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

[vasudeva]

Originally Posted by jassi

it says here ( VIERA TH-42PV70H | Plasma TV | Digital AV | Panasonic India ) that the 42pv70 up-converts SD to HD using a 1080p remastering processor. Is this any good??

I think the Pioneer 42 does this, but whether or not Pana 42PV80 does it, may not matter for a 42 inch screen.

[ST7677]

it says here ( VIERA TH-42PV70H | Plasma TV | Digital AV | Panasonic India ) that the 42pv70 up-converts SD to HD using a 1080p remastering processor. Is this any good??
was this feature eliminated in the 42pv80 ( VIERA TH-42PV80H | Plasma TV | Digital AV | Panasonic India ) , can't seem to find it for this model. Although the panny showroom guy did say pv80 does it, but theres no way you can turn it off. Was he fibbing !!?

All LCDs and Plasma TVs are fixed pixel TVs, and this is called their native resolution. Hence any input other than the one in Native resolution has to be scaled up or down (as the case may be) to fit into this native resolution. All flat panel TVs do this, however how well this is done depends on the image processing engine that TV uses.

Pioneers have excellent SD reproduction even on large screens. Panasonic is not that good in this area.
On LCD side Sony has the best image processor for SD (standard definition) signal, but not as good as Pioneer plasma.

[kpbhatt]

hi All,

I have been looking ( not very passionately) for buying an LCD tv -- had a look at this Philips 37TA2800 LCD TV model from Philips -- it has a price of 50K in Futurebazaar here is the link to the specs

http://www.futurebazaar.com/b2c_futu...mefrom=Product

-- question I have is , is it worth this price and are there any other better options in this price range available?

Alternately , I am also considering ( call that procastinating) for the past 1.5 yrs to buy this DLP projector of BenQ :

BenQ India - Consumer Electronics

so there is the beginning of my Kan-fusion -- please help me out

[jassi]

ok guys so I sold my sony 3lcd to my roomie and picked up the panny 42pv80h after much haggling for 71.9k (mrp is 75k). This from the panny koramangala shop. It is not available anywhere else as of now (including metro store). My office friend is still haggling for the pv8 for 65k (mrp 70k but dealer not going below 66.5k)
I will get the delivery tonight and have indicated the showroom guy to deliver a packed piece and not deliver the display piece (lets hope he does not)
Anyone who wants a good deal, can go in the next 2 days as it is month end for them and they want to close deals !!

[vvrchandra]

Originally Posted by jassi

ok guys so I sold my sony 3lcd to my roomie and picked up the panny 42pv80h after much haggling for 71.9k (mrp is 75k). .

Congrats jassi. I've looked at 42PV80H and I'm also considering it. But, unable to decide between Panasonic, Sony 40W400(around 115k) and Samsung 40"(~125k) series 6. Is the Samsung and SOny worth the extra money. I felt that Panasonic plasma is good(colors) when I watched a DVD comapared side by side to Sony. But, in Tatasky, felt that Sony has very bright appearance. Your thoughts please. Others any inputs. Thanks.

[jassi]

I went 4-5 times to the showroom today and carefully inspected the only panny 42pv80 plasma he had on display (secretly noticed it had a nice long smudge on its screen and some dust on one of the speakers) told the guy not to deliver me a showroom display piece and he said don't worry, won't!!

Finally at 8pm he delivered it and although not visible in the room lights, I noticed the smudge on the screen and the specks of dust on lower right speaker. He had cleaned it up well, but my distinguishing marks were still there This I noticed after the delivery guy left and I painfully connected my numerous paraphernalia of hdmi cables and what nots
I immediately went to the showroom (panny koramangala) and walked straight into the demo room and surprise surprise the pnly pv80 on display was replaced by a smaller lcd!! Stormed right up to the sales guy who by now was shell shocked as to what I was doing
Me : you delivered the demo piece to my house
sailu : no sir, how can you say that
me : then where did your demo pv80 go
sailu : we sold that too
me : wow, in half an hour !! you delivered it to me and i can prove there is a smudge on screen and it was there on your demo piece
sailu : he was a bit bewildered now and gestured his manager, sir he said not to send demo piece and I swear I didn't, but he still feels
mgr : uhh ahem
me : i told you guys not to !! how dare you (in front of some customers to create the effect) I still have my office colleague's plasma to buy, do you think i will now
sailu : sir if you still doubt us, i will tomorrow 8pm send a fresh piece to your house and open in front of you, if you feel ok then accept it
me : sure you do that, and please come down i will show you the smudge
sailu : (ashamed) ok sir i will come myself

I walked out, irritated at the jokers. After all that thing is running at the showroom day in day out, I'd rather run-in or burn-in my plasma my way not have a plasma which is already used for 500 odd hrs!!

Lets see if he delivers tomorrow. Told my office friend and he is now thinking if he wants to trust this guy.

So buyers beware of showroom pieces being delivered (unless you are one of those who want one) to you. Secretly check for distinguishing marks on the showroom pieces (don't tell the sales guy as they may erase them) and verify on delivery.

I am using the showroom piece for now and i must say the panny is spectacular !!

