Buying a Flat Panel Display (LCD/Plasma/LED etc)

[bharatbs]

Review of Panasonic TH-42PX80U (part one & two)

YouTube - Review of Panasonic TH-42PX80U (part one)

YouTube - Review of Panasonic TH-42PX80U (part two)

[kiku007]

Guys

Planned to buy a CRT TV. But then the ultra slim looks (Wall Mounting Option) of the LCD TV is tempting!

Could you please help me in finding a good LCD TV under 25K INR?

Requirements:
* Reliability. Our 1st sony Trinitron ran for 15+ yrs! The 2nd Wega is running without any issues for 4+ yrs.
* LCD Screen Size: 22-26 Inch
* Good picture quality even when viewed from less than 5 ft dist
* Budget: 20-25K

Few Queries:
* I found the sound quality or output rather (esp base) of LCD TV's under 25K to be very less. Do these TV's have Audio Output port to connect them to external speakers? Or is possible only from the DVD player?
* Is it advisable to buy it in the grey market if the price advantage is more than, say 10K?

P.S: Reliability and Grey market might not go along well, I understand. But I have a good contact there who can get me quality stuff.
Thanks in advance.

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by kiku007

Planned to buy a CRT TV. But then the ultra slim looks (Wall Mounting Option) of the LCD TV is tempting!

Kishore, why don't you stay with CRT? By far the best, and the most durable!
If at all you have the space in your home to accommodate a CRT, do not look at anything else!
And a CRT will always have better built-in sound capability. To the point where you can get by without external audio systems having to be hooked up!

[HotChillyPepper]

Originally Posted by anupmathur

Kishore, why don't you stay with CRT? By far the best, and the most durable!
If at all you have the space in your home to accommodate a CRT, do not look at anything else!

In my opinion its not wise to go for CRT now. If you consider the same size in both technology, it will be hardly 10-15K difference.

Now the advantages of an LCD over CRT are:
1) Less power consumption (Again compare only with the same screen size).
2) High resolution. Full HD capable LCDs will make a huge difference when you watch a DVD. (Full HDTV is yet to start commercially in India, but it will come up in anoher 2 years for sure).
3) Size (Its defenitly a big plus when you consider RS 3000 / Square feet in a city).
4) Compatibility (Most LCD TVs are multi system Multi Standard. So they can play multiple formats, Gaming console etc. )
5) Less radiation. CRT omits more X-ray than an LCD).
6) Wall mounting roof mounting capabilities. Auto rotating capabilities on higher ends.
7) Most of new model LCDs can stream from USB directly. No need of burning a CD to play it on your TVs.
8) Color Purity is more than 90% NTSC means you will see white as white not as yellow /pink.


Now you decide

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by HotChillyPepper

In my opinion its not wise to go for CRT now. If you consider the same size in both technology, it will be hardly 10-15K difference.

This is worth reading:

CRT Pros:
- Despite what the salesman at Best Buy will tell you, a good HD CRT will always have the best picture (TV, DVD, etc.)compared to other types of screens - period. This is because the contrast ration can be as high or higher than 40-50 THOUSAND to 1, compared to the 2-4 thousand of most LCDs. However, LCDs have advantages. - Price - CRTs are relatively inexpensive and much cheaper than LCDs, but LCDs are coming down in price quickly. - Tons of data on reliability and they can be fixed easily as compared to LCD. -Screen door- LCD's have to get the wires to the pixels (to move the lcd's) somehow, so there is space between the pixels for the wires. if you are close to a big LCD you get a "screen door" affect.
CRT Cons:
- Weight and size of box (depth). Can't hang on a wall - Not made in very many sizes - CRTs, like plasma screens, have the "burn in" problem. That is, an often displayed picture or border will eventually "burn" into the screen. Think about the scrolling bar at the bottom of CNN. This may take years and TVs have gotten better, but with an LCD, you can display the same image for weeks and it won't do a thing to harm the screen. - Difficult to display a computer image in its native form. A computer image will appear blurry and washed out. This is due to the relative incompatibility between the way computers generate images (pixels) and the way CRTs display images (scan lines). Most TVs will not have the electronics to make the conversion like a computer monitor. An LCD with proper computer inputs will display a perfect computer image.
I hope that helps!

Source:

WikiAnswers - What are the advantages and disadvantages of an LCD TV compared to a CRT TV

[shuvc]

Originally Posted by razor4077

PV8 was delivered yesterday, a day behind schedule. Panasonic called up today morning and said they would send a guy over today to set up the TV.

My set was delivered 2 days behind schedule after a lot of chasing/phone calls, on Friday.
Panasonic failed to turn up on Friday although they did say they would. Sat/Sun were holidays at Panny. So @razor and I installed our sets on Friday night.
Dvd's, PS3 Blu-rays apart, what's most impressive is the TataSky quality, just as many have mentioned here earlier.
Thank you T-Bhp for helping me take another important informed decision.

