (and Sinotech gained a few new recruits when they realised the one display was almost half the price of the identical one next to it), and they were just as impressed. Having read on the forum about the purplish/tinge black level, I was keen to see how this compared to the other displays. It’s evident when looking "down" on the display (i.e. the display is below eye level) and disappears as you draw level and look head on. It seems to be a characteristic of LCD panels, as the Sony's and Samsung's LCD's had it too (there's being more of a bluey/greyish haze, vs. Sinotechs which is more bluey/violet). The Plasma's showed no sign of this at all.

The 1080p at 60 frames/sec demo was also impressive in that there were no “tearing” or refresh artefacts at all. The level of detail and reproduction was excellent on both. Freezing a picture (I was particularly interested in images with high contrast and curves (e.g. extreme close-ups) to see how it dealt with compression artefacts as this was something Sony’s Bravia boasts about). Looking close-up (i.e. 5-10 cms from the screen), the two are comparable. The Bravia did excel in that the static image was absolutely rock solid, while there was almost a "shimmering" around the edges of sharp objects on the Sinotech. At 50cm from the screen, though, you can't see this effect at all.

Not of much interest to myself, but there was another guy there interested in the audio quality of the panels on display (an expat from the UK who wanted a large panel display but didn't have space for a home theatre installation). Surprised again: the Sinotech delivered very clear, bright sound with a solid bass, especially surprising that it was so noticeable when testing in a warehouse store environment like Makro. The Bravia had a higher maximum volume, but the sound was forced with the distinct acoustic elements of a large plastic box. The Samsung (the 50" plasma) had the same volume level as the Sinotech, was clear and bright, but was also flat, with poor reproduction of lower frequencies and strong signs of distortion.

I grappled with myself for two days, trying to get over the brand issue, the only chink in the Sinotech's armour. I followed up with Sinoprima (basically Sinotech SA) on the 5 year warranty and found out that guarantee is for 12 months, with the remainder of the 4 years being covered by Makro. I confirmed this with Makro’s head office, with proof of the 5 year warranty offered in writing at their stores. In other words: hypothetically – if Sinotech disappeared tomorrow and something were to happen to your display as a result of a defect, Makro would have to sort out having it repaired, or refund you the cost of the set, or provide you with an equivalent display. Sinotech may be an unknown brand, but a 5 years guarantee offered by Massmart is assuring.

Feeling good, I went back to Makro yesterday morning (with a friend with a hatchback), we did one more comparison (placed it in amongst the other displays with the same feed) and he confirmed that he too could not see a difference) and made the purchase. Getting it back was a little difficult because of the size, but once there, set-up was painless, and we then had plenty of time at home to put it through its paces.

Progressive DVD playback was very good, using the first street racing scene from Fast and Furious. It seemed appropriate, set at night with a number of high-speed action shots. Detail and contrast with shadow detail was very good and did the scene justice.

Connecting to a laptop was also effortless (using a DVI-D to HDMI cable (Makro wanted R497 for this piece of kit, with Zakspeed offering it for close to third of that amount)), though I had to enable Over scan in order to full the screen for a number of the resolutions (could be enabled on the picture settings of the panel, or in ATI’s catalyst control centre. The full 1920x1080 is incredible; it really is mind-numbingly good, especially in your own home as opposed to some in-store demo. Unfortunately the only material I had were some showcase HD videos from Quicktime’s website, and Window Media’s HD showcase. The laptop was running at its limit, but it was a good taste of things to come. It’s a one way ratchet though – I can’t wait for HD broadcasting to start! A couple of hours of Bio shock and M3 Racing Challenge (used 1366x768 for both as my 3D graphics card was not up to the task of going much beyond this and keeping the game playable) was a superb experience, with only compliments for the panel’s performance.

For the price, you’d expect to only get the basics... Far from it: The build quality is excellent, fit and finish being superb, both front and back, with neat and clear labelling of the multitude of inputs on the back (2 x Hdmi, 2 x Av in, an AV out, VGA in, 2 x component in (for progressive DVD or later HDTV, and on the side conveniently another set of AV in and 2 USB ports (one normal, one mini-USB (an adaptor for normal USB was supplied in the box). The remote looks tasteful, with all the main buttons well laid out and finished in contemporary classy piano black, with a soft-blue backlight on the navigation keys of the remote that slowly fade out after use. There is also soft blue light under the Sinotech lettering (hmmm…just like the Samsung’s that very subtly shines onto the brushed aluminium strip which is tasteful, and changes colour (blue, red, or pink) showing TV status (on, off, no signal, signal from remote).

[Trioptium]

Another nice touch, and missing on some of the more expensive competition, was the inclusion of an ambient light sensor that adjusts the LCD backlight accordingly (based on ambient light and picture profile setting). This can be turned on and off, though I found this feature incredibly useful on, especially in a lounge with large windows where lighting changes between day and night, curtains open or not open. Its assessment was spot on most of the time, though gradually changing light conditions (as it became overcast) revealed that the level of adjustment is not continuous, but rather in stepped changes. This could annoy someone using the display in situations where the lighting changes constantly.

Interestingly, you can’t adjust the LCD backlight brightness manually. There are however options to change the picture brightness, colour saturation, contrast, sharpness and tint, with support for 4 picture profiles (soft, normal, bright and user) through the onscreen menus which are quite attractive (becoming of an HD display). Similarly there are sound profiles (Movie, Music, News and User) with adjustments for bass, treble and balance, as well as Auto volume level control (prevents commercials being comparatively louder, as well as compensating for different volume levels across channels) and SRS effects. Having a separate soft volume control for the headphone jack was very thoughtful, as was the fact that these profile settings are set separately for each source (which was useful to tailor the display settings for DSTV (which just looks so low-res that you want a softer, smoother image setting), vs. more vivid settings for higher quality inputs (progressive DVD, HD console or PC).

The inclusion of Picture-in-picture is nice feature and worked well, with a number of display options (either super imposed as a small, medium or large thumbnail, or split screen (one image on the left, the second on the right, or a thumbnail alongside).

Also included is an image enhancement function (dubbed “MAG”) which you can turn on, off or put in demo mode (where it only applies the processing to one half of the image in order for you to compare). It sharpens the image and improves the contrast levels (creating the impression of higher contrast ratio’s) which looked good on HD material and computer input.

The USB support is a nice-to-have feature that could be useful, but would hardly form the basis for you buying this display. The ports can be used to connect a flash drive, digital camera, printer (that supports XCIF). Navigating the USB function is cumbersome, as the main navigation keys for this feature are under a sliding panel on the remote. The up/down/left and right buttons are not well laid out, and I found myself constantly looking down to locate the right one. The feature set is very similar to that of a DVD player offering image, audio and video playback. The USB picture viewer application is HD (720) , but not Full HD, which is a pity given the full potential of the hardware (I’m guessing they use this same software across the other displays in the Sinotech range), though its more than adequate for sharing photos with friends or family comfortably in the lounge after a meal. If music files are placed in the same folder as the pictures (which can be jpeg, bmp, gif, png or tiff), they’re automatically played in the background when viewing slideshows. The basic audio and video player supports a number of formats (mp3, wma, lrc, DAT, MPEG, VOB, AVI and MP4 (in xvid and divx) and quality was not great, and I did notice sync issues between video and audio when playing back a DivX file. There is basic play, repeat and shuffle functions at file level, and unfortunately, you can’t select what to play by artist, album, as we’ve become accustomed to with other media players. One is also able to perform basic file operations (copy, move and delete files between folders and even drives on the two USB ports). The USB functionality is a nice extra with great potential, and is great if you don’t have the other kit, but I wouldn’t rush out and sell your DVD / DivX player just yet.

In summary, a really impressive product, available at an almost unbelievable price. It was a bit of an awakening too…a low price doesn’t necessarily mean Diamond or Wharfdale Electronics (cringe) levels of quality…it is also a method to aggressively enter the market. As mentioned by a member above, this is quite reminiscent of Samsung and LG’s introduction into SA’s market in the late 90’s where they offered very good quality and feature packed products at almost subsidised pricing. Judging where they are today, it seems to be a good strategy Sinotech is following. An excellent product definitely worthy of your consideration.

[BCO]

The improved detail of HD is addictive, and although broadcasting will only be 720, I’d decided on full HD should I get a 1080 capable console down the line and with the inevitable availability of 1080 content in the near future. Like everyone here – I had spotted Makro's special, and was full of suspicion and was trawling the internet for any info mainly because of my fear of such an "unknown" brand. It almost seemed too good to be true, as the equivalent Sony Bravia and Samsung full HD panels are close to R20k more. I’d been looking at the latter two with interest, waiting for their prices to come down.

I thought I’d write a bit of a review in the event that it may assist someone out there who was in the same boat as me. It’s a little long, but when making a big purchase I reckoned more info would be helpful than less.

On Tuesday I spent about 2 hours at Makro testing the panel. The gentlemen (Jon) at Makro was incredibly friendly and patient, and we unhooked the panel from the in-store DSTV feed, and moved it over to the Sony Bravia display area where we placed it among the Sony Bravia screens (a variety of sizes, some full HD (1080) and other HD (720), and hooked it up to the HD player feed(its a collection of various scenes highlighting screen detail, colour reproduction and motion, ranging from 720p to Full 1080HD, 24 frames/sec up to 60 frames/sec).

Being a cynic at heart and a bit of brand snob, I was really just going through the motions to ease my conscience and establish that there is a difference and the image processing electronics of the superior brands (DNIE and Bravia engine) are worth it, and so that I would feel justified later coughing up and treating myself later to one of Samsung or Sony's finest.. Reading so many forums and learning of the all the JV’s and production sharing across the brands it seems this is the only area of differentiation at the end of the day. And with such a comparatively low price, in my mind I had already renegaded the Sinotech brand to the likes of Hi-fi-corps Diamond or Wharfdale products.

I was caught off guard though - the difference imperceptible. Initially there was a difference in colour reproduction (the Sony's appearing more vivid with darker shadow levels), and after spending a couple of minutes tweaking the picture settings on the Sinotech (turned up contrast, and colour saturation as well as turning on an option called "flesh tone"), the two were absolutely identical . I asked 7 other people in the store looking to buy LCD/Plasma TV’s, and they thought they were the same (and Sinotech gained a few new recruits when they realised the one display was almost half the price of the identical one next to it), and they were just as impressed. Having read on the forum about the purplish/tinge black level, I was keen to see how this compared to the other displays. It’s evident when looking "down" on the display (i.e. the display is below eye level) and disappears as you draw level and look head on. It seems to be a characteristic of LCD panels, as the Sony's and Samsung's LCD's had it too (there's being more of a bluey/greyish haze, vs. Sinotechs which is more bluey/violet). The Plasma's showed no sign of this at all.

