Kindly Help Review My Would-be Purchases.

[EkEk 0]

Hie guys.

I am new to this board and new til I'm green to renovating a house. We got a resale 4 room flat and it is currently under renovation.

I went shopping for electronics and such and came up with a list of items to buy. However, our selection has been influenced heavily by salesmen so I hope to gain some advice here, and whether our choices are sound.

Will be going to buy this week...

Oven: Electrolux EOB3610W/X. The shop's only brand. $660.

Hob: Fujioh. Salesman is trying to find out if can install safety valve. We using government gas so safety valve is important.

Hood: Fujioh. The newer slim model. People say better suction in Fujioh. Hob and hood total I think around $740.

Fridge: Mitsubitshi MRV45S Champaign colour. 385L. $730.

Washing machine: Toshiba AW-1160SS. 9.5KG. $530.

TV: Looking at getting 2. Samsung 32" R81. $1240 for living room and Hitachi 37LD9000TA (I think is this model), $2700.

Air con: People say Daikin is leading brand. Our contractor quote us $2290 for System 3.

How are our choices? !!

Hope to get some expert advice from the veterans here! Thank you VERY much!!

Edited May 4, 2007 by EkEk

[applefreak 1]

my two cents worth:

products are chosen based on our lifestyle needs

maybe you want to think about why you are purchasing the product

oven - personally didn't even think of buying this coz dun really bake so just those $20 ones will do for me

hob - using turbo now, fits my needs i.e. battery on top (not using plug-in), fire big enough for asian stir-fry and centre broad enough to put pots

hood - not buying also coz dun think it's gonna help. after cooking still got to wipe, might as well wipe the tiles

fridge - i like tall and skinny fridge. used to have ariston, now using sharp 300+litres, got it at neighbourhood shop for $580. three doors coz need the bottom drawer for my mum's dry goods

washing machine - how often do you wash? (9.5kg quite big for family of two) what kind of clothes do you have i.e. delicates or t-shirt jeans? do you need hot water or higher spin speed (for very dirty clothes)

tv - 2 tv for the living? personally aiming at pioneer or hitachi plasma so can't help you there

aircon - getting LG system 3 non-inverter for $1650 inclusive of installation (class 0 insulation, gr 23 copper piping, unlimited piping). seems that the daikin newer models not so good. might want to confirm one model in mind, then go IMM that row of aircon shops and ask for best price

[zirhk3355 1]

TV: If you take my fav brand, Samsung, I won't stop you. But if you want to go for Hitachi at $2.7k, I would like you to consider Pioneer 42" Plasma, $3388, or Panasonic 42" Plasma, $2.8K+. Abit of difference in price, but size is 42". IMO big screens buy plasma better...

Aircon: My pick is Mitsubishi starmex/easyclean.

[chew@PPLe 0]

Your Daikin Sys 3 is non-inverter? What's ur fan coil config? Sounds a bit exp...

[revolver80 0]

Hi EkEk, care to share where you getting your Samsung 32" R81 from?

[raincole 0]

I prefer Brandt washing machine, very clean cos I only wash during the weekend, so those dirty laundry is really dirty and it comes out clean. TV will be Pioneer. Aircon Fujitsu cos very nice looking among the rest.

Oven, no. Now it's fashionable to use those wok and use it as oven, comes with timer as well....simply amazing. Can go take a look at CK Tangs, always uncle & aunties doing demo.

[Pink_Piglet 0]

Hihi Ekek,

pls share where u get the quote of $1250 for Samsung 32R81?

cos i called Kong Tai at Jurong West, they are selling at $1680

and Best Denki having promo is at $1899

[EkEk 0]

Hello, everyone!

Sorry for the late reply... Haven't buy the electrical items, PC broke down... Restart keep going to blue screen. Ask technician come see, open up mother board those small small knobs "pock". Ask him build a new PC, spent $1890 on it T_T

Hubby nag I always on PC surf net PC burn out

The Samsung TV I saw at the queensway shopping centre nearby, must cross road one. There got a OCBC bank, then walk to the left further down to the hawker centre. There got a few shops.

I think I confuse R series with S series, then see got N series for Samsung... Anyone experienced can tell me which series is better?

Hope the above helps! I haven't buy those things I mentioned yet, go their brand websites see everytime say until very "tock kong", also dunno which one to believe...

Hai...

[francaisco 0]

Hello, everyone!

Sorry for the late reply... Haven't buy the electrical items, PC broke down... Restart keep going to blue screen. Ask technician come see, open up mother board those small small knobs "pock". Ask him build a new PC, spent $1890 on it T_T

Hubby nag I always on PC surf net PC burn out

The Samsung TV I saw at the queensway shopping centre nearby, must cross road one. There got a OCBC bank, then walk to the left further down to the hawker centre. There got a few shops.

I think I confuse R series with S series, then see got N series for Samsung... Anyone experienced can tell me which series is better?

Hope the above helps! I haven't buy those things I mentioned yet, go their brand websites see everytime say until very "tock kong", also dunno which one to believe...

Hai...

I don't think you can get LA32R81B @ $1250. If you can, do let me know, I would love to get it for my mom.

