Philips 120 Hz Edge LED from US - Worth it?

[ememm]

Hi all,
I am planning to buy my first flat panel(40"-42") and going back and forth between deciding which one. While I like plasmas (like X20, PJ350) which are real VFM, my family feels LEDs have higher 'clarity'. My personal opinion is that LEDs without 100/120 Hz sampling is not good enough, but they are a bit costly. But I really like the fact that they take half the power, so I can connect it to the Inverter without much worries. (plus no tension about IR and breaking in)

Saw this model on Amazon US:
Amazon.com: Philips 40PFL7505D/F7 40-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LED LCD HDTV, Black: Electronics

I have got a quotation from ICCWorld for about 48K INR(including duty and shipping) for this. Hoping that there wont be any addditional customs duty, total cost for the TV including a good 240-120 voltage converter (2K INR) would come to around 50K INR.

So my questions to the experts here is -
1) Is it worth to import this one considering that I wont get any warranty, (where as X20 - 35K with 3 yrs, PJ350 - 38K with 1 yr), and also similar models(EX710) here cost arnd 65K ?
2) In case 'something' happens, will I be able to get it services from local Philips(of course paying them)?
3) Does using a 240-120 converter increase power usage? Can I connect it safely to an Inverter?
4)Any other considerations which I am missing?
5)Although Amazon reviews are excellent for this model, anybody out there know anything about why this model is so cheap?

Ok, I guess enough questions for now Hope someone can help me make an informed decision. I am keen on saving the 15K compared to EX710, but only if it is worth the risk.

TIA

PS: My future HT plan includes a WDTV Live and Onkyo- HTS3300 or Yamaha YHT-393/493.

 

[mabhi10]

hey man go ahead ....

 

[jbgude]

Make sure the TV can recieve/display PAL signals. TVs sold in USA normally are NTSC... and not all have a PAL converter inbuilt.

 

[ememm]

Make sure the TV can recieve/display PAL signals. TVs sold in USA normally are NTSC... and not all have a PAL converter inbuilt.

This may be a silly question, but unless we are using the antenna input, do we have to worry about the TV system? Are the DTH Stb output also PAL? I mean when we are using HDMI/Component ..... I think I am confusing myself, can somebody help?

 

[Vinod.R]

Hi Ememm,

This tv is 50 dollars cheaper on ebay.com

Here is the link. Please check completely before you make any payment both technical and otherwise. it seems to be a ATS/NTSC tv.

Enjoy!!!!!!


BRAND NEW 40" Philips LED 1080p 120Hz HDTV 40PFL7505D - eBay (item 280640611877 end time Mar-13-11 20:58:11 PDT)

 

[ememm]

Thanks Vinod,

it seems to be a ATS/NTSC tv.

Does that mean it won't be useful in India?

 

[Vinod.R]

Hi Ememm,

You might have prbs watching PAL broadcasts, I am quite sure PAL DVDs might have prbs, but the work around may be a pal ntsc player as a work around.

But not sure of the synergy of all of this.

My recommend is 45,000-50,000 is too big a risk. Better to buy grey if you are not bothered about the warranty and you can actually see it before parting with your money. ANyway chennai is the grey market capital of south india.

But if you are after a warranty, then good old indian led/plasmas with toned down features is the best

Take care

 

[mabhi10]

i dont think signal from hdmi or dth has 2 do any thing with pal and ntsc ..and all tv has both as manufacture do not produce specific tv for any region.

 

[hemantwaghe]

Philips does not service TV s sold in India , how do you exprect to service them TVs bought from abrod? man you have very very high expectation.

BTW in US Philips brand is owned by Funai ,so is this philips TV or Funai TV?

 

[ememm]

Thanks all,
Looks like it is not such a great idea after all. The specs says it is ATS/NTSC and no mention about PAL. Btw, does AVRs like Onkyo S3300 have PAL to NTSC conversion? But I guess even if it has, this TV may be a big risk considering the Philips service. I was drawn in mainly due to the excellent reviews on Amazon, with no major cons mentioned anywhere.