The 1080p at 60 frames/sec demo was also impressive in that there were no “tearing” or refresh artefacts at all. The level of detail and reproduction was excellent on both. Freezing a picture (I was particularly interested in images with high contrast and curves (e.g. extreme close-ups) to see how it dealt with compression artefacts as this was something Sony’s Bravia boasts about). Looking close-up (i.e. 5-10 cms from the screen), the two are comparable. The Bravia did excel in that the static image was absolutely rock solid, while there was almost a "shimmering" around the edges of sharp objects on the Sinotech. At 50cm from the screen, though, you can't see this effect at all.

Not of much interest to myself, but there was another guy there interested in the audio quality of the panels on display (an expat from the UK who wanted a large panel display but didn't have space for a home theatre installation). Surprised again: the Sinotech delivered very clear, bright sound with a solid bass, especially surprising that it was so noticeable when testing in a warehouse store environment like Makro. The Bravia had a higher maximum volume, but the sound was forced with the distinct acoustic elements of a large plastic box. The Samsung (the 50" plasma) had the same volume level as the Sinotech, was clear and bright, but was also flat, with poor reproduction of lower frequencies and strong signs of distortion.

I grappled with myself for two days, trying to get over the brand issue, the only chink in the Sinotech's armour. I followed up with Sinoprima (basically Sinotech SA) on the 5 year warranty and found out that guarantee is for 12 months, with the remainder of the 4 years being covered by Makro. I confirmed this with Makro’s head office, with proof of the 5 year warranty offered in writing at their stores. In other words: hypothetically – if Sinotech disappeared tomorrow and something were to happen to your display as a result of a defect, Makro would have to sort out having it repaired, or refund you the cost of the set, or provide you with an equivalent display. Sinotech may be an unknown brand, but a 5 years guarantee offered by Massmart is assuring.

Feeling good, I went back to Makro yesterday morning (with a friend with a hatchback), we did one more comparison (placed it in amongst the other displays with the same feed) and he confirmed that he too could not see a difference) and made the purchase. Getting it back was a little difficult because of the size, but once there, set-up was painless, and we then had plenty of time at home to put it through its paces.

Progressive DVD playback was very good, using the first street racing scene from Fast and Furious. It seemed appropriate, set at night with a number of high-speed action shots. Detail and contrast with shadow detail was very good and did the scene justice.

Connecting to a laptop was also effortless (using a DVI-D to HDMI cable (Makro wanted R497 for this piece of kit, with Zakspeed offering it for close to third of that amount)), though I had to enable Over scan in order to full the screen for a number of the resolutions (could be enabled on the picture settings of the panel, or in ATI’s catalyst control centre. The full 1920x1080 is incredible; it really is mind-numbingly good, especially in your own home as opposed to some in-store demo. Unfortunately the only material I had were some showcase HD videos from Quicktime’s website, and Window Media’s HD showcase. The laptop was running at its limit, but it was a good taste of things to come. It’s a one way ratchet though – I can’t wait for HD broadcasting to start! A couple of hours of Bio shock and M3 Racing Challenge (used 1366x768 for both as my 3D graphics card was not up to the task of going much beyond this and keeping the game playable) was a superb experience, with only compliments for the panel’s performance.

For the price, you’d expect to only get the basics... Far from it: The build quality is excellent, fit and finish being superb, both front and back, with neat and clear labelling of the multitude of inputs on the back (2 x Hdmi, 2 x Av in, an AV out, VGA in, 2 x component in (for progressive DVD or later HDTV, and on the side conveniently another set of AV in and 2 USB ports (one normal, one mini-USB (an adaptor for normal USB was supplied in the box). The remote looks tasteful, with all the main buttons well laid out and finished in contemporary classy piano black, with a soft-blue backlight on the navigation keys of the remote that slowly fade out after use. There is also soft blue light under the Sinotech lettering (hmmm…just like the Samsung’s that very subtly shines onto the brushed aluminium strip which is tasteful, and changes colour (blue, red, or pink) showing TV status (on, off, no signal, signal from remote).

Best 1st post ever?

[Roo!]

What an awesome review!!!

[Ebo]

Thank you ! brilliant review and I will be buying this TV shortly...

[dotVIBE]

awesome review man. just one thing. I know wharfedale electronics suck. They are cheap and nasty asian imports. You also get a different company making wharfedale speakers, that are high quality british imports. Please say "wharfedale electronics".

Why do I nitpick?

Because i'm so in love with my speakers that I read them stories every evening before i hug and kiss them goodnight.

[MrE]

*Claps* *Wishes me had more monies* *Cries*

[Juggy]

Very, very nice review.

I think this needs to go under the "Reviews" tab.

[Zyzzyva]

Outstanding review!!

Well done.

I must say, the though of using this as a pc monitor is quite intriguing.

Could you take a picture of it while while using it as a secondary monitor with your laptop. (full 1080p)

I need to see if i need to start shifting some funds :P

[Luke7777]

I can just mention that this TV fits nicely into the back of a Renault Scenic, in the box, with the back seats removed ;)

[getafix33]

I can just mention that this TV fits nicely into the back of a Renault Scenic, in the box, with the back seats removed

Aaaah, you sneaky bugger

[Trioptium]

Sure Jak3 - though I wasn't too sure how to attach the pics to the reply. I quickly took a couple and uploaded to: http://picasaweb.google.com/trioptium/PhotosOfSinotech47LCD.

On some of the pics there is a slight moire pattern which you can't see in real life - I guess its because of the differences between the display's resolution and the camera's resolution.

[Zyzzyva]

Sure Jak3 - though I wasn't too sure how to attach the pics to the reply. I quickly took a couple and uploaded to: http://picasaweb.google.com/trioptium/PhotosOfSinotech47LCD.

On some of the pics there is a slight moire pattern which you can't see in real life - I guess its because of the differences between the display's resolution and the camera's resolution.

Not half bad.

Thanks for the pics.

I think this thread should generate quite a few sales for makro. Great lcd.

[Zyzzyva]

I also like the remote, quite classy. One thing i hate is a poor quality remote. Got a telefunken once. Lets just say the remote killed it for me everytime.

[eitai2001]

not to burst your bubble bro, but a screen with a max res of 1366x768 is 720p. 1080p & 1080i inputs will be accepted but will be downscaled to 720p on that monitor. it is NOT full HD. The cheapest full HD (1080p) monitor i have seen to date in SA was a SONY Bravia 46" for R 43k

You are wrong bout that ... I can get a Philips 47" at about R26000

[eitai2001]

At the guys who keep saying Sinotec is a Samsung panel ... Sony is also a Samsung Panel :D ... but remember ... its got a lot to do with the image processor that determines the quality. In the Sony X-Series ... you are paying for the Bravia engine more than anything.

[Zyzzyva]

At the guys who keep saying Sinotec is a Samsung panel ... Sony is also a Samsung Panel :D ... but remember ... its got a lot to do with the image processor that determines the quality. In the Sony X-Series ... you are paying for the Bravia engine more than anything.


When is the new site design coming? You should really think about providing quite a bit of information on your products. Nearly all sites dont really say much, its a major problem. A good example of a site done right would be newegg. Try add a lot of high quality images, it really would help when buying. Nothing worse than trying to decide on a product with a thumbnail.

It may be hard to do this, since you don't necessarily have each item in stock, but this could be an area where you could get ahead.

You have service and price sorted, now its just a question of presentation. Make the products look mouthwatering. SA sites are useless in this area.

Would like to see you get ahead. :)

[eitai2001]

When is the new site design coming? You should really think about providing quite a bit of information on your products. Nearly all sites dont really say much, its a major problem. A good example of a site done right would be newegg. Try add a lot of high quality images, it really would help when buying. Nothing worse than trying to decide on a product with a thumbnail.

It may be hard to do this, since you don't necessarily have each item in stock, but this could be an area where you could get ahead.

You have service and price sorted, now its just a question of presentation. Make the products look mouthwatering. SA sites are useless in this area.

Would like to see you get ahead. :)

Thanks :P ...
I'm waiting for Synergy to finish with his current projects and then he can get started on Site design. It will be about 2 weeks before he starts. Then I will either get him ... or if he isn't experienced enough ... another company to install the contributions I require ... and transfer old customer data from old database to the new one. I will then take my website off for about 3 or so days while I upload products and stuff to the site ... cause the last thing I need is customers making orders or new customers on the old site after I've transferred customer data. I have 1 employee who can help me with this ... Thereafter ... I will slowly start populating the products with pictures and manufacturer descriptions. I will probably hire casual staff students to help me with this job as this is the hardest and most time consuming. After that, I will probably update my prices and products twice a month. Hopefully next year I will start making enough sales to be able to pay an employee a proper salary then I can grow the business.
There is one thing I plan to do above other major online shops ... and thats enforce service ... once I have a few employee's ... I will work on a warning system ... I will urge customers to report any bad service ... such as only being notified what is happening or that there is no stock like 2 weeks later or something ... if they are ... the necessary person will receive a warning ... 3 warnings later, and they will be looking for a new job and me a new employee.
My biggest downfalls though with having an online shop arfe 3 things:
1) Courier fees - very high and in some cases, makes it impossible to buy online.
2) Stock - I cannot afford to keep items in stock ... I do not have a warehouse, and I am not a shop where people can walk in and buy and I cannot predict what will be sold next ... so if my suppliers are out of stock ... it gets irritating ... like now I dropped the price of 226BW Samsungs cause my supplier had many and everyone wants one ... so what happens, I could've sold about 10 in the last 3 days ... but my supplier only had 3 ... so I bought them ... and now people will get fed up with me. - Which is why I am going to recommend confirming stock before paying on each product page.
3) Payment method ... it is way to expensive to accept credit cards at over 6% ... considering I mark up items from 6 - 12 percent depending on price ... plus there is also a huge risk in fraud. But even on my new site ... I will not accept anything besides a cash deposit or EFT ... and nothing releases till I get the sms from FNB :P. If someone is really desperate for something, and can only pay card ... and I am sure they are not fraudulent ... I might be able to make use of a provider like Setcom.

Anyway ... I hope this gives you an idea into my thoughts and plans for Digital Addiction.

The part that will be the hardest for me in the next 2 years will be the fact that I will be going into 3rd and 4th year of BCom Accounting ... so time management will be critical ... and I will need to start earning enough to pay a salaray to someone who can reliably look after the company while I am studying.

Speak soon and thank you for the support. Maybe this time next year people will speak of me as they do Take 2 :).

Regards

Itai

[Mux]

Ok, who was the culprit for starting this thread? :mad: ;)

Have been eyeing HDMI for a while. Between the start of this thread and the excellent review of Trioptium, I went out today to buy 1 of these at Makro. The setup at Makro demonstrating the unit was not complimentary and if it weren't for the articles (and some extra reading), I would'nt have even looked at it.
Having it now up and running (not 100% via all my amp's and stuff - need 1 more HDMI cable - didn't get an HDMI cable in the box) - it seems stunning! :D

Thanks xrapidx for starting the thread :cool:

[Zyzzyva]

Thanks :P ...
I'm waiting for Synergy to finish with his current projects and then he can get started on Site design. It will be about 2 weeks before he starts. Then I will either get him ... or if he isn't experienced enough ... another company to install the contributions I require ... and transfer old customer data from old database to the new one. I will then take my website off for about 3 or so days while I upload products and stuff to the site ... cause the last thing I need is customers making orders or new customers on the old site after I've transferred customer data. I have 1 employee who can help me with this ... Thereafter ... I will slowly start populating the products with pictures and manufacturer descriptions. I will probably hire casual staff students to help me with this job as this is the hardest and most time consuming. After that, I will probably update my prices and products twice a month. Hopefully next year I will start making enough sales to be able to pay an employee a proper salary then I can grow the business.
There is one thing I plan to do above other major online shops ... and thats enforce service ... once I have a few employee's ... I will work on a warning system ... I will urge customers to report any bad service ... such as only being notified what is happening or that there is no stock like 2 weeks later or something ... if they are ... the necessary person will receive a warning ... 3 warnings later, and they will be looking for a new job and me a new employee.
My biggest downfalls though with having an online shop arfe 3 things:
1) Courier fees - very high and in some cases, makes it impossible to buy online.
2) Stock - I cannot afford to keep items in stock ... I do not have a warehouse, and I am not a shop where people can walk in and buy and I cannot predict what will be sold next ... so if my suppliers are out of stock ... it gets irritating ... like now I dropped the price of 226BW Samsungs cause my supplier had many and everyone wants one ... so what happens, I could've sold about 10 in the last 3 days ... but my supplier only had 3 ... so I bought them ... and now people will get fed up with me. - Which is why I am going to recommend confirming stock before paying on each product page.
3) Payment method ... it is way to expensive to accept credit cards at over 6% ... considering I mark up items from 6 - 12 percent depending on price ... plus there is also a huge risk in fraud. But even on my new site ... I will not accept anything besides a cash deposit or EFT ... and nothing releases till I get the sms from FNB :P. If someone is really desperate for something, and can only pay card ... and I am sure they are not fraudulent ... I might be able to make use of a provider like Setcom.

Anyway ... I hope this gives you an idea into my thoughts and plans for Digital Addiction.

The part that will be the hardest for me in the next 2 years will be the fact that I will be going into 3rd and 4th year of BCom Accounting ... so time management will be critical ... and I will need to start earning enough to pay a salaray to someone who can reliably look after the company while I am studying.

Speak soon and thank you for the support. Maybe this time next year people will speak of me as they do Take 2 :).

Regards

Itai

great to hear. Yeah hopefully you can grow into one of the big fish, you never know. :)

[farcry]

GREAT review Trioptium.
I was planning on writing one, but hell, I'm glad you did instead.

eitai2001, some suggestions to help you along:

>> ) Courier fees - very high and in some cases, makes it impossible to buy online.
There are a number of couriers who will drastically drop their prices based on your monthly order/delivery quantities. So initially it will be high but as you start to make sales you will negotiate better rates with your courier.

>> Payment method ... it is way to expensive to accept credit cards at over 6w% .
Take a look at mygate.co.za. They charge a monthly fee. no % interest per transaction. They have their own developer plugin scripts for the most popular shopping carts. Check them out. http://www.mygate.co.za

All the best with the biz,

Farcry

[xrapidx]

At the guys who keep saying Sinotec is a Samsung panel ... Sony is also a Samsung Panel :D ... but remember ... its got a lot to do with the image processor that determines the quality. In the Sony X-Series ... you are paying for the Bravia engine more than anything.

Its me who keeps saying that :p But you're a 100% correct on the image processor.

[xrapidx]

Thanks xrapidx for starting the thread :cool:

Pleasure... ;)

[Roo!]

@ eitai2001: Hopefully your next site will be FF (and thus HTML 4.0 standards) compliant :)

[eitai2001]

GREAT review Trioptium.
I was planning on writing one, but hell, I'm glad you did instead.

eitai2001, some suggestions to help you along:

>> ) Courier fees - very high and in some cases, makes it impossible to buy online.
There are a number of couriers who will drastically drop their prices based on your monthly order/delivery quantities. So initially it will be high but as you start to make sales you will negotiate better rates with your courier.

>> Payment method ... it is way to expensive to accept credit cards at over 6w% .
Take a look at mygate.co.za. They charge a monthly fee. no % interest per transaction. They have their own developer plugin scripts for the most popular shopping carts. Check them out. http://www.mygate.co.za

All the best with the biz,

Farcry

Hi ... mygate isn't the problem ... their prices are great ... for someone small like me, the banks will charge a 5% transaction fee ... if I'm not mistaken ... thegadgetshop just managed to get it down to 3.5 percent now ... I will only be able to afford to go to credit cards when I have a constant flow of sales.

Also in terms of courier ... I know that some are willing to negotiate ... I think FedEx is cheap ... I have their form ... will do everything after exams.

Thanks for the help though.

[eitai2001]

@ eitai2001: Hopefully your next site will be FF (and thus HTML 4.0 standards) compliant :)

Lol ... hopefully.

If you guys wanna reply anything else to me ... just use my thread called critisize my site ... I'm gonna ask a question on there now ... I have hijacked this thread enough :P

[ZuBS_]

Game currently has a 42" @ 9 999, it looks different from the Makro one though??
http://www.game.co.za/portal/game/images/leaflets/rsa/pages/rsa-2007-10-16-05.htm

[Snakker]

Anyone got experience or comments on the 50" plasma from Sinotec which is also on sale for 15k at Makro ? Please, any feedback would be appreciated.

Regards,
Will

[quantumf]

Does this TV support HDCP?

[Trioptium]

Not sure how one conclusively tests but I can confirm that PS3 and Blu-ray movies play in full (1080p) high-def so I'm presuming Yes.

[whackjob]

Bought this display on Monday. FANTASTIC system! I wouldn't hesitate recommending it to even the most discerning buyers.
Uno Problemo : The frequency on the remote is the same as DSTV. Not sure if the capability to change the frequency is available though.

[skillet]

Sure Jak3 - though I wasn't too sure how to attach the pics to the reply. I quickly took a couple and uploaded to: http://picasaweb.google.com/trioptium/PhotosOfSinotech47LCD.

On some of the pics there is a slight moire pattern which you can't see in real life - I guess its because of the differences between the display's resolution and the camera's resolution.

Hi there



Thank you for a great review Trioptium! Did you have any problems as yet with your LCD? At what Makro store did you buy? Seems that Jon will be quite helpfull?

[johandutoit2000]

Getting my Sinotec 119cm, 1080p, LCD TV anyday now. Loosing sleep over it, I am so excited.

Can someone please advise me on a "good enough" upscaler. Just want to convert the composite or RGB signal from PVR decoder to HDMI. I need the simplest and cheapest way to do that.

Has anyone attempted that before? Is there any improvement in picture quality?

[johandutoit2000]

So I could only get the 42". Top quality for only R9999. This TV has the best upscaling capabilities that I have ever seen. I have looked at many 1366X768 LCD TVs. This one rocks. It also has panorama view. I could not find that on any Samsungs. DsTV looks crisp and clear. I cannot understand how they can give this TV away at this price. Take note that I only use the yellow composite cable. Nothing more needed, because I cannot see how the picture can be better.

Sinotec is up to something. They are taking the SA market by storm. 5 year warranty as well.

I can highly recommend this set.

[milomak]

you guys do some good selling of this product

[EtienneK]

Bought mine a month ago. Absolutely BRILLIANT!

[ProAsm]

Uno Problemo : The frequency on the remote is the same as DSTV. Not sure if the capability to change the frequency is available though.
Is that the PVR ?
Is this so and if so, can anything be done about it ?

[Luke7777]

Doesn't have an effect on DualView

[poolmania]

I had a brief look at the Sinotec 47" next to a Sony 40" and at first, the Sinotec was same quality, if not slightly better (both playing from a Blu-Ray player) but then i noticed a bit of blurring (don't know what other word to describe this effect) on the Sinotec whenever there was quick or fast motion of the image on the screen. The Sony however was still very clear and smooth during these fast paced scenes. I stood back a bit to see if it was still noticeable, I'm afraid it was.

I didn't have the time to check this properly in terms of the cables used etc. so would probably have to go back and clarify some issues just to make sure.

Anyone else notice these image defects on the Sinotec.

[johandutoit2000]

perhaps because the Sinotec response in ms is much lower? So I expected those. Cant see any problems on mine though.

[Trioptium]

I'm using DSTV's PVR and the remotes seem to cohabit just fine. Even more so - I use the PVR's remote to control the primary functions on the TV (on/off and source) so that theres some space on the coffee table for coffee.

Only really pickup the Sinotec remote when using Picture-in-Picture across sources.

[eboo]

Does anyone know if this LCD supports DHCP?

Also is it possible to buy a standalone upscaler? I'm looking for something that can upscale DVDs and perhaps even dstv for now

[getafix33]

http://www.dstv.com/main.aspx?ID=11100

That might be what you are looking for. An upscaling DVD player might be what you are after.

Cheers

[Luke7777]

Does anyone know if this LCD supports DHCP?Definitely no network capabilities :D However if it's HDCP you're after, just check back a few posts.. 89,90)

[poolmania]

:eek:....just seen on the Makro web site.

42" Sinotec HD Plasma PHD-42HU31 TV for R7,999

http://www.makro.co.za/ProductDetail.aspx?cat=6273&prod=36131&SKU=000000000000119392|EA

Anyone got this Model, would like to know whether it is quality. I already did a background check and it's got all the HD requirements besides Full HD 1080p. Nontheless it's a steal at that price.

[johandutoit2000]

Does anyone know if this LCD supports DHCP?

