42" - 50" TV

[Woody1]

Although I already know the usual outlets, I was wondering if anyone on here had any recommendations regarding purchasing a new, "all singing, all dancing" TV, both in terms of quality and price (perhaps there special are offers out there that I haven't seen!).

Any recommendations would be appreciated and considered. I'll also revert with what I end up with!

Thanks in advance folks!

[guzzi850m2]

I have a HD 50" Samsung Plasma non smart TV, I think I paid 25k baht. Can play anything from a hard drive via the usb port.

Excellent picture but have back glare in day light so curtains have to be pulled during day time.

Very happy with it.

[ThaiBob]

If you want the latest technology and the best picture and the greatest energy efficiency then you will want to purchase an LED based LCD HDTV. This type TV has surpassed plasma and traditional LCD Tvs. They come at a higher price though and are available everywhere from the major manufacturers.

[jbrain]

It all depends what your priorities are. I

f you want best picture for the best price, then plasma is the way to go, as there is nothing yet that has surpassed plasma in that subject.

Of course other designs like lcd or led have other benefits, which plasma doesn't have.

[Woody1]

Thanks for all the technical / expertise and advise guys, much appreciated!!! Do any of you have any recent dealings, or been around some of the electrical outlets, any recommendations regarding, TV size, brand, retailer, etc, including perhaps your own rating of what you have bought would be appreciated!!

[JaiLai]

It all depends what your priorities are. I

f you want best picture for the best price, then plasma is the way to go, as there is nothing yet that has surpassed plasma in that subject.

Of course other designs like lcd or led have other benefits, which plasma doesn't have.

What other benifits do LCD / LED have that Plasma does not? When you start getting up to bigger sizes Plasmas are considerably cheaper.

Thanks.

[jbrain]

It all depends what your priorities are. I

f you want best picture for the best price, then plasma is the way to go, as there is nothing yet that has surpassed plasma in that subject.

Of course other designs like lcd or led have other benefits, which plasma doesn't have.

What other benifits do LCD / LED have that Plasma does not? When you start getting up to bigger sizes Plasmas are considerably cheaper.

Thanks.

There are not much benefits, and in my opinion the benefits don't weigh up against the premium picture quality of plama, but led/lcd will run a cooler and a bit more energy efficient however these days plasmas are a lot more energy saving compared to a few years ago.

Another benefit of led/lcd is that there is no risk of picture burn in.

And if you want 3D, LG led has the version with glasses that don't require a battery.

But I have to add that 3D is a waste of money currently as there are not enough movies, and I can know as I have two 3D screens.

Edit to add : Also forget about smart tv as DLNA doesn't work properly. I have networked tv's because I have a server with a lot of full hd movies, but the picture over DLNA is a problem.

Had to buy networked mediatanks for each tv, which do their job perfect, and could have saved money on the network function

Edited July 31, 2013 by jbrain

[JaiLai]

It all depends what your priorities are. I

f you want best picture for the best price, then plasma is the way to go, as there is nothing yet that has surpassed plasma in that subject.

Of course other designs like lcd or led have other benefits, which plasma doesn't have.

What other benifits do LCD / LED have that Plasma does not? When you start getting up to bigger sizes Plasmas are considerably cheaper.

Thanks.

There are not much benefits, and in my opinion the benefits don't weigh up against the premium picture quality of plama, but led/lcd will run a cooler and a bit more energy efficient however these days plasmas are a lot more energy saving compared to a few years ago.

Another benefit of led/lcd is that there is no risk of picture burn in.

And if you want 3D, LG led has the version with glasses that don't require a battery.

But I have to add that 3D is a waste of money currently as there are not enough movies, and I can know as I have two 3D screens.

Edit to add : Also forget about smart tv as DLNA doesn't work properly. I have networked tv's because I have a server with a lot of full hd movies, but the picture over DLNA is a problem.

Had to buy networked mediatanks for each tv, which do their job perfect, and could have saved money on the network function

So if for example i'm just watching things of a had drive it's better to save a few pennies and buy Plasma?

Thanks.

[anon8]

So if for example i'm just watching things of a had drive it's better to save a few pennies and buy Plasma?

Thanks.

nothing to do with saving pennies, top plasma display is better than lcd, be it led or not.

[JaiLai]

So if for example i'm just watching things of a had drive it's better to save a few pennies and buy Plasma?

Thanks.

nothing to do with saving pennies, top plasma display is better than lcd, be it led or not.

ok thanks.

[LennyW]

Numchai on Sukhumvit has a great selection of TV's, some great discounts too.

[guzzi850m2]

Numchai on Sukhumvit has a great selection of TV's, some great discounts too.

Yes agreed, Numchai are pretty good, don't forget they have a small outlet in Naklua town.

Yes Plasma's gives a very good picture with stunning color's at an affordable price.

[chris2004]

I think it's worth paying a bit more to get an LED TV. I have seen the LG 55LM6200 for around 40,000 baht. It's a 55 in LED 3D smart tv with very good specs. I think Power Buy at the top of Pattaya Klang are giving even better deals sub 40,000.

[ThaiBob]

I loved my plasma but LED is now the clear winner.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2387377,00.asp

Cost is another thing.

[OMGImInPattaya]

So if for example i'm just watching things of a had drive it's better to save a few pennies and buy Plasma?

Thanks.

nothing to do with saving pennies, top plasma display is better than lcd, be it led or not.

Yep, if you want the best picture, especially for movies or fast moving video, e.g., sports, there is no comparison...plasma is the way to go. That basically leaves you with Panasonic, Samsung, and LG. the Korean brands are crap compared to Japanese ones and Panasonic' s plasma TVs set the standard. The S60 and ST60s are very good plasmas...not panos best but very very good. If you want all the bells and whistles the ST is your model; if you don't need all he "smart" features, the S is fine. These 60 inch models are around 40-60k baht.

[jbrain]

I loved my plasma but LED is now the clear winner.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2387377,00.asp

Cost is another thing.

The LED's mentioned in the article are Backlit LED which I haven't seen in Thailand yet, and if they are here these are panels way over 100.000 Baht.

The LED you see around here ate 40-50.000 Baht are Edgelit LCD/LED and a complete different animal. In fact they are upgraded lcd's

[Guderian]

I was in Home Works on Sukhumvit (next to Big C in South Pattaya) a few days back and they had a clearance sale on TV's. I noticed a 50'' or 55'' Sony LED smart TV going for 33K Baht - that sounded like a bargain. There were other offers on teh likes of Samsung and LG but as I don't need another TV I didn't look. If the sale is still on it's worth checking it out.

[jbrain]

I was in Home Works on Sukhumvit (next to Big C in South Pattaya) a few days back and they had a clearance sale on TV's. I noticed a 50'' or 55'' Sony LED smart TV going for 33K Baht - that sounded like a bargain. There were other offers on teh likes of Samsung and LG but as I don't need another TV I didn't look. If the sale is still on it's worth checking it out.

Homeworks is a powerbuy and they always have a few tv's in clearance, but you should take a look at each powerbuy branch in Pattaya as they have different models in clearance at different branches.

[i claudius]

I usually go to Numchai on Sukhumvit and have done for years ,called in the other day ,good as usuall ,but tried powerbuy ,the new one next door to Foodland and they have a great sale on ,we had already decided on a Samsung and got a led 40inch with a good discount (there were larger sets discounted as well) picture is great ,

ps ,one of the reasons we chose Samsung is they have a very good service dept here in Pattaya

Edited August 1, 2013 by i claudius

[OMGImInPattaya]

I usually go to Numchai on Sukhumvit and have done for years ,called in the other day ,good as usuall ,but tried powerbuy ,the new one next door to Foodland and they have a great sale on ,we had already decided on a Samsung and got a led 40inch with a good discount (there were larger sets discounted as well) picture is great ,

ps ,one of the reasons we chose Samsung is they have a very good service dept here in Pattaya

And you will need it! My friend ownes a dozen rental condos and fitted me out with Samsung LCD TVs and front loading washers. Has had to take several of both of them in for expensive repairs over the years. My own 8 year old Sony LCD tv and my Pano plasma tv have never had a problem and are still going strong.

Korean brand appliances and electronics are cheap because they are cheaply made...inferior components, manufacturing, and technology as well. You get what you pay for.