But I might go back to looking for 42X20 or 42PJ350, if I can convince my family. They don't feel the need for 100Hz, but I am very sensitive to judder during panning shots n during sports. So I'll leave out the 'lesser' LCDs/LEDs and stick to plasma. Will try to justify saying lesser investment now means earlier upgrade to 3D in the future

Btw, I'm not familiar with any grey dealers whom I can trust. So I keep away. If anyone can provide some contacts, I'd be able to inquire about the options that I have. Anyone?

 

[prankey]

i dont think signal from hdmi or dth has 2 do any thing with pal and ntsc ..and all tv has both as manufacture do not produce specific tv for any region.

I agree on that. Even if the TVs don't publish to support 576i or 720p/1080i at 50Hz, they mostly support those resolutions (as 60Hz has NEVER been an issue).

 

[gem]

Totally wrong. US TVs would not be able to display signals emanating from DTH STBs in India (HDMI or otherwise).

You would then need to attach this device between your STB and the TV

Atlona AT-HD560 Pal HDMI to NTSC HDMI Converter 1080p (search Amazon).

Not worth the hassle getting an US TV

- No warranty
- Voltage converter
- Signal converter

+ Price

 

[argho]

I agree on that. Even if the TVs don't publish to support 576i or 720p/1080i at 50Hz, they mostly support those resolutions (as 60Hz has NEVER been an issue).

Completely wrong.

I brought back a NTSC/ATSC TV from US. It did not work without a PAL to NTSC signal converter. Does not matter whether the input is from a STB via composite, component or HDMI.

As GEM has mnetioned :
- you will need a signal converter (which don't work too well)
- its not worth getting a TV from the US

 

[venkatcr]

I brought back a NTSC/ATSC TV from US. It did not work without a PAL to NTSC signal converter. Does not matter whether the input is from a STB via composite, component or HDMI.

Can we not set the STB to PAL or NTSC? I though this feature is there in all STBs? I am sure you can set most AVRs to PAL/NTSC.

Cheers

 

[mabhi10]

hey i have purchase a lg crt in 2003 it has setting in tv whether the input signal is pal or ntsc .do u think stilll u required a converter .??

 

[gem]

Can we not set the STB to PAL or NTSC? I though this feature is there in all STBs? I am sure you can set most AVRs to PAL/NTSC.

Cheers

TataSKY( plus, HD plus) does not have such an option. Not aware of any STB that provides the option to switch between PAL and NTSC.
Regarding AVR I thought they would be able to recognize and process both kinds signals but not convert one from the other. i.e AVRs available and sold in India and Asian markets only.
If the AVR also has been bought from US then it won't be able to recognize PAL or 50Hz signals. Atleast the Onkyo TX-SR605 I bought from US wouldn't recognize PAL signals. But the same model sold in India claims to be able to handle both NTSC and PAL signals.

 

[gem]

hey i have purchase a lg crt in 2003 it has setting in tv whether the input signal is pal or ntsc .do u think stilll u required a converter .??

A converter is not required for multi-system TVs(yours sounds like it is).
Usually, TVs sold by manufacturers in INdia are multi-system TVs (there may be a few exceptions). And usually TVs sold in US are NTSC/ATSC only TVs (there may be exceptions).

 

[mabhi10]

yes so person should take into account before buying a tv from usa

I brought back a NTSC/ATSC TV from US. It did not work

request to user on forum not be make a genric statment that tvs from usa dose not work here.

 

[gem]

yes so person should take into account before buying a tv from usa


request to user on forum not be make a genric statment that tvs from usa dose not work here.

User seems to have adequately qualified his statement that an NTSC/ATSC TV he bought from US did not work without a converter.

hey man go ahead ....

Cannot say the same about the above response.

 

[Vinod.R]

Moral of the story:

NOT WORTH THE HASSLE!