Now that my furniture has arrived, I really need to get myself a TV and I’m totally clueless as to what I should go for. I know my computer stuff and follow closely to electronics, but when it comes to TV’s, I am fairly clueless as to what is best.
I would like to get a wall mounted TV and it must definitely be an LCD. I am thinking at 32″ is probably the right size to go for, as I don’t want to spend too much over R6000.00 on it and everything bigger pushes the price way up.
This Samsung catches my eye quite a bit, I’m pretty sure it can be wall mounted. I need to take a look at the LG ones as well, as LG also do some great TV’s.
What about HD? High Definition television is the highest form of digital television. It has a 16:9 aspect ratio, which is the same as a movie theater screen. This is possibly HD’s biggest selling point. The other is the resolution. High definition is the best available picture on a television. It comes in three different flavors: 720p, 1080i and 1080p.
Does this mean I need to make sure the TV is HD ready? From what I understand, DSTV will be converting to HD in South Africa next year or something?
There’s a good collection of 32″ LCD’s on PriceCheck..
Is it worth wasting money on a telly with the quality of programs these days on SA Television? DSTV is not much better.
Agreed Rustig, but only to an extent. I work most of the time and don’t really watch many things on TV, but I would like to be able to catch the news from time to time and on weekends, being able to watch a DVD would be great. I understand that I could watch a DVD on my computer, but the aim is to get away from the computer. I also bought all this gorgeous furniture for the lounge, I would like to make use of it too :)
I do not know how people can watch movies on computers. You are suppose to relax, not strain yourself. I hardly listen to music on computers. We have 72 inch plasmas in the bedrooms where I work. They are cheaper but if I am not mistaken LCD are far better, more expensive and heavier.
I would prefer an LCD, as I want to get it wall mounted and all. I agree, watching a movie on a computer is very different to watching it on a TV!!
32″ is a good plan. It’s a nice size unless you’re sitting far away from the screen which I don’t think you would have a problem with.
Bear in mind that normal TV is going to look poor on the screen but once HD comes in properly (not one channel like DSTV is offering) it will be worth it. Samsung or Sony Bravia is the way to go. I think there’s a good special at Hifi-corp on those right now.
Ah nice one, I guess I’ll have to get myself down to the shops on the weekend and take a good look around :)
I got myself a 32″ LCD about a year ago and i’ve never looked back :) big screens really rock and LCD’s are deff worth it, and I didn’t get a super expensive one it was around R6k (HDMI), even though we dont have HD here yet theres no harm in getting it – DSTV is going HD soon afaik.
Thanks Mike, I was hoping to spend around that as well, so I think I might go for this Samsung that I blogged about, it looks sexy enough and is HD ready :)
yeh id go samsung its got a good contrast ratio. just make sure it comes with a wall-mount – they’re all wall-mountable and come with regular stands as far as i know, just a metal thing that it clips into, few raw bolts into the wall and all done.
Ye, I read somewhere that they all come with wall mounts, I guess the next thing is finding a company which will mount it for me, so that if it falls off, I have someone to blame :D
haha dont cross the line to being an INCAPABLE yuppy ;) it’s easy just drill the raw bolts in and hang it up, dont forget to use a spirit level. Raw bolts dont fall out of walls…
Bwhahaha *slap* Ye ye, true, I could do that, but what happens if I get my hands dirty? I got some raw bolts and a spirit level here actually, so shouldn’t be a problem!
Hmm are plasma’s not cheaper? Afaik they not that differnet quality wish. yes make sure the TV is HD ready :) Btw HD decoder will be released tomorrow- the 1st of August. R2500 and only the Olympics will be braodcasted, then a new MNet channel. That Samsung looks quite sext though, but I would have to go with Sony bravia I think :) Next you need to get the HUGE surround sound system :P
I have a 32″ LCD tv which is great (except for the 1 dead pixel). The tvs should all come with wall mounts and they are really easy to install yourself, dont go wasting money on getting someone else to install it…although I am still waiting for my bf to so do mine :)
I had a customer in my store yesterday telling me that eventhough some of my dvds are saying shot in HD they are infact not HD and so im a bit confused…
@James – Plasma’s are cheaper, but they are too big, unless I’ve misunderstood something! Sony Bravia’s do look incredible, and you’re spot on, big surround system is on the cards too! Nothing like surround sound when watching a wicked DVD!
@Kimmie – This is great, so happy to hear that everyone is saying that the 32″ is a good buy! I’ll mount the TV myself, I’ve actually done it before, I was just being a lazy “yuppy” as Mike pointed out so kindly ;)
Ye, this whole HD TV thing really does appear to cause confusion!
Plasma’s are not “big. Pretty much the same size as most lcds. Only diffs is that the life expectancy on LCD is longer than plasma. The difference in picture quality is however argument able. Plasmas transition between colours (light to dark etc) is very good were lcd tends to not be so fluent. You will get the odd millisecond where you can see a pitch black are almost switch to a lighter shade instead of an even transition.
I use to have a 19″ LG for my pc and replaced it with a 24″ HDCP. Quality difference is phenomenal and I am as happy as can be. Crisp, clean, clear. DVD’s etc are also great to watch on it. It even kicks the 42″ downstairs arse quality wise.
As to size… you know me…anything less than 42″ just aint on. :P
Haha, thanks Any. OK, so a plasma is also thin like an LCD? If that’s the case, I’ve totally missed something during my searching and research! If I could find a reputable shop online, I would just order the thing online, but feel a bit safer purchasing such an item offline..