Also is it possible to buy a standalone upscaler? I'm looking for something that can upscale DVDs and perhaps even dstv for now

Why? I cannot see how the picture can be better. In other words, the Sinotec handles the upscaling just fine. Perhaps you have to sit too close to your TV or your TV is too big... :)

[getafix33]

I don't know too much about scalers, but I think that you get good ones and not so good ones. I have no idea what the scaler is like in the Sinotec or if it would be any better than an upscaling DVD player for example.

[johandutoit2000]

I don't know too much about scalers, but I think that you get good ones and not so good ones. I have no idea what the scaler is like in the Sinotec or if it would be any better than an upscaling DVD player for example.

Play DVD and DSTV via the composite cable (yellow one). If you can see the difference between that and some fancy upscaler output, on these Sinotecs, then you have better eye sight than me.

[getafix33]

Like I said, I have no idea what the scaler is like on the Sinotec, but I know that you get good ones and not so good ones. Maybe the scaler on the Sinotec is absolutely brilliant, I don't know.
As you say, the true test is in the eyes.

The dude asked about upscalers so I recommended an upscaling DVD player.

[eboo]

I actually did mean HDCP and not DHCP. I had a look at the previous posts (89,90) and the question is not answered. The reason I ask the question is because of the following link:
http://mybroadband.co.za/news/Hardware/2255.html

with regards to the upscaler, for some unknown reason I seem to have have the idea that the Sinotec does not have an upscaler. If it does have one then i definitely wont be buying an upscaler.

[johandutoit2000]

I am trying to tell everyone, that it would be a waist to purchase a seperate upscaler for these Sinotec TVs.

[johandutoit2000]

with regards to the upscaler, for some unknown reason I seem to have have the idea that the Sinotec does not have an upscaler. If it does have one then i definitely wont be buying an upscaler.

All HD LCD TVs must have upscalers. How else would they fill the picture?

[getafix33]

eboo, look at my link on post 103. It shows you which LCD's and plasma's are DHCP (;)) compliant.

If you can't see the difference don't buy the upscaling DVD.

[eboo]

eboo, look at my link on post 103. It shows you which LCD's and plasma's are DHCP (;)) compliant.

If you can't see the difference don't buy the upscaling DVD.

Cool. Thanks for that link. The 47" is HDCP compliant.

I'm going to be buying this LCD as a present for my Dad. It looks like an amazing purchase at R14999. I'll probably make the purchase at the end of the month.

I did not know that all HD lcds an plasmas have upscalers. Since the Sinotec already has one, I will not be purchasing a separate upscaler.

Thanks for all the help guys.
Eboo

[johandutoit2000]

Cool. Thanks for that link. The 47" is HDCP compliant.

I'm going to be buying this LCD as a present for my Dad. It looks like an amazing purchase at R14999. I'll probably make the purchase at the end of the month.

I did not know that all HD lcds an plasmas have upscalers. Since the Sinotec already has one, I will not be purchasing a separate upscaler.

Thanks for all the help guys.
Eboo

Good luck at getting stock. That is why I had to settle for the 42". I think the R14999 promotion is long gone.

[getafix33]

I'm going to be buying this LCD as a present for my Dad

You not looking to adopt another Dad? :p

[Freshy-ZN]

Are all these Sinotec LCDs, from the 32" to the xx" as good as one another in terms of quality?

[Luke7777]

Good luck at getting stock. That is why I had to settle for the 42". I think the R14999 promotion is long gone.All the Makro branches still show stock on the 47" . Price still the same

[johandutoit2000]

All the Makro branches still show stock on the 47" . Price still the same

I cannot find it. Search on www.makro.co.za and paste the link for us please.

[Freshy-ZN]

http://www.makro.co.za/ProductDetail.aspx?cat=6273&prod=36132&SKU=000000000000119479|EA

[poolmania]

I cannot find it. Search on www.makro.co.za and paste the link for us please.

There's two of them at the Germiston Branch, was there today.

[johandutoit2000]

I got the MP-42T27 (http://www.sinoprima.co.za/Products_Pages/LCD_TV.htm).

[poolmania]

Does anyone have the 42" Sinotec Plasma screen. It's going for R7999. Is it any good. The price is very low but have heard too many bad things about plasma.

[johandutoit2000]

http://www.makro.co.za/ProductDetail.aspx?cat=6273&prod=36132&SKU=000000000000119479|EA

You cannot search the stock and get to that. You also cannot check stock.

[poolmania]

I got the MP-42T27 (http://www.sinoprima.co.za/Products_Pages/LCD_TV.htm).

Thats my next option although it's 2k more expensive at R9,999. Are you happy with it?. Is it quality compared to the Sony and Samsungs. A quick review would be helpful.

[Luke7777]

Checking stock only works in IE sorry. You start with
http://www.makro.co.za/ProductList.aspx?cat=6273 , then hover over the "check stock" button

[johandutoit2000]

Thats my next option although it's 2k more expensive at R9,999. Are you happy with it?. Is it quality compared to the Sony and Samsungs. A quick review would be helpful.

I think it is top quality. The picture is wonderfull. I cannot see that it looks better on the sony or samsung. For the price and warranty it is a must buy. You also get the bracket included. The remote also looks of a good quality. Can't wait for DsTV high-def.

[johandutoit2000]

Checking stock only works in IE sorry. You start with
http://www.makro.co.za/ProductList.aspx?cat=6273 , then hover over the "check stock" button

Using IE. Nothing happens when I hover.

[Juggy]

I got the MP-42T27 (http://www.sinoprima.co.za/Products_Pages/LCD_TV.htm).

Did anyone notice this?

MP-19Y26
480cm HD LCD TV

480cm LCD? FMSW

Must be a typo

[Walty]

Did anyone notice this?

MP-19Y26
480cm HD LCD TV

480cm LCD? FMSW

Must be a typo
Ya, its definitely a typo.
http://www.makro.co.za/ProductDetail.aspx?cat=-1&prod=36130&SKU=000000000000119387|EA

[Luke7777]

Using IE. Nothing happens when I hover.Ok, this (http://mybroadband.co.za/photos/showphoto.php?photo=2096&size=big&cat=500) is what you should see if you put the cursor on the "check stock" next to the 47". Maybe a security setting or your side ? I run medium high and IE7 btw

[Jinx10]

Hi Tripoptium. since you have owned it for a while now can you (and anyone else) give us some new feedback? I house sat over the weekend and they had a samsung R81 37". watched a few dvds and played assassins creed/call of duty on Xbox. I must say I was blown away by the awsome pictures. Im used to a normal tv. You cant even imagine how good the pic was. would you say the Sinotec is going to be as good???

[Jinx10]

http://www.hificorp.com/2006/productguide/109_1572.htm saw this specail at HIFI. very similare offerings but the Hisense is advertised as FULL HD 1080. any one owned a Hisense or had an oppertunity to compare these two?

[getafix33]

Made a very interesting discovery this morning.

I look at the Hisense promo in the above link and started doing some scouting around.

Went to Hisense.com and discovered their contact email address is hisense@sinotech.co.za

mmmm, Hisense, Sinotech, same price? More than likely the exact same LCD, just with a different badge.

Here (http://www.hisense.com/en/about/about_production_base.htm) is the link. Scroll to the bottom of the page.

Maybe Sinotech is the local agent for Hisense, but it makes for a great conspiracy theory.

Just tried to email them and received an "unknown user" reply.

[johandutoit2000]

http://www.hificorp.com/2006/productguide/109_1572.htm saw this specail at HIFI. very similare offerings but the Hisense is advertised as FULL HD 1080. any one owned a Hisense or had an oppertunity to compare these two?

The sinotec at Makro has 5 year warranty for the same price.

[getafix33]

The sinotec at Makro has 5 year warranty for the same price.

reason why its a better buy

[johandutoit2000]

reason why its a better buy


I reckon if you are going to risk and buy a cheap brand, then go for the longer warranty. I have the Sinotec. The picture is fantastic. It is the 1366x768 model though.

[triGGer]

Couple of questions…I can’t decide whether to get a 40” HD Ready Samsung (2 year guarantee), or rather the bigger 47” Full HD Sinotec (5 years), they basically cost the same. Some of the lucky ones have had this 47” Sinotec for a couple of months, are you guys still happy? Have any of you played Xbox 360 on it and how does it look? Can anybody confirm if it has a 6.5 ms response rate?

[getafix33]

There are a few (one really comprehensive) reviews on this panel. Do a quick search and you will find all the answers you are looking for.

There are far more positives about the 47" than negatives. If I have R15k lying around, that is exactly what I would be buying.

[redlites]

got myself 1 today.. for my bedroom..compared it to my samsung m8 40inch hd which was 10k more when i bought it for my kids to play their PS3...sinotech good as samsung ..even more features on SINOTEC as well..got mine for R14600.00 from makro.

[Trioptium]

There have been a couple of requests and several PM asking for further feedback on the unit, and so it seemed appropriate to provide some feedback on how the unit has been performing.

So a quick background on the setup to give you idea of the usage: I've got the unit attached to Multichoice's PVR I (standard composite video out), a Phillips DVD player (component out - progressive scan) and PS3 (HDMI configured 1080p @ 60Hz).

Some changes from the initial setup in October - I'm not using the audio on the TV at all, and have optical and coaxial feeds from the respective devices to a separate receiver. Therefore limited feedback on this front. Also - while I initially had a laptop connected (using a DVI-D to HDMI cable) I'd only done it a handful of times prior to the PS3's arrival. In general the combination of the laptop's CPU and the ATI graphics card just aren't up to the task of 1920x1080 output for anything other than windows desktop environment with windows. If you’re going to do this you’re going to need a a hefty PC and a serious GPU.

I can report that the display has met all requirements without any hiccups. The neat, conservative and contemporary lines begin to really grow on you.

My only niggle so far relates to the auto-brightness adjustment by means of a light sensor. When in auto mode the display has approximately 4 distinct brightness levels which it quite effectively matches to the ambient light conditions to create a reliably good image. Because it works so well most the time I inevitably leave the auto-light sensor on. However, as I’d mentioned it in the original review, during transient light conditions between levels it is overly sensitive and too readily adjusts either brighter or dimmer and becomes an annoyance. It would be great if it made variable and imperceptible rather than step brightness changes, and then you could enjoy the benefit on all of the time.

