TV + HT setup Suggestions..

madnav

madnav

Skilled
Would be buying a big screen and Ht setup for new place.

Budget: 1L

Room Size: 12' x 22'

My current Options:

HTPC setup with a good soundcard and logitech z5500.

This is so that i wont have to copy HDRips and FLACs to usb to play on TV/receiver.

But this option is due to my limited knowledge on this front.

another reason why i chose HTpc is so that i can have a download machine as the same. Although i have asus wl520gu for that purpose.

Im thinking of splitting the budget into 1:3 :: audio:video

LED is not the necessity.

a good panel is a must.

do not want plasma TVs.

please pour in your inputs :)
 
Here's my take -

1. Get a 40 inch plasma if you can afford the monthly bills (FYI a plasma tv consumes as much as thrice the power ~300-350W, an LCD tv does!) and you have an AC inside the room. In which case, get the Panasonic 42V20D. Retails for ~60k. This is the best plasma tv you can buy in the country AFAIK. Pioneer is no longer manufacturing plasma tvs since they have sold the tech. to Panasonic last year.

OR

Get a Samsung LA40C530/LA40C550/LA40C630 LCD TV. Retails for about ~52k/54k/58k respectively. The C630 has a 100Hz tech. so fast moving images should look better or at least on paper. As a part of the festive season offer, Samsung is bundling some HD DTH STB and dish worth 3k I was told. Btw Samsung has a panel lottery policy - you may get either of SPVA, AMVA, SMVA panels depending on the version number. So you may insist your dealer to arrange for a SPVA panel. Besides, all the TVs I have listed supports most media formats off a USB drive.

If you can afford buying a TV from the grey market without bill/warranty, you can look for Sony models as well. They retail for awesome prices in the grey channel (read Alfa, Irla).

2. Get a PS3 (in case you are willing to game) or stand-alone media player such as the AC Ryan POHD/POHD mini/xtreamer and use it to stream the media from your PC through gigabit lan. In this case, you can keep your expenses low avoiding a dedicated PC for your media setup. This may cost as low as 10k to about ~19k (PS3 i.e.). You can avoid a router if you decide to go the PS3 way. The PS3 and the PC can be hooked with the normal ethernet cable and can flawlessly stream any media off the PC.

3. Get an entry level HTiB system with the remaining dough. I can vouch for the Philips HTS 3571 system - this one offers both the digital inputs and can double up as a dvd player as well. Although this one is pretty much subjective, I'd advise you to do some auditions and decide the sound setup.

Any particular reason for avoiding the plasma segment? ;)
 
CNET as just confirmed that their panasonic 2010 flagship plasma had a rise in black levels after 1500hrs of use,which is around 5hrs a day of watching for 10months.

gannu as summed it up nicely, you can also add the LED-lit models like C5000 in case you want the a slimmer tv with reduced power consumption
In the grey market camp the Sony 40EX500 (equivalent to C6xx )can be had for less then 55k,but you are guaranteed a SPVA panel.

If your viewing distance is large say around 12 feet or more then look at 46" tvs of the same.
 
Thnx for inputs. My viewing distance is about 16 to 18 feet so I'm looking for 47 incher or more.

@gannu, I'm scared of burning issues with plasma, dunno if they still exist. I don't mind buying gray if manufacturers offer only 1yr warranty for proper billed purchases.. Budget for tv is 75k... Or in worst case I would buy 40' for living room and another 32 for parents bed room.(To keep daily soaps out of my daily life :p)

Last year croma was giving 32inchers free on 47inchers so similar offers will get me best of all :p

PS: Pardon my ignorance about plasmas :) :p

Tapped on my Cell Fone using TapaTalk. :) Pardon me for any typos. :p
 
Well forget 40" tv look at 46" tvs,for 75k you can easily get a 46" C530 and the Sony EX400 for 64k or less via grey.

Also hunt for clearance/demo sales of older flagship models ,like chaos who got a philips for a good price,i don't know if there are e-zone in your place but it has been reported that they are doing a clearance of flagship sony lcds

2008 46" X450A MRP 2.03 lakh offer 60k ,the best lcd in india with RGB local dimming,high end panel and processing ,amazing build and sound quality.

2009 46Z550A MRP 94k - Offer 75k 10bit panel ,200hz motionflow.

