40 inches LCD brand / model? (Mumbai)

Joined
Apr 8, 2010
Messages
36
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Location
Mumbai
Points of Consideration before you advise:
1) I live in Juhu, Mumbai close to the sea with a lot of our electronic equipments corroding faster than normal. Any impact on LCD vs. Plasma based on that?
2) I intend to buy a Sony or Onkyo home theater (priced under 25k) along with the TV

Hello,

I have zeroed down the size to 40" for my bedroom (15' x 11'). I am more inclined to LCDs but I read several posts on this forum and now I confused between LCD vs. Plasma. What's the latest advice from you guys based on your latest experiences?

I have been a life-long Sony buyer but started getting problems in their OTHER products bought in the last 5-to-7 years. After reviewing several posts, I zeroed down on Samsung. I am now confused between Samsung LA40B530 and LA40B550. Any advice / inputs?

Thanks in advance!
 
give details about the usage of the tv and then the members will be able to suggest you for the same.

usage :
hours per day :
budget :
 
give details about the usage of the tv and then the members will be able to suggest you for the same.

Here are the details:
usage : We already have the main TV in our living room where my parents watch the weepy soap operas at full volume :). So this TV will be in our bedroom mainly for my wife and I. We will be primarily watching TV + movies. We are not into gaming much but may get a Wii in future.

hours per day : 1-to-3 hours of TV viewing a day

budget : Samsung 40LAB530 is available in Croma (Juhu) at Rs.55,000 and 40LAB550 at Rs.60,000 (inclusive of tax + free installation). But prices on eBay and other online stores was lesser by 7-to-8,000 online. So, I guess my budget is Rs.50,000-to-Rs.60,000.

Please advise.

Thanks!
 
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There is hardly any difference between B530 and B550.. B550 has one extra HDMI and looks are slightly different.

The price here in hyderabad: about 51K for B530 and 54K for B550..with free SunHD (including one year subscription)

Plasmas are mostly 720p sets...will offer you better picture quality and SD performance..if your usage is more towards normal DTH and SD/DVD movies then a 720p plasma is preferred..

IMO..For Gaming, Computer monitor, and 1080p Blue-Ray viewing mostly an LCD is preferred.

For home theater I will suggest to avoid Sony.. look for Phillips/Onkyo/Denon

about corrosion of equipments near sea..I think it will be same for LCD and Plasma.. :)
 
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Thanks for your inputs, Alok.

Since you are recommending Plasma over LCD, what brands / models / price would you recommend?

About the prices of LCD, there appears to be a huge difference between Hyderabad and Mumbai (we don't get any HD subscriptions either). Should I wait for some deals?
 
Plasma vs LCD is never ending debate :)

I personally own Samsung 42B450 Plasma..I got it for 47.3K with SunHD offer..

There are equally good 720p Plasmas from Panasonic (c10 and x10).. prices vary from 40K to 50K location wise..

With SunHD offer, even B530 LCD is equally good.

You can choose any.. take a few Demos in nearby shops..
 
well a common myth is that plasma is good for SD,it only applies to HD ready plasmas not a FHD plasma,in fact they only hide the defects of the source that a FHD tv can show.

if SD content is ur primary requirement i suggest u to have a look at the sony EX400,the samsung B530 is also a excellent choice,the sony is slightly better the the samsung,but then again its about 10% more expensive compared to the B550.

the sony EX400 is however cheaper in the grey market at about 47k.
 
Thanks for the inputs "adder" (Atkinson?).

I had been to a few stores locally and settled down on the model Samsung B530 (since B550 didn't offer too much extra for my needs). But no one other than Croma offers extended warranty (in conjunction with Tata AIG, their group Company).

After reading all the posts on this forum, I felt that I definitely require extended warranty on LCDs. They say that Quality Control of most Companies is good but if you are UNLUCKY to get that one faulty piece, then you are on your own. I read quite a few posts about Panel failure and the replacement cost if Rs.25,000! A salesman at Andheri West Sony Mony (J P Road) matter-of-factly said that the quality of manufacturing parts has gone down drastically from what it was 10 years ago. That the LCDs start giving problems from 13th month (after the first year Company warranty ends). That you have to ACCEPT that problems such as Panel problem costing Rs.25,000 are normal.

I was shocked and felt like shaking him to wake-him-up. It's our hard earned money and Rs.50,000 for a TV is not a small amount! I own a Sony WEGA CRT from 12+ years and it has given a problem only once (this year) in all these years. It cost Rs.3,500 to repair it and I felt that was too high.

Yesterday's trip to various stores has shaken me up a bit and I almost felt like buying a CRT instead of LCD if the life of LCDs is not good at all. But I reckon that CRTs will not be bigger than 32 inches and I guess their manufacturing quality would have also gone down. What's wrong with this world?

Anyways, enough of venting out. Back to my dilemma. Here are the prices I got in various stores for Smansung LA40B530:
Snehanjali (Andheri West branch) = Rs.49,500
Croma (Juhu branch) = Rs.55,000
Sony Mony (Andheri west branch) = Rs.55,900

I guess I have no choice but to buy from Croma only, since they are the only ones offering extended warranty. I guess I should wait to checkly weekly deals at Croma and buy when the price comes down a bit. What do you guys reckon?

Also, would prices in different Croma showrooms within Mumbai differ? (Juhu being costly real estate, would a Croma in a lesser expensive real estate area have a lower price for the same Samsung LCD?)
 
Well, congrats on settling on the Samsung. Just wanted to let you know, I have been using the 40 inch Sony EX400 from Kohinoor, and after a little tweaking, I have been quite happy with its picture quality, even for the standard-def Tata Sky signal. BTW, Tata Sky has been said to be getting HD soon (before Commonwealth games).

