Jump to content

New AWA 81cm LCD at Big-W


Recommended Posts



  • Replies 81
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Got the Big-W catalog today, the 81cm LCD is now $1730 - wonder what these things will cost in 12 months?

It appears to be the Dectron DL32-GOOP. Still has the LG/Philips panel. This model sports a headphone output jack but otherwise changes from the original AWA model appear to be mainly cosmetic.

Hi Tobes (or anyone who recently bought the new AWA 81 cm lcd tv),

I bought one (the new one not the old model) myself two weeks ago from Big W Sunshine (VIC) but I couldn't find the HEADPHONE OUTPUT JACK! It's a minor thing but anyone out there who has it?

Regards to all

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I want to hook up a MythTV box running Linux. My question is what X11 modelines I should use for it. Does anyone have any suggestions? The only specs I have for the thing are the resolution, 1366x768 - I have no idea what the vertical / horizontal refresh rate could or would be.

Oops, forgot to clarify this.

So I hooked it up and tried to set up a 1360x768 modeline for about an hour. In the end I reverted to just a 1280x768 mode to see if I could tweak up to 1360 from there... and the damn TV is perfectly happy with a 1280x768 default mode, but it reports it as 1360x768 in the OSD. If I reboot, the 320x200 boot screen is *also* reported as 1360x768, so there's something very funny going on in the TV's innards.

This is all over a DVI connection.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I bought one (the new one not the old model) myself two weeks ago from Big W Sunshine (VIC) but I couldn't find the HEADPHONE OUTPUT JACK! It's a minor thing but anyone out there who has it?

Can't find one on mine, nor any mention in the manual. I think it was included in error on the Dectron website. Perhaps they used the specs from some previous/other model as a template and forgot to remove it.

Grant

Link to comment
Share on other sites



Hi guys, this is my first post on the forum. So first of all, 'gday' everyone

Now, lets to business

I am looking to buy a LCD TV for my bedroom. Preferable size wood be 26 inch.

I've come down to two TVs, the AWA and the Soniq

I leaning towards the AWA 26 inch LCD TV @ BigW, priced at $1298

This seems to be a good buy, but i have a few questions:

Some say that the AWA is shocking for ANALOGUE tv. Is this true

Im living in Melbourne, Flemington area and the reception isn't the best, especially SBS. Is the AWA going to be very unforgiving for bad aerial reception?

Also, you guys mention smearing and blurring, etc. Can a set top box fix all this? And if so, which box works best with the AWA

Im sorry if these questions seem stupid, but im fairly new in the business, so bare with me.

I wood appreciate any comments

Thanks, Kevin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kluc

If you're going to take the plunge into digital TV I reckon you're best to get yourself a set top box as well, otherwise you're really only watching the same signal you used to get, but on a spiffy new tv. If you stick with the anologue signal you'll only be able to get a signal in 4:3 aspect ratio, and although your new set will be able to zoom in or distort the image to fill the screen, who wants that? In fact it's really rather strange that most sets include an anologue tuner. I think you'd be hard pressed to find anyone on this forum that uses it.

I have the 81cm AWA and am very happy with it apart from a bit of banding which I think is intereference, but have not yet tracked down. I've got it coupled to a Hotchip ODT4000HD using a DVI cable and the results are WAY better than anything anologue. With regard to your reception, the better your signal the better off you will be, but generally if you get a decent anologue signal you should be alright. Check out the antenna section of this forum.

Good luck with your decision and welcome to the club

Grant

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have the AWA 26" screen from when they were first released.....

It was all of 1 week before I gave up on the analogue transmission and bought a HD STB (LCDs don't respond well to analogue inputs).

It is a Teac BVB-800 via DVI and the picture quality is stunning.

However now I hardly even use the Teac now as I have a Toppy (Via Component and the DVD player via the Toppy passthru) and the functionality is more than enough to compensate for the drop in PQ.

Two things to consider;

1) Get a DTFA tuner (STB or PVR) as the PQ and Sound is a huge improvement

2) Get your antenna tuned/replaced to optimise DFTA reception as this will also make a big difference. (particularly if reception is marginal in your area)

I am more than happy with my AWA as a stop-gap until the newer 1080i/p screens come onto the market and drop in price (Hmmmmm SED).

Cheers.

Peter

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for all the gr8 replies. It's been really helpful. I think i've made my decision. The AWA for sure!

Now what i want to know is whether i should buy now or wait till christmas? How do u think the price will move? Do you think that the AWAs will stay on the shelves or will it dissappear?

Link to comment
Share on other sites



It's just like the computer you're using right now, as new technology is developed the prices will continue to drop. You could wait until Christmas and the price may be less and there will probably be more products on the market, but the same issue will apply, do you buy then or wait until Easter, or next September. There's talk about a glut of panels on the market and maybe that will make for a significant drop in prices, but then again we have oil issues and transport costs look like they will go up.

