Oct 02, 2007 06:31 PM
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I had my eyes on a large screen television for more than 4-5 years. So, I had seen and been attracted to the 30 inch televisions that were in the market at some point of time. Then, came the season when Projection TVs were the rage. And, then the LCD television mania started. Being spoilt for choice, I did what any other normal person would do - I dithered and did not make a decision.
So, a large screen TV moved in my list of "want to buy" from year to year. Truth to state - my 21inch Philips TV was doing well as it has been from 1996. Over this time, I have purchased about 5-6 of the remote controls for that TV - not because it had some defect of manufacturing or similar - its just that my 2 kids sort of adopted the TV remote for all their adventures around the house - and that included a few un-solicited bathroom expeditions too.
Then, 2006 happened and the DishTV offerings started to make sense. Not wanting to be victim to the underhand deals provided by the dealers who offered Conditional Access Systems(CAS), I opted for a superior experience on Dish and barring a few hiccups on and off - it has been a good investment. Now, with Dish connection & a DVD player+ the Rs 100 per month normal cable connection(for some obscure local channels), the 21 Inch TV required multiple connection changes based on what we wanted to watch at any point of time.
Then, came the Cricket World Cup in 2007 and it was too tempting to finally get my large screen TV. So, started the research - and believe me - there are as many opinions as there are people and websites and dealers. LCD is better, Projection TVs are going cheap, Plasma has permanence effect, Samsung is better, LG is top of the line, SONY has Vega and ONIDA has something better.
I figured out that technology wise, Plasma has its nose just a bit ahead of LCD televisions for any size larger than 40inches. Some concerns - there is a possibility of burn-in effect+ Plasma generated heat and could be higher power consumption compared to LCD. Then, I saw the Panasonic Viera and fell for it. I figured out that Panasonic has invested in PLasma technology and is the world leader in the same. They recently unvield the worlds largest plasma TV(some 103 inches or so). And, the price offer was very tempting.
Now, to make the deal. I visited the showroom in T Nagar. They were under renovation. They were short on stock and with the World Cup only a few days away, I was putting pressure to get the TV on time. I got a 0% interest deal through ICICI credit cards for 24 months - there was a joint offer from Panasonic and ICICI at that point of time and got a good deal on the TV too and due to some good luck, managed to get the TV home within a week.
Now, DVD player, DIsh TV connection & Rs 100 cable connection - all co-exist on the TV. Quality of picture and sound is top class. I have had the TV for 6 months now and am extremely happy. I did not mount it on the wall and opted for a table top model. The dealer installed it properly and set it up well. It seems I can connect my laptop to the TV too if I want to - a extra large monitor functionality.
The TV is HD ready and is HDMI compatible( a single wire to connect all your devices). The remote is simple and easy to use. There is a PIP capability - which means that the wifey can watch her mega serials on one side while I can watch the cricket match on the other side - of course, the mega serial audio is the one I need to endure:-)
And, the burn-in issue - horrors of horrors - day 2, I saw a shadowy image on the TV when I switched it off. Boy - was I worried.then, I figured out that because of the gaseous property of PLasma, the image retention is longer and it shows up as an image even after you switch off the TV. This dis-appears soon and I have not seen any logo burn-in that has happened till date on the TV. All in all - great TV to own and good decision made.