Or is it the older LA32S71B? Dunno about the N model, but personally speaking, I think the R81 looks better and it comes with 4 HDMI ports

[Vessel 0]

personal pt of view...

washing machine 9.5kg is ok... u can wash ur blanket or even quilt.... even onli 2 but the water level can be adjust...

i would advise dun go for plasma.... LCD is taking over.. in time to come no more plasma TV liao... i also got 37 and it is less than 2k.. so u can source ard to get a better deal.

for aircon u can go gaincity or hong tar to get quote... daikin is a good brand... can go for it..

[babybear 0]

Vessel,

wonder if u're mistaken abt LCD & plasma. Plasma is actually a much better than LCD option, dat's if can afford it. For screens that are 37" & above, LCD produces a much worse picture quality than plasma. All these are based on comparing apple to apple. Of cos don't compare the lousiest plasma with the best LCD.

LCD technology is still only barely in the beta stage. As such, picture quality still lose to conventional CRT TVs by miles! It is improving, certainly but industry people predict the technology will probably stabilise only couple of yrs later.

It did take decades for CRT technology to become what it is today.

So for those who're gunning for bigger TVs, 37" & above, pls get plasma esp since prices are so competitive nowadays. Much better investment in terms of picture quality and overall life of the product as LCD has a limited lamp life.

3. What advantages does plasma have over LCD?

Apart from better contrast due to its ability to show deeper blacks, plasma screens typically have better viewing angles than LCD. Viewing angles are how far you can sit on either side of a screen before the picture's quality is affected. You tend to see some brightness and colour shift when you're on too far of an angle with LCDs, while a plasma's picture remains fairly solid. This is steadily changing, however, with more and more LCDs entering the market with viewing angles equal to or greater than some plasmas. Plasmas can also produce a brighter colour, once again due to light leakage on an LCD affecting its colour saturation.

Plasma pundits will also tell you that some LCD screens have a tendency to blur images, particularly during fast moving scenes in movies or in sports. While that was true for older generation LCD screens, newer models have improved significantly -- so much so that the differences in performance between LCDs and plasmas in this regard is almost negligible (here's a tip -- if you're shopping for LCDs, check the pixel response time, measured in ms. The lower it is, the better the image quality in fast moving scenes).

Traditionally, the biggest advantage plasmas have had over their LCD cousins is price, particularly in the large screen end of the market. In the past 12 months, this has changed, with LCDs matching plasmas in both resolution and price. Plasmas being sold in Australia generally run between 42-inches and 63-inches wide, with the cheapest standard definition 42-inch selling for approximately AU$2,300 (although you can expect to find sets cheaper than AU$2,000 in real world prices). 60-inch and above plasmas can go for as much as $25,000.

LCDs, on the other hand, top out around the 52-inch mark -- though there is a 65-inch Sharp available -- but are price competitive with similar-sized plasmas. Sony's high end 52-inch KDL52X2000 LCD, for example, retails for AU$9,999, while Pioneer's top of the line 50-inch PDP-5000EX plasma goes for AU$10,999.

4. What advantages does LCD have over plasma?

Apart from being price competitive, LCD has the edge over plasma in several other key areas. LCDs tend to have higher native resolution than plasmas of similar size, which means more pixels on a screen. If you're a true high-def junkie who's keen to see every pixel of a high-res 1080i/p image reproduced pixel-by-pixel (providing you have a source that high, of course), then LCDs are seemingly the way to go. However, top-of-the line plasmas will also display 1080p content, so the choice isn't as easy as it once was.

LCDs also tend to consume less power than plasma screens, with some estimates ranging that power saving at up to 30 per cent less than plasma. LCDs are also generally lighter than similar sized plasmas, making it easier to move around or wall mount.

LCD pundits also point to the fact that LCDs have a longer lifespan than plasma screens. This was true of earlier plasma models, which would lose half of their brightness after more than 20,000 hours of viewing. Later plasma generations have bumped that up to anything between 30,000 and 60,000 hours. LCDs, on the other hand, are guaranteed for 60,000 hours.

You might have also heard that plasmas suffer from screen burn in, an affliction not as commonly associated with LCDs. Screen burn in occurs when an image is left too long on a screen, resulting in a ghost of that image burned in permanently. Newer plasmas are less susceptible to this thanks to improved technology and other features such as built-in screen savers, but burn-in is still a problem. But after a few days of use most burnt-in images will fade -- they are no longer permanent.

5. Which is better value for me right now: plasma or LCD?

If you're in the market for a big screen television -- and we're talking 50-inches and above -- then we'd suggest plasma as a safe bet. Plasmas give you more bang for your buck at the big end of town, and while LCDs can give you better resolution, plasma still has the edge in terms of picture quality. One other thing to look for, whether you opt for plasma or LCD, is an integrated tuner -- many TVs still have analogue tuners, which look pretty terrible on a large screen. Try to get a model with an inbuilt HD tuner if you can.

At the smaller end of things (15" to 42" TVs), LCD is the only way to go if you want something slim and tasteful. And the best thing is that LCDs are getting cheaper all the time.

(text obtained from CNet)