46/47" HDTV to buy this Diwali, which one?

[Vandal]

Guys, am shopping for a 46/47" HDTV. Am confused whether to also consider 50" plasma sets, mainly not looking at plasmas because the glass seems too reflective, and my room is not optimised. Good picture quality is a must for me.

Budget: 1.3L max

Usage:
1) TV (35%)
2) HD content (20%)
3) DVD content (20%)
4) PS3 gaming (20%)
5) PC gaming (5%)

Have looked at, and liked the following models: Sony KDL-46NX700, Samsung UA46C6900VR, LA46C750R2R, LG 47LE5500, 47LD460, 47LD650. Am looking to pick up during Diwali, in order to avail for discounts. Is there anything else I should look for, in terms of a deal? Am looking at LG Shoppe, Samsung Shoppe and Sony World for purchases, or e-malls like Jumbo. Am located in NOIDA. Locally any place to get slightly more competitive rates? Can I expect any freebies with my purchase?

Have the following doubts:
1) Is it true that LEDs are still not good enough for gaming, due to the edge backlights that cause delay in transient response?

 

[csczero]

if budget is 1 L 30 K there many good plasma's

LG 60"PK550 and Panasonic 50"V20 is good to go

Bigger LCD' s i have only seen LG LD650 it performed well in HD not sure about SD content

 

[Vandal]

Not so sure about a 60", my viewing distance is about 8~10 feet max.

 

[cmpugay]

If your viewing distance is 8-10 Feeta, then even 46" is ruled out. Go for 40". I prefer following in order of preference :

Sony EX710 or HX700/710
LG Infinia LED

 

[Vandal]

^rented place saar, might shift. Considering something a little future proof

 

[adder]

Have the following doubts:
1) Is it true that LEDs are still not good enough for gaming, due to the edge backlights that cause delay in transient response?

No,backlight or edgelight as nothing to do with response time,todays lcds are very fast.

Fastest being the one which use photo alignment tech like the ones in Sony lcds such as EX700 and HX and NX700 and above.

Well since your room has normal lighting,i.e not like some who are unfortunate to watch in dark conditions or on purpose.
You can take the NX700 of your list and add the EX700 or EX710 to the list.

For your viewing distance at 8 feet a 46" will be a bit big,SD will look medicore.I would opt for a 40".But at 10 feet 46" is fine.

all these are good Sony KDL-46EX700 or EX710, Samsung UA46C6900VR, LA46C750.

You can also go for the HX800 it has a limited local dimming system and has deep blacks with superior processing to other lower end Sony and Samsungs.
Also comes with 60k worth goodies like 3d blu ray player,3 d glasses,9 blu ray movies and HT.Making the tv effective price at 80k.

 

[wingsoffires]

Ok firstly I would say Sony is totally out of the deal. Reason being whatever little I have heard about the after sales service of Sony is not convincing. Also that it is costlier than the others and even the after sales maintenance would be quite costly. I'll give you an example : - My friend had bought a Sony 32 incher two years earlier for 55k. Something went wrong with the TV just recently and tell you what man Sony is asking for 12-15k for the repair and some part replacement. And to top it they are not even giving any warranty for the replaced part. So Sony would not be my cup of tea.

As for LG I would say their is absolutely no comparison as these models from LG can be bought at seriously discounted prices.
LD460 is available at around 65k and LD650 at around 69k. So with a budget of 1.3 lacs these two seem puny. If you are considering these LG models you should also be looking at Samsung 46c530 / 46c550 priced around 72k. These two are definitely better choices than LG.
The LG 47LE5500 is again a very good led tv but obviously not in the league of Samsung. You should get this one at around 84k. A new model in this LG lineup worth looking has been recently launched which is the 47LE4600. This one should be available at around 75k.

As for Sammy 46C6900 LED ,it is the costliest of the lot although again you could get a very good discount. This set could be available at around 110000. Surely this is one excellent LED but this is the world of 3d and this one is not infact a 3d tv.

So my final vote would definitely go to the 46c750. This is the topmost tv in the Samsung lcd lineup in India and it is a 3d tv. I have read some really good reviews of this lcd elsewhere. I believe you should definitely go for this tv only. With an mrp of 129000 rs you should get this one at a discounted lowest price of around 98000 Rs. I called up a dealer today in Delhi and this one was available for 108000 without any bargaining. So by my estimates this one could be easily available for around 98k with some bargaining of-course.

Well honestly telling you even I am in the same boat as yours but my budget is a lot more limited. My budget is 75k stretched to the limit. And I am too looking for a 46-50 inch tv.

I definitely like the LG ld460 and ld650 for the price but it has a catch. And the catch is that the lcd's have got only 2 hdmi inputs. LG should have given atleast 3 for God's sake.

As I said above I do like the Sammy 46c550 which I am getting at around 71-72k.

Except for these I am also considering the Sammy 50c550 plasma which is available at around 65k.

I so wish I had a budget of around 1 lac. In this budget I would have straightaway gone and would have got the Samsung 46C750 3d lcd.
Only if I had that 25k more than my budget of 75k. WELL Only..........

