Morons Guide To Televisions

[TigertheCat]

A good topic as my wife has expressed an interest in a new TV + Home Theatre so I may take her to Numchai on Saturday.

So,LED,LCD or Plasma ?

I have a 32 inch Samsung full HD LCD as a PC monitor so may go with a Samsung 42-46 as I am well pleased with the 32.

I will take my own DVD and try a few out and report

[garyh]

Try to see it with Blu Ray, a lot of them now will also play directly off a USB stick with an AVI file.

Edited August 12, 2010 by garyh

[Dirk_brijs]

I heard one of the systems might suffer running in hot non air-conditioned environments?

Is this true and why?

[garyh]

I heard one of the systems might suffer running in hot non air-conditioned environments?

Is this true and why?

My Samsung Plasma gets very hot as it has no fans. The manual even says don't let children touch the back as the may get burnt. I have added 2 12 CM computer fans to it and it runs warm now but far from hot like before. Running electronics hot reduces the life span.

[stgrhe]

I heard one of the systems might suffer running in hot non air-conditioned environments?

Is this true and why?

My Samsung Plasma gets very hot as it has no fans. The manual even says don't let children touch the back as the may get burnt. I have added 2 12 CM computer fans to it and it runs warm now but far from hot like before. Running electronics hot reduces the life span.

Especially the earlier generations of plasma TVs were running very hot. New models are much better as their power consumptions have dropped.

[PatLogan]

Gosh I wish I had read this topic a month ago when I was trying to find out which TV to buy.

I had a first look at what was available here end of June, then while I was in holiday in Europe, I spoke with several salesmen there and look into quite a lot of reviews. Back then I was really thinking about getting Samsung 50" Plasma. Was tempted by LED-LCD since it seems the blacks were more realistic, according to most of the things I head or read, and because the higher range of Samsung LED was said to have a motion rendition close to what you get on plasma. But those were priceys, and pricer than in Europe for the same model too!

So when we got back I went back to Power Mall at Emporium to get the Samsung Plasma I was eyeing at a bit less than 50K, when the sales guy mentioned about the promotion they had on the last LED-LCD 46" from Samsung they had (the one on display), a 46" 7000 series. The original price was close to 80K, and they were selling it for 56K...

So I went for it

Been using it for about 2 weeks now. And I am till now VERY happy with my choice. I had a bad buzzing noise the first 3 days, but I called the sales guy 9OK, my TW did tbh), who came to my home and check what happened. The issue was with the cheapo cable coming from True. He changed it for a gold plated component cable, and miracle, no more buzzing sound, and of course a way better picture quality! I am honestly surprised by the picture i can get from my True box, much better to what I was used in Malaysia or China. And I don't have True HD! He charged me 400THB for the cable and fr coming to my place (on a Sunday). I would really recommend this slaes guy to whoever wants to get a Samsung at Emporium

The 7 series was a perfect choice for me because i wanted to be able to directly read videos from by USB stick or HDD, and having the possibility to go to Youtube by adding a Wifi USB dongle was a plus for my teenage girls. I am yet to try this out, been too busy to go and buy one additional USB Wifi dongle (careful it is not included with the set, the sales guy was clear about it, but I had another one "forgetting" to mention it to me in another shop...

The only drawbacks I see:

• 1 year warranty only (but the add on for getting 3 years shop warranty is not that expensive)
• the sound quality (or more exactly, the sound power) ==> I believe if you are into movies, you really need to get a Home Cinema system with this TV

[stgrhe]

You got yourself a good deal PatLogan. The Samsung LED backlight 7,000 series are good sets.

[astral]

So when we got back I went back to Power Mall at Emporium to get the Samsung Plasma I was eyeing at a bit less than 50K, when the sales guy mentioned about the promotion they had on the last LED-LCD 46" from Samsung they had (the one on display), a 46" 7000 series. The original price was close to 80K, and they were selling it for 56K...

So I went for it

The issue was with the cheapo cable coming from True. He changed it for a gold plated component cable, and miracle, no more buzzing sound, and of course a way better picture quality! I am honestly surprised by the picture i can get from my True box, much better to what I was used in Malaysia or China.

When you spend that much money on a TV it does not pay to skimp on the cables.....

[neverdie]

neverdie I agree, this process will also take me properly 3 month to choose or maybe even more, but also I must admit that other improvements in our new house have higher priority.

I'm hearing you, Ive been so busy BIT like a one legged man in an arse kicking competition, anyway, my TV is on the backburner for the next couple of weeks, ive been too busy wheeling and dealing in other areas & wouldnt have time to watch the idiot box anyway. I keep popping in to read the updates here tho, interesting stuff.....one day I might even be a guru on tee vee's.

thanks to you lot

[Oberkommando]

After six weeks I must say I am extremely happy with my Sammy LED. If you feed it correctly with a decent source the picture can be flawless. It shows its weaknesses with poor source material, including Truevisions (even their less than perfect HD channel HBO HD) but that's not why I bought it or what it will be used for most of the time. The sport in HD looks superb though.

Just finished watching Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time in 1080p .MKV and it was absolutely stunning. Faultless the whole way through.

[neverdie]

I am still TV less which is a bit odd because when I created this thread I was running red hot for a box but with no idea what I was looking at.

I'm going away for a little while, so will probably get back to the job at hand when I get back. Watching DVD's on the notebook isnt all that good and some of them wont even play on it, which is a bit annoying. I want to get the right TV and Im pretty sure I will go for the Series 8 LED from Samsung but Im hoping the price will drop between now and when I get back.

Does anyone know when the Series 9 LED is available in Thailand? (I was told it would be September).

[PatLogan]

I am still TV less which is a bit odd because when I created this thread I was running red hot for a box but with no idea what I was looking at.

I'm going away for a little while, so will probably get back to the job at hand when I get back. Watching DVD's on the notebook isnt all that good and some of them wont even play on it, which is a bit annoying. I want to get the right TV and Im pretty sure I will go for the Series 8 LED from Samsung but Im hoping the price will drop between now and when I get back.

Does anyone know when the Series 9 LED is available in Thailand? (I was told it would be September).

I am pretty sure I saw them at Emporium and Paragorn (Power Malls). But they ain't cheap for sure! Tthe model I have seen, it was around 200 K THB...

The prices have not dropped yet from what I have seen though.

A warning to Samsung LED TV buyers: get the stickers out before the delivery people leaves. After I took out mine 2 days later (I was not there when they delivered), I discovered small cracks on 2 corners of the glass panel. It took us a lot of "persuasion" to get the people at the mall to recognize it was not normal, and Samsung came to fixt is 3 days ago. Teh Samsung guys told us it was because the delivery people did nto knwo hwo to carry properly the TV, and hence the cracks when moving it!

[neverdie]

Good advice there Pat.

Yes those Samsung 9 series LED's have been on display for a couple of months at Paragon etc but wernt available for sale (althought they were taking orders) nobody could tell me what price they were going to ask for them exactly.

I don't want one, but was hoping the price on the series 8 would drop a bit after the 9's release.

[Oberkommando]

You'll save a lot of money getting it from SRC.

http://www.src-homelcd.com/

[powderpuff]

Sansung are running their 11 day sale.

The 7000 series is stunning.

best feature of the LED's is that they run very cool.

Always a consideration in hot & sticky Thailand

[348GTS]

I was hoping some of the more knowledgeable people who have contributed to this excellent thread could advise me here, I am wanting to buy a new TV also, and have narrowed my search down to 2 final candidates. I dont watch a lot of TV and most of what I watch is downloaded from the internet (I dont have True/UBC or watch normal Thai TV for example) and I am away a lot so therefore I dont want to spend much money, hence my choices. As some of us well know, the sales people in the big stores, ie Emporium, Paragon etc actually work for the manufacturer not the store so the sales info is unfairly biased regardless of the facts. The models I am considering (both 42" Plasmas and both almost identical price) are:

PANASONIC TH-P42X20

LG 42PJ350

Now before we all go stampeding straight towards the Panasonic, let me assure you that I am a big Panasonic fan and normally they will be my first choice for anything TV related. However, on paper the LG "seems" to have it beaten on specs due to its 3,000,000-1 contrast ratio (compared to the Panasonic's 2,000,000-1), better styling (including smaller profile, swivel ability, and nice touch buttons) and crucially (for me) the LG has a USB input that can play DiVX video files and the Panasonic does not. I dont know if I can bear the thought of owning an LG and betraying my Panasonic brand loyalty, so I would be grateful if someone can objectively tell me if the LG is really better or not, and if not then WHY not? I understand that the Panasonic panel is made in Japan and the LG in Korea, but that both TV's are actually assembled here in Thailand. But apart from that I can not trust anything the sales people tell me as they are just being loyal to their corner of the sales floor.

