michaelf Posted August 20, 2003 Share Posted August 20, 2003 I have seen many adds from DEC (Discount Electrical Centre) here in Melbourne that state they have high definition TVs for sale at really cheap prices. However they are really only standard cheapo import tvs with component inputs, and they say their high defenition. I made a few calls complaining about their bad advertising and bad product knowledge and maybe its finally paid off. They havn't made these false advertisisments about HD TVs or DTS sound systems in quite a while. Until now. Only this time it seems like they are not false. In todays Melbourne's Herald Sun, on the back page of the 'Guide', was DEC's advertisment page stating they have a 81cm Widescreen HD TV. It states that the TV is a "1080i Toshiba high definition 81cm tube (visible area 76cm), 100Hz progressive scan, stereo surround sound, twin tuner picture in picture, mulit system, multiscreen, 9 av pots (av1, av2, av3, s-video1, s-video2, s-video3, component1, component2, SVGA)" and the price is the lowest price for a HD TV I've ever seen $1999. I assume its using the same tube as the Rank Arena and is probably the same TV just rebadged DEC, as are all their products, but I have not been able to find any other info so far. My local store staff are really useless. I am in the process of finding someone at another store that knows more that can give me more info and will post it when I have it. In the mean time does anyone else know anything about this TV. Its really cheap for a HDTV. I would like to buy it at that price if its at least half decent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magregus Posted August 20, 2003 Share Posted August 20, 2003 yeah i saw this add today also, i have a dec store not far away so will check it out in next day or two and post my thoughts in here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith m Posted August 20, 2003 Share Posted August 20, 2003 Michaelf. I bought a DEC 80cm tv with 16:9 Switching about 2 1/2 years ago for use as a stopgap tv to watch DVD & Foxtel. for the price its ok .DVD & digital tv looks really great. I am pretty sure that it has a TOSHIBA Tube. The only problem I have is that it suffers the same as many other EL'CHEAPO sets the picture seems to lose sync when it goes quickly from a bright screen to a dark scene, I read somewhere on another Forum that it had something to do with having a cheap Power supply section.Strange is that it does not happen when watching FOXTEL through the RF. It only happens when using S.Video or composite connections . BTW, I thought I might take a look at this TV but being aware that this problem could still excist otherwise it could be ok. Cheers. Keith m. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannyR Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 All, I had a chance to view this TV yesterday but unfortunatly, I don't have thing signifficant to report as the TV's setup was a complete shamozzel. The TV looks quite stylish for such a cheap device, the remote however reminds me of other cheap DVD players and Televisions. The DEC store had the TV hooked up to a DVD player via a composite video cable and the DVD player was showing Toy Story. To make things worse, the DVD player was in 4:3 mode and the TV was streching the image out! Could hardly give a meaningful report of the picture quality. It was running in 100hz mode. No HD-STB was in the store so I couldn't ask to see it hooked up to one displaying the NINE loop. The rear panel has 2 S-Video/Composite inputs and 2 Component inputs, unfortunaly, only one of them takes progressive and HD, which makes it a pain in the ass to have a progressive DVD player and HD STB connected at the same time. Its a pure flat tube. While I could really tell you anything about the quality, it would be inclined to give it a miss and just spend few hundred more on the new Samsung unit unless you could get another couple of hundred off this one. Perhaps someone else can take a HD STB to the shop and test it properly! Danny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelf Posted August 22, 2003 Author Share Posted August 22, 2003 Dannyr, The only reason I am really interested in this TV, like most people, is that it uses a toshiba HD tube which is what the Rank Arena uses, and although I havn't seen the set (hopefully tomorrow) I am hoping its very similar to the Rank. The main benefit of the rank over the samsung you mentioned is that the rank will do 720p and the samsung won't. I need 720p for XBOX HD connection. I know there are other ways around it but I really like the rank and all its capabilities, and it looks better than the samsung in my opinion. The only problem is its price, but if this DEC model is similar to the Rank, its a great buy. Hopefully I will see it hooked up to HD tomorrow at my local DEC store. The sales people are pretty useless there but they did tell me they have a DGTec HD box there they can hook it up to for me. I will post on Monday if I get down there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith m Posted August 22, 2003 Share Posted August 22, 2003 I had a look at this tv today, they were using a STRONG S/D Set top box. The picture looked ok and the they said that they would have an H/D Box next week sometime,so I may check it out again . I asked about a larger model of the same, And they said there would be an 86cm in about three weeks, so I will keep a lookout for that one. Cheers. Keith m : Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T800 Posted August 22, 2003 Share Posted August 22, 2003 I'm