Its unfortunate how quickly one adjusts to the size though – instead of being continually impressed at how generous 47” seems, instead it just seems all other TV’s have gotten smaller! The image clarity is still amazing and, three months down the line, I still find myself occasionally sitting in awe of what this display is capable of when the opportunity of good content presents itself. If you want to do it justice I most highly recommend that you budget for both a TV and a high-def console. I personally opted for the PS3 because of the good multimedia centre-like capabilties, native 1080 support and blu-ray player and they make an excellent combination. While I’m being prescriptive – also budget an extra R450 and get yourself the BBC Planet Earth HD series (Blu-Ray) – you get 4 Blu-ray discs packed with over 10 hours of amazing full HD footage that is both fascinating to watch, visually stunning and it serves as a party piece demonstration when friends and family you’re ask to see what the tv is capable of.

All in all I remain very satisfied with the display and still make a high recommendation. Three months later (which is almost a life-time on the tech scene) this still stands as an incredible value-for-money for what is in essence an excellent large Full-HD screen with equal performance to considerably more expensive competition!

[Trioptium]

While this is a little off-topic as it doesn’t relate to the Sinotec specifically but some of the specifications and technologies behind these displays in general, it may be of interest to some afficinados reading this looking to buy a large LCD.

There are a couple of scenes on the BBC Planet Earth HD series which involve a high-speed landscape “fly-overs” which exposes the combination of a 24 image framerate and a relatively large display wherein a staccato effect is created and you can distinctly see the individual frames. This is not related to the response time of the display at all but is rather caused by the TV being so able to faithfully represent the actual content – which in this case is 24 discrete frames per second (ironically lower response time displays and CRT’s quite effectively mask this effect). Having experienced the effect I can see where MotionFlow technology (where the image processor creates actually interpolates additional frames to create a smoother more fluid motion) would have its place. But this technology is expensive and I’ve not come across it yet on displays costing less than R30k. Its typically only available on the high-end displays such as the premium d-series and x-series of Sony’s Bravia range with an equivalent 46” unit costing between R33k-R39k. Though it’s a minor and something you tend to rarely come across but it is good to know that there is a solution out there for the purists. I’d be happy paying an extra R500 to R800 for a display if it included MotionFlow, but its not worth more than a R1,000. In my opinion - certainly not worth an additional R25k for the Bravia.

There have been several questions on whether the display response time of 6.5ms is adequate – I can vouch definitely. Having watched several Blu-ray movies, normal DVD’s and console games, (and in particular both Casino Royale as well as the Fast and Furious represent good case material as they both include several fast-paced action scenes with fast cuts, and flashing / “explosive” transition through white) I’ve see no evidence of image tearing or motion blurring during high-speed and high-contrast updates. In reality – response times and contrast ratio’s were important indicators when LCD’s came out and these were a real performance issue. They’re not an issue anymore – though Marketing departments seem to enjoy competing on these numbers especially as their products tends more and more towards a commodity (remember when flatbed scanners were competing on resolution – in the quest to be king many scanners with an optical resolution of 1200dpi were just interpolating up so that could print on the box 19,200dpi!) Similarly with the contrast ratio – with a human eye in a static light environment only being capable of discerning a contrast ratio of 800:1 – anything beyond double this is already a numbers game. Similarly with the response time – if its quick enough to complete one refresh at least 50 times a second – then its more than adequate to perfectly display the content you’ll be watching. Anything higher than that would just be wasted updates, in other words, refreshes of the exact same frame already on the screen!

[Luke7777]

Got to agree on the auto-brightness thing. I've actually disabled it

[johandutoit2000]

I just have to tell everyone again. I have the 42" Sinotec from Macro. The physical design of this TV is different to the Samsung piano black types, but equally great to look at. I was looking at various plasma and lcd sets in GAME this weekend. I am now convinced that the Sinotec image quality is the best that I have ever seen. For the price, it is a MUST. I have not even used the DB15, HDMI or component inputs yet...

[milomak]

someone give me R15k :mad:

[getafix33]

someone give me R15k

Bump

[Jinx10]

47' lcd or 50' plasma, both 14999.00 from Marko??

http://www.makro.co.za/ProductDetail.aspx?cat=6273&prod=36132&SKU=000000000000119479|EA
http://www.makro.co.za/ProductDetail.aspx?cat=6273&prod=36119&SKU=000000000000119394|EA

like to watch dvds and play xbox. also a lot of sport on DSTV.

any recommendations??

[Fudzy]

Tough one, I'd be more inclined to go for the LCD as it will (hopefuly) last you longer but I'd go into the shop and compare.

[PostmanPot]

LCD.

Plasma's "burn-ins" and lifespan worry me.

[Juggy]

I prefer the plasma as I watch quite a bit of telly as well. Put them side by side and check them out.

Also depends on the size of your lounge, if it's small you want a smaller screen.

[johandutoit2000]

The LCD has 1080 rsolution and the plasma only has 736, so the screen door effect might be much more visible on plasma. I would definately go for the LCD. There are already good reports about it in this thread.

[Mier]

47' lcd or 50' plasma, both 14999.00 from Marko??

http://www.makro.co.za/ProductDetail.aspx?cat=6273&prod=36132&SKU=000000000000119479|EA
http://www.makro.co.za/ProductDetail.aspx?cat=6273&prod=36119&SKU=000000000000119394|EA

like to watch dvds and play xbox. also a lot of sport on DSTV.

any recommendations??

In this case I think the LCD, because it supports full HD, which the Plasma does not. Full HD with the Xbox gets my vote over size.


LCD.

Plasma's "burn-ins" and lifespan worry me.

...and LCD can get stuck pixels and have lower contras. Both have equal lifespan

http://reviews.cnet.com/4351-12658_7-6583301.html

[Jinx10]

Trioptium please tell me what the Sinotec looks like watching normall tv or dstv? Ive heard the LCDs are bad for standard tv.

[johandutoit2000]

Trioptium please tell me what the Sinotec looks like watching normall tv or dstv? Ive heard the LCDs are bad for standard tv.


Like I have stated many times before in this thread. It is absolutely brilliant. Trust me. Much better than any CRT TV. Much better than expected. Much better than any other brand I have ever seen.

[Jinx10]

ok , johandutoit2000 , I going get it on Friday, I hope you are not a secret agent for Sinotec!! (-: , my freinds say rather get smaller tv and not full hd but a brand name so I get poop on my face im going hunt you down!!

to anyone else out there I will give my own review after about a week to assist everyone else.

thanks to everyone that took the time to comment.

[getafix33]

I hate all you people who have 15k to spend on the seemingly brilliant TV.

Wait, my turn is coming, don't know when, but soon.

[Jinx10]

Lol, ive been waiting for ages,2 years acutally, to buy one but decided to say screw it now. using a conbination of overdraft and credit card as only saved 5K!!

hope interest rates dont go up.

[ProAsm]

Well based on this topic a reviews, I went out and bought myself this 47" Sinotec LCD as I've been on the market for several months now looking for a decent LCD.
I must admit I'm extremely impressed by this and as several have mentioned, TV looks brilliant on this especially DSTV.
While I was at Makro, they had a special on the Samsung HTTX25 Home Theatre System so I bought that as well and now my lounge rocks :)
Fortunately I have a fairly big lounge, 6 x 7 meters, so it looks good and realy rocks ;)

I will say though when viewing SABC channels I find it better if I force the TV to 4:3 ratio.
I also found setting it to a Panarama View is better than the 16:9 and although they are similar the Panarama definently outshines the 16:9
Its just a pity the resolution options is not in a pull down menu like everything else because you cannot just select what you want, you have to flip through each mode one at a time and its very slow and sluggish.
This is about the only critisism I have of it.

Someone reported a clash of remotes with DSTV, well I have the PVR and there is no clash whatsoever.
For R15g's this is an excellent buy and I most certainly recommend it to anyone wanting to get a decent LCD.

[sudraka]

not to burst your bubble bro, but a screen with a max res of 1366x768 is 720p. 1080p & 1080i inputs will be accepted but will be downscaled to 720p on that monitor. it is NOT full HD. The cheapest full HD (1080p) monitor i have seen to date in SA was a SONY Bravia 46" for R 43k

We sell the Samsung LA46M81 , Full 1080p 46" , For R23999, Stock shortage , but can put you on a waiting list.

[Jinx10]

seen the Samsung LA46M81 and price aside its hard to say which is better when comparing the picture so to pay an extra R8k seems crazy. I know Samsung is good for lcds but the Makro 5 year guarentee counters that argument.

[Luke7777]

It's actually an extra 9K from 14999 to 23999 ;)

[Jinx10]

Hi Sudraka, just looked around at must admit that is a good price.....

[davos]

the sinotech is now on R13999...makes it very appealing!

[Jinx10]

thanks Davos, I came online to let everyone know. Makro even has a similar tv now, i think its a 52' for 17k but not sure. It makes my 47' inch look tiny but quality does not look as good as mine....maybe the settings.

well have had my sintoec for over a week now and very happy, particularly good for dvds and xbox. Tv is good but not great, so roll on HD tv from DSTV.....

can the guys that own this give me the settings that seem to work best for them?

[EtienneK]

I've had my Sinotec 47" for about 3 months now. Love it. Worth every cent.

[davos]

now got to try to convince my wife that R14000 for a tv is a good idea!

[davos]

a related question: those guys who have bought the 47" how close do you sit when watching dstv?

[ProAsm]

a related question: those guys who have bought the 47" how close do you sit when watching dstv?
As far as possible, in my case about 4.5 meters - my lounge is 6 x 7
A problem I'm noticing especially with older movies is the LCD does not update as fast as a CRT and you tend to get quite a bit of facial distortions and gets very annoying, hence the reason I now almost permanently run in 4:3 mode which seems a waste but still pretty cool.

[Jinx10]

i also sit about 4.5m away. anything from 3 to 6 and you should be ok. closer for games the tv/dvd..... Must say never noticed facial disotrtions and only use full screen.

[ProAsm]

Jinx10 do you use 16:9 or Panarama view for your full screen viewing ?

[EtienneK]

Hehe, I'm sitting about 1.5 - 2m away from mine (as can be seen from the screenshots in my previous post ;) )

[ProAsm]

Hehe, I'm sitting about 1.5 - 2m away from mine (as can be seen from the screenshots in my previous post ;) )hehe... must be like watching a tennis match :D

[Jinx10]

16:9 only.

[getafix33]

AS the subject suggests.

I picked up a 47" Suinotec from Makro for R12000.00. It has had its on/off switch replaced and I got it for that price. The beauty is that I still get the 5 year warranty.