Thanks in advance

[garyh]

I was hoping some of the more knowledgeable people who have contributed to this excellent thread could advise me here, I am wanting to buy a new TV also, and have narrowed my search down to 2 final candidates. I dont watch a lot of TV and most of what I watch is downloaded from the internet (I dont have True/UBC or watch normal Thai TV for example) and I am away a lot so therefore I dont want to spend much money, hence my choices. As some of us well know, the sales people in the big stores, ie Emporium, Paragon etc actually work for the manufacturer not the store so the sales info is unfairly biased regardless of the facts. The models I am considering (both 42" Plasmas and both almost identical price) are:

PANASONIC TH-P42X20

LG 42PJ350

Now before we all go stampeding straight towards the Panasonic, let me assure you that I am a big Panasonic fan and normally they will be my first choice for anything TV related. However, on paper the LG "seems" to have it beaten on specs due to its 3,000,000-1 contrast ratio (compared to the Panasonic's 2,000,000-1), better styling (including smaller profile, swivel ability, and nice touch buttons) and crucially (for me) the LG has a USB input that can play DiVX video files and the Panasonic does not. I dont know if I can bear the thought of owning an LG and betraying my Panasonic brand loyalty, so I would be grateful if someone can objectively tell me if the LG is really better or not, and if not then WHY not? I understand that the Panasonic panel is made in Japan and the LG in Korea, but that both TV's are actually assembled here in Thailand. But apart from that I can not trust anything the sales people tell me as they are just being loyal to their corner of the sales floor.

Thanks in advance

The Plasm I have is a couple years old Samsung series 9, the contrast is 15,000 to 1, I doubt you would see and difference to the 2 or 3 million to ones you have quoted. As for USB input there are plenty of DVD players that will do this for you, especially if you look at Blu Ray players. If you don't plan to connect your PC directly to the TV there are lots of Media devices that will network with you PC. This will allow you to play all your media anyway without having to bother transferring to a USB device.

If I where you I would buy the one that looks best to you, keep in mind viewing at home is different to under the bright lights in the store.

[craigt3365]

If you are looking to play downloaded movies, I highly recommend the Western Digital media player. I just got the "live" one. They are fantastic, and play everything I have thrown at it so far! If you rely on the TV, I am sure you will eventually run into a codec problem.

I am now networking it so I can reach out and grab the downloaded files, rather than mess around with external hard drives or USB thumb drives...but that seems to be a bit difficult for me! Oh, it can also play YouTube videos...and perhaps some music from the internet. But not 100% sure about that. Though it does play my downloaded music quite nicely from the attached hard drive.

[PatLogan]

If you are looking to play downloaded movies, I highly recommend the Western Digital media player. I just got the "live" one. They are fantastic, and play everything I have thrown at it so far! If you rely on the TV, I am sure you will eventually run into a codec problem.

And so might you with WD Live player. I have one sine end of last year, and it still can't play my videos shot by my Panasonic Lumix. I had to concert them.

My TV, though, can from her USB port.

Anybody wants a second hand WD Live in mint condition?

[craigt3365]

If you are looking to play downloaded movies, I highly recommend the Western Digital media player. I just got the "live" one. They are fantastic, and play everything I have thrown at it so far! If you rely on the TV, I am sure you will eventually run into a codec problem.

And so might you with WD Live player. I have one sine end of last year, and it still can't play my videos shot by my Panasonic Lumix. I had to concert them.

My TV, though, can from her USB port.

Anybody wants a second hand WD Live in mint condition?

You will give up all those features, which your TV can no do, just because you can't play your videos from you camera? I have a Lumix also...the videos are pretty poor quality. I'll take the WD for sure. I could use another one in my bedroom! Really!

[Buckeye911]

I was hoping some of the more knowledgeable people who have contributed to this excellent thread could advise me here, I am wanting to buy a new TV also, and have narrowed my search down to 2 final candidates. I dont watch a lot of TV and most of what I watch is downloaded from the internet (I dont have True/UBC or watch normal Thai TV for example) and I am away a lot so therefore I dont want to spend much money, hence my choices. As some of us well know, the sales people in the big stores, ie Emporium, Paragon etc actually work for the manufacturer not the store so the sales info is unfairly biased regardless of the facts. The models I am considering (both 42" Plasmas and both almost identical price) are:

PANASONIC TH-P42X20

LG 42PJ350

Now before we all go stampeding straight towards the Panasonic, let me assure you that I am a big Panasonic fan and normally they will be my first choice for anything TV related. However, on paper the LG "seems" to have it beaten on specs due to its 3,000,000-1 contrast ratio (compared to the Panasonic's 2,000,000-1), better styling (including smaller profile, swivel ability, and nice touch buttons) and crucially (for me) the LG has a USB input that can play DiVX video files and the Panasonic does not. I dont know if I can bear the thought of owning an LG and betraying my Panasonic brand loyalty, so I would be grateful if someone can objectively tell me if the LG is really better or not, and if not then WHY not? I understand that the Panasonic panel is made in Japan and the LG in Korea, but that both TV's are actually assembled here in Thailand. But apart from that I can not trust anything the sales people tell me as they are just being loyal to their corner of the sales floor.

