Page 1 of HELP bargain or not folks -Westy,Clayts anyone?

My local hi fi shop has the following widescreen tv for sale:-
new Panasonic TX36PG50 36inch w/s 100Hz Built in DD/DTS

Its a one off shop soiled (more like abused!) model with a small chip off the inner plastic framing the screen and a couple of deep scratches into the front glass/coating
on demo-ing the TV at normal viewing distance the scratches are not really noticable

The reason for the post is they are asking £1299 for it as apposed to £2299 new out of the box

If I were to get it are there any ways to repair/ replace the front screen glass?

Any comments generally about this tv or should I just sack it and save a bit more for a decent separate amp/tv?

Ditch the idea matey. Though on the outset the saving of over a grand may seem amazing, trying to get the screen fixed would probably be more trouble than good. For starters it would be likely that a trained Panny technician would have to complete the task, then there`d be the cost of actually getting the screen(quite a new model, so i doubt you`d get many second hand yet), plus the labour charge for this guy/girl to come out and actually do it!
Plus the phrase `money for old rope` immediately springs to mind.
Console yourself with a Toshiba Picture Frame tv. The 36" is available for various silly prices around £2000-which may seem expensive, but the spec and performance are superb. And not forgetting you could get a posh Loewe set from Sevenoaks if you wanted-lovely tellies it must be said. Partner the Tosh with a suitable dvd player and you can even watch dvds via the component video method, the best piccy format for serious viewing. Plus the Tosh has Dolby Digital decoding, so what more can you ask for?!
I`d steer well clear of the Panny, nice though it is, i think you`re heading for trouble-you`d soon begin to get used to knowing where the scratches are and then you`d be looking for them every time!

Hope this gos some way to helping, but don`t forget this is just my own personal opinion-£1300 seems a lot of money to spend on a cosmetically challenged tv...

Westy

Thanx Westy for steadying the hand on my wallet. I had not planned on a 36" screen but the idea of a BIG screen and Dolby Digital and DTS in one caboodle just seemed somewhat tempting. Your`e probably right though re hassle of sorting out the screen/living with it

Oh well back to the drawing board £2K budget (limited by the wife!) and want everything in a home cinema set up. Any thoughts?

Cheers

Try this,

Toshiba Piccy Frame 32"- £1200 (or thereabouts, shop around)
Marantz 4200 Dolby/dts/pro logic 2 reciever-£seen for silly prices, £300 is the cheapest yet.
Wharfedale Diamond Speaker package, yours for around £500.

ly your wife with flowers and beg another £100 quid out of her, cause you`ll need about £50 for cables(Qed Anniversary Biwire/single wire for front,centre and rears), plus go to http://www.beyondhifi.com and look at the coaxial/optical interconnects for dvd to amp. Very good prices and amazing quality-i guarantee you won`t be disappointed. While you`re there, grab some phono to phono stereo connects(two pairs, one for tv to amp-pro logic 2 makes telly sound like 5.1, plus one for the vcr/skybox should you have one).

So, all in, about £2100, and a superb system to boot. The Marantz and Wharfedale speakers will be excellent together, and although i could have swayed you to buy some Mission surrounds instead of the 8.1 Wharfeys, i don`t think its too important just yet. This system should have you grinning like a child. Sound good? Any more quessies you know where to come

Westy

Don`t do it my friend. ;-)

There are some truly excellent 36 inch TV`s like the Hitachi with DTS/DD5.1 that can be had new or graded for about £1300 without any faults and a proper guarantee.

The offer on the Panasonic is a false economy at best as repairs are astronomical for the glass.

I have a 36 inch Hitachi that I paid just over £1100 for in an offer and I have to say that I think on pure picture quality is beats both the Sony 36 Trinitron and the Panasonic hands down when well setup.

Kind Regards

John Willis

UK.MEDIA.DVD FAQ Author

Read the UK.MEDIA.DVD FAQ at
http://www.dvd.reviewer.co.uk/umdvdfaq/

`Will Heaven be like Swansea?`
`Yes, but a lot bigger`

Thanx for your thoughts.
The Tosh I have seen -very nice but aren`t you paying for built in Dolby Digital in the Tv not to use it?
What about the Yamaha Vs10 or Denon 1602 as good as the Marantz?
I presume if I got the Tosh Tv then the Tosh 210SE DVD player would be my sparing partner for it
speakers seem a bit steep if I include the DVD and TRY to keep in my original budget

Plenty to sleep on though!

thanx again

This item was edited on Sunday, 6th January 2002, 01:59

thanx for your input John
I`m sure your right. Where do you get all these graded products ?
Any comments on Westy`s suggestions re a set up on my budget?

Oh well off to look for other bargains

Cheers

Morning Doctor!

Having read your response here`s a few points; It seems i assumed you had a dvd player already! Sorry! But yes, the 210e should be the best bet as it has the component inputs for best piccy quality.
Although the Tosh does have Dolby decoding, try finding a good £1000+ telly that hasn`t! Apart from the Leowe range, most tv`s now come with Pro Logic at least, so really it`s a sticky situation!
The Marantz is recommended as something different! I`m fed up of recommending Denon amps all the time, it`s sometimes easy to forget what else is good out there. To my ears the Marantz sounds better in stereo than the Denon, but its your choice, and if it came to choose for budget reasons, then the Denon would be my choice (the vs10 is great too, but doesn`t have pro logic 2, and isn`t so easy to upgrade).

Have a look at what`s around mate, then see what you come up with. What i`ve recommended is what i`d spend my 2k on!

Westy

This item was edited on Sunday, 6th January 2002, 10:11