 

[Vandal]

^Thanks guys adder / wingsoffires - you have given me a lot of options.
Wingsoffires, where are you getting these awesome prices man? I was quoted 99K for the LG 47LE5500.
Are you referring to the LD460 47"? For 65K? I got a quote of 79K man. Please tell me where you are getting these prices?? And 87K for the LD650 47".

 

[csczero]

dude those are MRPs i guess, not street prices

 

[wingsoffires]

Friend these are not MRP's.
These are hard bargained discounted prices I have got in New Delhi after a lot of looking around for the past few months. Not sure if these would be of any help to you as I am in Delhi. All I can tell you is that you need to bargain hard enough in Mumbai / Pune and totally need to play the blough game with dealers. You need to tell one dealer that the other dealer is giving it at the lowest price and have them fight with each other over prices for you to get the best deal.
And yes I am referring to the 47ld460 for 65k. This is actually the price.

 

[shaiju_o_thomas]

I like your approach. Diwali is the best time to buy. Lots of offers. You can even get BR players for free.

My top picks for your price

Samsung
LCD : LA46C750R2R ( stunning)
LCD : LA46C650L1R ( stunning without the 3D)

Panasonic
Plasma : TH-P50V20D

Sony
LCD : KDL-46EX500 ( if you can find one in 46")
LCD : KDL-46NX700 ( Edge LED)

My bet on Samsung any day. I own a VFM LG PK550R Plasma but that's just interim as I wait for 2011 Panasonics.

I think LCD-LEDs are overpriced and best avoided. My honest advice is not to splurge on them. Avoid LG too as I find that once calibrated they are just average except for 47LE8500 but that's way expensive.

Haggle is the keyword. Please keep checking the price thread, you'll be surprised how much discount is on offer.

 

[Vandal]

cszero, this is the price I was given in NOIDA, in an LG Shoppe.

wingsoffires - I'm in NOIDA, Delhi NCR. Perhaps you can help me with a contact who can offer me better rates.

 

[gsmd]

Here is my 2 bits after having done a bit of shopping around for 46/47 in TVs

1. LEDs at this price is not worth it. Plain edge lit LEDs like the new LE4600
just replace CCFL with LED and in fact being edge-lit will have light uniformity issues.
You may have better backlight intensity/colour retention in the long run but this
is not a major consideration.

Pseudo-local dimming models like the LE5500 have major light blooming issues
(see CNET review) and are also best avoided.

2. At this price you basically get top of line CCFL (Sony may be HCFL) and those
will have better feature sets than an LED.

Among the choices

Sony - avoid - not a bad choice but not good enough picture quality for the price and way too feature poor.


C550/650/750. 3D is best avoided now so no 750. 550 is OK but 650 is the best compromise.
87-88 in Chennai. Better blacks and contrast than the LG LD650. Image processor seems better. Presudo 200Hz in LG may offer gaming benefits and 650 is BAD in input lag (50 ms or so in tests). So it is a bad choice for fast input games

LD460 is best avoided. If you want LG go for the 650. Samsung has better overall
picture but you will not regret the 650. Better gaming performance. Has HDD support
and better Internet link. Also has Wireless HDMI link optional (waste of money though).

Just do a LD650 vs C650 comparison with

1. a good BD with enough dark material. Check out 24P source material if you are a film buff.
2. check with a good DVD to check scaling up performance.

3. Samsung PVA panel will have more off-centre wash-out compared to the LG's IPS panel but it does not seem too bad. Check this out

4. Check upscaling from SD STB

I run a company that designs LCD/LED TVs and DLP projectors so I have a fair idea on these things . In fact my partner designed one of the earlier Sony high end models. Sony's picture processing is not what it used to be (according to him). In fact I wanted
to build my own set (a 46 in LCD would have set me back about 30 k !) but grade A
panels are tough to come by. Would have been fun though since I could have rigged up a PC with an NVIDIA card to do all the processing. Still plan to do this when I get a panel. And no I am not advertising here - our clients typically have very large turnovers and are hardly to be found lurking here ! And min. order tends
to be 100,000 pieces !

For Panel prices and bulk LCD TV prices see
WitsView

A 46 in panel goes for about Rs 15000, case+ power supply is probably around 10k or so. Show yiu how much markup there is in these things (usually 2.5-3x cost
of production)

 

[wingsoffires]

cszero, this is the price I was given in NOIDA, in an LG Shoppe.

wingsoffires - I'm in NOIDA, Delhi NCR. Perhaps you can help me with a contact who can offer me better rates.

For Samsung : - The best rates I have got are from Gemsons International in Patel Nagar - contact no 011-25842020.
Another contact in Gurgaon - Samsung Plaza - Dawar Electronics in Ambience Mall Gurgaon. contact no not available write now. Will give it to you later if you require.

For LG : - Apollo sales corporation in Dwarka - Contact no : - 65576264, 65576265

Except for these most dealers would give you a good price. You just need to bargain.