You could still consider the Sony EX400. It is a good LCD. As for the Home Theater, if you're going in for an AV receiver and speakers, it is well known that Sony does not make the best of receivers. I have a Pioneer receiver from the US and I'm quite happy with it. Onkyo would not be too bad a choice, but I feel it would be better than Sony.
 
I called up Samsung today and they don't provide extended warranty. Called up Tata AIG and ICICI too and they don't provide extended warranty separately. They just provide home content insurance to protect from calamities, fire and thefts :-(.

I guess I will have to keep looking at Mumbai Mirror for Croma's deals since they are the only ones who provide extended warranty from Tata AIG. Currently, the best price I got was Rs.7,000 less than Croma for a brand-new-Company-sealed 40 inch Samsung LA40B530. Even if Croma reduces the prices further in the coming weeks, their Competition would reduce their prices too and so I would still end up paying Rs.7,000 higher upfront to Croma for the same model. This is just so that I can pay even more for the extended warranty at Croma :-(.
 
Thanks for the inputs "adder" (Atkinson?).

I guess I have no choice but to buy from Croma only, since they are the only ones offering extended warranty. I guess I should wait to checkly weekly deals at Croma and buy when the price comes down a bit. What do you guys reckon?

Also, would prices in different Croma showrooms within Mumbai differ? (Juhu being costly real estate, would a Croma in a lesser expensive real estate area have a lower price for the same Samsung LCD?)

btw i don't know who is Atkinson.

now any electronic devices of any company can fail anytime just after the warranty period be it extended warranty.

to date i have bought only 2 crts officialy rest of the crts and lcds were all bought from the grey market,one the oldest lcd tv that i bought from the grey market is 5 years old,no issues what so ever.
 
Thanks for sharing those details, adder. 5 years for an LCD without issues sounds much better than what the Sales people are trying to scare me. And that too from the grey market... you really have a strong constitution. I need to firm up and stop being scared, rather, I should make a positive decision and go with the flow.

p.s.: My bad, I thought "adder" stood for Rowan Atkinson's "The Black Adder".
 
yes sales man will say anything to sell or market their product.

OT: BTW its not that but rather the adder is the NATO code name for R77 air to air missile.
 
Breaking news: Panasonic offers 3 years warranty on its LCDs
:lol: I am sure I am the only one waking up to this news now :lol:

I do know that LG also provides a 3 year warranty but I did NOT like its picture quality at all and I have read too many negative reviews about LG LCDs on this form.

Although, I am still settled on Samsung LA40B530 as my primary choice for 40 inch LCD, do you guys have any experience / recommendations about Panasonic? Any feedback about Panasonic model numbers (comparable to Samsung LA40B530) and what their price would be?
 
Breaking news: Panasonic offers 3 years warranty on its LCDs
:lol: I am sure I am the only one waking up to this news now :lol:

I do know that LG also provides a 3 year warranty but I did NOT like its picture quality at all and I have read too many negative reviews about LG LCDs on this form.

Although, I am still settled on Samsung LA40B530 as my primary choice for 40 inch LCD, do you guys have any experience / recommendations about Panasonic? Any feedback about Panasonic model numbers (comparable to Samsung LA40B530) and what their price would be?

well panasonic lcds in 42" aren't that popular sold are still 08 model.
they use a LG IPS panel.panasonic will soon start or have started to manufacture their own 42" lcds for the yet to be launched 2010 models.

i haven't seen the S10 but have seen their older LZ80 its about average,just like the 32" models,a bit washed out compared to the 32",lack of shadow details.
 
extended warranty with Tata AIG !! I smell a rat. I think they are selling you insurance under the veil of extended warranty. Also they are scaring you by saying the LCD will malfunction in the 13th month so that you sign up their insurance scheme.

Its a sham !!
 
Snehanjali (Andheri West branch) = Rs.49,500

excellent deal.. i will suggest go for it.. :) try getting some freebies..

1 Year warranty is good enough.. everybody else here is fine with it.. remember the mountain dew ad.. darr ke aage jeet hai :yahoo:
 
>> Yesterday's trip to various stores has shaken me up a bit and I almost felt like buying a CRT instead of LCD if the life of LCDs is not good at all. But I reckon that CRTs will not be bigger than 32 inches and I guess their manufacturing quality would have also gone down.
Same feeling here :mad:

>> I guess I have no choice but to buy from Croma only, since they are the only ones offering extended warranty.
The extended warranty is for around INR 1800/-, right? Is it only service or parts too? Because one Sony shop told me that Croma is covering service only. I checked with Croma this Sunday, they said it's everything except damage, so I felt great, but I/we need to be double sure. Also, I asked them for this in writing, but they we flummoxed initially and later gave me some pamplet( still need to read it :) )

>> I guess I should wait to checkly weekly deals at Croma and buy when the price comes down a bit. What do you guys reckon?
Croma has new rate list monthly, unlike e-Zone which has Sat./ Sun. offers

>> Also, would prices in different Croma showrooms within Mumbai differ? (Juhu being costly real estate, would a Croma in a lesser expensive real estate area have a lower price for the same Samsung LCD?)
All Croma stores( in one city atleast) will display same price. However, if they are sure that you will book, they will be ready to reduce prices( except for Sony Bravia). In our case, we had bought appliances and got price reduced by good amount. At Juhu, they might give lesser reduction as crowd there doesnt generally bargain much. However, at Malad definetely better reduction can be expected.
 
I got a straight 3k off from the price at croma by not opting for extended warranty which is nothing but insurance from tata aig. Got another grand off as i said i dont need home delivery. This was for my Philips 9703.
 
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