2009 40"W550A MRP 75k offer 55k
 
^Holy shit the X450A and Z550A offer is awesome! :O

Does e-zone offer a warranty for these clearance sale models? Is Bangalore e-zone outlets having a sale on these models ATM?

@madnav: forget plasma panels if you want a larger display since the Panasonic 50V20D is mighty expensive at 1.2L odd IINM. I'd still vouch for the Samsung 46C530. Then again the problem being getting an SPVA panel for the 46C530 is very remote, or at least going by the hearsay. You could squeeze a 40C530 and a 32C530 for under 80k as well. :)
 
Well the person who reported those prices refuses to say the location of Ezone or the outlet,but the user is from bangalore,i guess he wants to buy those last pieces.

I went to 2 outlets they didn't have them,some people also called Ezone stores no info about them.And Ezone CC don't know shit and there are many who are hunting for those ezone Sony clearance models,perhaps even sold by now.I guess you have to be lucky.
 
Ok thanks alot.

1st and foremost i shall checkout the local markets for what is available and at what price so that i can start thinking ahead.

please shed some light over the audio setup.

forgot to mention that the audio setup at most times will be used for movies. Music occasionally. i may make the audio setup the primary audio for TV as im not expecting the TV speakers to be decent enough.

google map shows E-Zone outlets within mumbai.. will visit and check them on weekends. really appreciate the tip :)
 
The thing about audio is, its the most subjective thing,best to audition them yourself.I have no clue about todays HtIb ,but i have heard from Jamo Studio package with S406 floorstanding speakers etc they are good.
Even a 3 pairs of cambridge audio(CA) S30 speakers a 5.1 reciever from CA or marantz will go fine with these jems,they have a lot more detail compared to most speakers in its price range and pack in quite a punch and it blows away my creative Gigaworks S750 7.1 THX which inturn is better then many HTiBs.

for 29k you can get the 5.1 jamo package with Marantz reciever Jamo S 406 PDD(5.1) Speakers & Amplifiers - Buy Latest Jamo S 406 PDD(5.1) Speakers & Amplifiers at Cheap Price in India
 
@Gannu: The Power consumption is among the biggest myths around Plasmas. 300/350 is the rated power. Its only consumed if you have all white image for an hour. The power consumtion has never bugged me even with a 50 incher in the house running soaps+toons for 3-4 hours a day, sports whenever available and gaming about 10 Hours a week. I have been getting bills south of 350 INR all the time. (The house is a 2 bhk flat with a dishwasher, 5.5kg front loader, 260ltr fridge). If someone in Pune could lend me their killl-a-watt we can churn exact figures.

@madnav: The burn-in is another ghost from the past. Been running the panel in my sig for close to 2 years now. Long running indian channels with large dumb logos have had no issues so far. Sometimes the image does retain but switch the channel and it vanishes.

I recall having read a brutal test on the newer hen plasmas by screening an entirely dask image for a week with a simgle bright spot right at center. Even that dd not create an incurable burn-in.

I am not endorsing plasma and actually do like some of the LED panels out there, just clearing FUD.

@adder: That 29K package does not mention a receiver :(

Sorry: My bad, it does.
 
^The rated power was just meant to be an indication of the maximum power it could consume compared to what the LCD TV does. Fact remains that the plasmas are power hoggers nevertheless. And they generate a lot of heat when they dissipate this power. If you decrease the LCD backlight/brightness, the power consumption of the device decreases.

You do not need a kill-a-watt device. Use a clamp multimeter to measure the current across a single current carrying line. And multiply by 230V. This should give you an approximate figure. Without taking into account the power factor i.e.
 
adder said:
Well the person who reported those prices refuses to say the location of Ezone or the outlet,but the user is from bangalore,i guess he wants to buy those last pieces.

I went to 2 outlets they didn't have them,some people also called Ezone stores no info about them.And Ezone CC don't know shit and there are many who are hunting for those ezone Sony clearance models,perhaps even sold by now.I guess you have to be lucky.
Click to expand...
There are around 12 or more Ezones in Bangalore Itself :( ... It might just one particular Store which would have been doing this. There would have been at the max 3-4 pieces each.When was this reported?(iin hifi is it?)
 
Desecrator said:
Fact remains that the plasmas are power hoggers nevertheless. And they generate a lot of heat when they dissipate this power.
Click to expand...