I was of the opinion that if I kept waiting I would always be waiting, so I took the plunge (actually the real clincher was gaining approval from she who must be obeyed) and have no regrets.

The 26 inch AWA has been available off and on for most of the year, so you could reasonably expect that it would continue to be in the stores. Further it looks like Big W are selling as many LCD tvs as they can get so I wouldn't panic in that regard. Ultimately it's up to you.

Let us know how you go Kluc,

Cheers

Grant

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for all the gr8 help guys. Much appreciated. I went into BigW today, with the intention of buying the AWA 81cm TV. Only one problem now, they had two models on display. I cant One was "AWA TFT-D81" and the other was "AWA TFT-D81G". One appears to be bigger than the other. My question is which one do i buy? Which one is actually better?

Thanks, Kevin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I went out yesterday and bought the AWA 81cm LCD for $1773 from Big W.  I've been looking at the Philips 32PF9966 ($3470) for a while now and had a play with the Benq DV3250 ($2200) last weekend.

Before I bought I asked to test a few DVD's on it, experienced some jitter but only on opening credits...you know the Dreamworks logo (see later Camera Panning issue).  Be careful of Big W return policy, they will NOT refund, even if faulty.  They will only repair.

Overall, I couldn't justify the additional $ for the benefits gained by the Philips and even the additional $500 for the Benq.  Yes, of course the Philips picture & connections are superior and the Benq has better connections than the AWA.  In terms of looks, the AWA isn't too bad, it's comparable to the Benq.

Anyway, I'm am happy with the purchase.  Excellent value for money.  Smearing does occur, but only when the camera pans.  So when the camera is stationary with fast moving objects on the screen, like planes, cars etc  - the picture is perfect, however, if the actual camera is panning around, then the picture becomes blurry/smears.  So watching the cricket yesterday, when the camera is still showing the bowler and batsmen - it's fine, but when the ball is hit and the camera follows it, the smearing of the grass occurs and it looks all smudgy green, until the camera stops, then there is a 1/4 second delay until the picture looks great again.  I have it connected to a Toppy via Component (576i)

I tried the DVD player with Progressive Scan on and watched Star Wars - it was a fantastic picture, crystal clear, up there with the $4k TV's.  Didn't see any smearing (576p) - Progressive Scan appears to be the answer at this stage of my findings.

Haven't tried the PS2 yet, but should imagine an excellent picture too as no camera panning occurs in the majority of games.

Did try the Laptop (using VGA, not DVI) and WOW!  What a display?  Can't wait to replace it and have this screen in the study!  Unbelievable quality.

So in summary, downside is that it has only 1 component, 1 S-Video, 2 A/Vs, 1 VGA, 1 DVI, and worse still is that you can only have connected either the Component or S-Video at any one time....reason being is that they share the same audio input!  Can you believe that?

Picture great when using PC, should imagine PS2 too.

Only weaknesses are Camera panning, 1 Component Connection and non-detachable no-bass speakers.

Topfield works without a hitch.  Spoke to AWA this morning and he said that HD TV is awesome on it, you must use Component Video to connect anything as S-Video is noticeably worse on screen.  So buy a Component Switching box to have multiple sources connected (got one already and it is connected).

Hope this helps.  Go buy, look at it this way, in 6 months time you have only wasted $1750 rather than $4000 as the technology moves on.  In which case you have an excellent widescreen for your PC!

I bought the 66cm AWA LCD TV from BigW @ @1298 for one week.

Watching the Analogue TV has no problem (note u have to tune the Color Saturation from default 50% to 20%).

I do not notice any Blur with fast moving objects across the screen except the camera is moving around as mentioned by Steven above.

Although The Narrator's face is a little bit greasy in ABC News. I do not find it happen on other channels (eg. Ch 7 , Ch 9 , Ch 10).

Watching DVD is good with natual Colour and Contrast using the Component input. There is no difference between 576i and 576p as my TEAC DVD player can change the component out between 576i and 576p.

Playing PS2 TV games using the AV2 input is better than watching it from my old CRT TV. The objects are much clearer since the LCD TV resolution is higher . U can't see any Flickering (happened in CRT TV because of the Vertical Blanking Interval).

I am still searching for a DB15 SVGA cable to connect my PC to the LCD TV to see how good is it to play the PC games.

So far , I am happy with this TV even it is not perfect.

Something Decktron (AWA) may need to improve is the long switching time between different inputs . U have to wait for at least 3 sec. to change the input selection mode from one to another. Eg. from TV to Component , u have to go through TV -> AV1 -> AV2 -> SVideo -> Component and it takes totally 12 sec.

-ricky321-

Edited by ricky321
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for all the gr8 help guys. Much appreciated. I went into BigW today, with the intention of buying the AWA 81cm TV. Only one problem now, they had two models on display. I cant One was "AWA TFT-D81" and the other was "AWA TFT-D81G". One appears to be bigger than the other. My question is which one do i buy? Which one is actually better?

