Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 17

Thread: Flat Screen TV

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    77

    Arrow Flat Screen TV

    Do you have one already? What make is it? Would you recommend it? Did you pay the label price or were you able to get a discount? What should I look out for when I’m buying one in New Zealand?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Posts
    4,455

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by jambo View Post
    Do you have one already? What make is it? Would you recommend it? Did you pay the label price or were you able to get a discount? What should I look out for when I’m buying one in New Zealand?
    The answers to most of these questions would be the same as from the UK.

    Regardless of if anyone else paid the label price or not, you should still do your best to get a discount even on a product with a sale discount already applied.

    One thing that may be worth looking out for is how much light / reflections you will get in the room i.e. some screens have a matt style finish and thus don't show reflections whilst others are gloss and show everything unless you are in a darkened room. Most houses in NZ have more / bigger windows than in the UK so this is more of an issue.

    Another consideration regarding the TV is if you live somewhere prone to earthquakes such as Wellington or Christchurch then it is recommended to secure the TV so that it can't fall.

    Whatever you do, it is NOT recommended to bother with extended warranties in NZ especially for products such as TVs.

    Ian

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    California to Tasman Bay
    Posts
    1,137

    Default

    You'll have to see if your area in NZ can support the technology that is offered in the television you buy. The televisions here are very good for the price, one of the few things that isn't exorbitantly different from the USA, but they have technology that can't be used in some areas.
    Never buy anything full price in NZ as every store has a "sale" on everything, eventually.
    We brought our Vizio from USA. It is LCD and we love it.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    77

    Default

    Thanks for your replies. Good points about the windows and earthquakes. I’d have never thought of those things. I’ve not heard of Vizio kiwieagle. Could you say a bit more please?

    What are the best makes of flat screen TV in New Zealand for picture quality and reliability?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    193

    Default

    TVs in NZ are the same as the UK, and pretty much the same quality. Samsung, Panasonic, Sony, as before, I'd recommend.

    If in ChCh, get a plasma. They weigh a ton, and mine haven't moved an inch in the quakes - even in the biggies on 23rd.

    As for the sticker price, it's different to the UK. Shops are far more likely to negotiate, and shop around - I thing I got about $150 off mine in Noel Leeming....

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Waikanae Beach
    Posts
    176

    Default

    Don't forget that the SCART plug (that abomination of 21 pins that only works the first time it is plugged in and was so obviously designed by some Euro committee) isn't used here at all and all your UK stuff that you will be bringing with you will have them on.

    It is also worth going to ASDA, Salinsbury's or the like and buying a couple of cheap DVD players and chucking them in your container (we had a 15 quid ASDA one as a spare that turned out to be region free) as all your DVD's will be UK ones and won't play on a Kiwi one likewise, all the ones you buy here won't play on a UK one unless you get it de-regionalised first.

    Just thought it was worth mentioning.

    cheers
    G
    Last edited by Falcon_XR6; 5th January 2012 at 03:24 PM. Reason: Typo

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Posts
    4,455

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Falcon_XR6 View Post
    Don't forget that the SCART plug (that abomination of 21 pins that only works the first time it is plugged in and was so obviously designed by some Euro committee) isn't used here at all and all your UK stuff that you will be bringing with you will have them on.

    It is also worth going to ASDA, Salinsbury's or the like and buying a couple of cheap DVD players and chucking them in your container (we had a 15 quid ASDA one as a spare that turned out to be region free) as all your DVD's will be UK ones and won't play on a Kiwi one likewise, all the ones you buy here won't play on a UK one unless you get it de-regionalised first.
    ...
    It is a good point to mention that NZ don't use SCART (Euro connector) so if you want to connect something from the UK to something from NZ then it is worth checking what connectors you have and if the only choice is SCART then to bring an adapter with you.

    Of course with Flat Screen TVs you are now much more likely to be dealing with HDMI cables instead.

    Not sure I understand the logic of buying another UK DVD player before coming to NZ, I assume that if you have DVDs then you probably already have a DVD player(s) which you would I assume bring with you to NZ?

    Ian

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Waikanae Beach
    Posts
    176

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by IanW99 View Post
    Not sure I understand the logic of buying another UK DVD player before coming to NZ, I assume that if you have DVDs then you probably already have a DVD player(s) which you would I assume bring with you to NZ?

    Ian
    Our UK one (that we brought with us, and it was de-regionalised) broke 2 years down the line and so we bought one from Harvey Norman and it wouldn't play region 2 DVD's (all our UK ones) so I had a dig in the unopened John Mason boxes still stored in the boat shed from us moving 'cause I knew we had the cheap UK one in there in one of the boxes. Found it and it worked OK and it even played Kiwi (region 4) ones with no problem.
    As far as I have been told not all makes of players can be de-regionalised, Panasonic ones apparently can be done with the right push of the remote buttons.
    If anyone knows how to do this (de-regionalising a DVD player) I would like to know how to do it... But I suspect it involves getting to a protected "engineers menu" and having knowledge of factory codes... or maybe it's hardware not firmware related(?).

    So 1 or 2 cheap UK players is worth keeping in reserve and you will always have to get any NZ player you buy de-regionalised to continue playing your UK DVD.

    Cheers
    G
    Last edited by Falcon_XR6; 5th January 2012 at 06:16 PM. Reason: typo

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    SI NZ
    Posts
    31

    Default

    Just bought a Sony LED tv from Noel Leeming. Only buy in the sales, imo. I watched a tv go from 2800 to 2500 to 2700 to 2150 and back to 2800 in the space of two months. Be careful when you buy here. That goes for anything and not just tv's.
    I would advise getting the LED tv since they have a good picture, low power consumption and no expensive bulb to fail like in a LCD tv. Settle on one you like, don't change your mind, stick with it and then watch it in the various shops over a 2 to 4 month period. Don't take an extended warrentee, you are covered under the consumer rights act for over the year anyway. Check with your local CAB. If you want to survive here then do it like the natives, or else they will extract every penny you have and dump you back at the airport you flew into with just the shirt on your back and bugger all else.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Posts
    4,455

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Falcon_XR6 View Post
    Our UK one (that we brought with us, and it was de-regionalised) broke 2 years down the line and so we bought one from Harvey Norman and it wouldn't play region 2 DVD's (all our UK ones) so I had a dig in the unopened John Mason boxes still stored in the boat shed from us moving 'cause I knew we had the cheap UK one in there in one of the boxes. Found it and it worked OK and it even played Kiwi (region 4) ones with no problem.
    As far as I have been told not all makes of players can be de-regionalised, Panasonic ones apparently can be done with the right push of the remote buttons.
    If anyone knows how to do this (de-regionalising a DVD player) I would like to know how to do it... But I suspect it involves getting to a protected "engineers menu" and having knowledge of factory codes... or maybe it's hardware not firmware related(?).
    ...
    If you ask in the shop then they normally have the codes behind the counter to make the player multi-region.

    Different players have different ways of changing the region code that they work with, some are really easy to change, some are a little difficult and some require hardware modifications.

    If you post the make and model then I"m sure someone will post the details of how to change it (assuming it can of course).

    Ian

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •