Buying a TV

I went out and bought an LCD TV today. The drama group needs one so we can display a slideshow of cast photos in the foyer before each production now that the cast photos which were previously on the walls of the Green Room have all been digitised.

The idea is to get a slideshow going in the foyer to give people something to watch while they wait for the doors to open and go in.

If you're ever going to buy a TV set I have some advice for you: SHOP AROUND! It is interesting the variation in prices you can get. What I was after ostensibly was a 19" TV with a built-in DVD player, although I was open for other things, possibly a bigger screen. A friend saw such a machine at Dick Smith at Tuggerah (NSW) for $336 a few days ago, but I thought I'd look around myself. I wanted to actually test out the slideshow on CD on the machine, and also to compare sizes.

Firstly, there is a MASSIVE increase in price from 19" to even only 22". And the size difference between these screens is not worth the extra $150-200 or so you will pay. However, when you get to 26" or so, the difference in price to a 32" is tiny. So if you're going to go big, go bigger!

Joyce Mayne offered me a 32" (81cm) set for $599, which was really the best value. Bing Lee offered a 26" set for $550. For the extra $50, I'd definitely be going for the 32" machine. I went also to JB HiFi, but unfortunately, their prices weren't notably competitive, with their small sets okay but not brilliant, and IMHO their big sets were comparatively overpriced.

So I went back to have a look at Dick Smith Powerhouse (at Erina, NSW). Lo and behold they had the 19" set with built-in DVD (and also USB, HDMI, S-Video, Composite, Component and VGA inputs - crikey you can plug in anything to it) for $297, a whole $39 cheaper for the same product than their Tuggerah store. I just went online to have a look, and they are listed at $337, a whole $40 more.

So the moral is: shop around, even at different store locations of the same chain! Needless to say we have this 19" machine and you'll be seeing it in the foyer on Thursday. It'll also be a lot easier to store than the bigger machines, although the 32" set was VERY nice.