HDTV choices

[TheLostSwede]

Got a Heran as well, not my choice, the GF's parents bought it for us. The first one had a broken speaker and the second one has a stuck pixel (bright red) which is really annoying, but not covered by the warranty...

The upscaling engine is also fairly crap and the cable TV here looks shite on most 1080p sets, hence why it's actually better getting a 720p TV in Taiwan...

The good thing with it though is the USB port on the side that allows you to play video files, although the file support is very limited, but it's still a neat addition.

Not as impressed with Heran TV's as I am with their AC units.

[Tortue]

I just bought a 55" Vizio (the one sold at Costco) and I'm really really really impressed (a friend bought the 47" and it's the same quality) by the overall quality. I previously had a LG and a Sony (both 100k$ up) and despite their higher prices, none provides a better image (but the LG has a better sounds) than the Vizio, especially with Smooth Image option and the 240hz mode (this was just a gadget on the LG but definitely not on the Vizio)

Cons ? Maybe the sound but I don't care that much as I have amp to take care of that.

[Mordeth]

I just bought a 55" Vizio (the one sold at Costco) and I'm really really really impressed (a friend bought the 47" and it's the same quality) by the overall quality. I previously had a LG and a Sony (both 100k$ up) and despite their higher prices, none provides a better image (but the LG has a better sounds) than the Vizio, especially with Smooth Image option and the 240hz mode (this was just a gadget on the LG but definitely not on the Vizio)

Cons ? Maybe the sound but I don't care that much as I have amp to take care of that.

I compared the 55inch Chimei to the 52inch Vizio LED, and the Chimei came out ahead. On the Vizio the colors were bright.....but they'd sometimes bleed into one another.The Chimei was comparable in brightness and the Chimei didn't have colours bleeding. I also compared the Chimei to a Samsung LED and they were very similar in quality.

I spent about 3 months looking at TVs almost every 2nd day (I take care of my son by myself most mornings....so I'd load him into the car and take him to different super stores and shops(along with parks as well)) and I've yet to see any TV that is brighter or crisper than the Chimeis.

[ShreddyM]

I just bought a 55" Vizio (the one sold at Costco) and I'm really really really impressed (a friend bought the 47" and it's the same quality) by the overall quality. I previously had a LG and a Sony (both 100k$ up) and despite their higher prices, none provides a better image (but the LG has a better sounds) than the Vizio, especially with Smooth Image option and the 240hz mode (this was just a gadget on the LG but definitely not on the Vizio)

Cons ? Maybe the sound but I don't care that much as I have amp to take care of that.

I compared the 55inch Chimei to the 52inch Vizio LED, and the Chimei came out ahead. On the Vizio the colors were bright.....but they'd sometimes bleed into one another.The Chimei was comparable in brightness and the Chimei didn't have colours bleeding. I also compared the Chimei to a Samsung LED and they were very similar in quality.

I spent about 3 months looking at TVs almost every 2nd day (I take care of my son by myself most mornings....so I'd load him into the car and take him to different super stores and shops(along with parks as well)) and I've yet to see any TV that is brighter or crisper than the Chimeis.

I can't believe you're even COMPARING a Chimei to a Samsung 3D LED. And yes, I know a lot about TVs.

[ceevee369]

I was in consumer Electronics for 12 years. I did my homework and will either buy the 46 inch 3D Samsung or wait another 2 months for the LG borderless 3D
Just have to cash some 200.000 Pesos for it. Bargain

[Bu Lai En]

Interested to hear good things about the Vizio. Saw this one that looks new on PCHome. Any opinions?

1080p
3 HDMI ports
USB

http://shopping.pchome.com.tw/?mod=item ... 2X&ROWNO=3

[Icon]

Any opinions on the Vizio? The ones who have bought, how are they working out?

Any other cheap alternatives?

[Bu Lai En]

Any opinions on the Vizio? The ones who have bought, how are they working out?

Any other cheap alternatives?

It's bloody great, mate. Looks sexy, great quality, and playing HD through the USB slot, looks freakin' awesome.

[Bu Lai En]

Now that I'm home, a few more details. This is the one I bought:

http://www.vizio.com.tw/product.aspx?pd ... D4F16A3862

When I said it was sexy, I mean I was surprised that one of the things I'm most happy about with this TV is the way the 'box' looks - the 'frame' around the actual screen is really good on the eyes.

The USB is really useful. It supports not only Xvid/avi files, but also most H264/mkv stuff too which is the format most HD stuff comes in. This means that I can download the 720p versions of my favourite TV shows, transfer them to my USB stick and watch on TV very easily. I also watched the 1080p version of Planet Earth, which looked absofuckinglutely stunning. It won't support absolutely every format though - couldn't handle DTS audio, I think. If you're after that, go for a media box (WDTV etc) or laptop hook-up solution. But if you want something quick and easy, like me, the USB capability is a serious consideration when buying. Take a USB stick with you when shopping around and see which TVs support which formats.

Even without HD content, just my normal DVDs, hooked up to the player via HDMI cable, look shitloads better on this machine than on the old CRT. And you never know if you'll get a Blu-Ray or whatever source of HD content, so I honestly see no reason to not get Full HD 1080p capability. As far as measures of contrast go, I think someone else already pointed out that this is bullshit as there's no industry standard whatsoever.

Anyway, I'm very very happy with my 37" Vizio.

[Mordeth]

Now that I'm home, a few more details. This is the one I bought:

http://www.vizio.com.tw/product.aspx?pd ... D4F16A3862

When I said it was sexy, I mean I was surprised that one of the things I'm most happy about with this TV is the way the 'box' looks - the 'frame' around the actual screen is really good on the eyes.

The USB is really useful. It supports not only Xvid/avi files, but also most H264/mkv stuff too which is the format most HD stuff comes in. This means that I can download the 720p versions of my favourite TV shows, transfer them to my USB stick and watch on TV very easily. I also watched the 1080p version of Planet Earth, which looked absofuckinglutely stunning. It won't support absolutely every format though - couldn't handle DTS audio, I think. If you're after that, go for a media box (WDTV etc) or laptop hook-up solution. But if you want something quick and easy, like me, the USB capability is a serious consideration when buying. Take a USB stick with you when shopping around and see which TVs support which formats.

Even without HD content, just my normal DVDs, hooked up to the player via HDMI cable, look shitloads better on this machine than on the old CRT. And you never know if you'll get a Blu-Ray or whatever source of HD content, so I honestly see no reason to not get Full HD 1080p capability. As far as measures of contrast go, I think someone else already pointed out that this is bullshit as there's no industry standard whatsoever. And of course the PS3 plays Blu-Ray discs for the ultimate in HD.

Anyway, I'm very very happy with my 37" Vizio.

Another good idea for HD videos is getting a PS3. Even if you don't play games you can hook the PS3 up to your TV and run a cable (or use wireless) to connect your PS3 to your computer. That way you don't need to transfer anything. You just download a movie.....turn on your TV and PS3 and watch the movie. The PS3 also has a much larger range of codecs so there's very little chance of a file not playing.

I'm still very happy with my Chimei.