PC Pals Forum
Technical Help & Discussion => AV Lounge => Topic started by: Clive on December 29, 2002, 22:38
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OK so we come to London for a few days and end up in Homebase, Wickes and Curry's. Makes a change from M&S I suppose. ;D Curry's are doing a 42" Samsung Plasma telly at 50% off. My son who knows everything says they only last 3 years but my cousin who is a hi fi enthusiast says that he hasn't heard any bad reports about them and has one himself. Any comments (especially negative) would be appreciated as it's still a lot of cash to fork out even with a 50% discount.
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Clive, just make sure you take out the 5-year extended warranty. This sounds like one of the few occasions on which the extra outlay will be a worthwhile gamble! 8)
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I briefly worked for a company that sold them and as far as I'm aware they were pretty good. Don't know if they only last 3 yrs though.
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Well, personally I've never had any Samsung equipment, because I've never considered them to be at the top end of the market as far as build quality goes, but if it's at the right price, and you can get an extended warranty, it might be worth considering.
I don't know if it's the same model, but Richer Sounds are doing a Samsung for £2199 - SEE HERE (http://www.richersounds.com/index.php?f=itemdetl.php&p=300131&PHPSESSID=afbb0c37c54b5582efee95b63e31422e)[/url].
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I hate extended warranties and that would bump the price up by a lot of money. My son claims that the picture quality deteriorates after 3 years and of course you can't take it to your local repair guy to get it fixed. I really don't know what to do about it. Your words are very encouraging Whiskas. I think I'll take a second look at it tomorrow.
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That is substantially cheaper than Currys but of course it may be an older model. The Currys model has 160 degree vision but thats all I noticed. That will be the first thing I'll check Simon. Thanks very much for that.
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Just make a note of the model numbers, Clive. Hope you get a good deal - I shall be extremely jealous because I would like one, but unfortunately it keeps slipping down the priority ladder! :(
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My cousin has a 62" model which set him back £12,000 a year ago, but the 42" is far more reasonable. I will certainly makea note of the model number though.
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The Richer Sounds one does not include a tuner[/b], so check that out with the Curry's one too, Clive. If there's no tuner, you wouldn't be able to watch terrestrial TV without a Digi-Box.
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The Curry's one includes a tuner and two very smart satellite speakers, but that doesn't justify the £800 extra does it?
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I suppose it depends if you have a Digi-Box or not. If you don't, and have a TV with no tuner, you will have to either sign up for Sky Digital, or get one of the new Freeview boxes for £99, but the service is not available in some areas as yet. :-";"xx
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Yes I already have a digi box.
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Well, if you have a digi box, then you could theoretically live without a tuner. You would obviously get a better picture quality with Digital anyway, so maybe it's questionable as to whether it's worth paying an extra £800 for a tuner? I think you'll have to trust your instincts on this one, Clive! Is there a Richer Sounds near you, so you could look at both of them?
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There was a expert guy on the radio a couple of weeks back discussing audio and visual stuff. He advised against getting a plasma TV at the moment due to the pixels burning out after a few years.Apparently its ok to lose a few but after you lose so many you will get gaps in the screen that make it look terrible.When that happens its not repairable except by replacing it with a new one :o
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That is obviously what my son is on about Sandra. Decisions decisions.
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I've done it! Delivery is around 4 weeks and I don't have to pay for a year. They said that the only thing that can go wrong is that it may need to be re-gassed in about 5 years time, depending on use. The extended warranty was £1400 so I gave that a big miss. In 5 years time the set will only cost £1000 anyway. ;D
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clive, how did you get mrs clive to rubber stamp that transaction. i must admit i'd love one but i'm waiting til 1. i have some money and 2. til the video quality equals that of crt. i think i'd prefer a philips pixel plus crt set at the moment (equally unlikely looking at the bank balance.)
i believe you can use a vcr as an analogue tuner providing you have the input for it on the plasma screen.
