Help with T.V. purchase

[Joey0369]

I will be arriving in Udon on the 30th and wish to buy a T.V. for the in-laws as a Newyears present. The budget is 10,000 or less. any sugestions (as to where to go, prices, types ect.) would be a big help. Thank you!

[WBU ALUM]

Big C has an extremely wide variety and prices all across the spectrum. Was in there today and was surprised at the huge assortment.

[BobHelm]

10K is sort of 'neither here nor there".
All the major supermarkets are continually running their own special offers.
A standard 23" can come in at about 3,500 and a 29" at about 5,000 - if it is on offer.
Flat screens for the smallest (I think 20") have been on offer for about 8,000 but normally about 10,000. A fair selection of the next size up (22"???) for about 12,000.

[jackspratt]

Try Big C, Tesco and Carrefor to se what they have on "special" on the day.

You can save a packet.

[747man]

Seen a 29 inch for 10,500 in Tesco Nong Khai today,But NOT sure which make,as I'm not in the market for one myself never looked that closley.....But It might not be there now at that price !!!

[nkstan]

If you buy a HDTV,buy the lower priced because they all are the same in picture here because there is no HD here!
As already said ,all the major centers have huge selections at various prices,just wait until you are here and go select one,no problem! Merry Xmas

[KHONDAHM]

If you buy a HDTV,buy the lower priced because they all are the same in picture here because there is no HD here!
As already said ,all the major centers have huge selections at various prices,just wait until you are here and go select one,no problem! Merry Xmas

Co-signed.

Your choices are CRT (very, very cheap), flat-screen Plasma (very, very good IMHO), and flat-screen LCD (meh...for yourself but maybe not the in-laws). If it were me, I would get them an LG brand plasma model. They'd be thrilled. All except 1 (Sony) of mine are LG brand. I'm happy with the brand - cheapest price, too.

Lotus is good, but you may be able to get a package deal which includes a surround sound system or something for the same price at a nearby independent TV dealer. I found two such deals. A 19" Sony and the 55" LG each came with a home entertainment center package for the same price offered for only the TV at Lotus. This was in October. Free immediate delivery, setup, and in-home "training". They did a fine job competing on service and value. I also comparison shopped Big C and found them slightly higher priced and too heavily weighted in Samsung brands. More than a few clerks told me to avoid Samsung at Lotus, Big C, and 2-3 independent shops.

Hope this helps. Happy shopping!

Edit: Be sure you WATCH them take it out of the packaging. One independent actually delivered a refurb from their basement. I sent it back and got a refund. They hadn't even bothered to CLEAN it!

[rickfarang]

Also stop by Carrefour. The prices are probably a little higher (I don't know, only guessing), but they have a good selection.

Some comments on the CRT vs LCD vs Plasma choices:

CRT: Good value but old fashioned looking. Old 4:3 aspect ratio (H:V) makes most images come out the right shape. Graceful degradation of light output and color over a decade or so.

LCD: A little more expensive. Newer 16:9 aspect ratio is much better for HDTV video, but with current technology, people are normal in the middle but much fatter on the edges (affects with soccer balls the same way). Graceful degradation over half a decade, but the good news is you can simply replace the backlight.

Plasma: Same problem with aspect ratio as LCD. Graceful degradation similar to that of LCD but you have to replace the whole panel. My personal, subjective observation, is that plasma displays dissipate a lot more power than LCDs. At least it feels that way when I walk past them in the department stores.

[NOLA]

Rick...i agree with your observations and an added plus for LCD, is that you don't get any reflections on the screen.

[rickfarang]

Yes, sort of, but with flat display you get one big mirror, which can be coated to reduce (AR coatings) or diffuse the glare (AG Coatings or AG film). With non-flat CRTs, you get a convex mirror that shows you everything in the room. The same faceplate treatments are available for CRTs.

[globalwanderer]

just bear in mind after sales support. A friend bought an LG from Carrefour in Pattaya. After a couple of months it failed. He went back to get them to sort it out and they referred him to the local LG Service Centre... and then mis-directed him to it. Luckily I lived there at the time and had seen it. It then took 3 months for LG to recify the situation.

Having had experience with other products I now buy from Power Buy for electronic goods where possible. As it happens just bought a 32" Samsung LCD, with free Microwave and grill for just under 15k.

For the family I'd probably go for a big CRT rather than a smaller LCD..... it's much more impressive looking!

[Joey0369]

Thanks for all the help guys. I ended up buying a 29" Samsung Flatscreen for a little over 6,000 at Big C.

[Aardvark]

Not a bad price Joey