thinking of getting one of these till plasma come down. One question though. WHich component input do u run the HD box through?, the interlaced one or the progressive one and wich one do u put the dvd player to (interlaced or progressive) NB> For the above, i have a Toshiba 2108 dvd player (which isnt progressive) and will be getting toshiba HD STB. Thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelf Posted August 22, 2003 Author Share Posted August 22, 2003 Dazbug, You would connect the HD Box to the progressive/HD component input and your DVD player to the standard component input. If you actually get one, let us know what its like. KeithM, great news on the release of the 86cm version. It would be a good idea to wait till then I guess as it might be at a reasonable proce. Let us know if you see it or the current 76cm model running HD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith m Posted August 22, 2003 Share Posted August 22, 2003 Price for the 86cm about $3000 .They will advertise it when it arrives. Cheers Keith m. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T800 Posted August 23, 2003 Share Posted August 23, 2003 I originally checked these out wed, where they had a dvd playing and i was pretty impressed. Yesterday i went to the campbellfield store where they had this tv running in HD with a DGTEC 2100A STB. I was BLOWN away with the picture quality in HD. I have been looking at HD plasma's for awhile now and the pic quality on this tv is on a par. I couldnt belive i was looking at a DEC tv, considering i have been against this tv brand since they first opened there stores. The picture was sooo crisp and lifelike, it had me sold. I would now agree that this definitely has a Toshiba pic tube in it. Personally it blows away the pana and samsung 76 cm sets. After viewing the ch 9 HD loop i was sold. One thing about this tv, is that it doesnt look too crash hot in old analogue fta tv, but i suspect they had crappy tv anntenna's. After my viewing session, I will definitly pick one of these up on tuesday from the essendon store as they has better customer service and better price. BTW: I will never go back to the campbellfield store again. The staff there ignored me for over 10 min, until i started changing channels, and wouldnt even budge on the price by $1 !! Little do they know i can get it for $1850, so its there loss. they are the rudest sales people ive ever met, and didnt know a damn thing about connecting it up to component inputs etc. All in all, Im definetly getting one Tuesday, so ill post more thoughts then. Just have to decide which HD STB to get. I would love the Toshiba one, but JB have the DGTEC 2100A for $699, but i should be able to talk them into $650 which seems a good price, as ill probably get another STB next yr, when they have HD with hard drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T800 Posted August 23, 2003 Share Posted August 23, 2003 Oops, i forgot to mention, they had the 86 cm version next to it. For some reason the pic looked really crap on it, wjicj leaves me to belive it has a different tube in it, as it mentioned nothing about toshiba. Also, the screen size is hardly noticable, if at all. Im getting the 81 cm one, (well 76cm actually) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelf Posted August 25, 2003 Author Share Posted August 25, 2003 I also finally got down to DEC Camberfield on Saturday to view this new set and I was plesantly surprised. The picture quality is great, on par with the Rank and much better than the Pana and the Samsung. Dazbug's comment about the serice is correct. Their service is lously. I waited 15 min before anyone would serve me and they only had 2 guys looking after the whole store, and both of them were hopeless. I basically had to answer all my own questions just by playing with it and looking at the connections and meus and even the manual. My verdict: Its a great set for its price (I was quoted at the camberfield store $1900) it has great picture quality (although normal free to air looked lousy because they had the signal split 5 times to show on the other TVs they had). Widesceen DVD looks great. HD is fantastic. Only one set of component inputs can be used for progressie or HD signal. Also has a HD VGA input that they had the DGTec HD Box hooked up to which is great. Can do 576p, 720p and 1080i which means its already better than most of the HD CRTs we have available. It even looks pretty good from a cosmetic point of view. It also has a 2 year warranty which is also a plus. The only down side to the set is its remote and menu software lets it down. It makes it look like a cheapo import TV, but I guess that is what it is anyway. But for the price I think it is worth buying, or at least a serious consideration anyway. I also saw the 86cm next to it, which I am told will be available by this weekend and got a price of $3200 which I think is a great price for a 86cm HDTV. It doesn't look as good as the 76 cosmetically, it has these big woofers sticking out the top of it and it has some asian writing on the front of it which I think spoils it, but in terms of picture quality and features, it is the same as the 76. So if you want something a little bigger then the 86 would also be the way to go. Finally I would just like to say that normally I am dead against brands such as DEC, and espcially DEC because of their total lack of knowledge and false advertising, but this time they have totally surprised me with these new sets. They are well worth the look, and I am sure most will not be disappointed. I myself will be buying one as soon as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T800 Posted August 25, 2003 Share Posted August 25, 2003 Michael, What would you connect the HD box to? The VGA input, component Progressive, or component Interlaced and which one for Dvd player with no progressive scanning built in? Does the VGA offer better picture than component?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
