Bargain alert! 32" HD Ready LCD TV for £399...can you get one?

rizla01

Blimey.

Read the posts from 1 - 16 on this thread. All good humoured and happy - till someone with a big mouth piped up and posted an opinion.

Sorry Guys.

What a can of worms!

Perhaps I should have ended that post with the words ' LET BATTLE COMMENCE '.

Some extremely good points raised though. Answered a few Qs that I had about LCD/Plasma/Crt's.

Personallyy, I think that the suggestion that Martin promotes certain bargains to swell the funds of MSE were a bit unkind and anyone that has been here for a while wouldn't have even thought it let alone post it.

Then again we all know that it's a crime to make money anyway, don't we.

My thougts about this 'Bargain' are that it is not so much a buy now or miss out as I feel that low priced sets will always be around. And Co's like Woolies and Argos will always sell them.

The 'Bargains' are where a certain manuf has brought out an upgrade and the old one- still with pleanty of mileage re technology, is reduced to clear stock. this was so with the '66 Toshiba being replaced by the triple HDMI port '68.

But I think that to a large extent, we are all being hoodwinked into believing that we must have the latest offering that few will truly benifit from EVER simply because retailers encourage this. (HD being very suspect till the Companies reach a definite decision as to which, when and how.)

Think back to the number of people that bought the SUPERIOR Betamax or the 4 speaker Quadraphonics of the 70s.

If no one buys the latest gimmicks until they are FULLY up and running, what would the companies do then? Go Bust??

Thanks to all of the previous contributers for what has turned into a great debate.

rizla01

OOPs simultaneous posting!:)

codger

Ok, I agree with everything Martin said (grovel) apart from one thing:

W*i*h* Magazine.

Years ago we were paid-up members of the Consumers Association and subscribers to the aforementioned unmentionable.

But that was then. This is now. And whether or not you think (as we do) that the quality of the unmentionable's reviewing really did go downhill in recent years, fact is that for ABSOLUTELY NOTHING it is possible nowadays to go on the web and NOT get reviews from 'experts' from W*i*h* or magazines or website reviews but. . .

The actual user experiences of real people. People who paid out their money, brought the item home, and for a damn sight longer than a one hour or one day bench test have learned from experience what's good about the product and what's bad.

This thread generated a lot of posts because some, like me, have concerns about what we think is a Next Best Thing that hasn't quite arrived fully-fledged. It was also about, in part, as Mat said: there's more to money saving than the superficial bargain. So the site flagged up the bargain offer -- great! -- and this thread then flagged up various pros and cons. Also, great.

But come on. You won't find any of that in W*i*h*, no matter how much you pay. Clicking on the magazine's Google ads (and similar hype) which promise an instant review and then deliver precisely nothing is a trip up one particular blind alley that no-one needs to make now.

Please. Can we have no more of W*i*c*? promoting on here? Just MSE and Martin and this site's members and posters is good enough for me. :beer:

beast76uk

Finding one: I managed to find one in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent after literally TENS of minutes of searching on the Argos website last Friday night. it was a 30 mile drive for me, but it was the closest one in stock. After reading some very positive user reviews (can't remember where, sorry) I reserved the TV online there and then. called the store the next morning to double check it was DEFINITELY in stick and reserved for us, we went and picked it up.

TV itself: Casing is very aesthetically pleasing, picture (both through analogue aerial and Sky+ box) is very good, I was expecting some loss in quality through upgrading in size, but hardly noticed any, considering! but I guess the quality of pic can depend on what is being pumped out from whichever tv production company/station/whatever... as mentioned by someone else before, though some LCD TVs may show as a black screen when viewed at more than 30 degrees from centre - well not this baby! I'm currently sitting at my PC at maybe around 80 degrees(?) to the side of it and seeing almost a good a picture as head on!

Sound-wise, i cannot fault it. after mounting it on the wall (one of the reasons for needing to get LCD - a BIG space-saver, very important in a 1 bed flat with a wife and a dog!) we did hear a slight rattle on the bassier tones :eek: , but after a quick thought realised it was the plastic panel covering the inputs on the rear/side of the set that was vibrating. simply removed the panel and no more vibrating! :j

Tech: There are plenty of inputs on the set (still trying to work out how to run PC through it, but I'm sure I'll get there...), its HD Ready and the screen resolution is as good as (if not higher than) some higher priced LCDs.

**********

In my humble opinion, if you are in need of upsizing your screen and want to save some space with a decent quality, very reasonably priced LCD TV, you won't go far wrong with this. But ONLY if you need/want one. we did.


