What is the best value for money for 42 " inch LCD TV (with Full HD) ?

so far here is wat I gathered

1) Panasonic LCD 42" approx. RM3,500

2) Toshiba LCD 42" approx. RM3,100


any other recommendations ????

Requirements :-
1) 60% Astro
2) 40% DVD (pirated, normal, and maybe in future Blue ray)




This post has been edited by HW-Racer: Apr 14 2009, 10:05 PM

full lcd or full HD? ehehe

Full HD tu ...

cheap thing doesn't come good...at first for current thread...so cheap full HD ??

I use the word Value for Money.... (Not cheap !!!)...

I want the best money can buy !

panny 42LZ80 42" FullHD ~ rm3k cod not bad for the money.

not much choices...

Mid-range: panasonic, toshiba, samsung ?

High pricer: Sony, Sharp

Which model?

toshiba 42RV500E Full HD LCD (RM3600)

vs

panasonic 42LZ80MK Full HD (RM3300)

vs

sony 42 S400 full HD (RM3xxx)



which one will u choose ?



This post has been edited by HW-Racer: Apr 14 2009, 11:09 PM

Panasonic !

If vs with Sharp then Sharp over Panny

Panasonic!

Having a panasonic n sharp at home,still prefer panasonic than sharp.

one day side by side at shop compare panny & sharp (65M), feel sharp not worth for the money (>Rm4k), but the 42LZ80 only at RM3100 that time.
the 42rv500e a bit "blur" or not 'sharp' when compare to panny & sharp, when playing the same source video signal. can go to best denki to view them...

I bought my Bravia V 40" from Sony Style during end of yr promo. Not bad la... got 300 cash rebate then another 300 style points to redeem. So it was about 600 off the price and got free extended warranty.

Was actually looking at Samsung 6 series then. But no ready stock in JB and only Sony could do 36 interest free installments.. LOL

The Sony S series... i don't like the looks... so between Panny and Tosh, I'd go for the Panny!

Actually for display the shops push up the color and contrast a lot so the screens look very vivid. Don't be too disappointed when you get it home and play your videos....

This post has been edited by steventsc: Apr 15 2009, 11:34 AM

playing DVDs n astro sure goona look like crap on a fullhd lcd tv

yes, the same choice like me, if you afford to buy V series, then go for it.

i like the design (same as W series, yipeeee) and absolutely better performance

don't even think to buy the W series, arrrrgh its price is killing me

i think now days 42"FHD lcd hover around RM3k tag. 42" LG LG53FR RM3k, 42" panny lz80mk RM3k and some guy get Sharp 37" A66 for RM2650 (surprise me hmmm...so prolly sharp 42"might be at that tag too 3k+)

to rx330 : the source not using astro/tv, but thru DVD(480P).
the 42rv500 looks not sharp at all. surprisingly, philips 42" 7/5403s beat all brand!

I will go for the Toshiba because its a 10 bit panel, while the rest is only 8 bit panel. Correct me if I am wrong.

yes, 10 bit, but dun betray your eyes.... you cannot tell anything when playing astro, dvd, tv, HD signal... maybe FHD 1080p with best quality only show the minor tad difference. Only toshiba support PIP which is none for panny.

---

Added on April 16, 2009, 9:11 amone more thing, the panny LZ800/LX800 series with also 8 bits will BEAT the toshiba anytime, cause they are sooo much better the PQ.

This post has been edited by saratoga: Apr 16 2009, 09:11 AM

480p is goona look crap on a 1080p panel

dun think crap when at distance of > 8 feets.
at > 12 feets, one is find hard to tell much difference between 480 or 720p.
> 15 feets, 480 and 1080 p is not much difference.

then u might as well buy a smaller LCD, at distance of 8 feet, everything is gonna look nice?

btwn SD n HD, be it 720 or 1080, it can still see the difference, of cos you dun tell me to stand a block away and tell the difference

the topic is when feeding same source video(480p as example), certain model LCD(42" here) cannot give satisfied results as compare to others, just this simple, no hidden agenda.
I believe seldom anybody is going to sit/stand by distance < 5 feets for watching 42" lcd ...

not saying u have any hidden agenda, im just answering based on my experience

anyway, i used to watch my 42 plasma, for abt 5-6 feet distance

actually to me at distance 8 feets when watching dvd, when playing 720p or 480p, if i didn't notice very hard, then they looks not far in PQ.
For 8tv, if distance > 13 feets, then i consider very good already the PQ.

im sorry, but wat 720p are u watching? upscales DVD?

720p .mkv playback thru laptop connected to tv.

8 bit vs 10 bit panel...no difference! Maybe you have poor eyes. The difference will be obvious when viewing blue sky or a big area with same color like blue ocean. 10 bit have more shades of color therefore appear smoother.

Also, base on what did you say pany's picture quality is so much better than the toshiba? The last i check on cnet asia reviews, Toshiba got 1 in the top 5 full HD LCD, and sharp got 1 LCD in top 5 ...but i see non of Panasonic!!!

I have to trust my eyes... compare them side by side you will know. I was twice noticed the softness or poor-to-normal PQ displayed by 42rv500, when comparing side by side of all of the brands one can tell. However, I saw when playing 1080i/p signal to toshiba, it performs good for the money. One thing I should say: 42rv500 not really good in handling dvd/tv/astro signals, but sad that these are the moment most people enjoy most for now! The panny LZ800 series really outshine toshiba hands down by big gap. LZ80 is good for the money, which is ~ rm300 - 400 less. For sharp, they are too expensive, though is good.

both tv set to default when you compared?

Showroom comparison is never accurate as the LCDs have different settings. Its only fair to pass judgement when comparing 2 LCD that is properly calibrated.

YES I agreed! Audition at shop even side-by-side will not yield the accurate result. Most ppl tend to carry away by the better calibrated tv. For best, you have to set both sets to default, meaning 0 settings for all the picture settings. Feeding both with same source using the same type of cable, ie both hdmi cables with near similar length.


In fact, IMHO, it is not that easy and straight away you give star rating over another one in just short time of comparison. Even those pros from establish audio/visual magazine take hours to come out with overall result. 1 unit may looks vibrant in colours until you forget to tell its counterpart has better black levels or contrast. Maybe the vibrant colors are overkill or not natural, picture motion etc.....breaking into few section to compare & come out with overall ratings!

recommended get panasonic full hd since the price drop quite alot..rm4299 i guess

If you don't mind the shinning reflex screen, Samsung series 6 not bad lah....

u can get a relatively cheaper 42" LCD for the older models, if u don't mind the lower contrast levels. but still good.

I though samsung is the best lcd for series 6 above?
why every choice panasonic, LG, sony, sharp ... but no one take samsung ah?
is it too many series and not so good quality already?

---

Added on April 23, 2009, 12:41 amwat u all sifu here recommand for watching astro lcd tv among 37" - 42" thanks. i personal see samsung 40" series 6, for me consider good liao, how abt others?

This post has been edited by linkokkeen: Apr 23 2009, 12:41 AM

hi guys i need a recommendation.

plan to buy FHD LCD at 37" any idea which one is the best and worth a penny.

Sharp latest 37A66M is quite good with nice black. A bit cheaper would be Panasonic 37LZ80MK.

To TS, if u eyeing LCD TV bigger than 42', than i recommended this models Philips 47PFL7422
Its a 47' full HD

How much?

Sony

Its an old model, i'll bought it couple of month ago in a Mega Sales Promotion in Alor Setar
the price offered was RM3999. Also saw in penang with price tag RM 5999
I think for full HD, this is the one of the most competitive price offered in the market.
Of course its not a top tier brand and also being a newbie myself in the audio visual field, but hell, i think the pic quality view in full HD is very good and satisfiying.

Sony for me as its picture quality is good compare to others........

Do you really need a FULL HD?
Maybe you can read this.
eugenecctan -> blogspot

Most of the LCDs from the same company have the same Contrast Ratio for 32, 37 and 42inches.
so conclusion, 32 Inches LCDs will have better picture quality compare with 37/42 inches with the same Contrast ratio.

* Requirements
1) 60% Astro -> If you want to use it for Astro, the Best quality will be the conventional TV, 29 inches, it is because Astro are still using Analog signal. No point for you to upgrade your TV to digital.
(I dun think they will upgrade to Digital in the coming 50 years.)

Not all 720p are made the same.

Are they encoded in H264 or XVID? What is the file size?

Generally, i would say it needs to be encode in H264 and size around 4GB+ (Some 720p can go to 6GB to 8GB) to be of good quality, and the source must be BLUE RAY (not recorded from HDTV channels). There are also 2GB "720p" rips, which is definitely inferior. And rips in XVID have inferior quality to H264...even when the rips in XVID have a bigger file size. i have a 2GB H264 rip which is way superior to a 4GB XVID rip.(same movie).

HD TV~ WooTs