Edited August 1, 2013 by OMGImInPattaya

[ThaiBob]

I usually go to Numchai on Sukhumvit and have done for years ,called in the other day ,good as usuall ,but tried powerbuy ,the new one next door to Foodland and they have a great sale on ,we had already decided on a Samsung and got a led 40inch with a good discount (there were larger sets discounted as well) picture is great ,

ps ,one of the reasons we chose Samsung is they have a very good service dept here in Pattaya

I think you have made a good choice. LG, Sharp, Panasonic, Pioneer are all competitive. Sony primarily because of years of the strong yen is on hard times and if you can believe Bloomberg may pull out of TV market.

[JSixpack]

Yep, if you want the best picture, especially for movies or fast moving video, e.g., sports, there is no comparison...plasma is the way to go. That basically leaves you with Panasonic, Samsung, and LG.

I wish I could agree with this and I tried to. But I compared the pictures of plasma vs LEDs just today and the LEDs looked sharper and brighter. I looked at both LG and Panasonic plasmas.

I think people wanting to buy should compare for themselves.

[anon8]

I wish I could agree with this and I tried to. But I compared the pictures of plasma vs LEDs just today and the LEDs looked sharper and brighter. I looked at both LG and Panasonic plasmas.

I think people wanting to buy should compare for themselves.

lcd using LED have contrast jacked up to max, on the first glance the bright image seems more attractive than 'boring' image of Plasma display, but plasma display is more accurate than than any current lcd. Especially in show rooms, where room light is very very bright, much brighter than in normal living room in your home. in very brightly lit rooms LED lcd has advantage, say in airports. When watching movie at home, Plasma is far more film like than lcd.

[jbrain]

Yep, if you want the best picture, especially for movies or fast moving video, e.g., sports, there is no comparison...plasma is the way to go. That basically leaves you with Panasonic, Samsung, and LG.

I wish I could agree with this and I tried to. But I compared the pictures of plasma vs LEDs just today and the LEDs looked sharper and brighter. I looked at both LG and Panasonic plasmas.

I think people wanting to buy should compare for themselves.

If you want to compare, I suggest you load a movie from your own collection on a usb stick and ask them to play on the panels you want to compare.

Because what they play in the stores is sometimes manipulated without you knowing e.g. the tv they want to sell the most will get the best available source and connections, while the one next to it may have a lower quality hdmi cable or something. It is even a known fact that some movies are edited by the manufaturer to give the best viewing result on a certain model of their collection.

With a movie of your own on a USB stick , you wil compare apples with apples.

[Dirk_brijs]

Yep, if you want the best picture, especially for movies or fast moving video, e.g., sports, there is no comparison...plasma is the way to go. That basically leaves you with Panasonic, Samsung, and LG.

I wish I could agree with this and I tried to. But I compared the pictures of plasma vs LEDs just today and the LEDs looked sharper and brighter. I looked at both LG and Panasonic plasmas.

I think people wanting to buy should compare for themselves.

If you want to compare, I suggest you load a movie from your own collection on a usb stick and ask them to play on the panels you want to compare.

Because what they play in the stores is sometimes manipulated without you knowing e.g. the tv they want to sell the most will get the best available source and connections, while the one next to it may have a lower quality hdmi cable or something. It is even a known fact that some movies are edited by the manufaturer to give the best viewing result on a certain model of their collection.

With a movie of your own on a USB stick , you wil compare apples with apples.

I even noticed they screw up the internal settings (color, etc..) to project certain models much better then others.

All depends on which model and price gives them the most points to collect their bonus at the end of the month I guess.

Just check for yourself and ask the sales guys to reset all settings to default before you compare.

You will see suddenly most sales guys run away when you ask them that.

[guzzi850m2]

Yep, if you want the best picture, especially for movies or fast moving video, e.g., sports, there is no comparison...plasma is the way to go. That basically leaves you with Panasonic, Samsung, and LG.

I wish I could agree with this and I tried to. But I compared the pictures of plasma vs LEDs just today and the LEDs looked sharper and brighter. I looked at both LG and Panasonic plasmas.

I think people wanting to buy should compare for themselves.

If you want to compare, I suggest you load a movie from your own collection on a usb stick and ask them to play on the panels you want to compare.