Beast out.
and merry xmas :beer:

mullerman

Who wants a cheap Chinese TV? Poor picture, software, aesthetics etc! Quality costs sometimes!

rizla01

Thought I'd stoke the fire a bit.

Look here

http://www.misco.co.uk/productinformation/~129802~WW~/index.htm??affiliate=2003

At this





For £399.00 plus Del.

Digimate LTV-3203H 32" LCD TV

Leap into the HD generation with this 32" widescreen LCD HD-ready TV from Digimate. Offering a stunning 1366 x 768 WXGA resolution, the Digimate 32" LCD delivers a delightful visual performance, with a superb 1200:1 contrast ratio and an impressive 16.7 million colours. This set comes with a powerful 8ms response time, showing fast action scenes with great detail from any source. Your existing equipment is well supported, with two scart sockets and S-Video among the inputs provided, as well as a HDMI connection for the HD TV era, working beautifully with Sky HD and Telewest's HD service. The in-built 3D comb filter and automatic aspect-ratio adjustment function helps provide a realistic image on the screen at all times. Stereo sound helps immerse you into the home viewing experience further, with Nicam support and noise reduction, delivered through the twin eight-watt stereo speakers. The Digicam 32" LCD TV represents an excellent choice in HD equipment.


Features

• Internal Stereo Speakers
• Support DE-interlace
• NICAM
• 10 pages Teletext
• Aspect ratio adjustment
• 3D Comb Filter
• Noise reduction

Specifications

Product Description Digimate LTV-3203H 32" LCD TV
Diagonal Size 32"
Colour Silver & Black
Brightness 500 cd/m2 (typical)
Max Resolution 1366 x 768 WXGAC
olour support 24-bit (16.7 million colours)
Interface HDMI, VGA
Dot Pitch / Pixel Pitch 0.51 x 0.51 mm
Response Time 8 ms
Contrast Ratio 1200:1
Internal Speakers 2 x 8 Watt
Dimensions 813 x 645 x 240 mm
Weight 16.7 kg

jpe20

Yeah ... seen this misco deal b4..... Looks like a good price especially if you go through quidco and get an extra 5% cashback (20quid) so its even cheaper at 380quid!!!

I personally am waiting for my Sony 32" CRT to conk out b4 buying as HD content is not widely available yet and the flat screens still have some way to go on the contrast ratio front.

HTH Jules

codger

[QUOTE=beast76uk
In my humble opinion, if you are in need of upsizing your screen and want to save some space with a decent quality, very reasonably priced LCD TV, you won't go far wrong with this. But ONLY if you need/want one. we did.


Beast out.
and merry xmas :beer:[/QUOTE]

Fabulous post, Beastie! The facts, not the fury. I know this isn't a tech board but it would be very useful to have a future update from you and anyone else who bought this product.

Wonder if Martin could add a little sub-forum to the board to cope with posts of actual owner / user experiences -- something like, "Is it still good for you?"

Tanks again, Beast. :T

IClaudius

I've been following this thread with interest.

I am one of those shoppers who hasn't got a clue about HD, digital, plasma, lcd and uncle tom cobley and all. :rolleyes:

My cheapo CRT has just conked out and someone in the butchers had heard from the secretary at the paint mixing factory and was telling the woman who does the outfits for the Brownies that we're "all going to need a digital tv in about a year anyway and none of the ones we've got will work"
So...decided to look at what the trusty old moneysavers were saying, followed a few of their links to reviews and by midnight last night had lost the will to live :rotfl:

Anyway, for all you experts, and I really don't say that tongue in cheek, look away now, for anyone who feels as bemused and befuddled as I do, you might want to check out this site:
https://www.digitaluk.co.uk

It tells you all you need to know aobut the switchover and more importantly, when it's going to be happening in your area.

Mine isn't till 2012, that's 5 years on from now.

I can't afford a decent all singing model (decent being the operative word here), but I can (after lots of wonderful advice from Codger) afford a very very good old fashioned model which at the moment are very affordable and will last me till I absolutely need to change and then hopefully in 5 years, both the prices and technology will have moved on.

Now, I know there are those out there that want 32'' and plasma and thinner tv's - this post isn't for you,
It's for those for whom money may be tight, esp at this time of year, are completely bewildered by all the terms (even when they've tried to make sense of them) and just want a telly!!!!!!!

martin998877

I managed to reserve one of these TVs at Argos, Wolverhampton, and picked it up yesterday. I also signed up for the Argos Card, which has 9 months interest free credit!

The TV is really excellent. It comes with a base stand and wall mounting brackets, and was extremely easy to set up with auto tune working well. The picture is really great too, and the sound is good, so I am very pleased! Thank you Martin!

From (another) Martin