Thanks in advance

Just a quick word concerning contrast ratios. Stated contrast ratios are totally meaningless! They are pretty much made up numbers since there is no industry standard for measuring them. Sometimes they are not even consistent within brands. Panasonics are well-known for having the deepest black levels of currently available plasma displays and thus the best "true" contrast ratios.

[PatLogan]

Well my wife is making heaps of videos of the kiddos on the cam and they are not bad at all. Especially when played on a Samsung LED tv

I guess it also depends of which Lumix you use

As for the WD, I need to see first if the teens want to play videos on their small tv. Will let u know.

But on my main tv I don't see what I can't do with it I can on the WD. Plus I can wireless-ly connect on my network with it.

[astral]

Don't let the lack of USB support put you off the TV of your choice.

I too have the Western Digital box and it is superb playing everything.

With HDMI and standard AV output, it can be used with any TV.

There has even been a sw update, which improved it.

I think the chance of a sw update for a TV are pretty minimal

[348GTS]

Thanks for the responses... I have been trying to avoid having to buy another DVD player just for the USB input, hence my interest in the LG. Although I love all my Panasonic products, it does irk me that Panasonic always seem to be behind the curve when it comes to these types of things. Even now, none of their DVD players have USB, only their Home Theatre systems seem to have them, the cheapest of which I have seen is THB5990. Their SD card input on their plasma only allows photo viewing, and I understand that the lower end Samsung plasmas have USB that do not support video playback, which is why Samsung didnt make into my short list. If I do get another DVD player, the Pioneers (THB3000) look good and have everything you could need. I have wanted a dedicated media player for some time and may go down this route ultimately, rather than buy another DVD player. There is a lot of talk here about the WD, but does anyone have any opinion on the Seagate one? All my HDD's are Seagate and I have a Freeagent drive which their media player is designed around to slot in.

Thanks to whoever it was who posted the link to http://www.src-homelcd.com/ , their prices seem for the most part to be less than the big stores. The LG42PJ650 (which is essentially the same TV as the LG42PJ350 I mentioned before) is 6000 baht more expensive in the big stores, but only 2000 more expensive here whichnow brings it into the game for me. I previously eliminated it from my list due to the cost. It is essentially the same TV as the LG I mentioned before, but it has a frameless design which looks sooooo good!! I was drooling over it in Paragon the other day but could not justify paying 6k extra to not have a frame. The price differences in this store are also making me consider going up to 50", but I am not sure it will fit in my apartment due to the room layout.

[craigt3365]

Well my wife is making heaps of videos of the kiddos on the cam and they are not bad at all. Especially when played on a Samsung LED tv

I guess it also depends of which Lumix you use

As for the WD, I need to see first if the teens want to play videos on their small tv. Will let u know.

But on my main tv I don't see what I can't do with it I can on the WD. Plus I can wireless-ly connect on my network with it.

For sure. I just have the digital camera. The vids are fairly poor...I am sure a cam does a MUCH better job!

Congrats on getting it hooked in via wireless. I have a hard wire going to the WD, but dang if I can get it to see my server! I can get the internet, but that's it. Still working on this!

Thanks for the responses... I have been trying to avoid having to buy another DVD player just for the USB input, hence my interest in the LG. Although I love all my Panasonic products, it does irk me that Panasonic always seem to be behind the curve when it comes to these types of things. Even now, none of their DVD players have USB, only their Home Theatre systems seem to have them, the cheapest of which I have seen is THB5990. Their SD card input on their plasma only allows photo viewing, and I understand that the lower end Samsung plasmas have USB that do not support video playback, which is why Samsung didnt make into my short list. If I do get another DVD player, the Pioneers (THB3000) look good and have everything you could need. I have wanted a dedicated media player for some time and may go down this route ultimately, rather than buy another DVD player. There is a lot of talk here about the WD, but does anyone have any opinion on the Seagate one? All my HDD's are Seagate and I have a Freeagent drive which their media player is designed around to slot in.

I love that WD device. I pretty much only watch downloaded content. I only watch CNN or BBC on True. Wifey watches a bunch of stuff on True. So.....the WD is great. I did a bit of research and, IMHO, the WD was on top. Go to cnet.com or something like that to see the reviews. Whatever you get, it will be better than dealing with USB thumb drives....my friend has his 500MB passport connected to it. No power needed, just a USB cable...sweet.

[Oberkommando]

Don't let the lack of USB support put you off the TV of your choice.

I too have the Western Digital box and it is superb playing everything.

With HDMI and standard AV output, it can be used with any TV.

There has even been a sw update, which improved it.

I think the chance of a sw update for a TV are pretty minimal

Got rid of my WD TV and bought an HDi Dune Base 3.0

Far superior machine and watching .mkv files the difference is instantly noticeable; smoother and better PQ.

I found my WD TV had issues over some audio codecs and started having regular issues with Blu-Ray rips too so it was time to get rid.

Had a good nine months out of it though but it is an outdated piece of kit now, despite firmware updates.

My HDi plays all formats and codecs including full Blu-Ray ISOs and Blu-Rays from an external BD-ROM USB drive. It can also be properly networked and play all my media over a LAN.

You can get them in Panthip and there's two new models out; the HDi Dune Pro and the HDi Dune Max so it might be worth hanging off until they become available.

[craigt3365]

Don't let the lack of USB support put you off the TV of your choice.

I too have the Western Digital box and it is superb playing everything.

With HDMI and standard AV output, it can be used with any TV.

There has even been a sw update, which improved it.

I think the chance of a sw update for a TV are pretty minimal

Got rid of my WD TV and bought an HDi Dune Base 3.0

Far superior machine and watching .mkv files the difference is instantly noticeable; smoother and better PQ.

I found my WD TV had issues over some audio codecs and started having regular issues with Blu-Ray rips too so it was time to get rid.

Had a good nine months out of it though but it is an outdated piece of kit now, despite firmware updates.

My HDi plays all formats and codecs including full Blu-Ray ISOs and Blu-Rays from an external BD-ROM USB drive. It can also be properly networked and play all my media over a LAN.

You can get them in Panthip and there's two new models out; the HDi Dune Pro and the HDi Dune Max so it might be worth hanging off until they become available.

Interesting...does seem like a good device. It is also a BR DVD player, right? Cnet had the following to say:

The HDI Dune BD Prime 3.0 is an excellent video streamer and CD player, but unfortunately it doesn't quite pass muster as a Blu-ray player. Blu-ray playback not the best • Flaky at times.

I guess as long as you just do rips, you are OK? It is also much more expensive, at about $350USD+. I got my WD for a tad over $100. I'm sure some of us don't really want a DVD player also...

My WD has played everything I have thrown at it. And the PQ is pretty darn good...

[Oberkommando]

I have several Blu-ray ISOs on HDD and they look just as good played on the Dune as original Blu-rays do played through my Oppo BD-83.

There is a marked improvement in normal .mkv playback because the Dune has a far superior Sigma chipset to the WD TV.

Some HDi models only support USB or hard drive with a 3.5" bay, some have an integrated Blu-ray drive and others have both. I have the HDi Dune Base 3.0, which has the 3.5" hard drive bay to hot swap TB drives.

Like I said, I was initially happy with my WD but there was an increasing amount of stuff being released it couldn't play back properly so I bought an HDi. It was a toss up between that and the Popcorn Hour C-200.

Never regretted it, in fact I would go so far to say it is an essential addition to any home theatre.

HDi Dune Media Players

The Dune also supports Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio through HDMi, either decoded or PCM.

Edited September 5, 2010 by Oberkommando

[stgrhe]

Buyers of flat TVs for use in Home Theatre system are recommended to read this thread first before buying

[naidraw66]

Buyers of flat TVs for use in Home Theatre system are recommended to read this thread first before buying

http://www.thaivisa....92#entry3874692

Yes quite confusing at first. First of all I have to point out that this is only a concern for those of you who have chosen to go the 3D TV route, and even then it will only be a concern if you wish to intergrate a 3D TV into an existing home theater system which will most likely be equipped with HDMI 1.3a. So to cut a long and complicated story short HDMI 1.3a does not support 3D. So what does this mean . . . . simply if you buy a 3D TV, make sure that your AV amp (if you have one) is also HDMI 1.4a equipped otherwise you will be very disappointed! At the time of writing, and especially here in Thailand there isn't much of a choice in 1.4a equipped AV amplifiers, but I'm sure this will improve in time . . . . !

For those of you who buy a 3D TV, and connect your Blu Ray player directly to the TV ( No AV amp, TV used for sound) then you wont have a problem as both units will be HDMI 1.4a equipped.

Personally I find this technology to be at its infant stage and the wise decision would be to hold back a while and see how the technology evolves, as I am sure it will evolve relatively quickly over the next year or so?