Happy Buying

[IMP]

Great thread! Thread needs to be renamed to Buying a flat panel tv.
@Jassi, i feel for you, such shops dont deserve to exist. Good thing that you found it out. Lets hope you get a brand new piece tomorrow.

This thread is a eye opener, i too was of the opinion that LCD is the way to go, but i am looking otherwise now. It seems that the best way to choose is to audition the models under consideration and as per the requirements/budget/size one needs to decide.

I just bought the Canon HV30 HD camcorder, and i currently do not have any means to see all the pixels in the recorded material all at once. Hence my interest in buying a flat panel display. What i need some comments on is that from a distance of around 9 feet, how much difference will it make on the level of video detail, if i get a full hd as opposed to a hd ready plat panel both of the size say 42"? (1920x1080 = 2.07 MP, 1366x768 = 1.05 MP) Will the difference be like twice the amount of video detail for the full hd? I am currently watching my recordings on a Benq DLP Projector and am quiet happy with the video quality, but i know i am looking at less that one fourth of the recorded pixels.

[vasudeva]

Originally Posted by jassi

I sailu : he was a bit bewildered now and gestured his manager, sir he said not to send demo piece and I swear I didn't, but he still feels

This is how companies lose sales. Panasonic had launched PV80 in mid-July 2008 but with little availability till now. Perhaps the dealer had only 1 piece. Anyway this is not done.

[shuvc]

Originally Posted by jassi

So buyers beware of showroom pieces being delivered (unless you are one of those who want one) to you. Secretly check for distinguishing marks on the showroom pieces (don't tell the sales guy as they may erase them) and verify on delivery.

Don't the TVs have serial numbers? Why not just ask to see the serial number of the demo piece. And cross check with the one delivered.

[jassi]

well one reason i don't do that is then it seems that I don't trust them. I generally don't want them to feel that way, so I do it in a way it is not obvious to them (like noting distinguishing marks). I prefer to tell them I don't want the showroom piece and if they still do then i know not to recommend them or take my business to them next time!!
But taking down the showroom TVs serial number is the best thing to do
Also if i do seem obvious taking down serial numbers, then he will send me a showroom piece from some of their other stores and I will never know. Atleast this way I caught him in an embarrassing situation and he will not dare to send me another showroom piece (he may still but yeah i now know the kind of person he is!!)

Originally Posted by shuvc

Don't the TVs have serial numbers? Why not just ask to see the serial number of the demo piece. And cross check with the one delivered.

[shuvc]

Originally Posted by jassi

Also if i do seem obvious taking down serial numbers, then he will send me a showroom piece from some of their other stores and I will never know.

Hmm .. didn't think of that option.

Come to think of it, these showrooms probably sell demo pieces more often than not. I've often seen blank 'show-spaces' where a TV has been removed/sold. This, even in brand shops, dealing with a single brand.

What are the chances then, that a multi-brand place like eZone, having 20-30 LCD/Plasmas on display, maintains fresh stock of all those models? More so, for the bigger more expensive pieces.

[jassi]

well it happened with me in the one and only panasonic brand shop in bangy - i am sure the mass market ezones, chromas do it without ever getting caught - this is the reason i prefer buying from a small store or a brand store who you can develop that trust with. Ezones, chromas have so many employees, you never can develop that trust level and the probability of gettin screwed is more!!

For the experts here - the panny india site says 42PV80H ( VIERA TH-42PV80H | Plasma TV | Digital AV | Panasonic India ) however the dealer sent me a 42PV80D. whats the difference between H & D and should i accept the D. I noticed this only on the box which said 42pv80 and that was followed by D written in sketch pen or marker!!

[aggressive_anush]

Damn. Thats an unfortunate experience with the Panasonic brandstore. I picked up my PV70 a few months ago from them because i thought they would be more reliable than the other multibrand stores.
Luckily for me though, i received a completely sealed piece, apart from incredibly fast delivery.

Also regarding the PV80D, could the D perhaps stand for a demo piece?

[jassi]

Anush - how do you say it was a completely sealed piece, mine was sealed too and anyone would accept it as a sealed piece and i almost did till i noticed my marker so yours hopefully is a pv70h and not pv70D - also if the D is demo then i should call panny sales guys direct and ask them what D is Contact Us | Panasonic India
I know the set is called px80 in UK and pv80h in apac, except aussie and nz where its called pv80anz

Originally Posted by aggressive_anush

Damn. Thats an unfortunate experience with the Panasonic brandstore. I picked up my PV70 a few months ago from them because i thought they would be more reliable than the other multibrand stores.
Luckily for me though, i received a completely sealed piece, apart from incredibly fast delivery.

Also regarding the PV80D, could the D perhaps stand for a demo piece?

edit - checked - both the panny sales numbers in above link are temporarily out of a service
google search reveals nothing panasonic 42pv80D - Google Search

[aggressive_anush]

Thats because i had the guy follow me home with the TV. Definitely sealed. Anyways. i think you should call up the Panasonic helpline and find out what the D is for. Even better would be if you could file a complaint against the dealer. Im sure there would be a mail id somewhere on the site.

You could also go into the service menu and see how many hours the tv was used. Im sure that there would be info available on the net regarding that. Maybe when they come to replace your tv you could ask them to go into the service menu to check