Help to decide LCD TV

[tay]

Hi all,need some advice on which brand and model for LCD TV. Looking for 40 to 42' LCD TV. Currently there are few choices:1. Sony 40S400 - because of brand confidence2. Panasonic LZ80 series - hard panel (so call child protection) but not yet see the performance3. Philips 42 inch 5403s - plan to get the sound bar so it matches with the TV!4. Toshiba RV500E - heard that it matches the spec of W series from Sonyand also sound system:1. Philips HTS8140 Ambisound - great look 2. Sony FXG99k - great sound.We watch local channel most of the time.My budget is around 6-7k max. Heard that Philips panel is made in China.Was nearly decided on Sony package as of the brand and 'quality', but after looking t philips sound bar, could not resist on the look and performance.Pls advice :rock:

 

[ehoe]

How about Sharp Aquos LCD TV's. Am using an older model and been happy with it. But for Sharp and I believe most of the major brands you need to get the higher end models to get the imported (i.e made in Japan) models which has much better QC. The entry level models are all locally made and QC is somewhat lacking compared to the imported models.

 

[Iqlima]

You looking for 1920x1080 native pixel on your LCD but you said "We watch local channel most of the time " .

Do you know what is the resolutions of our local channel even Astro ? If the incoming resolutions is low then why need such HD resolutions

 

[tay]

Well, I am not sure which one will be better over my choices that is why I am asking. I am no expert or player int his field and maybe iqlima can tell more.

ehoe, thanks for the reply. I heard that Philips's panel is from China while the rest from Malaysia. While Sharp, from the advertisement, is from Japan. True ah?

 

[anaksarawak]

Go for Sony as the LCD quality is much better, love the shapness and dynamic range

 

[tay]

Go for Sony as the LCD quality is much better, love the shapness and dynamic range

How's the 8ms response time? does it affect much? thx :top:

 

[Daredevil]

I'm been told that only Samsung, Sharp and LG manufacture OEM LCD panels for other brands. IMHO, since you're already planning to invest so much in a dumbbox, 42"+ Full HD would be the way to go as anything less would be obsolete by the time full HD broadcasting & max software choices are made available.:wink:

 

[thsaw99]

wei DD no need to sleep ka...

agreed with DD go for full HD....HD technology is improving fast in all aspect, its just a matter of time the broadcast will also be in HD, might not in 1080 just yet but even in 720 it will be awesome. my guess is the blue ray will become cheaper soon and with that you need full HD 1920x1080

 

[tay]

I'm been told that only Samsung, Sharp and LG manufacture OEM LCD panels for other brands. IMHO, since you're already planning to invest so much in a dumbbox, 42"+ Full HD would be the way to go as anything less would be obsolete by the time full HD broadcasting & max software choices are made available.:wink:

Did a search on internet, samsung and sony having a joint venture called s-lcd, LG and Philips having a JV, sharp, panasonic they manufacture their own lcd. Well, we all just want to get the max out from what we pay.:wink:

wei DD no need to sleep ka...

agreed with DD go for full HD....HD technology is improving fast in all aspect, its just a matter of time the broadcast will also be in HD, might not in 1080 just yet but even in 720 it will be awesome. my guess is the blue ray will become cheaper soon and with that you need full HD 1920x1080

Yeah, do agree on fast development in tech, and i do believe that blue ray will scale down the price soon

 

[ehoe]

ehoe, thanks for the reply. I heard that Philips's panel is from China while the rest from Malaysia. While Sharp, from the advertisement, is from Japan. True ah?

Yep its true BUT only for the higher end models from Sharp. The entry level models are still made in Malaysia!. Most manufacturers all now locally made or assembled, i heard Sharp is just one of the few left that have Japan made units.

Oh btw, since you mainly watch Astro be pre-warned that watching Astro on a LCD TV sucks big time in comparison to a CRT TV. It doesn't matter if you buy a Full HD LCD TV, the Astro will still look pathetic. This is due to the quality of the incoming feed from Astro. So just to set the expectation right, some people spend a ton of $$ buying a high end LCD TV to be disappointed with their Astro telecast.

I just hope they roll out higher quality or HD from Astro in the near future.....

 

[ICEMAN 68]

bro ...if you wanna get sony , then get those V400 series full HD .... am using that ....

As for astro , well it's still better than those HD ready .....

 

[tay]

Today when to 2 more shop and tested on the Singapore channel 5 & 8.

I have a chance to see Sony S and W series, Sharp Acquos LC42A65M, Philips 5403, LG (don't know what model), Samsung 5 and 6 series, and Panasonic Plasma.

All were line up side by side except sharp and philips were tested in different shop.

Sony's S and W series were both rich in colour, but not as sharp

Samsung's 5 & 6 series picture looks weird and colour looks dull

Suprisingly, LG has the best of colour and sharpness!

Panasonic Plasma PV8 draws my attention particular as it is nearest to our normal TV. too bad I don't like plasma because of reflective screen.

Go second round and a shop is having sharp and philips side by side.

Since the panel is made in 'japan', and also more expensive then philips by 500, i think the picture should be much better. but out of my suprise, philips do much better than sharp in term of sharpness and colour. Philips, i noticed, having a little big of ghost image and on and off, the screen is like adjusting it self like auto focus mode in our camera. According to the sales person, the antena is shared by aboout 8 tv, and reception is not so good.

Sharp is not as focus and a bit funny when picture is on the move from left to right. the side is having 'converging' effect, and i can't get use to it.all the above were tested on auto mode.

I think my choice will boil down into philips and to the other extreme, panasonic plasma.

Thanks for the comments from all kuya, erally appreciated.

Thanks

 

[ehoe]

The Philips LCD have a feature called Pixel Plus I believe and basically what this does is have double or more pixels than any other TV. As such resolution and sharpness is above the rest. I have a Philips CRT TV with Pixel Plus and its super duper sharp with the Pixel Plus turned on. Sometimes I even find it too sharp until pictures can look a little unreliastic but of course this only applies to certain shows. Some show you prefer a little softer image. Well the good thing is the Pixel Plus feature can be turn on and off as you like so its a plus point.

 

[tay]

The Philips LCD have a feature called Pixel Plus I believe and basically what this does is have double or more pixels than any other TV. As such resolution and sharpness is above the rest. I have a Philips CRT TV with Pixel Plus and its super duper sharp with the Pixel Plus turned on. Sometimes I even find it too sharp until pictures can look a little unreliastic but of course this only applies to certain shows. Some show you prefer a little softer image. Well the good thing is the Pixel Plus feature can be turn on and off as you like so its a plus point.

Yeah bro, totally agreed.

Now the next thing is to find out how many years for extended warrenty and service centre location in JB or else i am going to confirm with the purchase.:wink: