Dick Smith 81cm (32') HD Ready LCD TV $555

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sxz

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#61813 24-May-2010 15:41

Hey Guys - anyone bought or used this TV?

Any thoughts? Does anyone know what brand it was before the DSE branding?

what are the connections like? remote? control and use?

Seems like a great deal $555 for a 32" LCD

eXDee

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#334097 24-May-2010 15:58

Go buy it, if you dont like it, take it back under their 14 day money back guarantee. That way you can see for yourself if its worth it.

Handsomedan

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#334101 24-May-2010 16:04

I assume it's one of those Konka ones they have been flogging (but now under a different name).

From what I have read, they are OK for the money but won't blow your socks off like a $5k LED TV would. Which is completely to be expected.

I think they look like pretty good value as a first LCD.

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Asmodeus

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#334132 24-May-2010 16:43

eXDee: Go buy it, if you dont like it, take it back under their 14 day money back guarantee. That way you can see for yourself if its worth it.

This ^

Or at least go have a good play with it in store

robbyp

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#334143 24-May-2010 17:30

sxz: Hey Guys - anyone bought or used this TV?

Any thoughts? Does anyone know what brand it was before the DSE branding?

what are the connections like? remote? control and use?

Seems like a great deal $555 for a 32" LCD

AS with most things, you pay for what you get. I got a Sony 32 with freeview and full HD for $777, which wasn't much more, for a decent brand and a very good TV. The cheap TVs tend to have rubbishy sound and poor viewing angles, as they tend to use older panels or panels that have pixel defects that other manufacturers have rejected from quality control. Don't know if this applys to the DSE, but I would stick to the decent brands .

robbyp

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#334145 24-May-2010 17:31

Handsomedan: I assume it's one of those Konka ones they have been flogging (but now under a different name).

From what I have read, they are OK for the money but won't blow your socks off like a $5k LED TV would. Which is completely to be expected.

I think they look like pretty good value as a first LCD.

If it fails after the warrenty has ended, you have less of a chance getting it repaired free under the CGA. So it can be false economy buying a cheap TV, if you plan on it lasting a long time.

Handle9

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#334421 25-May-2010 11:52

robbyp:

If it fails after the warrenty has ended, you have less of a chance getting it repaired free under the CGA. So it can be false economy buying a cheap TV, if you plan on it lasting a long time.

How do you figure that? The consumer guarantees act doesn't mention price, it just says that the product has to be fit for purpose. Price has nothing to do with it.

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samwooff

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#334854 26-May-2010 00:19

Hey there, according to an internal memo I got they are rebranded sommets which we were selling 6ish months ago.
I spend a bit of time with the tvs in my store and although they are nicer tvs than the konkas any 32" LCD from the likes of sony/samsung/panasonic/LG etc is quite a bit better in terms of colour accuracy, black level on most of them and of course brand image :P

Connections should be suitable for most people, then again I don't know what you want to hook it up to, the remote is ugly and not very responsive, the menu is alright but nowhere near close to samsung's. Your best bet would be to at least look at one in the store and have a play with the remote etc.

The saying you get what you pay for applies here as it often does.

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old3eyes

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#334905 26-May-2010 09:01

If this TV doesn't have a digital tuner I would pay the extra to get one that does unless you are using Sky HD only

Regards,

Old3eyes

samwooff

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#335028 26-May-2010 13:14

It has a built in freeview

eXDee

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#335030 26-May-2010 13:15

Handle9:
robbyp:

If it fails after the warrenty has ended, you have less of a chance getting it repaired free under the CGA. So it can be false economy buying a cheap TV, if you plan on it lasting a long time.

How do you figure that? The consumer guarantees act doesn't mention price, it just says that the product has to be fit for purpose. Price has nothing to do with it.

Actually it does.

7 Meaning of acceptable quality
(1) For the purposes of section 6 of this Act, goods are of acceptable quality if they are as—

(a) Fit for all the purposes for which goods of the type in question are commonly supplied; and

(b) Acceptable in appearance and finish; and

(c) Free from minor defects; and

(d) Safe; and

(e) Durable,—

as a reasonable consumer fully acquainted with the state and condition of the goods, including any hidden defects, would regard as acceptable, having regard to

(f) The nature of the goods:

(g) The price (where relevant):

...

Ugh, had to manually remove HTML tags to format the list properly -_-

bazzer

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#335082 26-May-2010 15:07

Only insofar as you get what you pay for. You wouldn't expect a $600 TV to be as good as a $2000 TV but you'd still expect it to last a reasonable length of time.

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Jaxson

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#335086 26-May-2010 15:20

samwooff: the remote is ugly and not very responsive,
the menu is alright but nowhere near close to samsung's.

Biggest failings of cheap electrical devices right there. Yes it will show a picture, yes it will connect to your device, but the user interface is usually sub standard. The hardware on a lot of tv's is similar given there are only a few actual panel manufacturers in the world, but the electronics behind it that control picture quality etc, plus the menus and response of remotes/channel changes etc etc etc are where the big savings can be had. Plus the plastic box and power supplies. I know people who have purchased TV's from the Warehouse who absolutely hate them due to the crap user interface, confusing and hard to read text, simply mental layout of text, colours etc, and general huge delay/lag time on using menus, remote and changing channels etc.

Over to you if you want to buy it. DSE has a very good reputation from people I know of sorting any problems you may have in the future (within reason) so they're a good store to buy from on that aspect. Thing is though, that whilst it's $200 cheaper initially, you can't pay just $200 more in the future to upgrade to one that does what it should well. Seriously, for that small difference I don't know why you'd want to opt for a non brand TV, in my opinion...