[kiku007]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Originally Posted by anupmathur

Kishore, why don't you stay with CRT? By far the best, and the most durable!
If at all you have the space in your home to accommodate a CRT, do not look at anything else!
And a CRT will always have better built-in sound capability. To the point where you can get by without external audio systems having to be hooked up!

Space is indeed an issue. Not tht I can't manage to have a CRT but tht LCD will liberate a lot of usable space.

Yes the Audio o/p in the LCD TV is a big issue for me. That's why I wanted to know if the LCD TV has Audio out port.

And you know what? The guy at Vivek's showroom said, "Sir Sony is stopping CRT's..we are clearing stock. Only one model left"!! I hav to verify this though.

Originally Posted by HotChillyPepper

In my opinion its not wise to go for CRT now. If you consider the same size in both technology, it will be hardly 10-15K difference.

Now the advantages of an LCD over CRT are:
......

Is it possible to have these advantages for under 25K? As I have asked earlier, can I get a good LCD TV at this price point?

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by kiku007

And you know what? The guy at Vivek's showroom said, "Sir Sony is stopping CRT's..we are clearing stock. Only one model left"!! I have to verify this though.

Is it possible to have these advantages for under 25K? As I have asked earlier, can I get a good LCD TV at this price point?

That CRTs might get phased out is not of great concern. There will be some form of backup/service available for many many years yet.
The average lifespans of LCD TVs have been considerably shorter than for CRT. Never mind what they all claim; reality tends to be different! (Most are claiming 60,000 hours these days. Problem is, no one is willing to say how many pixels will have progressively failed by that time!).

You can get a good deal for 32 inch LCD TVs. Recently one of the Malls in Delhi was offering Akai and/or Sharp for 22K. There were other generic ones around too.

[madbullram]

Originally Posted by kiku007

Is it possible to have these advantages for under 25K? As I have asked earlier, can I get a good LCD TV at this price point?

I loved the Pana 32LE8 LCD for its amzing PQ when compared to others. Last I heard was 30K from JD Electronics may be the prices have come down now. But, audio in all LCD/Plasma are just sufficient, they will never match your CRT requirement. But I think its enough for the purpose until and unless you want it to rock your house...

[shuvc]

Originally Posted by madbullram

I loved the Pana 32LE8 LCD for its amzing PQ when compared to others. Last I heard was 30K from JD Electronics may be the prices have come down now.

eZone was selling this model for around 28K.

Saw a Sharp 32" LCD for 25.5K. I think it was this model :: Welcome To Sharp India ::

[ecclipse78]

Panasonic 32 inch model (LE8) available for 25.6 K at Ezone - Chennai.

Originally Posted by kiku007

Thanks for the replies guys.


Is it possible to have these advantages for under 25K? As I have asked earlier, can I get a good LCD TV at this price point?

[Elito11]

Originally Posted by kiku007

Guys

Requirements:
* Reliability. Our 1st sony Trinitron ran for 15+ yrs! The 2nd Wega is running without any issues for 4+ yrs.
* LCD Screen Size: 22-26 Inch
* Good picture quality even when viewed from less than 5 ft dist
* Budget: 20-25K

Some options that you have around 25 k

Sony KLV 26T400A - 28k
Samsung 4 series 26 inch - 27k
Panasonic 32 LE8 or 26 inch model (forgot name) - 25 k
Some LG 26 inch model for 25 k

Prices may be lower than what i have given..not higher

Elito

[R.P.M]

I just picked a sharp aquos from vijay sales, 32 inch for 25.5k all inclusive with wall mounting.

For the price the TV is great, has most of the features, only problem is not being full HD.

[anupmathur]

Originally Posted by R.P.M

, only problem is not being full HD.

Perhaps you are better off this way! You'd be able to use it with any HD service provider's set top box.

[kiku007]

Originally Posted by ecclipse78

Panasonic 32 inch model (LE8) available for 25.6 K at Ezone - Chennai.

Checked with e-Zone OMR. They quoted 29K for the same model. But the sales rep asked me to wait for the weekend offers. Guess the 25.6K was during the weekend sale between 24-26 Jan when a sale was on?

Thanks to all u guys for the input! I'll try to get the panasonic for under 25K.

How about getting the same in the grey market guys?

Meanwhile I also checked the Samsung UltraSlimfit TV. Costs around Rs.8000 only!
CS21A530 Ultra SlimFit TV - television SAMSUNG

Any reviews on this one?

Even e-Zone doesn't stock Sony CRTs:( They were so reliable and I miss them!