Ok, after weeks of visiting every electronic shop I could think of and after hours and hours of staring at every LCD TV on display I have finally bought my LCD TV.

It's not the Regza like lots of you recommended but the LG 37" LC2R. And it's the cheapest branded 37" LCD TV too. I got it for RM4,2xx/-. It is also the heaviest (34kg) against the other 37" most of which were around 25+kg. The LG panel really looks class and expensive quality.

I don't know why, but I didn't like the Toshiba Regza picture texture. The PQ looked too 2 dimensional and had the slightly grainy look.

On the other hand, the LG might not have the brightest or the best contrast in the shops, but it was perfect for home purposes. In fact I had to tone down most of the levels to below 50% at home or else it will be too bright and too much contrast.

The PQ had the CRT TV quality look and after connecting to the RF (I don't have Astro) and after proper adjustment of all the options and sharpness, noise reduction etc. , I was really impressed by the colours and perfect balance of brightness and contrast. (My area has good TV reception). The TV even comes with a built-in Booster for RF reception. (My fears and doubt before purchase vanished immediately).

There is almost no picture noise at 5-6ft viewing. The pic is smooth and sharp with good depth and I almost felt I was watching a good quality 100HZ CRT TV. (Don't expect Astro to have such smooth texture though)

Even at the shops, some LCD like the Sony were extremely sharp, but when it came to scenes like rivers and forests viewed from afar, you could see how much artificial sharpening they had. The water and trees looked like black square patches instead of real water and leaves.

The LG however was less sharp, but the dark areas had good details, where leaves looked like leaves and water ripples looked like what it should.

The LG has lots of features too like PIP and 1:1 pixel mapping for PC use, memory storage for the different settings under different modes etc..

The 2006 XD engine incorporating DCDi (Faroudja) is probably why it looks so smooth with very little jaggies.

I am currently playing DVDs using the Sony NS-76H (recommended by you guys) and things are looking really good.

Please excuse me if I go missing for a long while because I got a new toy to play with

Btw I don't recommend the LG 32" model selling at below RM3,000 because it really look inferior with only 800:1 contrast compared to my 37" which has 1,600:1 contrast.

This post has been edited by Ngto: Mar 25 2007, 10:51 PM

Funny my LG plasma 42" only weight 31.5kg.......I wonder why 37" LCD TV is heavier............??

This post has been edited by OCMAX: Mar 27 2007, 12:23 AM

I didn't want to buy it at first because of the heavy weight. Afraid my not too big TV stand with rollers would collapse under it's weight.

But in the end I sort of convinced myself that it's heavy because it has expensive parts inside, lol . After all, got 2 years warranty from LG

The thing I face before changing to plasma is because after 2 sets of LCD testing and compare with plasma.......Plasma screen is better for Astro and not bad on DVD using 1080i HDMI signal.

Yeap....I like the warranty too. Anyway here is just a little note that I gone through.

The 1st LCD I bought is philip and only work for 1 day then the next day the power supply just couldn't fire up the unit. My 2nd LCD is Samsung and tested for 2 days then surrender due to poor PQ on Astro. After this I have lose interest in LCD anymore, so when for plasma. SO far so good..........

This post has been edited by OCMAX: Mar 27 2007, 08:17 PM

Yea, I guess Plasma is still better than LCD at certain things

To me, plasma handles analog signal better and LCD handles digital signal better. Just my 0.2 bath.

Could anyone give some heads up which 32" is better?

Samsung R or Sharp B?or i should wait for another price drop or something better comes along?

This post has been edited by lucashii: Mar 28 2007, 01:48 PM

The price has just dropped, its going to be very hard time for the manufacturers, good for end users

I'm looking to get a system for my new home and need some helpful recommendations from the experts here.

For those using the Sony 76H, what sound system are you using with that player?

Also, does anyone know whether home theater systems like Samsung HT-XQ100 or Sony DAV-DZ720 have HDMI upscaling capabilities too?

anyone here own this unit?mind to share the experience

Pioneer DV-696AV-S DVD player

I'm currently deciding either
Samsung 32" R7
Sharp Aquos 32" BX6M

the thing is Samsung R7 has contrast ratio of 5000:1 while Sharp BX6M is only 1200:1.

so contrast ratio wise - SAMSUNG is the winner already, and last i checked it's still cheaper than the SHARP.

however not being the expert in thise field, I'd like to have more opinion from you guys.

1. i prefer vibrant colors
2. i prefer accurate colors (not sure if #1 and #2 mix well but i think they do)
3. price below ~RM 4k

so let's hear it guys!!!!!!

Goldfries, the R7's contrast ratio is measured as dynamic contrast so meaning, the figures are inflated, not the actual constrast ratio. The Sharp's contrast ratio is the practical figure but most of the time, manufacturers put inaccurate figures, sort of like a marketing gimmick. The accuracy of the figures are questionable. For Sony Bravia V series (the price has went down to RM4400 recently), the dynamic constrast ratio is 6000 but the actual constrast ratio is 1300. Seeing that the R7 and Bravia share the same panels, they should have the same specs, the only difference will be the processing engine used, Samsung is using DNIE and Sony is using their Wega technology. By comparison, the Bravia is better, it can display stronger blacks and no details are lost in dark scenes. The next model that comes close will be Toshiba Regza W66, that's worth mentioning too. The R7 is not that bad but for dark scenes, it will take a hit, trying playing XBOX 360's FEAR on it and you'll know what I mean if you compared it with Bravia and Regza. Unless of course, all the games you play or movies you watch are bright and vivid, the R7's shortcomings won't be felt. As for Sharp, I have no comments as none of my friends have it so I won't comment on it.

I get this question many times, so here goes

All other manufacturer uses the unit dynamic contrast for their contrast. As for Sharp, we use native contrast. To compare both unit, you need to times 5 the value of contrast to get dynamic contrast.

In this case, the dynamic contrast of Sharp will be 1200*5:1 -> 6000:1

Sharp's panel also has the best response time across the same league (1080i). The response time is 6ms while other brands are having 8-10ms.

Earlier, this model was discussed. Seems like many complains from overseas owners.

anyway just came back from another round of visitation to shops.

looks like i'm getting the Toshiba Regza W66.

What HDMI cable would go well with the Sony 76H?
Any recommendations for HDMI cable costing less than RM300 for 1.5m in length? What should one look out for?

Yes, don't be fool by those figures that manufacturers claimed esp dynamic contrast ratio. I have hard time explaining it to some ppl.

from my opinion...
i dont think tat u need to look into the detials as to specifications of the tv....it is jz a marketing strategy...

try to get ur own disc...go to some place to test for it...
better go to the places tat allowed for side by side comparison...

try panasonic....haha

Hey guys..
I don't usually keep in touch with AV equipment but there's one thats making waves.

Oppo DV-981HD

Official Oppo website:
http://www.oppodigital.com/dv981hd/dv981hd_index.html

Someone in a S'pore AV forum is enthusiastically doing a mass order.
Damn machine plays everything..including SACD, and I think I read it can be hot-rodded.