My review looks more of like my personal journey rather than concentrating on technical spec's.Those who might be looking for the latter, may feel disappointed but feel free to drop your comments I can add some more information to this review.
My requirement was simple like many others.
- Affordable (between 25- 35 K) cost. (2) Should be able to watch as close as from 5-6 Feet distance (though my hall is more than more than 20 feet length).(3) Would prefer model capable of playing movies/music through USB (I have 100s of movies on my portable hard drive).(4) Of course, best picture/sound , should be better than my old CRT(otherwise I cant justify my buy to my parents as it is double the cost of CRTs) (5). Should be possible to continue using Cable connection (I have 2 TVs at home for which I pay Rs.180 per month for both TVs).
Research:
As my once favourite 8 years old Sony 21" CRT gave up on a D-Day, I was left with no choice but to start my hunt for a new TV, which was actually planned for 2012! Here goes the research....
As I stated, Cost is going to be vital factor for me to zero in a model, I started researching how to kick off some 'unnecessary features' in order to shrink the cost.
My first target was if its gng to be fine with HD Ready, kicking out Full HD, thus saving on some bucks.After gng tru' some sites, the recommended viewing distance, and some extra equipment needed for HD Ready to hv HD experience, the pros n cons, I parked the idea for a while, thought of deciding on it after a 'field trip' (showrooms).
The next tartget was if I kill my love for USB feature, how the cost is going to vary.Next target was, moving away from my old love "Sony", exploring other brands, reducing the cost of ownership.But having said that, I was still sticking to my 'mission statement' NO compromise on the quality at any COST!(sound hypocrite, right? ;) ) .
On a different note, Should buying TVs be so complicated experience.For an IBM man, its fine but what about the layman.I am sure the salesmen must be having a field day with the advent of LCDs/Plasmas.
Decision:
Finally , decided to take a field trip, shortlisting Sony, Samsung with models from bottom (like Sony BX300, Sony EX300) with Sony on priority list.
My first visit started with Adishwars - Habsiguda (Hyderabad). The salesman gave a demo on Sony BX300, EX300 etc also at the same time compared them with Samsung models (32C530, 32C550).
The sales man looked pushy as he was recommending Samsung over Sony.Also honestly, Samsung picture looked crystal clear when I compared with Sony, which I felt , Sony trying to change the original complexion of the picture making it to look more 'cool' and like re-painted school days picture using photoshop.
Before moving out, I came close to decide on one thing that is, going for Full HD. As HD Ready is looking good if watched from certain distance while Full HD looks good even from 4 Ft distance.Also the cost factor is not that big between these 2 models.
I continued my field trip, this time bumping into J.D Electronics, Shivam Road but not impressed with the salesman skills, just jotted down the cost and left the shop (This was handy while negotiating with Reliance Digital, used it as base price to negotiate for some more price cut).
Now I resumed my field trip with next target as Reliance Digital.Now my shortlisted models are Sony EX300 and Samsung C530/C550. Now here too the Sales man started comparing Sony Vs Samsung and listing of the Cons against Sony saying its a bit more costly than Samsung -equivalent model and it cannot play all the formats through USB, while projecting Samsung on higher pedestal with no notice-able shortcomings.
Clinching the Deal:
As given the picture quality, sound , features, more importantly cost, I have zeroed in for Samsung 32C530 model (C550 is a bit costlier but didn't see much difference).After bargaining and foregoing few lucrative offers(like Phillips HDMI DVD player for Rs.999 and Reliance Digital scratch discount coupons), I got the TV for Rs.31, 000 with Free DishTV voucher, while for old CRT got Rs.1700/- in exchange.
Installation & Viewing Experience:
I received the TV the very next day.My first impression was, WOW! With the regular cable too, the picture was looking great. The sound too was good enough as I watch from about 5 feet distance(but if u can loosen your purse, u can add Home theater for enhanced audio experience).
I started doing some R&D now.I have lots of English movies on my Portable Hard drive. The movies like ICE Age, Happy Feet, Harry Potter, Finding Nemo were looking stunning.
Features:
The USB feature allows to play almost all format videos, music and photos (Sony supposed to play MPEG2/MPEG4 formats).Only problem I noticed is, you cannot run/pause the movie and go back to watch TV channels and come back to watch the movie on USB. you have to start the movie once again though the movie starts from the point you stopped last time.In other words, you can not Toggle between the TV channels and the USB movies like we do when connected to DVD player.
The remote has buttons for Picture mode(like Standard, Dynamic, Movie, Natural), Sound mode (Standard, Music, Movies, Amplify, clarity voice), soem buttons like TTX/MIX, DUAL not sure what to do with, button for HDMI, MEDIA(USB), E.SAVING(supposed to take care of energy saving) and some more regular buttons.
I didnt try to change the company settings for picture and Sound as I didnt find it necessary. Not sure how to use PIP (Picture in Picture) feature either.The Power saving feature looked good which I set as "Auto", which will come into play based on day light.
The picture seems sets itself to present a better picture out of the TV Cable signals even if the signal is not so good.Some channels whose reception was not so gud on my old CRT, started looking much better on LCD, which is quite an achievement by itself.
Also noticed, during day time, with sun light ON, the picture looks good with no real noticeable shades or shadows (which I feared earlier).
Experience after Dish-trueHD installation:
I received the free voucher for Dish TV within a week.
With Dish ON, I started with Discovery HD. Believe me, you cannot turn your eyes off. It looks really awesome. I browsed through all HD channels (like Star Cricket, HBO, Zee Telugu HD, Sony HD, Zee HD), and the picture was exemplary. The normal SD channels are no inferior to HD channels. I browsed through all sorts of channels right from Sports to news to, movies to Regional channels, they have amazing picture quality.The "breakings news" font looks crystal clear.
Still I had few more things to explore like PIP. As the Dish Set top box is connected through HDMI cable, I had still the Regular Cable wala port available. Now the PIP feature got enabled and was able to watch 2 channels simultaneously (with 1 audio), one from regular cable and the other from DishTV.
I wished PIP compatible with TV channels and USB drive as well , which is not possible.
On a final note, though the journey with my new TV is just 15 days, I am satisfied with the Samsung LCD (LA32C530F1RMXL).Of course you can decide your choice only after a demo at the showroom, may be you may end up in liking Sony or other brand ones.
But needless to say, the LCDs do score over CRTs on any day. I am sure all branded LCDs are more or less close to each other in terms of picture quality , only few features and our perception differs!
