Buying FIRST HD TV - Tips?

[matt loves telkom]

yeah that to me is an awesome price....10 000 was just too much for my budget so i settled for less.am still happy with the tv i got but if you thinking about getting an HDTV and you want one of the big boy brands i dont see how that can be a bad purchase.
hopefully some1 can give more input

 

[GouKi]

yep, so far 1 opinion samsung vs sony. just happened to pass by audio vision waterfront.
samsung series 5 40" Full HD coming in at 10399 including 3 year warranty. Apparently this warranty thing is on til the end of the year. The same sony 40" is selling for 10999 at AV. Can't recall if the warranty is also 3 years.

The makro 3 year warranty works like this. makro year 1, sony year 2 & 3 (register the product online). the AV salesman couldn't tell me which is the better one maybe ill have to call another branch.

 

[arf9999]

Sony and Samsung warranty is from the manufacturer. Not the retailer.

Dion Wired Somerset Mall was selling the Sony S series 40" for R8999 (only 100 pieces). Anyone in CT get one?

 

[GouKi]

probably worth driving all the way to somerset west for it. anyone got their number, i believe they opened recently. perhaps i can have them hold it for me.

 

[arf9999]

http://www.dionwired.co.za/data/default/content/RapidCat/20090924-Somerset/

 

[GouKi]

prices valid 24-30 sept

 

[ngwenyas]

guys, there is a birthday special in Vodaworld. you take a weekender contract and choose a gift card worth R4500 ; HD READY LG TV 32" ; PS3 or an HP COMPACT. you will also get a very simple phone like an 1100 or something. give them a call and find out more.

 

[Dolby]

What do you guys feel about 50hz and 100hz TVs ... ?

I was looking at the V Series Bravia or Series 5 Samsung, but both are 50hz. When Googling, I see that with CRT it made a huge difference, plasma made no difference - and LCD somewhere in between.

Is that right?

Went to check out the difference ... seems to be no difference at all when a movie was playing on 95%, but a MASSIVE difference when it came to (for example) moving text.

With 50hz it's difficult to read and 100hz it's pretty near perfect.

I'm going from a Sony W Series to a Samsung B650 now

 

[PeterCH]

AudioVision has the Panasonic Viera 42 inch Plasma for R16,899 or so. Best set around. I'd go with that over a Sony, Samsung, etc. It's also full HD.

 

[Dolby]

I'm not keen on plasma again.

Don't get me wrong, I have a plasma that I'm selling (reluctantly) now and I find it's got a better picture with more natural colours and movement than an LCD. I'm the only one with plasma in my family and when looking at their sets, I'm happy with very my choice (black level, pixelisation etc) . I'd take plasma any day over LCD, except for one thing : possible burn in.

I've hardly used my current set (300hrs, if that) but most my sources are static images (PC, Xbox, Tvix constitute 100 percent of usuage) and I'd rather be safe than sorry, and go for something that can't burn. I don't even have DSTV or any public TV.

Even now I get temporary image retention on static images. I have heard latter plasma id different though?

Also featurewiae, this Samsung is amazing. It's on special right now for R22k and *everywhere* else I've checked is R26k.

It's the latest generation 46" panel, 1080, 100hz, content lirary, ethernet port and - on the 1080 demo - awesome picture

 

[GouKi]

sounds good. 22k eish, its all about the budget baby! I think im gonna wait a bit til the christmas specials rock.

 

[JK8]

if you wanna watch standard dstv on an lcd i must WARN you it looks shocking.
i can deal with the tearing and blockies but i know it will annoy most ppl.

Not really... apart from Vuzu and F1 you can hardly notice it...

 

[Dolby]

sounds good. 22k eish, its all about the budget baby! I think im gonna wait a bit til the christmas specials rock.

I think even with the Christmas specials, I'll probably better some or come very close I checked all over yesterday and the set is about R26k everywhere. I tried to knock a few places down and the lowest was Stax Fourways who'd do it for R23k. No one could match R22k!

Check the links :

http://consumerworld.co.za/showall-Display_Solutions.html
http://www.catsdigital.co.za/samsung-la46b650-46-lcd-tv.html
http://www.shopmania.co.za/shopping~online-televisions~buy-samsung-la46b650~p-1027195.html

I actually had no intention of going over R19k (46" V series Sony - again, the cheapest as most had it for R22k) but when he showed me the difference between 50hz and 100hz, I figured I'd hold off for the extra few thousand to get the 100hz:/

Check the specs on the Samsung :

http://www.samsung.com/za/consumer/...evision&subtype=lcdtv&model_cd=LA40B650T1RXXA

46", Full HD, Content library, ethernet port, 4x HDMI, DLNA, USB 2.0, integreated DVB-T tuner, 3 year warranty if bought before December, 7 day replacement - even with dead pixels!

