is a tv a tv... or are there TEEVEEs?!?

[DR ◣◢]

So this was 3 years ago and it never materialized but on Saturday my TV decided to pass away(RIP 8 y/o LED FHD). It was a Sony Bravia. Once it died, it was giving 5 red flashing lights at the bottom so googled that and Sony have red flashing lights as error codes. Mine meant a few things, non of which could be fixed by me. A tv guy came and picked it up on Monday and confirmed what one of the options I found online being the T-con board. Have no idea what that does but he quoted my R2530 for repair. Told him to bring it back. Would rather pay a bit extra and get a new tv. So my problem is, I am currently on a drastically reduced salary so as much as I would love to go and drop 10k plus on a tv, I can not justify it right now. I am borrowing a spare tv from my folks but it's from my Dads home gym and he uses it almost daily so although he said I can keep it as long as I need, I don't want to keep it for ever. My dead tv was a 40" and I would prefer not to go smaller. I reckon I can probably find at least 5k in the tight budget, maybe a little more if I am lucky.

Now My question is, are the "smaller" brands a waste of money or are these things all the same inside?

I have already looked at a few retail stores and I see Hisense offer a 4 year Guarantee whereas other seems to be 2. I also saw a diamond for cheap but it only has 1 HDMI port and I need at least 2, so that ruled one like that out. I also need the fibre optic port for my sound bar. I get a 15% discount at Makro so that needs to be taken into account.

It doesn't need to be smart but sport needs to look good on it!!!!!!

Any advice................

TIA

 

Not sure on the optical out but my 40” hisense has been really good to me. Used every day and going strong for two years now.

 

Nothing fancy but the colour is good and it has two hdmi ports. One for my laptop and one on the PS4.

 

Paid R3999 for it back then and I’m happy.

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

 

TIA

HiSense are a good brand. At that level, you're not likely to get any of the top level options, but FWIW pay attention to the native refresh rate, and read the online reviews. I have a Skyworth (LG panel) and it's been faultless. 

[Long Wheel Base]

Not sure on the optical out but my 40” hisense has been really good to me. Used every day and going strong for two years now.

 

Nothing fancy but the colour is good and it has two hdmi ports. One for my laptop and one on the PS4.

 

Paid R3999 for it back then and I’m happy.

So Hisense seems to come up at most retail shops and pricing seems very decent compared to Samsung, LG, Sony and Skyworth which all seem to be the sort of higher end brands. I was hoping someone would comment on Hisense as so far it looks like the best option. 

Thanks.

So I have also noted that sometimes the specs online are not the same as what the tv actually has. When I googled my Sony model it said no optical but it most certainly does have. I was just looking at a hisense on hi-fi corps site and it says no optical but I will rather go look for myself. I am sure most tvs nowadays would have optical?

[Long Wheel Base]

HiSense are a good brand. At that level, you're not likely to get any of the top level options, but FWIW pay attention to the native refresh rate, and read the online reviews. I have a Skyworth (LG panel) and it's been faultless. 

Yeah I would love to spend more but there is no more to spend unfortunately. So I have noticed Skyworth has become big here recently. I googled them and it is a massive brand worldwide been around since 1988. They do seem to be targeting the higher end market locally but I will see if they have something in my budget.

[Blokman]

Lekker man! That old Telefunken was built in Booysens in the deep South of Jo'burg in the seventies. 

I’ve only ever watched three units where I’ve lived (year in army excluded)...

Living at my parents (1979 model, I think).


After moving out (spent 7 years without TV) late 90’s to 2008 (51cm)


Current (32”) - 2008 model until today


Will keep the current one until it packs up... then replace it with something similar in size.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DR ◣◢]

So Hisense seems to come up at most retail shops and pricing seems very decent compared to Samsung, LG, Sony and Skyworth which all seem to be the sort of higher end brands. I was hoping someone would comment on Hisense as so far it looks like the best option. 

Thanks.

So I have also noted that sometimes the specs online are not the same as what the tv actually has. When I googled my Sony model it said no optical but it most certainly does have. I was just looking at a hisense on hi-fi corps site and it says no optical but I will rather go look for myself. I am sure most tvs nowadays would have optical?

 

Optical is phasing out in favour of audio over HDMI I'm afraid. 

[Vetplant]

So this was 3 years ago and it never materialized but on Saturday my TV decided to pass away(RIP 8 y/o LED FHD). It was a Sony Bravia. Once it died, it was giving 5 red flashing lights at the bottom so googled that and Sony have red flashing lights as error codes. Mine meant a few things, non of which could be fixed by me. A tv guy came and picked it up on Monday and confirmed what one of the options I found online being the T-con board. Have no idea what that does but he quoted my R2530 for repair. Told him to bring it back. Would rather pay a bit extra and get a new tv. So my problem is, I am currently on a drastically reduced salary so as much as I would love to go and drop 10k plus on a tv, I can not justify it right now. I am borrowing a spare tv from my folks but it's from my Dads home gym and he uses it almost daily so although he said I can keep it as long as I need, I don't want to keep it for ever. My dead tv was a 40" and I would prefer not to go smaller. I reckon I can probably find at least 5k in the tight budget, maybe a little more if I am lucky.

