The Hype about 100Hz Televisions/Surround sound/DVD Player

Lifestyle Bazaar Talk
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Salaams,

I am thinking of buying a TV for my room for quite sometime. It’s a small room and the maximum viewing distance can be 7 ft. I am planning for a 29" tv. Looked around and was faced with a plethora of choices…from rear projection to plasma to the good old CRTs.

I have zeroed in on the flatscreen CRT-based TV, for one reason or the other. For such CRT-based TVs, there is a choice between 50Hz and 100 Hz.

I live in Karachi…and there are very few tv channels here that relay their transmission on 100 Hz. I was just wondering that to an average/casual tv watcher..how big a difference a 100 Hz would make compared to a 50 Hz one. I have kept the two models side by side and to me (don’t laugh!) i couldn’t spot a thing!

What i want to ask is:

a) Is the price premium one pays for a 100 Hz tv justifiable? (the price for a 100 Hz is double or more the 50 Hz one, keeping all other specs constant)

b) Where ‘really’ you see the improvement. Is it in DVD movies, specific tv channels that relay transmission on 100 Hz, any others?

I was wondering what brand would you advise me to go by. Sony comes to mind. I have been to their showroom and no wonder the tvs are great, i believe they still do not command the kind of brand premium that is currently put on their models vis-a-vis its competitors.

I am currently zeroing in on Philips Matchline. Is it a safe buy? Experiences or suggesions on other brands would be welcome.

A related question
-Surround sound System.

Considering a small room (14x10 ft i guess) is it even needed, especially given the fact that these tvs come with 5 built-in speakers of their own.

The sony ones are quite expensive. I was looking for a 5.1 system…and someone has suggested me a JBL ESC 360 system. Comments and suggestions for this or for alternate systems.

Another related question
-DVD Player

These days the market is flooded with chinese DVD players and they come at almost 1/3rd the price of brands like Pioneer or Sony etc. Apparently they seem to be working fine at my friends. What i want to ask is is there really such a big performance improvement if one goes by a branded dvd player…coz as i understand it, the player is just the mechanism that ‘reads’ the dvds..meaning any xyz player that has the capability to ‘read’ the dvds will do fine, irrespective of the make/brand. Please correct me if i am wrong.

What brands are the ones to purchase…and why? Achi wali suggestions dena..ghar ke liay lena hai yar :rolleyes:

Shukriya,

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Firstly TV- I don't think that 100Hz is worth the extra premium. Best thing to do is to look at a 50Hz and 100Hz TV side by side. Thats what I did when I bought my TV- 50Hz Japanese brand looked better than a 100Hz Korean brand!! If you watch it from 2 feet, you can tell the difference but from a distance, it is all the same !!

As far as TV brand goes, Sony is good, but then so is Toshiba, Panasonic & Phillips is OK too. I bought a 32" Toshiba flatscreen a year ago and have had no problems whatsoever.

Regarding sound, get a TV with surround sound - I think it is worth it. There is no need for a separate system then.

DVD players are very cheep these days. I think a chinese one is just as good as any other. What you need to look for is one that plays DVDs, VCDs, CD-Rs, DVD-Rs, etc etc. Some of the expensive branded ones do not play everything which causes frustration when you get a dodgy film copied on a CD from your buddy and you can only watch it on your computer!!

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Re: The Hype about 100Hz Televisions/Surround sound/DVD Player

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Khanzada: *
What i want to ask is is there really such a big performance improvement if one goes by a branded dvd player...coz as i understand it, the player is just the mechanism that 'reads' the dvds..meaning any xyz player that has the capability to 'read' the dvds will do fine, irrespective of the make/brand. Please correct me if i am wrong.
[/QUOTE]

There is a slight difference dues to more expensive, branded products normally using higher quality electronics to convey the signal. The more expensive brands also tend to have more futures.

In Karachi, make sure you buy a DVD player that also plays VCD, for when you want to watch a film that oesn't justfify the expense of shelling out for a full DVD and that you'd rather watch as a cheaper VCD :D

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I finally got a Philips 29" flatscreen TV. It’s a 50Hz thing and all the wow! factor about 100Hz being phat and all could not induce me to buy it…coz simply the premium was too steep for the features i was getting. All it does (:D) is give you a flicker-free picture and crystal clear text on the screen (which is again due to the flicker-free nature of the picture).

The picture is good…however before i bought i knew that sound is a relative weakness in Philips compared to Sony. It is exactly like that. :~( I may get a JBL ESC 360 jab thoray paisay aa jaein gae to phir inshallah :rolleyes:

I also got a Sony DVD player. maddy: i heard ya :~)

I am happy…achi achi movies dekh raha hoon is par aaj kal :smooth:

Thank you for aap sab ke qeemati mashwarey. They were kinda helpful :stuck_out_tongue:

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[QUOTE]
Originally posted by Khanzada: *
They were **kinda* helpful :p
[/QUOTE]

Thats what I like to hear :D.