Because what they play in the stores is sometimes manipulated without you knowing e.g. the tv they want to sell the most will get the best available source and connections, while the one next to it may have a lower quality hdmi cable or something. It is even a known fact that some movies are edited by the manufaturer to give the best viewing result on a certain model of their collection.

With a movie of your own on a USB stick , you wil compare apples with apples.

I even noticed they screw up the internal settings (color, etc..) to project certain models much better then others.

All depends on which model and price gives them the most points to collect their bonus at the end of the month I guess.

Just check for yourself and ask the sales guys to reset all settings to default before you compare.

You will see suddenly most sales guys run away when you ask them that.

You and jbrain are probably on to something here, when I last shopped for a TV (Samsung 50" HD Plasma) I was looking around and had set my budget to app 50k baht and the sales man in Monchai tried hard to sell me a 46" or 55" led Samsung to app. 55-60k baht and told me that plasma was no good. I didn't buy anything that day but asked questions here in Thaivisa in the TV forums. I returned next day armed with a memory stick with a HD movie on it and went straight to the 50" plasma I had set my sight on and I could fell the sales man "sort of gave up" and said sure I can have a look. I decided for the plasma and saved myself over 25k baht and so far so good.

When you only spend 25k baht on your major TV you can better justify to upgrade 2 years down the road, TV are getting better every year and soon proper 3D and super HD will be within reach. No way I gonna spend 100k baht on top of the line Samsung 55", if I did I would have to keep it min 5 years which is a long time when talking TV's and selling a TV second hand is money straight out of the window, you loose big time.

[ThaiBob]

Numchai website is underconstruction but Powerbuy has a usefull website by Thai standards. Prices, specs, features and filters for searching. Check it out.

[OMGImInPattaya]

I wish I could agree with this and I tried to. But I compared the pictures of plasma vs LEDs just today and the LEDs looked sharper and brighter. I looked at both LG and Panasonic plasmas.

I think people wanting to buy should compare for themselves.

lcd using LED have contrast jacked up to max, on the first glance the bright image seems more attractive than 'boring' image of Plasma display, but plasma display is more accurate than than any current lcd. Especially in show rooms, where room light is very very bright, much brighter than in normal living room in your home. in very brightly lit rooms LED lcd has advantage, say in airports. When watching movie at home, Plasma is far more film like than lcd.

Exactly...what a dork...judging a TV by how "bright" it looks in the showroom. Set any TV to its "vivid" mode and sure it will look very bright, especially an LCD TV...show about getting the staff to turn out all the lights and setting the TV to "cinema" and see which one looks better; see which one has deeper colors and darker black levels.

It's sorta a shame how inferior LCD technology has come to dominate TVs, however, sorta like vhs vs. Betamax back in the day. But that's how most dweebs judge a TV..."look honey how 'bright' that TV is...it must be a good one...let's but that one" LOLOLOL

[PoolHustler]

Went to Numchai yesterday

Some prices

LG 42" LN5710 Smart TV 16,990 b LED

LG 50" PN4500 16,990 b Plasma

[i claudius]

I usually go to Numchai on Sukhumvit and have done for years ,called in the other day ,good as usuall ,but tried powerbuy ,the new one next door to Foodland and they have a great sale on ,we had already decided on a Samsung and got a led 40inch with a good discount (there were larger sets discounted as well) picture is great ,

ps ,one of the reasons we chose Samsung is they have a very good service dept here in Pattaya

And you will need it! My friend ownes a dozen rental condos and fitted me out with Samsung LCD TVs and front loading washers. Has had to take several of both of them in for expensive repairs over the years. My own 8 year old Sony LCD tv and my Pano plasma tv have never had a problem and are still going strong.

Korean brand appliances and electronics are cheap because they are cheaply made...inferior components, manufacturing, and technology as well. You get what you pay for.

In fact the salesman ,said that Sony are not as good these days ,basically told the wife they were living on past glory or something like that ,as for samsung ,i have purchased their stuff for years and have always found it excellent ,as is their service depts ,both here in Pattaya and in England .

We now have the set up and running and are using our 5 year old samsung surround sound system with it ,picture is fantastic ,i am also running an apple I. TV box through it (not available here in Thailand) which allows me to run the computer through it wirelessly(is that a word?)

Edited August 2, 2013 by i claudius