LCD and Plasma Bargains and Discussions thread

[Subways81]

Right, I'm off, 55t36 gone, 47LM5800 in. I kinda miss the 8 inches but I'm sure ill get used to it. Otherwise, meh...

 

[PostmanPot]

Not too sure but HiFi Corp was around R7700 IIRC for the 51 E450

Pricey, should be +-R6,500...

How did you feel about the FHD vs HD Ready aspect?

 

[Subways81]

Sigh, the LG 47LM5800, while being very nice at night, it has a very reflective screen making day time viewing pretty much impossible, even my 3 year old is getting annoyed with it. It seems like if you want a 47"+ size screen you have to be prepared to pay top dollar for it.

 

[PostmanPot]

Annoys me, Most LCDs used to have matte screens and were an excellent choice for bright rooms. Now, because of competition, they're mostly glossy. I think Samsung started using glossy screens again, LG followed suite. Now you basically sit with one benefit in your position, passive 3D.

 

[johndoe1983]

I don't see the benefit besides for it not being battery operated? I suppose it's everyone's own opinion, right? I just compared them side by side, and preferred pq of 3d on samsungs

 

[Speedster]

I don't see the benefit besides for it not being battery operated? I suppose it's everyone's own opinion, right? I just compared them side by side, and preferred pq of 3d on samsungs

Watch a whole movie then let us know about your headache.

 

[johndoe1983]

I have, watched Thor and captain America this weekend. No headaches. But then again, I perfected lighting I reckon so no strain on eyes from watching in the dark + used some settings I found on avforums specifically made for the lighting. I dunno , I got headaches a lot .. Even migraines, but didn't get while watching/or after

 

[ice_cubes]

Just bought a Samsung LA40D503F7R from Game. I originally wanted the Samsung 32" 5000 series at R4300 but was seduced by the larger size of the 40". The price was R3999 with a R499 'cash back'. I'm feeling very pleased with myself at getting a fullHD Samsung 40" for R3500 but am at present working through the settings trying to get the best visual and audio settings. It's the first LCD TV I've owned so hoping the picture and sound quality will be good enough.

howz it going so far?I wanted to it but our eagerly awaitied *back pay* is still being processed... 4 months & counting *sigh*

 

[Badprop_za]

Hi guys, need some advice.

Currently I have a 74cm CRT. At last I am looking to upgrade. Budget is R12k-R15k.

Currently I am looking at the following:

Samsung PS51E550
Samsung UA46ES6200
Samsung UA46ES6600

Currently, I am mainly used it for watching sport, movies, series, Dstv (SD decoder) and the occasional gaming. Viewing distance varies from 2m to about 4 / 4,5m.

The TV is mainly used in the evenings and over the weekend. Lighting is 50/50 (if such a thing exist) and I can close the curtains if needed.

Question that I have is that is the R4k "premium" worth it on the Samsung 46ES6600 (Or R2k for the 46ES6200)? The extra 5" is not a major thing as I am usig a 74cm at the moment. 3D function is a bonus, but not a requirement.
I have a soft spot for Samsung, but advice on any others will also help.

 

[Roman4604]

Question that I have is that is the R4k "premium" worth it on the Samsung 46ES6600 (Or R2k for the 46ES6200)?

As mentioned in the other post, you should go compare them 1st hand yourself e.g. to see if the higher motion rating and local dimming of the 6600 are worth the extra cash.

 

[greg_SA]

Hi guys, need some advice.

Currently I have a 74cm CRT. At last I am looking to upgrade. Budget is R12k-R15k.

Currently I am looking at the following:

Samsung PS51E550
Samsung UA46ES6200
Samsung UA46ES6600

Currently, I am mainly used it for watching sport, movies, series, Dstv (SD decoder) and the occasional gaming. Viewing distance varies from 2m to about 4 / 4,5m.

The TV is mainly used in the evenings and over the weekend. Lighting is 50/50 (if such a thing exist) and I can close the curtains if needed.

Question that I have is that is the R4k "premium" worth it on the Samsung 46ES6600 (Or R2k for the 46ES6200)? The extra 5" is not a major thing as I am usig a 74cm at the moment. 3D function is a bonus, but not a requirement.
I have a soft spot for Samsung, but advice on any others will also help.

If you buy an HDTV, I would strongly recommend that you also get an HD PVR.

 

[PostmanPot]

Hi guys, need some advice.

Currently I have a 74cm CRT. At last I am looking to upgrade. Budget is R12k-R15k.