Best of all, I compared it to most TVs there and it easily compared to TV's R30k or so.

The *only* thing I'm worried about, is that some reviews say input lag for gaming is quite bad. I'll have to read a little more on the lag

 

[JK8]

Dolby

Apart from speccs which I know you really on quite a bit.

My V series shows 80Hz rating at the back.
The picture quality is great and I rarely find any issues with the motion flow, I admit its there but only because I know what it is when it happens.

I have seen other brands, Phillips and LG with 100hz and I have to say theres sometimes more lag than with mine... not sure why.

Perhaps it depends on the strength of the DSTV signal.
The W series picture is alot better than mine though.

 

[Dolby]

AFAIK, the V series is 50hz? Not 100 percent sure though.

And I spent 30 minutes in the shop comparing visually, not only the specs. I do - admittedly - like the content library, 1GB flash memory, ethernet port and USB2.0 though

I'd read reviews and Googled etc and most people said 50hz vs 100hz makes very little difference - especially not R7000 difference from V to W series. They're right too ... there *is* hardly *any* difference on *most* scenes! Your V series is pretty much identical to the W series for a massive sum less.

BUT when he showed me the difference between the two on those odd, rare little scenes - I realised 100hz is something I want. The difference is pretty large. I'll be able to identify those scenes now and always feel I'm lacking something with a 50hz There was no lag at all - it was perfectm Plus it was no longer R7k difference but R3k ... with extra 2 year warranty and the media functions.

The lag isn't picture lag, but input lag for gaming consoles.

 

[PeterCH]

Don't get me wrong, I have a plasma that I'm selling (reluctantly) now and I find it's got a better picture with more natural colours and movement than an LCD. I'm the only one with plasma in my family and when looking at their sets, I'm happy with very my choice (black level, pixelisation etc) . I'd take plasma any day over LCD, except for one thing : possible burn in.

I have a 3 year old Hitachi HD plasma (1024 x 1024 resolution) and it has no noticeable burn in or brightness loss. The Panasonics on sale right now are 3-4 generations ahead. You won't get burn in with brand name plasma, unless you leave the DVD menu on at full brightness and contrast on for a week or longer non-stop. Even then I doubt it. There is no burn in where the MNET/MM/CNN logos are and these channels often run 10 hrs at a time and sometimes 20h straight over weekends.

Burn-in is seriously not an issue. I think R16K is cheap for a FULL HD Panasonic plasma. With Hitachi and Pioneer out of the plasma market now, Panasonic is the only high quality alternative.

 

[Fonet]

Sony Bravia 40W450A 100Hz motionflow, brilliant on HD and SD. Shop around can get them for 16- 17 grand. My Bravia pips my mates LG and his Samsung (both Full HD). Sony is the only way to go and don't waste your money on HD ready TV's because when the content arrives you will be disapointed and will need a new TV (i.e a Full HD)

 

[Albereth]

Game selling the 40" FULL HD S Series Sony for R9999.
Makro selling it for R10,499 including 3 year warranty.

Anyone care to rate this TV for me I am seriously considering whipping out the credit card for this

They are selling the S series that is about 2 years old. The current S series has the Bravia 3 engine. All of them are full HD - just some of the internal guts have improved.

 

[Albereth]

Sony Bravia 40W450A 100Hz motionflow, brilliant on HD and SD. Shop around can get them for 16- 17 grand. My Bravia pips my mates LG and his Samsung (both Full HD). Sony is the only way to go and don't waste your money on HD ready TV's because when the content arrives you will be disapointed and will need a new TV (i.e a Full HD)

For that price you should be looking for the 40W550.

 

[Dolby]

Sony Bravia 40W450A 100Hz motionflow, brilliant on HD and SD. Shop around can get them for 16- 17 grand. My Bravia pips my mates LG and his Samsung (both Full HD). Sony is the only way to go and don't waste your money on HD ready TV's because when the content arrives you will be disapointed and will need a new TV (i.e a Full HD)

I compared the Sony and Samsung and they were identical. The only thing I didn't check (will return to check) is the 100hz compared both TV's, as I hear the Sony is generally better the Samsung.

Also reading through, I see Samsung and Sony are pretty much the leaders in the field and both have TVs better than the comparable other. It all comes down to the individual TV.

Both the Sony 46W550 and Samsung 46B650 retail at similar prices (roughly R26,000) - but with the discount on the Samsung and the 3 year warranty, it's pretty much a no brainer