The LED Conundrum
Planning to buy an LED given the Diwali offers that are available at this time of year. Requirements from TV are:
1) Good TV with decent picture and sound quality (do not want to invest into a sound bar or any other sound equipment)
2) Should be able to view content from mobile (over wifi) & laptop (connect via HDMI)
3) If support for .mp4 & .flv is available out of the box to play from a USB / HDD even better
4) Full HD is good enough for me. Currently am having a SD set top box from Fastway so that should connect to LED till we upgrade to HD Set top box
5) Plan to go for a brand which offers extended warranty as well for peace of mind, so the longer the warranty the better it would be, all other things being equal
So with these in mind went to Sony showroom and looked at options available. Am currently having a Samsung TV (non LED thick fat ones) with not much knowledge of LED TVs. Told the showroom guy that am looking for a 40~43 inch Full HD TV, no smart features / 3D needed. He started showing me a model but when I mentioned the ability to stream content from mobile devices or view photos / videos from mobile onto TV he said that would not work without a smart TV. So back to smart TV range we were unfortunately.
Looked at 752D series (~ INR 52K for 43”, internet TV, Photo Frame mode, FM Radio, screen mirroring) & W800D series (~ INR 59K for 43”, Android TV) & lastly W950D series (top of the line, integrated with a camera for Skype, Triluminos Display, sub-woofer as part of stand, ~INR 71K). I felt that 71K was a bit too much for a 43” and it offered a Skype camera which was not needed, the woofer bit was tempting though. So kinda ruled it out. Am confused between the basic internet TV (W752D series) versus android TV (W800D series).
Post the visit happened to talk to a friend and we were discussing how many HDMI ports are actually needed. He said that to avoid the hassle of connecting every time we generally put connections for needs like one for HD set top box (in future for me), one for laptop if we connect often and one for a gaming console if at all (I do not play games so not applicable). Then when I mentioned the mobile streaming and need for Smart TV he mentioned about Chromecast and how it could also achieve similar results (see my level of ignorance about things). So discussion went back to buying a basic non-smart FULL HD TV and add Chromecast to it to make it smarter but that causes a problem since one HDMI is used by Chromecast and one by set top box leaving none for laptop (or every time laptop has to connect, remove Chromecast and connect laptop to it).
Have not looked at Samsung / LG. Had a brief look at Panasonic also and the new range which is being advertised. Need help on following points
1) Which brand to consider. Am inclined towards Sony at the moment and there was a video few pages back talking about how Sony has good color reproduction, if not best
2) How does Internet TV (752D) differ from Android TV (W800D series)? To me they appear to be same except that in case of Android TV I can install some more applications from playstore and in case of Internet TV it is enabled to connect to internet via in-built wifi and has few pre-installed applications only. Anything else?
3) Sony is offering 2 year warranty as standard and 2 additional years could be purchased. Given some of the instances of TV going kaput, am inclined to take the extended warranty. Am told that it covers panel only from 2nd year onwards and is that good enough?
4) Currently I plan to connect my Fastway SD set top box to it and am told that it can connect to these LEDs as well (needs 3 wires, black, red and yellow) to connect. Are there any problems in connecting?
5) There was some discussion on making a regular TV a smrt TV via Chromecast and the verdict seemed split down the middle. Any further thoughts on it?
Anything else which should be considered while buying an LED?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ramsagar I've recently gifted myself SONY W800D 50" for 80K. I had to replace my 10y old 29" SAMSUNG CRT tv. |
Any feedback around this would be great Ramsagar. How is your experience with the Sony?
Quote:
Originally Posted by diyguy From recent personal experience Sony has a better service capability for the consumer, cheaper repairs. I have two Sony LCDs and one LED LG. My 46" Sony needed repairs for a red screen and the LG had no video. LG refused to diagnose the board and flatly asked me to replace the board. Cost me 8k. Sony replaced a chip and cost me 2200. I will probably never buy any tv brand other than a Sony. |
Thanks for this. Re-affirms my confidence in Sony. No disrespect to other brands, just a personal preference.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dark.knight Honestly, in terms of picture quality, component quality and calibration/features.. there is no contest, Sony kicks the Panasonic to the kerb like a champ. Sony is simply too big to be dethroned by any brand, Samsung, LG or Panasonic.. they all tried and failed - quality wise. |
Thanks for this input dark.knight.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bluevolt So finally zeroed in for this model
Sony it is finally - Bravia 40" KVL562D Series.
Got it for 47K from offline store - Mittal Electronics, Pitampura, Delhi.
This TV has all the features I was looking for - Smart TV facility, Built in woofer, power surge protector, 2016 introduced model.
I will share my detailed feedback once I start using it after the installation. |
@bluevolt - please share your feedback on this model as well. The additional points you mentioned about power surge protector (X Protection Pro), do they really make a difference or are marketing gimmick?
Also, this is an internet TV so in terms of apps (youtube, netflix etc.) you have what comes pre-loaded or have you been able to install some more apps as well (difference between android n internet TV)?
Any inputs / opinions would be greatly appreciated.
Happy Dhanteras to all
Cheers,
S