websa Posted August 25, 2003 Share Posted August 25, 2003 Is there any info or pictures of this set on the web? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelf Posted August 26, 2003 Author Share Posted August 26, 2003 Dazbug, I would connect the HD Box to the VGA input, if you have the DGTec or something like it that has VGA output. The VGA being RGBHV meaning that there is a seperate connection for R, G, B and horizontal and vertical sync is supposed to be better than component or YPbPr because component or YPbPr has the sync combined in the RGB signal. However this is really a technical point as on this sort of equipment you probably wouldn't notice a difference in picture quality. The main advantage would be you would hae a component input free for something else. If you don't have a progressive DVD player then it really wouldn't matter which component input you used as you wont get any advantage of using the HD input as the DVD player will only output at 576i. However if you did get a progressive DVD player, or some other HD source such as an XBOX with the HD kit, you would plug that into the HD component input. If you need any further help on this, just ask, but I think that its pretty well explained. Websa, To answer your question, I have been looking around on the net for any info or pics as soon as I heard about these sets and I havn't been able to find a thing. If anyone does please let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T800 Posted August 26, 2003 Share Posted August 26, 2003 Thanks Michael, Makes alot of sense now. The progressive input is the HD input. Hopefully I'll be picking my DEC W/S HD tv up tommorrow (pending my big thinking session tonight) ie. whether to purchase this tv now or wait until Dec and save up for the 119 cm LG LCD rear projection tv. Still can't decide. Allegely there will be a review of this tv in tommorrows (wed) Herald-Sun said the sales guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelf Posted August 27, 2003 Author Share Posted August 27, 2003 Dazbug, No Problem. Thanks for the info on the review. If its any help to you in your descision, my opinion is bigger isn't always better. I prefer CRT over projection. Let me know how you go... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T800 Posted August 27, 2003 Share Posted August 27, 2003 looks like it wasnt in this weeks, probably next wed h-sun. The guy said they gave the guys at h- sun one to take home and test, maybe next week. Been doping heaps of thinking, and might wait until dec and get the 44" DLP R/P from lg...saw it today and it look awsome in HD and dvd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magregus Posted September 2, 2003 Share Posted September 2, 2003 Been playing with this set today and it is pretty impressive indeed, the only problem I can see and maybe someone else who saw this set can tell me if im wrong or not, is that it only seemed to be able to do 4:3 and 16:9 modes, no other modes like 14:9 or a 4:3 filling mode... again it might and I just missed it, otherwise the set is great value , daz i think your mad to go with the DLP, was lookin at this LG in JB after viewing the DEC and well I'd get the DEC hehe not a big fan of rear projection with there brightness shifting offset issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morkli Posted September 2, 2003 Share Posted September 2, 2003 Does anyone know where these DEC HDTVs are on display in Sydney? I'd like to get a look at them. Cheers, morkli Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zorg1503559539 Posted September 2, 2003 Share Posted September 2, 2003 interesting might have to go and check one out..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
websa Posted September 2, 2003 Share Posted September 2, 2003 yeah not heaps of info on these going around... suprised there isn't more interest to tell you the truth.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPete9 Posted September 3, 2003 Share Posted September 3, 2003 The main benefit of the rank over the samsung you mentioned is that the rank will do 720p and the samsung won't. I need 720p for XBOX HD connection. I know there are other ways around it but I really like the rank and all its capabilities, and it looks better than the samsung in my opinion. The only problem is its price, Umm you should note that when you buy your Rank and try and hook up your NTSC HD connected xbox (cos you canty use HD in PAL mode on xbox) you wont be able to sync using 720p/60hz - the rank cant do it. IF you're still unsure phone rank and ask them, but if you're banking on this you're going to be dissapointed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulP33 Posted September 17, 2003 Share Posted September 17, 2003 The review for this TV was in the Herald Sun (Melbourne) today. The review was very glowing. Has anyone else checked it out? The Tv that is, not the article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zorg1503559539 Posted September 17, 2003 Share Posted September 17, 2003 damm might have to get a copy. any online links yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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