;)
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Congratulations, Clive! I hope you really enjoy it! :D
How come so long for delivery though? :(
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If you ever need a transfusion Clive, you can always use your TV ;D :P :P
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So no more trips to the cinema for you now Clive 8) you'll just have to move the sofa back 6 feet to see the full screen ;D
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I heard he was going to leave his glasses off and press his nose against the screen ;D ;D ;D
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If he does that he'll end up in Hospital - Plasma screens run red hot!! ;D ;D
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It was actually Mrs Clive's idea Dave. I'm still not quite sure why I've bought it. ;D Curry's claim that the plasma screens are scarce and that's why there is a delay with delivery. It may only be 2 weeks but they said it may be 4. I will have to get a home cinema thingy box to go with it now won't I? ;D
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You definitely will Clive, just make sure you get a 5.1 system as a minimum with the subwoofer powered by the Amp, and not an Active one as its easier to control the volume of it.
I know Technics make a very good one and it has THX decoding (Lucas films developed) and all the other trimmings. The sound is superb and adds so much more to the viewing.
Only problem is the 6miles of cables that are required for all the speakers, but its worthwhile positioning them correctly
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Thanks for that advice Bat. But please don't mention the "c" word in front of Mrs Clive. ;D
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OK I'll not mention it again ;) I would also suggest getting a good centre speaker as quite often the speakers that come with a 5.1 package just aren't quite up to the task .. this speaker is the work horse of the system.
Its also worth spending a bit extra and getting some good quality ..erm interconnecting oxygen-free copper elements ;) as these can significantly improve hifi performance for very little extra outlay
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...just make sure you get a 5.1 system as a minimum with the subwoofer powered by the Amp, and not an Active one as its easier to control the volume of it.
Sorry to disagree, but I'm not so sure about that, Bat - I think you'll find most people tend to go for a powered "Active" subwoofer, as these contain their own amplifiers, and don't drain all the bass from your main amp. I have a Yamaha SW-320, and the volume is easily controllable. HERE (http://www.hifi.com/store/category.cgi?category=hmc_smart_subwoofers) is an article on subwoofers, which may be of interest.
You will definitely reap the benefits of a decent 5.1 system, and could probably do quite well in the sales at the moment. THIS (http://www.empiredirect.co.uk/productdetailsnew.asp?modelcode=SON-HTDDW840S) looks like the kind of thing you're looking for, but you really need to hear the system before you buy, so you'll have to drag Mrs Clive round some of your local Hi-Fi and Home Cinema retailers! ;D ;D
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have a look in richer sounds clive they usually have some real bargains there but do your homework first.
:D
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Ahhh BUT Simon, if you go for a good system that has 6 built in amplifiers, ie one for each channel, you'll find that there is no drain as they are independent and supply their own output rail.
I've tried the systems that have 'shared' amps and they do as you say drain power across the output rails
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Point taken, Bat. I was referring to an average Home Cinema set up in a living room - not something like the PA at Wembley Stadium!! ;D ;D
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OK Simon, but we are talking about Clive here ;) ... he will have the PA system from hell ... Motorhead eat you heart out ;D
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Phew! My head is starting to hurt now and to make matters worse my cousins are coming here tomorrow evening and they are home cinema enthusiasts too. ;D I'm going to have a lot of homework to do aren't I? ;D
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You certainly are CLive .... ;)
There are a couple of good magazines out, one is called Home Cinema I think and there is another one I often read in WH Smiths ;) >:D Richer Sounds is a good place to go, and I'd suggest others, but I think they are just North East shops :-";"xx
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HERE'S (http://www.homecinemachoice.com/) a good website. Sorry Clive, but once you get into this, you might have to kiss goodbye to New Year's Eve! >:D >:D
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Thanks Simon! ;D
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I think that's the excuse he's been after Simon ;)
Its also worth having a look at What Hifi or if they do a What Home Cinema and the manufacturer's sites too