Problem is they had lost the remote, manual and box (can you believe it). I picked up a remote from Sinoprima direct. They were extremely helpful.

I was also showed what their workshop/repair centre was like. There were mostly CRT's in for repair, 1 LCD and 1 plasma.

All in all I think that I got a good deal.

Now just to connect up my HDDVD drive and do some testing.

Cheers.

[ProAsm]

Well Jinx10, I watched it at 16:9 all evening and I must admit not once did it distort in any manner at all except the whole picture is slightly out of proportion but I can live with that and get used to it as the only real proportionate picture is the originally transmitted 4:3 except on the odd occasion when DSTV does transmit a 16:9 picture, then you view it as 16:7 in actual fact but that too I can live with until all transmissions are switched to 16:9 sometime next year I believe.
Panarama view does give you a full and better proportional view but thats like a 'stretch" mode on you PC's display properties, but shows up quite bad facial and other small movement distortions.
So 16:9 it is from now on :)

Nice to have a HDDVD drive getafix, yeah Makro demo'ed the Sinotec's HD to me by using a HDDVD drive and wow, it blew me away.

[Jinx10]

Hi ProAsm , i agree that on 16:9, the people all look a bit plumber then usual. My wife always comments but I hardly notice it. this is not specific to the sinotec but all 16:9. also tried the Panarma which my wife prefers but I dont, it cuts off a little of the picture.

now I wish dstv would improve there signal qualtiy. heard the olympics will be in hd.

[arf9999]

heard the olympics will be in hd.

if you buy a new decoder

[davos]

any idea when the new decoders are coming? heard its this year "sometime"

[arf9999]

before the Olympics... i.e. before August.

[efitol]

AS the subject suggests.

I picked up a 47" Suinotec from Makro for R12000.00. It has had its on/off switch replaced and I got it for that price. The beauty is that I still get the 5 year warranty.

Problem is they had lost the remote, manual and box (can you believe it). I picked up a remote from Sinoprima direct. They were extremely helpful.

I was also showed what their workshop/repair centre was like. There were mostly CRT's in for repair, 1 LCD and 1 plasma.

All in all I think that I got a good deal.

Now just to connect up my HDDVD drive and do some testing.

Cheers.

i want one for R12,000 too :(
was it the only one which had had its on/off switch replaced?

[getafix33]

was it the only one which had had its on/off switch replaced?

Yip

I see that Makro now has them on special for R14000.00, so maybe my deal wasn't all that great, but hey R2k is still R2k and I have got a huge
47" LCD. Something that I have been desiring for ages and my wife is also happy. That is a huge bonus.

[Fudzy]

Makro is selling a 37" Sinotec LCD for R8k

Is the screen the exact same (other than the size ofcourse). Really considering this...

[getafix33]

My brother in law has the 42" plasma and I was watching DSTV there last night. The pic quality was excellent.

[davos]

I got the 42" LCD on the weekend and it is excellent! Got it for 8999 - couldnt quite bring myself to hand over the 14k for the 47"

[davos]

fudzy think i replied to your thread over on car...

[getafix33]

I got the 42" LCD on the weekend and it is excellent! Got it for 8999 - couldnt quite bring myself to hand over the 14k for the 47"

I think the new 42"LCD is also 1080P

[ToxicBunny]

42" for 8999?.. sheesh.... if its 1080p then I think I shall have to investigate whether I am going to buy one or now.... 42" is a nice size.. 47" might be too big.

[getafix33]

47" might be too big

No it's not, not for me at least. I view from about 3.5m-4m from the screen. When I was looking at buying my 47" the dude showed me the new 42" LCD and he said it was definately 1080p. The price was about R10k. However 1080p over 42" even 47" apparently isn't noticeable.

[Luke7777]

I think the new 42"LCD is also 1080PAccording to their site the MP-42T27 isn't , while the MP-42T26 is. Can't find either on the Makro site though

[getafix33]

According to their site the MP-42T27 isn't , while the MP-42T26 is. Can't find either on the Makro site though

There we go, I wasn't seeing things. Possibly the one for R8999 is the older one.

Makro Weltevreden Park had them about 3 weeks ago when I was in Joburg. We don't have a Makro here in little old EL

[davos]

the 42" on special is not 1080p its a 720p (1377x768) - going from 720 to 1080 is quite an expensive jump!

[davos]

The one on special is the MP-42T27

[getafix33]

Obviously got that one on special because the newer one is higher specked.
If I remember the 1080p 42" was R10k and the older one is only R1k cheaper on special. I would suck it in and fork out for the newer one. ;):D

[davos]

on the sinotec website there are no 1080p 42" lcds...they are all 1080p compatible but their resolution is 1366x768 so 720p.
According to the wesbite the MP-42T27 is the new one and its the one of special for 9k.
Maybe they havent updated the wesite?

[getafix33]

All I remember when I bought mine, the sales dude showed me the supposedly latest 42" and he said it was 1080p native. I may well be wrong, but I am telling you what he told me.

Maybe a call to Sinoprima head office might help clarify it up. I remember chatting the sales manager, but I can't remember his name. He was extremely helpful when I phoned re' my 47"

The workshop parts manager gave me his direct number as well as email address as did the service manager.

Their service was excellent and the product backs that up too.

The parts manager is Shannon and the service/workshop dude is Chen.

Cheers

[ToxicBunny]

I've just got an email from Sinotec saying that the 42" model is FULL HD...

Waiting for them to email me back with the model number so I can double check.... then I will be going off to buy one shortly I reckon.

[davos]

did you hear from them? whats the model number?

[Borg]

Starting Sunday Makro will be offering a 47" Full HD (1920x1080) LCD Sinotec TV for R11,999. The model number is MP-47HU27. It comes with a 5-year guarantee. It is currently on 'special' for R14,999! I would be really pissed off if I bought this one during this week only to find out that they cost R3,000 less the following week:

http://www.makro.co.za/ProductDetail.aspx?cat=6273&prod=36132&SKU=000000000000119479|EA

Does anyone know if these come with HDCP? According to an earlier article by Mulitchoice, you will need this if you want to watch all the channels that they will be offering kicking off in trial phase in June.

Very few people who buy these large screens are aware of this.

[getafix33]

Check on the DSTV website. I checked before and this screen is listed there. I made sure of that first

[Luke7777]

The 47" for R12k is probably one of the best bargains you'll ever get, seeing that they advertise the full hd 42"(1920x1080) on special at 11k

[yusufd1]

My dad bought this tv 14 days ago.Makro had it on special for R11 999 it is now R13 999. Like the other users I am very impressed with it. The USB function is great. Does anybody know if there are any software updates for the system? Makro now has a 42" full hd sinotec with a PVR facility for R12 999. However I played around with it for about an hour yesterday and I still feel that the 47" is better as it has much better features. Makro is now selling Full HD sinotecs in 42" with and without PVR. They even give you a free 500gb external HDD (verbatim) with the PVR model. Can the previous guys who reviewed the 47" model please post any tips or settings they use on their sets so that the rest of us can try them out and benefit from the best possible picture. thanks

[PeterCH]

a related question: those guys who have bought the 47" how close do you sit when watching dstv?

For full hd picture, 1080i or p, you should sit 3 or less vertical screen heights away from the set to allow your retinas to fully resolve the
picture.

[James Bond]

Hi

Also acquired a Sinotech 47" HDTV in the past couple of weeks. Pic quality OK with SDTV and DStv broadcasts, despite the image being upscaled. True potential is seen viewing HD material eg. Blu-ray discs. PS3 games in 720p are also not too shabby.
As far as software updates go, I haven't heard of any for this model. Check out the Sinoprima website. All in all a good value for money HDTV set, with the added bonus of USB connectivity.

[casperd]

Hey,

I've also got one of the 47" Sinotech LCD's. Had it for about 3 weeks now, and got it on the Makro promotion for R12K. It is awesome value for money!! I'm currently using it mainly for DSTV and normal DVD's.

I'm currently staying in a smallish apartment (temporary), so my viewing distance is far from ideal, but still the quality is fantastic!

My current setup is basic to say the least, i.e. cheapy interconnects, no HD source, etc, and the viewing pleasure is awesome! I can only begin to imagine what this beast will produce once I get my blu-ray player and upgrade to a QED HDMI cable.

I have spoken to the guys at Sinoprima, and they have confirmed that the panel is an LG panel, and not Samsung as we all tought.

Now, throw in full HD capabilities and a whopping 5 year warranty, and you have the deal of the century!

So, in short, to answer anyone on this forum whether it is worth while investing in the Sinotec 47" LCD, the answer is YES!!!

[JungleRumble]

Hey guys - Sinotec now has a 52inch full HD LCD for sale at Makro. Going for around R25k. 6.5ms response time vs Samsung's 8ms. Samsung costs R48k. Sony model goes for R45k.

With 5 yr garauntee - what a bargain. However, will wait for it to go on promostion....

[xrapidx]

Contrast ratio ?

[xrapidx]

http://www.makro.co.za/ProductDetail.aspx?cat=-1&prod=39472&SKU=000000000000134291|EA

Sinotec has terrible contrast ratio

[Luke7777]

Advertised contrast ratios are a lot of bull. In all brands...

[arf9999]

1500:1 (if it is true) is not bad. Most of the higher CR numbers quoted tend to be "dynamic" and not static CR.

My concern with the Sinotecs is more their video processing and the colour reproduction rather than the CR.

[xrapidx]

Even dynamic contrast makes a helluva difference. I've got a 1:1000 and its horrible when compares next a Samsungs 1:15000 (dynamic or not)

[arf9999]

Even dynamic contrast makes a helluva difference. I've got a 1:1000 and its horrible when compares next a Samsungs 1:15000 (dynamic or not)
15000:1? On a LCD?
\there's some prize marketing bull**** right there...

edit: the samsung will look better, because the panel is better, the video engine is better and the backlight is better.

[xrapidx]

15000:1? On a LCD?
\there's some prize marketing bull**** right there...

edit: the samsung will look better, because the panel is better, the video engine is better and the backlight is better.

Like I said... dynamic... i.e software. The whole point is looks, marketting or not... I want what looks best.

[Luke7777]

Like I said... dynamic... i.e software. The whole point is looks, marketting or not... I want what looks best.So...go look at it first, then decide or comment. Don't quote (meaningless) marketing figures and declare how "terrible" it is

[xrapidx]

So...go look at it first, then decide or comment. Don't quote (meaningless) marketing figures and declare how "terrible" it is

Hey...Einstein, why don't you have a look who started this thread before making meaningless comments about me. I H-A-V-E looked, and thats why I'm commenting, contrast ratio makes a huge difference. And where did I say the unit is terrible, I said Sinotec contrast ratio is terrible. Learn to read before your meaningless comments.

