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

[khanak]

Originally Posted by razor4077

So are you saying that the Sony V is much superior to the Samsung?
Or does Samsung provide a similar quality LCD TV at a lesser price with more incentives (set-top box)?

Im saying if you found the Sony V the best, why settle for anytihng else for just 3k

[razor4077]

Originally Posted by khanak

Im saying if you found the Sony V the best, why settle for anytihng else for just 3k

Hmmm... its actually 3 (for the tv) + 3 (Tata Sky) = 6k more.

The trouble is that the Sony V and the Samsung were on different walls, plus the Samsung's input signal was lousy so it wasn't looking its best. So I never got a chance to compare the two properly.
So which one is better in your opinion?

[khanak]

Originally Posted by razor4077

Hmmm... its actually 3 (for the tv) + 3 (Tata Sky) = 6k more.

The trouble is that the Sony V and the Samsung were on different walls, plus the Samsung's input signal was lousy so it wasn't looking its best. So I never got a chance to compare the two properly.
So which one is better in your opinion?

Havent really tested them..sorry.

[tsk1979]

I watched Sony Bravia LG(the one I got) and Samsung Bordeaux side by side, and there is absolutely no difference in image quality.
Sony has the highest contrast ration. But if you are watching TV in any room which is lit by more than a candle, a 800:1 is sufficient.

Before I finaly purchases I asked the showroom guy to turn of all the lights and then demo me on a "cable TV transmission". "Ordinary DVD" and "DVD with component out".

The results were same "All these high end 40K+ LCD TVs perform the same".

So I chose the one which I was getting cheapest. 42500 for the LG.

[vid6639]

Originally Posted by razor4077

So are you saying that the Sony V is much superior to the Samsung?
Or does Samsung provide a similar quality LCD TV at a lesser price with more incentives (set-top box)?

This is what I found. The Sony's picture processing is better whereas the Samsung's panel is better. So if you see true HD content especially the slow demo DVD's they show you will feel the Samsung to be better.

For regular cable and Tatasky the Sony gives a better quality.

The sony V series has lots of motion blur. When viewing news channel with the scrolling text your eyes will hurt.

The new D series which is around 15K more removes motion blur and halo effect.

I saw the V and the D side by side watching regular cable CNBC and star movies XXX movie. You could clearly make out when you switch motion blur on and off.

Will mostly go for the 40" D series.

Was also considering the W series which is full HD but that is just a HD panel with no picture processing.

[appuchan]

Originally Posted by razor4077

...
I'd like to buy a 32" LCD, and have narrowed it down to the following:
- Samsung Bordeaux Art: 49k (with Tata Sky)
- Sony Bravia S Series: 45k
- Sony Bravia V Series: 52k

It was between the Samsung and Sony S initially, but currently there is a heavy discount on the Sony V which has made me think about it.
...

If you are going for Sony, dont consider anything below their Bravia V series. Ofcourse X series is the best, but its very expensive. Try V or D series.

Regarding picture quality (+ features and aesthetics, 37'-40' and below Rs100k), the following is my rating table after lots of trials. I am not really worried about SQ as it will get routed to my HT system anyway.

1. Hitachi 37' LD 9000TA/9800TA (75k/99k)
2. Philips 37' TA2800/98 (65k)
3. Sony 40' KLV 40V300A (87k)
4. Samsung 40' LA40 R81B (75k)
5. Samsung 37' LA37 S71B (62k)

Pricings are aproximate

[khanak]

Is there still a grey market for TVs? Any idea how much a 40" sony V or D series LCD would be for in the grey market?

[appuchan]

Originally Posted by khanak

Is there still a grey market for TVs? Any idea how much a 40" sony V or D series LCD would be for in the grey market?

Grey market thrives on three aspects.

1. Demand/availability of better/newer models abroad
2. Price difference between here and abroad
3. Practicality of bringing the items in (+ selling and using)

Considering the above, TVs do not look an attractive proposition.

Availability issue is slowly getting narrowed, as most of the models released abroad are simultaneously launched here as well. Ofcourse, the "premium grade" stuff may still have a delay or never comes here. Buts things are changing here also.

The price difference is minimal, if not in negative territory, except for the latest models, similar to mobile phones.

Its not very easy to "smuggle" big items like TVs into the country through legal or illegal routes. So availability will be less in the market, thus attracts a premium - a vicious cycle. Its the same case with other similar items like Microwave, Refrigerator, W/M, A/C etc.

We dont see many "grey market" cars as well . Except for certain film actors who are just too lucky to find a Humvee parked in their portico one fine morning. Ever since that, I too kept my gates open, till now I did not even find an autorikshaw parked inside. In fact I stand to lose my existing car that way!

[razor4077]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

I watched Sony Bravia LG(the one I got) and Samsung Bordeaux side by side, and there is absolutely no difference in image quality.

Ok.

Sony has the highest contrast ration. But if you are watching TV in any room which is lit by more than a candle, a 800:1 is sufficient.