Now My question is, are the "smaller" brands a waste of money or are these things all the same inside? 

I have already looked at a few retail stores and I see Hisense offer a 4 year Guarantee whereas other seems to be 2. I also saw a diamond for cheap but it only has 1 HDMI port and I need at least 2, so that ruled one like that out. I also need the fibre optic port for my sound bar. I get a 15% discount at Makro so that needs to be taken into account.

It doesn't need to be smart but sport needs to look good on it!!!!!!

Any advice................

TIA

I got this one in Nov last year, very happy with it. We had a 32inch previously, so going to 55" was a massive jump. You might not need this big.

 

https://pclinkshop.co.za/computing/montors-large-display/large-format-display/mecer-55-4k-uhd-3840-x-2160-smart-led-panel/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw7ZL6BRCmARIsAH6XFDJ2mmUJpTHHvW0qqrnHkORV1OBtccJ4nDXsm_2hCQaODynTn51vQbYaAipgEALw_wcB

 

R 6,592.00 - MECER 55'' 4K UHD

 

In essence, I wanted a "Monitor" instead of a TV, to avoid the TV License issue.

 

The software on this device is not at all market leading, so is best used to just display images coming from a Chromecast or Decoder or other media device.

 

Look for something similar if this size is too big. I'm happy with it thusfar.

[Long Wheel Base]

Optical is phasing out in favour of audio over HDMI I'm afraid. 

I must check what other options my sound bar has then. 

[Long Wheel Base]

I got this one in Nov last year, very happy with it. We had a 32inch previously, so going to 55" was a massive jump. You might not need this big.

 

https://pclinkshop.co.za/computing/montors-large-display/large-format-display/mecer-55-4k-uhd-3840-x-2160-smart-led-panel/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw7ZL6BRCmARIsAH6XFDJ2mmUJpTHHvW0qqrnHkORV1OBtccJ4nDXsm_2hCQaODynTn51vQbYaAipgEALw_wcB

 

R 6,592.00 - MECER 55'' 4K UHD

 

In essence, I wanted a "Monitor" instead of a TV, to avoid the TV License issue.

 

The software on this device is not at all market leading, so is best used to just display images coming from a Chromecast or Decoder or other media device.

 

Look for something similar if this size is too big. I'm happy with it thusfar.

Is it able to play DSTV? When you say images.............. Sorry not clued up on this stuff.

I have my DSTV PVR, PlayStation, sometimes the laptop for out of town family zoom calls all via HDMI and my sound bar via optical but will check later how else I can connect that for incase. 

[Vetplant]

Is it able to play DSTV? When you say images.............. Sorry not clued up on this stuff.

I have my DSTV PVR, PlayStation, sometimes the laptop for out of town family zoom calls all via HDMI and my sound bar via optical but will check later how else I can connect that for incase. 

Yep, it can play anything that has an HDMI output.

 

The newer SMART TVs has onboard software and hardware that can run Youtube and Netflix without any other hardware.

 

This Monitor is not equipped with strong enough hardware or software to do that.

 

But yes, any HDMI inputs it can display very happily.

[Long Wheel Base]

Yep, it can play anything that has an HDMI output.

 

The newer SMART TVs has onboard software and hardware that can run Youtube and Netflix without any other hardware.

 

This Monitor is not equipped with strong enough hardware or software to do that.

 

But yes, any HDMI inputs it can display very happily.

Perfect, Thanks. 

Flip man I had no idea who you were but saw with that post count I had to know you. Checked your name change history . Lekker vantly in the profile pic.

[Vetplant]

Perfect, Thanks. 

Flip man I had no idea who you were but saw with that post count I had to know you. Checked your name change history . Lekker vantly in the profile pic.

It was time for an update   , wondered whether people will notice.

 

And yes, then Vantly is awesome. Running/cycling/boeremark, the kids love it and we get allot of attention.

[Long Wheel Base]

Sinotec????? Prices also seem decent and comes with a 60 month warranty.

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Sinotec????? Prices also seem decent and comes with a 60 month warranty.

Perfectly fine. As per always, check teh specs. Not all TV's are made equal. A lesser brand may well outperform a top tier brand's TV that's multiple 1,000's more expensive. 

[Frosty]

Lekker man! That old Telefunken was built in Booysens in the deep South of Jo'burg in the seventies.

Three years in, my LG 32cm is still working for me. I recently added a Chromecast device to allow streaming from my phone to the dumb TV.

[Tuxstir]

Perfectly fine. As per always, check teh specs. Not all TV's are made equal. A lesser brand may well outperform a top tier brand's TV that's multiple 1,000's more expensive. 

yeah spec.. 

so much to look at

screen size

screen resolution

brightness contrast 

inputs/outputs

refresh rate.

smart or dumb.