Need help choosing between two tv's?!

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#244991 10-Aug-2009 22:08

If you don't need freeview built in, I'm sure you can get a Samsung 46" LCD 1080P for that price or less, possibly even with a redemption offer.

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Jaxson

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#245155 11-Aug-2009 12:08

kiwijunglist: A lot of people think that you can't tell the difference between 720P vs 1080P for 42" TV unless you sit very close. I have 46" TV and after having it for 6 months I wouldn't go smaller, unless you have a very small room.

Yeah what ever TV you get, enjoy that initial feeling of "wow this is huge!" while it lasts.
After two months it will just be your normal TV.

Oliver

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Master Geek

#246100 13-Aug-2009 15:53

Thanks for all the help, I finally chose a Panasonic 50" plasma, 1920-1080p with built in Freeview.
http://www.panasonic.co.nz/viera/plasma/th-p50s10z.html

Harvey Norman had it for $2999 with a bonus $450 worth of vouchers for other Panasonic goods, that worked out well for me as I also want a new home theatre setup. Seemed like a good deal, same tv at Noel Leeming was $3500 with no extras. Didn't get a discount as it was on finance but managed to get 12 months interest free. A bit over budget in the end but oh boy is it nice!

Didn't go for surge protection or anything, I got the idea those things are a bit of a scam?

kiwijunglist

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#246288 13-Aug-2009 21:20

you can buy surge protection, but it's more expensive at a tv shop.
also to protect against lightning strike you have to spend a lot eg. those $200 power surge protecters probably wouldn't help.

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Nety

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#246380 14-Aug-2009 06:49

Oliver:
Didn't go for surge protection or anything, I got the idea those things are a bit of a scam?

Surge protection absolutely is not a scam however if you buy one separately you likely can get it for quite a bit less then the listed price. I got around 50% off the one I got.

As for the post above. Sure if the lightning strike is outside your house not a lot is going to save your equipment. But how about if it is a few houses down the street. in that case it can make all the difference in the world. Also there are a lot of other surges that have nothing to do with lightning can damage your equipment.

Also do not think that a $20 surge protector will work as well as a $200 one. It won't.

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kiwijunglist

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#246663 14-Aug-2009 16:13

agreed, just don't by surge protector from tv shop if you want good value.

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browned

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#247220 16-Aug-2009 15:56

Oliver: A few tv's I've seen have a resolution of 1366x768. My video card can do 1360x768. Does that seem odd that the video card is out by 6 pixels?

Slight off the main topic but...

Video cards resolutions are based on multiples of 8. Therefore 1366 is not a resolution a computer can do. 1:1 pixel mapping on 1366 is very difficult.

Almost any new TV with 1080p or above will do 1:1 pixel mapping over HDMI from video card. Video card drivers have improved a lot with nVidia now reporting HDCP links in Windows.

Anything about 37" or above should really be 1080p, purely from a SD content perspective. SD just looks naff on anything bigger with resolutions on 1024 or 1368. But really that's just my personal opinion.

My thoughts on TV's.....

get Freeview HD built in. (otherwise it will be a monitor in a few years).
get 1080p over 37" (future proofing for blu-ray players, HD movie downloads).
get 3 plus HDMI ports.

cheers
db

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Oliver

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#247294 16-Aug-2009 18:29

Yip, cheers for that, I got the Panasonic 50" plasma with 3 HDMI ports, 1080p, built in freeview, and my Nvidia card is reporting the HDCP link to the tv. Ticks all the boxes! Got 1:1 Pixel mapping sorted too after reading the instruction book...

kiwijunglist

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#247296 16-Aug-2009 18:34

how much $$? which model?

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kiwijunglist

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#247297 16-Aug-2009 18:35

50" is probably a good size, my 46 is feeling a little smallish now.

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Oliver

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#247315 16-Aug-2009 19:17

kiwijunglist: how much $$? which model?

See post at top of page, it's a 50" Panasonic TH-P50S10Z.
$2999 with $450 worth of credit towards another Panasonic product (getting a home theatre). Bit more than I was going to spend so I got interest free finance.

After the 29" crt I upgraded from, this thing is huge! Will enjoy it while it lasts. Technology sure to be outdated soon. Just been looking at some of the Samsung 3D capable models that are about to come out, sure would have been good for playing games on. Always the way eh.

alvin

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#247392 16-Aug-2009 22:22

kiwijunglist: you can buy surge protection, but it's more expensive at a tv shop.
also to protect against lightning strike you have to spend a lot eg. those $200 power surge protecters probably wouldn't help.

where's the best and cheap store to buy a surge protector for a plasma/lcd tv?

boby55

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#247398 16-Aug-2009 22:33

Go take a look at DSE they have surge protectors ranging from $20 to $400

kiwijunglist

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#247429 17-Aug-2009 01:46

also kmart have them. also check trademe/google.co.nz
they all have Joule rating, higher is better.

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kiwijunglist

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#247430 17-Aug-2009 01:50

sounds like a good deal considering it does 1080p24/50/60 comes with $450 credit and interest free and $500 below RRP. much better than the LG42 suggested above.

HTPC / Home automation (home assistant) enthusiast.

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