Currently I am looking at the following:

Samsung PS51E550
Samsung UA46ES6200
Samsung UA46ES6600

Currently, I am mainly used it for watching sport, movies, series, Dstv (SD decoder) and the occasional gaming. Viewing distance varies from 2m to about 4 / 4,5m.

The TV is mainly used in the evenings and over the weekend. Lighting is 50/50 (if such a thing exist) and I can close the curtains if needed.

Question that I have is that is the R4k "premium" worth it on the Samsung 46ES6600 (Or R2k for the 46ES6200)? The extra 5" is not a major thing as I am usig a 74cm at the moment. 3D function is a bonus, but not a requirement.
I have a soft spot for Samsung, but advice on any others will also help.

PS59D550 would fit your budget too.

 

[mwill]

howz it going so far?I wanted to it but our eagerly awaitied *back pay* is still being processed... 4 months & counting *sigh*

Traumatic! The picture quality is nowhere as good as my old CRT. I spent over an hour in Game this morning and 2 very pleasant salesmen were convinced I should swop my 40" LCD for a Samsung 43"PlasmaE450. I spent ages trying to compare the two in the store but the LCD always looked better, and the plasma is R5000. This afternoon, home again and fiddling with the settings on the 40D503 I set the 'black tone' to 'darkest' which seems to improve the pq. But around 6pm and into the news I start getting a crappy picture like last night. Am I getting a weaker signal at that time? (it's not the booze - I'm being careful at the moment;-)

 

[johndoe1983]

House and home had some cool specials! 40" d550 for 4799, and the 32" d550 for 3399. Also selling those 3d active glasses, they were 199... Quite pricey.. But lcd's : +1

 

[PostmanPot]

Traumatic! The picture quality is nowhere as good as my old CRT. I spent over an hour in Game this morning and 2 very pleasant salesmen were convinced I should swop my 40" LCD for a Samsung 43"PlasmaE450. I spent ages trying to compare the two in the store but the LCD always looked better, and the plasma is R5000. This afternoon, home again and fiddling with the settings on the 40D503 I set the 'black tone' to 'darkest' which seems to improve the pq. But around 6pm and into the news I start getting a crappy picture like last night. Am I getting a weaker signal at that time? (it's not the booze - I'm being careful at the moment;-)

What lighting did Game have, what viewing distance were you standing at, and what content were they playing?

 

[Roman4604]

But around 6pm and into the news I start getting a crappy picture like last night.

Confucius say; you need betta sauce.

Am I getting a weaker signal at that time?

From what?

 

[mwill]

What lighting did Game have, what viewing distance were you standing at, and what content were they playing?

Lighting must have been fluorescent but I didn't look. I was standing about 2 meters and looking up. The content was the recent golf tournament and I was assured it wasn't HD.

 

[mwill]

Confucius say; you need betta sauce.

From what?

One of the 2 salesmen said a number of times that a weak signal will give a poorer picture. I'm wondering if I should get an aerial/satelite dish guy to check out my system, or just go ahead and exchange my LCD TV for the plasma. I was also thinking of upgrading my decoder to an HDPVR and I would get the signal strength checked then. The same salesman was convinced that upgrading to a HDPVR would do nothing for the quality of standard channels but would just provide the 5 or so HD channels.

 

[Roman4604]

One of the 2 salesmen said a number of times that a weak signal will give a poorer picture. I'm wondering if I should get an aerial/satelite dish guy to check out my system, or just go ahead and exchange my LCD TV for the plasma. I was also thinking of upgrading my decoder to an HDPVR and I would get the signal strength checked then. The same salesman was convinced that upgrading to a HDPVR would do nothing for the quality of standard channels but would just provide the 5 or so HD channels.

Dont listen to the salesman, HDPVR will improve SD channels from awful to OK, but the HD channels, well that's when you'll see what all the fuss over this HD stuff is about.

 

[PostmanPot]

Lighting must have been fluorescent but I didn't look. I was standing about 2 meters and looking up. The content was the recent golf tournament and I was assured it wasn't HD.

Would those conditions match those of your home? If not it's incredibly hard to judge TVs, since they're all set to high brightness/contrast modes. The buyer ends up judging my brightness, not knowing that brightness is a detriment to picture quality especially under dim (ideal) conditions, night time, etc.

For a combination of SD and HD, and perhaps at that price point, 43" HD Ready plasma is the best option. The reason is because its native resolution is 4x3, which is the same as your CRT TV and SD sources.