I survived for 6 months without a TV. I am a movie buff more than a sports buff, so I was waiting for a good reason to buy a TV. My parents’ visit here was the motivation to buy a TV. After a fortnight of deliberation, I decided to by a flat 29 inch TV. LCD was an option, but cost factor was the one that ultimately won over my choice.
I had decided to buy a 29 inch TV with cost as less as possible but with good enough audio and video capabilities. I had short listed Videocon, samsung, LG and Onida and Sony.(In order of price) I finally ended up buying samsung flat 29 inch TV model CS29K40ME. Sony as well as Onida was a tad above 17000. Vidoecon and LG audio at moderate levels sounded poor to me. samsung TV was a good one both with audio as well as video from a TataSky feed.
Features: It boasts of a various features like Easy view(combination of five different features that includes channel minimizer, channel scheduler, channel grouping as video features and half mute and music mode as audio features. These features allow in several ways), DNIe(video enhancer), DNR(Digital Noise Reduction), turbo sound(an audio feature designed to simulate surround sound) and auto volume leveler. I will detail the most obvious and noticeable features below
PS: I purchased TataSky along with the TV. The connection was up and running with 12 hours of purchase without any issues!.
Video: I had painstakingly visited all outlets to view various TV brands to shortlist the best video and audio. The feed from the TataSky definitely improves picture quality. There are few video modes in samsung like standard, Dynamic which can be changed as per taste from a single button on the remote.
I was not able to use channel grouping and other tuning features as I do not have a cable input. There is a separate component input facility to connect a DVD player. The TV has a side AV input too apart from one more at the back. Overall video clarity is quite good with rich lively colors.
Audio: With 400W PMPO, the output from the TV was quite clear. I was under the impression that STAR channels would sound better, but with TataSky all channels are digital so sound was good. I tested with the source volume feed low and high volume in TV and vice versa. The sound clarity at high volume was good. I tried with the turbo boost. It just increased the bass but at the cost of sound clarity. There is a five channel equalizer, though the effect on the output is not that great. Unfortunately there are no headphone outputs!.
Remote control: is really good and slim. Most accessed futures are intuitive and will not pose problems to a seasoned TV remote user. There is a separate button for the EasyView functions. Other features: Music mode: to switch off the video while listening to audio(I never use it, beats the whole purpose of my "watching" the TV)
Looks: The TV is flat and looks good almost like a LCD TV from front. On a glass topped trolley it looks amazing. The TV is a partial slim model but not as slim as the videocon ultra slim model.
Cons: I like loud clear volume, certainly this TV is not for high-volume listeners.(Star movies were satisfactory when I used surround simulation). No headphones!. Late night movie watchers beware! I was told that there will be demo from the samsung personnel within 24 hours.
The executive called me three days after I had researched the TV functions myself. He wanted the serial number, I asked him to come after 6:00 PM, he has not come even after 15 days!.
All in all, this is a good investment if you want to enjoy a large screen TV for a fairly decent price. I paid 13500 including transportation. ICICI Visa credit card holders can covert the payment to interest free- processing charge free installments immediately.(Applicable to any samsung product for that matter!)