Not exactly, decreasing plasma brightness can reduce the consumption too. It boils down to some basic questions, what are we buying a panel for? Is it to save mother earth - Don't buy one. Is it for eye candy - dont worry about marginal differences in power consumption and focus on more important factors like black levels. :)
 
The power consumption may not mean much in terms of money saved,but in terms of going green they yes,especially in a city like bangalore which had severe power crisis ,such that they are going to ban incandescent lighting and ask people to use CFL.

A plasma power consumption varies with the APL(average picture level) and more whites higher the power consumption and heat.
The lcd on the other hand have a constant power consumption,but even at low backlight settings they can match or surpass the brightness of plasma which becomes dimmer if the APL increases due to the ABL circuit.
todays lcds are way efficient a 2007 32" lcd rated at 140watts max will only consume about 55 watts with optimum backlight settings.
A 40" Sony EX600 has max power consumption of just 89 watts,since it has a led ,at optimum backlight settings it will be more like 60watts or less.
apextwin146 said:
There are around 12 or more Ezones in Bangalore Itself :( ... It might just one particular Store which would have been doing this. There would have been at the max 3-4 pieces each.When was this reported?(iin hifi is it?)
Click to expand...

I called all of them they said they have no such offers.I guess those lcds are long gone and i believe are display piece so probably just 1 piece.
 
I have 42 incher plasma from panasonic. I bought it for eye candy and i am totally happy with it. I would strongly adivce u to have a look at the plasma bfore decing on any LCD/LED's. Also for HT setup checkout Yamaha HTIB. I have one which i took almost a year ago for 30K. It has hell lot of inputs and Sound quality is also very good. I use it to connect my ps3, 2 xboxes and TV. :)
 
Alright

im zeroing it down to Sony 46EX400

SPVA sound tempting :p

Alternative = Samsung 46C530

both are priced 78k at Reliance Digital and Croma.

max budget is 80k

also, LG has some good offers in that size range but the panels are Advanced IPS .. had bought one for cousin a few months ago and the panel gets hot..

if plasmas get hotter than LCD then i surely do not want to get a plasma..

Im getting good offers at both croma and reliance digital.

Croma is giving 1TB iOmega HD Mediaplayers free with LCD.

Reliance digital has a LG BD player free with LCDs

they also have a kodak 12MP cam + a coffee maker free over any purchase above 50k. Dunno if both can be had. in either case i ill sell the came to offset the grey pricing :p

Will Post Show off if i buy it tomorrow.. otherwise during diwali :p

PS: is x500 series anywhere available in mumbai?

has anyone spot any so far?
 
ok im leaning towards this one

ONKYO SIGHT & SOUND - INDIA

croma and VSP have Yamaha YHT-292 for 22-23k range and Onkyo 3300 seems much better than that at same price point.

will most prolly purchase Tv and HT by diwali so that leaves me a lot of time to think over and audition.

if there are good places within mumbai where i can audition a lot of HT setups then please let me know :)

Just Want to add.

Regarding Refresh Rate.

LG has TrueMotion 200MHz over their LCDs which are quiet cheap for feature rich models.. is that really a 200MHz refresh time or some marketing gimmick ?

Their Advanced IPS panels did not feel washed out or any inferior to how Bravia ex400 looked with DTH being displayed.

was not HD DTH but the point is that the quality was not much different, colour tones differed a bit OOB but that is something we can adjust with colour equalisers.

the price difference between a 47" LG IPS panel and sony 46" SPVA panel is 20k. thus need to be sure if the leap is really worth it. :)
 
Desecrator said:
Might tempt you - http://www.techenclave.com/general-talk/icici-bank-debit-credit-cards-festive-177096.html
Click to expand...
yeah already saw that yesterday at Reliance.

bought a refrigerator for home and galaxy 3 for a friend and got d'damas pendant worth 5k

icici has 5% cash back but forgot what the max discount was :p

also for HDFC credit card holders..

there is a 0% EMI scheme for 12months which if you avail then you will get 1000 cash discount/coupon.

regarding the panels again..

i guess that Advanced IPS panels is S-IPS panel.

SPVA: +Better Blacks, -Bad Input Lag

S-IPS: +Much better input lag, -Not so Great Blacks

not it comes down to how bad is input lag on SPVA and how bad are the black levels on the SIPS.

need user reviews..

as for vfm,

will the following SIPS panel backlit by LEDs produce better blacks?

LG LED LCD Television Online in India - Model 47LH90QR LED LCD

it is supposed to cost around 70k as per CompareIndia
 
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