I think both Sony V and Samsung Bordeaux Art have a 8000:1 dynamic contrast ratio. I believe the New LG (Black pearl or something) has a 10k:1 ratio.

Originally Posted by vid6639

This is what I found. The Sony's picture processing is better whereas the Samsung's panel is better. So if you see true HD content especially the slow demo DVD's they show you will feel the Samsung to be better.

For regular cable and Tatasky the Sony gives a better quality.

The sony V series has lots of motion blur. When viewing news channel with the scrolling text your eyes will hurt.

So I'm guessing the Samsung has even worse motion blur issues? We have a Samsung Bordeaux (the older model) in the house and I don't see any major motion blur issues. The only time this happened was while watching a movie on TCM, but it may have been a problem with the transmission.

Originally Posted by appuchan

If you are going for Sony, dont consider anything below their Bravia V series. Ofcourse X series is the best, but its very expensive. Try V or D series.

Regarding picture quality (+ features and aesthetics, 37'-40' and below Rs100k), the following is my rating table after lots of trials. I am not really worried about SQ as it will get routed to my HT system anyway.

1. Hitachi 37' LD 9000TA/9800TA (75k/99k)
2. Philips 37' TA2800/98 (65k)
3. Sony 40' KLV 40V300A (87k)
4. Samsung 40' LA40 R81B (75k)
5. Samsung 37' LA37 S71B (62k)

Pricings are aproximate

Anything above a V series is beyond my budget. Do you have any ratings on 32" tv's, in a 40-55k range?

Question about wall mounting bracket
I know that Samsung provides a free wall mounting kit with their LCDs. Does Sony do the same? The bracket is listed as "optional" on Sony's website. And how much does one cost anyway?

[khanak]

Originally Posted by appuchan

Its not very easy to "smuggle" big items like TVs into the country through legal or illegal routes. So availability will be less in the market, thus attracts a premium - a vicious cycle. Its the same case with other similar items like Microwave, Refrigerator, W/M, A/C etc.

When I checked around a year ago, there was still a considerable price difference between the grey market and legit retail stores. Im not sure what the scene is like today.

btw there is a fairly big grey market for refridgerators, acs and microwaves too.

Todays TOI carries an ad for a 32" Philips LCD for 39k with a free DVD player/recorder.

[zenx]

Originally Posted by appuchan

2. Philips 37' TA2800/98 (65k)

Are these (incl the 32" cousin the 32ta1600) good, based on users feedback ? I did think the PixelPlus series measured up to the best in picture quality, but saw varying quality across stores for these. Just the feed/settings ?

[kvenkatt]

Originally Posted by khanak

Is there still a grey market for TVs? Any idea how much a 40" sony V or D series LCD would be for in the grey market?

A week back, I checked the Sony 32" V series, the one that comes from Thailand is 42K and the one that comes from Malasiya is 43K.

Guess the grey market has a 10K difference.

The quotes are from Chennai Grey Market

[khanak]

Originally Posted by kvenkatt

A week back, I checked the Sony 32" V series, the one that comes from Thailand is 42K and the one that comes from Malasiya is 43K.

Guess the grey market has a 10K difference.

The quotes are from Chennai Grey Market

thanks a lot. I wonder how much theyre selling for at Alfa.

[cdcruz]

Hi,

Maybe this is a bit off-track. But if you are going to use your TV only for watching DVD movies then do take a look at the available projectors.

Infocus IN72 @ 65k is good value for money. The screen size you will get will be 2 times the LCD TV size and will deliver a true Home Theater experice.

[tsk1979]

Most of the big showrooms use HD-DVD quality demo videos, so you go WoW.
At one of the multi brand showrooms, I saw that LG quality and Samsung quality was not as good as sony.
Then I ventured into another showroom, and there Panasonic Lg and Samsung had the same quality as Sony.
The best way to see quality is to have the save type of media playing.
Side by side most of the TV sets from these top companies exhibit same quality.

Originally Posted by razor4077

Ok.

I think both Sony V and Samsung Bordeaux Art have a 8000:1 dynamic contrast ratio. I believe the New LG (Black pearl or something) has a 10k:1 ratio.

Sony has 12000:1 dynamic contrast ration, but that number is meaningless.
As I said before, most of these TVs will give similar quality.
Another misleading thing in 32" is 1080p ready/compatible
There can be no 1080p in 32". You will always downgrade to 720p broadcast standard.
So find the best deal you can and get it.
I was gravitating towards 32LE7 from Panasonic, but the black on that was not truly black, esp with lights off in the showroom.
Otherwise I would have picked that up.
Even the newer panasonic had this "issue". Now it could purely be settings issue, and nothing wrong with LCD.
Eventually due to service network It was a toss between Samsung and LG(Sony was 53,000 which, frankly speaking is overpriced).
Took LG because the price was less, and there was no image quality difference between the two.
For those touting sony as the best, here is a fact "Samsung makes panels for sony", so the sony model and samsung model are effectively very similar in technology!