Thanks, Kevin

What did you decided on and why?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Decktron Web Site has been updated with new TV specification.

Note that the 37', 32", 26" LCD TV are all have 16mS response time.

http://www.decktron.com/english/product/lcd.htm

Also, the LG_Philips LCD panel specification can be found from

http://www.lgphilips-lcd.com/homeContain/j.../prd100_j_e.jsp

After watching the 26" LCD TV for 2 weeks, I notice that the display is OK for normal motion of objects.

However, if the object (eg. the Actor) occupy more than 1/3 of screen size , when he or she moves horizontally from one side to the other across the screen quickly, I notice the moving object will be flickering. The flickering is similar to watching a CRT TV. I have tried using 576i and 576p or composite, it is still the same.

I still do not understand the root cause since the LCD TV should not have any Vertical Blanking Interval. And in therory , it should not flicker.

From the Decktron Specification, I also notice that the 42" model are all equipped with

"Motion Adaptive De-Interlace"

"Motion Adaptive Noise Reduction"

" Edge Smooth"

"DLTI/DCTI"

functionality.

Can anyone confirm that these will help to Alleviate the flickering effect on fast moving objects across the screen ?

-ricky321-

Link to comment
Share on other sites



I bought the 66cm AWA LCD TV from BigW @ @1298 for one week.

...

Something Decktron (AWA) may need to improve is the long switching time between different inputs . U have to wait for at least 3 sec. to change the input selection mode from one to another. Eg. from TV to Component , u have to go through TV -> AV1 -> AV2 -> SVideo -> Component and it takes totally 12 sec.

-ricky321-

I have the TFT-D81, and there are a couple of shortcuts in the input switching process.

Pressing Prog Up (or Prog Down) or even a number button on the remote, takes me straight to the Analog tv tuner input.

Pressing Multi Medi button takes me straight to Component input.

It may work similarly on yours.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow! Thanks for the info Grant. I didn't know about that. That seems fantastic and definately draws me closer to the AWA. However, i checked out the Acer couple days ago and it does look very nice. Which one do u think i shood go for? Acer or AWA.

Btw, Acer is going for $2000

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There was a review of the Acer in the forum that listed a couple of issues with clay face, or panning I think. You might want to do a search for it before you make your decision. I have also noticed that I can just see a couple of darker stripes on my AWA when panning against a lighter coloured background (eg light blue sky). I don't know if this is an issue with the lamp (as I believe it's pretty hard to get a consistent light accross a larger screen) or if maybe I'm getting some sort of interference (I might start a post on this when I get a chance).

Suffice to say that at this price point you will probably find the odd issue with any set. Personally I went the AWA based on the overall sentiment on the forum, but if the Acer does it for you, then go the Acer, though I really would recommend you look at the Acer thread first. Oh, and I believe you might find that a few people have negotiated a better price on the Acer than $2000.

Good luck mate!

Grant

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey Grant, where did you actually see the AWA advertised for $1673? I called up BigW Highpoint and they still had it advertised for $1773 for one model and $1998 for the other model. Btw, whats you comments on this TV. Is it good? Do you notice any smearing or ghosting, etc?

THanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites



Hey Grant, where did you actually see the AWA advertised for $1673? I called up BigW Highpoint and they still had it advertised for $1773 for one model and $1998 for the other model. Btw, whats you comments on this TV. Is it good? Do you notice any smearing or ghosting, etc?

THanks

$1998 for what other model ?

thhe next model up (94cm) is $2700

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Guys

I got my Big W brochure yesterday (12th) and you'll find the TV on page 9. The brochure says that the sale is from 13th - 19th Oct so you should be able to get the $1673 price from today.

The 2 model issue seems to be this, most Big W stores have stock of both the old tft81 and the new tft81G. The older model was always selling for $1998 and when the newer model came on the market it was at $1773. It seems that some Big W stores have not dropped the price of the older model, duh, but I reckon you're better off with the newer model if for no other reason than you get a 3 year warranty as opposed to (I believe) 2 years.

I'm very happy with my TV. The only issue I really notice is what I'd describe as a slight vertical blind type of effect when panning against a light coloured background, as mentioned in my previous post. It's as if the lamp brightness is not completely consistent accross the screen, though you have to really know it's there to see it. If anyone else has noticed this I'd be interested to hear, maybe my lamp needs adjusting.

I've not really noticed any ghosting or clay face issues, certainly not as described in the Acer thread I read before purchasing my unit. I guess the best way of putting it is that I reckon of got good value for my money (would have been better again at $1673) and even she who must be obeyed is impressed with it. My wife impressed with a TV!!!!! Let us know how you get on guys.

Cheers

Grant

Link to comment
Share on other sites



  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.




×
×
  • Create New...
To Top