[cyberarmy]

Hey...Einstein, why don't you have a look who started this thread before making meaningless comments about me. I H-A-V-E looked, and thats why I'm commenting, contrast ratio makes a huge difference. And where did I say the unit is terrible, I said Sinotec contrast ratio is terrible. Learn to read before your meaningless comments.

The contrat ratio, is this something to do with the hardware (eg processor or panel) rather than software? If this Sinotec (with LG panel) has bad contrast ratio against the Samsung you compared to, It does not mean Samsung better than LG but maybe two different ranges of LCD TV?

[xrapidx]

The contrat ratio, is this something to do with the hardware (eg processor or panel) rather than software? If this Sinotec (with LG panel) has bad contrast ratio against the Samsung you compared to, It does not mean Samsung better than LG but maybe two different ranges of LCD TV?

They're definitely two different ranges. Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contrast_ratio)

Also, on mine, and I don't know if its related to the low contrast ratio, I get alot of ghosting in high contrast scene's. i.e. dark backround, and fast moving front objects.

[cyberarmy]

They're definitely two different ranges. Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contrast_ratio)

Also, on mine, and I don't know if its related to the low contrast ratio, I get alot of ghosting in high contrast scene's. i.e. dark backround, and fast moving front objects.

I ask the Q is because I want to make up my mind on which LCD screen to get for my PC, the new LG 22' with 8000:1 contrast (marketing?) but 5ms response or the Samsung 2232GW 3000:1 dynamic 2ms. Is sacrificing contrast for response time a good idea?

[milomak]

Hey...Einstein, why don't you have a look who started this thread before making meaningless comments about me. I H-A-V-E looked, and thats why I'm commenting, contrast ratio makes a huge difference. And where did I say the unit is terrible, I said Sinotec contrast ratio is terrible. Learn to read before your meaningless comments.

so what were your thoughts on the sinotec?

[xrapidx]

so what were your thoughts on the sinotec?

Not bad for the price, and if you're on a tight budget, but when the Sinotec was R15000, the others bigger brands were R30,000. They're now coming in at about R20,000 and below for a FulllHD, I'd rather get one of those if money isn't the only consideration. I suppose its up to who-ever's watching, but I'm exceptionally fussy when it comes to visuals and sound.

Going to get rid of my 42" Sinotec and 37" Mecer soon and get something else, at least now I'm only living in Cape Town, and not between Cape Town and Johannesburg. I think Phillips has a 50" FullHD Plasma, that'd be my top choice.

[xrapidx]

I ask the Q is because I want to make up my mind on which LCD screen to get for my PC, the new LG 22' with 8000:1 contrast (marketing?) but 5ms response or the Samsung 2232GW 3000:1 dynamic 2ms. Is sacrificing contrast for response time a good idea?

I've got the Samsung (sort of), its at the shop at the moment - a few people I've spoken to prefer the LG, and say its more reliable.

Hopefully I'll get my Samung back in one piece.

[milomak]

I suppose the issue is still that 50"+ is still the domain largely for 1080p, so as the bigger screens become more common (and our market doesn't adapt), the Sonys, LGs and Samsungs become very viable.

[xrapidx]

Also - you need to get the right screen size for your viewing area... it'd be pointless getting a 60" LCD for the wall, and you only have two meters till your couch, i.e. small flat.

[Luke7777]

Hey...Einstein, why don't you have a look who started this thread before making meaningless comments about me. I H-A-V-E looked, and thats why I'm commenting, contrast ratio makes a huge difference. And where did I say the unit is terrible, I said Sinotec contrast ratio is terrible. Learn to read before your meaningless comments.Lol, tailback must've been bad on the CT highways today :D

Anyway, I know you started the thread...you asked who's seen this unit. Doesn't say else that would make you the resident expert on it though ;) I'm not disputing contrast ratios, I'm talking about advertised ones

Just for the record, I said you're quoting marketing figures (showing the contrast ratio), and then saying it (the contrast ratio, not the unit) is terrible. No comments about you or the unit were made

[ProAsm]

Regarding contrast ratios, a LCD with a small contrast ratio like 1000:1 or a max of 5000:1 is often preferable as its this same ratio that effects the Response time which is the time it takes in milliseconds to go from white to black.
All whites are the same but the blacks differ to a degree, the darker your blacks, the larger the contrast ratio, the longer the Response time.
So what is it you want, a small response time (most important) or a big contrast ratio.
The best is to watch is a news channel where a film star or some celebrity has a 1000 flash cameras going off in the dark and you watch just how blocky the picture becomes.
The 47" Sinotec is pretty bad with this example but that too is because of its large size but sets with large contrast ratios will be completely unwatchable at this point.

[xrapidx]

Lol, tailback must've been bad on the CT highways today :D

Anyway, I know you started the thread...you asked who's seen this unit. Doesn't say else that would make you the resident expert on it though ;) I'm not disputing contrast ratios, I'm talking about advertised ones

Just for the record, I said you're quoting marketing figures (showing the contrast ratio), and then saying it (the contrast ratio, not the unit) is terrible. No comments about you or the unit were made

*yawn*

[Juggy]

Not bad for the price, and if you're on a tight budget, but when the Sinotec was R15000, the others bigger brands were R30,000. They're now coming in at about R20,000 and below for a FulllHD, I'd rather get one of those if money isn't the only consideration. I suppose its up to who-ever's watching, but I'm exceptionally fussy when it comes to visuals and sound.

Going to get rid of my 42" Sinotec and 37" Mecer soon and get something else, at least now I'm only living in Cape Town, and not between Cape Town and Johannesburg. I think Phillips has a 50" FullHD Plasma, that'd be my top choice.

Let me know when you get rid of either as I'm looking for a telly for the bedroom.

[xrapidx]

Let me know when you get rid of either as I'm looking for a telly for the bedroom.

The Mecer 37" at the moment, the Sinotec in storage.

[bennieroux]

"sync issues between video and audio when playing back a DivX file"

I notice that it has a upgrade function on the menu... any idea if there is an upgrade available?

I would like to have the audio and video sync-ed.

[Voicy]

So I went out and bought the Sinotec 32" 720p LCD tv from GAME for R5k and they threw in a silly dvd player as well.

I got this as a PC screen, but neglected to take into account the fact that you sit +- 1m away from the screen. Turns out this thing is huuuuge! ... and since its 720p the native resolution isnt the same as my pc's 1280x1024 so applications do look bigger on it.

I wouldn't recommend it as a standalone pc screen since you can struggle to read text on explorer - due to the high brightness (turning it down will dampen all other darker images)

Solution: I left my 1 17" crt on the side which I use for more detailed work, but use the big 32" for web browsing and gaming.

Gaming: I'm playing World of Warcraft on it flat out and its absolutely stunning! When i launched Battlefield2 on it and flew a jet around I nearly climaxed. It works wonderful with my 8600GT without a moment's lag. In fact that was 3 days back and I'm still nursing a semi...

I was scared that the LCD might burn in from the stationary icons on World of Warcraft, but I've been told it should be a problem - so whenever I'm in transition between places, I usually swap over to the TV setting and watch a bit of animal planet or something silly.

Alternatively, I switch over to AV and play a bit of Burnout 3 on my xbox. oh ... man ... I often forget that I'm actually still playing WoW & find myself racing away on this insanely cool racing environment! - part of the reason i went for this big 32" instead of the samsung 22" wides which have better res is because I needed AV input for the xbox (We never had a tv or anything with AV input - swak, I know.) and its been standing with 30 original titles for the last year without being used.

The tv comes with a 5yr warranty, which I think is awesome ... and when i took it home I immediately discovered 3 dead pixels on the left corner of the panel - along with grey clouding it made whenever black was displayed (off or during blank screensavers) like an old laptop screen used to do.

I went back to Game and they agreed to swap the tv out for a brand new one - no silly warranty repairs and whatnot - I was very pleased to hear this.

There are only 2 things that I was unhappy with.
1) It came without pre-packed batteries for the remote
2) There wasn't a vga and/or DVI<-> HDMI cable included. (which I suppose is fair considering that its primarily a tv and not a pc screen.

So far I'm very happy with it. I have a mate with 4x 32" LOGIK lcd tv's (same price as mine) , 1 x 42" samsung and 1 x 52" samsung and he reckons the quality isnt any bit budget and in fact better than the logik.

If i'm not mistaken Sinotek does in fact make use of samsung panels in their products are locally manufactured. I speak under correction.

[Kradenko]

Hi Guys/Gals,

I went and bought the Sinotech 47" screen from Makro and it is uber :D I only have one problem, I have a media box that has full HD support, 1920x1080, but I for the life of me cannot get the media PC to display at 1920x1080. The max I get is the one smaller at 720p. Am I using the wrong format, ie PAL/NTSC or is the refresh a problem?

Any ideas?

Krad.

[Fudzy]

What cable are you using to connect the media box to the tv?

[xrapidx]

...and are you selecting 1080p, or trying to find 1920x1080?

[StillOnSent]

Hi Guys/Gals,

I went and bought the Sinotech 47" screen from Makro and it is uber :D I only have one problem, I have a media box that has full HD support, 1920x1080, but I for the life of me cannot get the media PC to display at 1920x1080. The max I get is the one smaller at 720p. Am I using the wrong format, ie PAL/NTSC or is the refresh a problem?

Any ideas?

Krad.

HD doesnt have PAL/NTSC, those are SD resolutions

Could be the cable as mentioned
Some cannot pass through 1080P, especially longer ones.
Check if yours is rated for it

Somereading about HDMI cable tests : http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/hdmi-cable-battlemodo/the-truth-about-monster-cable-part-2-268788.php

[hj2k_x]

So I went out and bought the Sinotec 32" 720p LCD tv from GAME for R5k and they threw in a silly dvd player as well.

I got this as a PC screen, but neglected to take into account the fact that you sit +- 1m away from the screen. Turns out this thing is huuuuge! ... and since its 720p the native resolution isnt the same as my pc's 1280x1024 so applications do look bigger on it.

I wouldn't recommend it as a standalone pc screen since you can struggle to read text on explorer - due to the high brightness (turning it down will dampen all other darker images)

Solution: I left my 1 17" crt on the side which I use for more detailed work, but use the big 32" for web browsing and gaming.

Gaming: I'm playing World of Warcraft on it flat out and its absolutely stunning! When i launched Battlefield2 on it and flew a jet around I nearly climaxed. It works wonderful with my 8600GT without a moment's lag. In fact that was 3 days back and I'm still nursing a semi...

I was scared that the LCD might burn in from the stationary icons on World of Warcraft, but I've been told it should be a problem - so whenever I'm in transition between places, I usually swap over to the TV setting and watch a bit of animal planet or something silly.

Alternatively, I switch over to AV and play a bit of Burnout 3 on my xbox. oh ... man ... I often forget that I'm actually still playing WoW & find myself racing away on this insanely cool racing environment! - part of the reason i went for this big 32" instead of the samsung 22" wides which have better res is because I needed AV input for the xbox (We never had a tv or anything with AV input - swak, I know.) and its been standing with 30 original titles for the last year without being used.

The tv comes with a 5yr warranty, which I think is awesome ... and when i took it home I immediately discovered 3 dead pixels on the left corner of the panel - along with grey clouding it made whenever black was displayed (off or during blank screensavers) like an old laptop screen used to do.

I went back to Game and they agreed to swap the tv out for a brand new one - no silly warranty repairs and whatnot - I was very pleased to hear this.

There are only 2 things that I was unhappy with.
1) It came without pre-packed batteries for the remote
2) There wasn't a vga and/or DVI<-> HDMI cable included. (which I suppose is fair considering that its primarily a tv and not a pc screen.

So far I'm very happy with it. I have a mate with 4x 32" LOGIK lcd tv's (same price as mine) , 1 x 42" samsung and 1 x 52" samsung and he reckons the quality isnt any bit budget and in fact better than the logik.

If i'm not mistaken Sinotek does in fact make use of samsung panels in their products are locally manufactured. I speak under correction.

5K really isn't bad for all that then :)

I had been considering one of these as well - looked at them in the store and the quality seemed to be pretty decent as well. Wouldn't use if as my main PC screen though, like you have mentioned. For gaming and movies it must be pretty sweet though.

I had not heard great things about Sinotec up till now...

[Zyzzyva]

So I went out and bought the Sinotec 32" 720p LCD tv from GAME for R5k and they threw in a silly dvd player as well.

I got this as a PC screen, but neglected to take into account the fact that you sit +- 1m away from the screen. Turns out this thing is huuuuge! ... and since its 720p the native resolution isnt the same as my pc's 1280x1024 so applications do look bigger on it.

I wouldn't recommend it as a standalone pc screen since you can struggle to read text on explorer - due to the high brightness (turning it down will dampen all other darker images)

Solution: I left my 1 17" crt on the side which I use for more detailed work, but use the big 32" for web browsing and gaming.

Gaming: I'm playing World of Warcraft on it flat out and its absolutely stunning! When i launched Battlefield2 on it and flew a jet around I nearly climaxed. It works wonderful with my 8600GT without a moment's lag. In fact that was 3 days back and I'm still nursing a semi...

I was scared that the LCD might burn in from the stationary icons on World of Warcraft, but I've been told it should be a problem - so whenever I'm in transition between places, I usually swap over to the TV setting and watch a bit of animal planet or something silly.

Alternatively, I switch over to AV and play a bit of Burnout 3 on my xbox. oh ... man ... I often forget that I'm actually still playing WoW & find myself racing away on this insanely cool racing environment! - part of the reason i went for this big 32" instead of the samsung 22" wides which have better res is because I needed AV input for the xbox (We never had a tv or anything with AV input - swak, I know.) and its been standing with 30 original titles for the last year without being used.

The tv comes with a 5yr warranty, which I think is awesome ... and when i took it home I immediately discovered 3 dead pixels on the left corner of the panel - along with grey clouding it made whenever black was displayed (off or during blank screensavers) like an old laptop screen used to do.

I went back to Game and they agreed to swap the tv out for a brand new one - no silly warranty repairs and whatnot - I was very pleased to hear this.

There are only 2 things that I was unhappy with.
1) It came without pre-packed batteries for the remote
2) There wasn't a vga and/or DVI<-> HDMI cable included. (which I suppose is fair considering that its primarily a tv and not a pc screen.

So far I'm very happy with it. I have a mate with 4x 32" LOGIK lcd tv's (same price as mine) , 1 x 42" samsung and 1 x 52" samsung and he reckons the quality isnt any bit budget and in fact better than the logik.

If i'm not mistaken Sinotek does in fact make use of samsung panels in their products are locally manufactured. I speak under correction.


I vote for this being the most intertaining post of the day.

The award goes to voicy...... :D

p.s. your desk must be quite the sight...

[thedutchman]

i use my 32 " lcd as my tv, primary computerscreen, ps2 player and the old dvd player... works brilliant. its a telefunken from game, got it in the beginning of last year.

[Kradenko]

HD doesnt have PAL/NTSC, those are SD resolutions

Could be the cable as mentioned
Some cannot pass through 1080P, especially longer ones.
Check if yours is rated for it

Somereading about HDMI cable tests : http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/hdmi-cable-battlemodo/the-truth-about-monster-cable-part-2-268788.php

Hi,

Thnx for the response, I am using the standard composite cables, should that not allow for 1080p/i or is it only the HDMI cables?

Krad.

[Juggy]

Hi,

Thnx for the response, I am using the standard composite cables, should that not allow for 1080p/i or is it only the HDMI cables?

Krad.

As far as I understand you must use the HDMI cables.

[Orvor]

I was just at Game today looking at this screen, all excited from the various posts I received from you guys, and I looked at it side by side with the 50" 720p plasma Sinoteq. We were watching a standard dstv signal. The 50" Plasma won hands down with this signal. I'm sure on a full HD feed it would be different, but I'll be watching dstv 90%, dvd's 9% and for now blu ray maybe 1%? So I'm happy with the performance of the 720p plasma over the 1080p LCD. I'm sorry but the standard dstv feed into the LCD looked HORRIBLE and pixelated. The cheap LOGIK next to it for R9999 looked better - honest. I'm not going to buy an upscaling amp, or a seperate upscaler for R5K to make the LCD look better. I'll have a non-upscaling AV receiver, relying on the upscaling from the panel itself.

I just wanted other people's opinions. I think the HD focus is not as important as the actual day to day usage you'll get which I bet is always 90%DSTV. For that I'll take the 720p plasma anyday. I can't see much diff. between 720p or 1080p, and the little that there is, I think its hype on these sizes. If I had the cash for a 50" 1080p Pioneer I certainly would not turn it down, but comparing the 720p 50" Plasma with a 47" 1080p LCD (Plasma is R1k cheaper too for 3 more inches) I have decided to go with the Plasma.

[Keeper]

Thanks for the Reviews guys, now I am also another happy Sinotec LCD Owner - Love that thing! I even added my first Hellopeter comment! Sinotec FTW!

I watched Bad Boys 2 in Full-HD (1080p) Bluray Quality Yesterday, it rawked every second!

[greg_SA]

I was just at Game today looking at this screen, all excited from the various posts I received from you guys, and I looked at it side by side with the 50" 720p plasma Sinoteq. We were watching a standard dstv signal. The 50" Plasma won hands down with this signal. I'm sure on a full HD feed it would be different, but I'll be watching dstv 90%, dvd's 9% and for now blu ray maybe 1%? So I'm happy with the performance of the 720p plasma over the 1080p LCD. I'm sorry but the standard dstv feed into the LCD looked HORRIBLE and pixelated. The cheap LOGIK next to it for R9999 looked better - honest. I'm not going to buy an upscaling amp, or a seperate upscaler for R5K to make the LCD look better. I'll have a non-upscaling AV receiver, relying on the upscaling from the panel itself.

I just wanted other people's opinions. I think the HD focus is not as important as the actual day to day usage you'll get which I bet is always 90%DSTV. For that I'll take the 720p plasma anyday. I can't see much diff. between 720p or 1080p, and the little that there is, I think its hype on these sizes. If I had the cash for a 50" 1080p Pioneer I certainly would not turn it down, but comparing the 720p 50" Plasma with a 47" 1080p LCD (Plasma is R1k cheaper too for 3 more inches) I have decided to go with the Plasma.

It would be interesting to have compared the 720p plasma with a 720p LCD...

From what I have read and heard... Plasma is more forgiving with low quality source material, which is normally the case with DSTV's current SD content. Lets hope things improve tremendously with the upcoming DSTV HD!

[Keeper]

It would be interesting to have compared the 720p plasma with a 720p LCD...

From what I have read and heard... Plasma is more forgiving with low quality source material, which is normally the case with DSTV's current SD content. Lets hope things improve tremendously with the upcoming DSTV HD!

correct.

[cyberarmy]

So if I have normal DSTV, only watch DVD and other free SABC channels (if we ever going to get HD on SABC), I should get a Plasma?

[greg_SA]

So if I have normal DSTV, only watch DVD and other free SABC channels (if we ever going to get HD on SABC), I should get a Plasma?

Both LCD and plasma have their pros and cons, but if I was in your situation, only for use with DVD and TV (current and future HD DSTV), I'd go for a 720p plasma.

I would recommend you actually test a few displays (LCD and plasma) in your price range for their intended use (DSTV and a DVD) before buying to be sure of your decision.

[cyberarmy]

Both LCD and plasma have their pros and cons, but if I was in your situation, only for use with DVD and TV (current and future HD DSTV), I'd go for a 720p plasma.

I would recommend you actually test a few displays (LCD and plasma) in your price range for their intended use (DSTV and a DVD) before buying to be sure of your decision.

Will do that, thanks.

[getafix33]

Have/are any of you guys using the HDMi ports on your lcd (47" LCD)

I am wanting to upgrade my HTPC and the mobo I want to get has HDMi output which I will connect to my TV. What type of picture quality do you get on HDMI (I don't have any devices I could test it with)
I will still run my XBOX via VGA.

Thanks

[AjAx30]

I had a look at the 42" sinotech full HD tv at makro today and can say that it is not a suitable one to get if you are planning on playing PS3 etc on it.. the response time is stated as 6.5ms, which aint too bad, but i could see noticeable ghosting while trying out medal of honour on the PS3...

was dissapointed as i was keen to get the 42" Full HD LCD...

[getafix33]

I play XBOX on my 47" and can't notice any tearing or ghosting

[Luke7777]

I play XBOX on my 47" and can't notice any tearing or ghostingsame here..

[AjAx30]

U got the LCD or Plasma? Cause i could definitely see ghosting while trying out the game in store?

Maybe its just because i am used to my 2ms response from my LG LCD PC monitor that i picked it up?