$499 47' lcd Tv

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vexxxboy

4244 posts

Uber Geek

#93054 12-Nov-2011 11:56

just saw a advert for a full HD 47" lcd TV at JB hifi for $499 ,also has freeview built in im pretty sure its not the greatest tv (Soniq) but for that price can you go wrong

http://www.jbhifi.co.nz/tv-lcd-led-plasma/soniq/47-full-hd-lcd-tv-sku-26005/

Common sense is not as common as you think.

bfginger

1268 posts

Uber Geek

#544609 12-Nov-2011 16:06

At that price every last cent will have been shaved off production costs. It probably has a TN panel and a weak scaler. I don't know specifically what Soniq is like but people who work in retail have related about having entire rooms full of returned broken stock for similar off-brand Chinese televisions.

If you buy a quality television it'll probably work three times as long and look better the whole time.

reven

3743 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#544658 12-Nov-2011 18:12

i was looking at this tv too.

sure you can get something better, but at around twice the price. i was just going to pick one up for my parents, they dont need anything super duper.

i have 4 year old LCD samsung, and wouldnt that be around the same quality as this tv? anyone know anything about this soniq tv? if its pretty good for that price ill pick one up, but if its completely crap and not worth it, and better to buy a second hand tv off trademe for similar price i might do that.

beachgeek

64 posts

Master Geek

#544671 12-Nov-2011 19:09

Looked at these a while ago and googled them just now

http://www.pcauthority.com.au/News/166672,who-is-soniq-looking-at-the-low-cost-tv-brand.aspx

this says they use older panels from samsung and Lg so not too bad their for $499 with free view not a bad deal,

Dunnersfella

4086 posts

Uber Geek

#544704 12-Nov-2011 22:39

The only person who can answer this... is you.
Go in and watch the TV, judge the picture, judge the sound (take in a DVD / BluRay you know well).
Make sure it has the right inputs on the back, the remote is easy enough to get on with, and that it'll play any files you want via USB.
If you're happy, you're happy.

Personally, I believe there's no such thing as a free lunch. But hey, if you deem the risk worth taking...

mattwnz

20155 posts

Uber Geek

#544714 12-Nov-2011 23:30

You can probably get a decent brand one for about that second hand somewhere.

I have no knowledge of the brand., and haven't seen that tv. However based on no name, or house branded products I have seen, they could be using panels that are one or two generation older than the new ones. They could be ones that were rejected with flaws, such as dead pixels, poorer viewing angles and washed out colours. Not only that, but the interfaces can be poor and laggy, the plastic may be poor quality, the remotes maybe difficult to use, and have poorer ranges. They could also have other bugs and technical issues. These are all things I have found with buying cheaper no name products. I am of the adage, that you get what you pay for.

injuised

256 posts

Ultimate Geek

#544726 13-Nov-2011 07:34

might as well put your $500 in a pile and burn it , at least youll save on tip fees

Wade

2225 posts

Uber Geek

#544740 13-Nov-2011 09:18

On the other hand Soniq is JB Hifi's home brand, they buy well have cut out middle men and are obviously running a special, what was their pre-special price, probably double or more. I would rather buy a no name brand off JB than the warehouse for example.

If it checks out okay for $500 its probably good value, if it was $1000 i woudl suggest looking at better known brands

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grolschie

911 posts

Ultimate Geek

#544745 13-Nov-2011 09:48

beachgeek:
this says they use older panels from samsung and Lg...

I think Samsung usually sell 46"s and LG 47"s. So could this be an LG screen? Veon TVs also come in a 47".

reven

3743 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#544880 13-Nov-2011 20:32

well i took the plunge and bought one, they ran out of stock and they had to order if from a different store so ill pick it up tuesday. ill report back on what its like after that. we arent hardcore people who care/understand about response times and all that, so ill report back as a average user.

reven

3743 posts

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#547329 19-Nov-2011 22:54

well we've had this tv since tuesday, so far the picture is good, no complaints on that, looks similar to my samsung 46" lcd 1080p tv thats a few years old.

we're having some issues with freeview reception, not sure if its the room and the signal is weak (but i hooked up a computer with freeview and that was fine). will be moving the tv to another room tomorrow and see if the signal is fine there. we have had bad reception issues in this house for years, its a big house and the signal is split quite a few times.

other than that everything is fine, sure the frame/border isnt as sexy as a expensive samsung, the remote is a little boring looking (though really really light), the menus are kinda simple, and theres not much features (no youtube etc), but for $500 the picture is excellent and the tv size is great.

ill probably buy a small soniq tv for my sons room in a few months, that will just be hooked up to an ATV2 and run everything through that, freeview wont be used on that tv (have a central tv server the ATV2 will connect too).

reven

3743 posts

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Trusted

#547719 21-Nov-2011 09:49

reception issues was the aerial outlet, trying it in another room was fine.

so im very happy with the quality of the $499tv, jb now have the same tv advertised for $996.