 

[adder]

Ok firstly I would say Sony is totally out of the deal. Reason being whatever little I have heard about the after sales service of Sony is not convincing. Also that it is costlier than the others and even the after sales maintenance would be quite costly. I'll give you an example : - My friend had bought a Sony 32 incher two years earlier for 55k. Something went wrong with the TV just recently and tell you what man Sony is asking for 12-15k for the repair and some part replacement. And to top it they are not even giving any warranty for the replaced part. So Sony would not be my cup of tea.

Well try repairing other brands for lesser.The price are the same its not that LG panels are cheap,international prices of panels are pretty much the same for all companies.
A 32" OEM price for the lcd panel is about 9k add another 5k for the CCFL backlight ,this what companies pay for panel makers.
The PCB again costs a lot,if you have some el cheapo tv with piss poor image processing those go for cheap,but the ones in tvs such as Sony and Samsung they put a lot of R&D to image processing with proprietary chips ,if not there won't be much of a difference b/w a companies like BENQ/CHIMIE and first tier companies such Samsung or Sony.

Lastly Sony is the market leader in india in flat panels tvs ,its lcds sold officialy alone outsell(excluding Sony grey sales) the combined sales of samsung plasma and lcds,same goes to LG.
As more people by a particular brand there will be some kind of proportional complaints one hears about them.
I can google issues with all brands.

 

[Vandal]

Guys, this is all getting too confusing with a lot of contradictory points. OK, so the LG 47LD650 and Samsung LA650 and LA750 are what I should look at.

What is the performance of the full HD 50" plasmas like? Does the contrast, colour and speed improve? Who makes better plasmas - LG or Samsung? I wouldn't mind saving a bit, truth be told. I could buy a new lens

 

[Vandal]

Prices I have got:
Samsung:
LA46C650 85500 (free HD Airtel DTH)
UA46C6900 - 95500 (free HD Airtel DTH)
LA46C750 102000 (free 3D blu-ray player/glasses)

LG:

LG47LD650 81000 (free blu-ray player + Tata Sky DTH box)
LG47LD460 - 73500 (free blu-ray player + Tata Sky DTH box)

Can anyone comment on the prices? The C750 looks good, considering the 3D blu-ray player and glasses bundled free.

Man, now I have a real dilemma on my hands.
I want good blacks, at the same time, I don't want input lag to screw up my gaming experience, although gaming will be minimal. This sucks! I cannot decide.
Please advise further...

@wingsoffires - thanks man, you are a super help! @ I checked, it seems the LG 650 also has 2 HDMI slots, this is a bummer, cause I'll use a Blu-Ray player / PS3 as well as my PC and sometimes my camera, and I hate to keep switching between devices.

 

[gsmd]

If occasional gaming is important, go with the C550. For some reason tests indicate lag is just 14 ms or so. You give up contrast, Internet goodies ans 100Hz motion processing. But it is definitely on par for general use with the LD650.

You will probably pay 70k+ for it.

Samsung LE40C650/ LE40C652/ LE40C654/ LE40C630 Review
Samsung LE32C530/ LE40C530 Review: Full HD 1080p LCD TV

See the review notes about the lag.

I saw both and for a non-videophile user, a C5xx is more than sufficient.

LG seems to have ver few reviews and that makes me nervous !

 

[ajaykatoch]

Hi GSMD
You r suggesting samsung c650 over LG 650. I have a query regarding penal used in sammy. I heard that sammy using SS AA and CN panels in there lcd tv. Is it true and how to check for panel type before buying.

 

[wingsoffires]

Well try repairing other brands for lesser.The price are the same its not that LG panels are cheap,international prices of panels are pretty much the same for all companies.
A 32" OEM price for the lcd panel is about 9k add another 5k for the CCFL backlight ,this what companies pay for panel makers.
The PCB again costs a lot,if you have some el cheapo tv with piss poor image processing those go for cheap,but the ones in tvs such as Sony and Samsung they put a lot of R&D to image processing with proprietary chips ,if not there won't be much of a difference b/w a companies like BENQ/CHIMIE and first tier companies such Samsung or Sony.

Lastly Sony is the market leader in india in flat panels tvs ,its lcds sold officialy alone outsell(excluding Sony grey sales) the combined sales of samsung plasma and lcds,same goes to LG.
As more people by a particular brand there will be some kind of proportional complaints one hears about them.
I can google issues with all brands.

Yeah maybe you are right about the Sony being the leading lcd seller in India.
But its just that Sony seem to be overcharging for most of its products. Its not that I hate Sony. I am sure Sony still makes the best Lcd's anywhere in the world. But I hate to overpay. And most people including the one's on this site say that Samsung Tv's are as good as Sony. Moreover Sony have this policy called SURE (Sony Unified Resale Execution) according to which Sony retailers cannot sell their products below a particular price. And so you cannot exactly bargain a lot on Sony products whereas with Samsung I have been able to bring down the prices from retailers to a bare minimum. Its just that Sony products are not exactly VFM.
This is primary the reason I am suggesting Vandal to go with Samsung instead of Sony. In my opinion it is better to go for a higher model of Samsung than a comparably priced model of Sony for the sheer factor of VFM.