Ok Ok...... Being an IT Geek, Im into the lovely modern world of technology..... Only thing is - Technology is also very £££
Keeping up to date, with new technology, and revolutionary accomplishments in technology is not a cheap thing at all.
About 6 months ago - I decided that my current 32" Widescreen TV was dated, small, and near enough stone age.
I reviewed many different Plasma and also Rear Projection TV's along with LCD displays. One thing thats for sure, the dearest option, doesnt necessarily mean the best quality. I had looked at several screens ranging in price from £2,000 to £5,000. Ok the £5k screens were near enough top end, but for my use this would just be extreme. There were various shops - such as Curry's, Dixons, and also some more specialised Video / Audio shops locally to me that I looked around at. The problem was choice - tons of it.
Then one day, I popped into Argos, and noticed a Sale catalogue - you know the ones, about a 10 page booklet for their Sale items. I noticed that they were selling this screen, at the reduced price of £999.00 - from the previous £1,500 that it was retailing for.
I went home, and decided to do a little research. Yeah the price was good, but if the quality was poor, then what would be the point. I checked out the Grundig website, and checked out the technical information on the screen. For those who are interested, then I have listed the technical information here for you ( Please dont flame my review, some people are genuinely interested in having such information - and yes I have taken this directly from the grundig website )
Plasma TV in 16:9 wide screen format with 42" (106 cm) Plasmatron plasma display
Luminous density 1,000 cd/m2
Contrast ratio 3,000:1
Intelligent signal processing for picture optimisation
2-tuner PIP
DVI input for PC (Multisync WXGA), 2 x Euro-AV (1 x RGB-compatible) and cinch AV (for camcorder)
Dimensions: approx. 107 x 72.5 x 10.5 cm (24.5 cm with pedestal)
Weight: approx. 34.7 kg
Ok - so the order was placed with Argos after I decided that for the money, the technical specs of the screen, compared to others that I had seen retailing at around £2 - £3k. Also with the features that it offered, I thought that it would be worth checking it out. If the screen wasnt going to the right one for me, then I would just sell it on, maybe making a small loss on it.
The TV was delivered within a week by Argos Direct. It was very well packaged, which actually came in 2 seperate boxes. The main box was the screen itself, and the second box, was the free stand that you receive with this screen and also all the cables, and also remote control unit and instructions.
After spending so much money on the screen, I was a little nervous at first, when unwrapping it. Making sure not to damage the screen in any way. The screen itself weighs just over 34kg, so in weight it is quite heavy - however compare this to other plama screens of the same dimentions ( 42" ) and this is actually the appromiate weight - they all seem to weigh around the 30 - 45kg mark. I decided it would probably be best to get the help of a friend to put the screen onto the metal stand supplied, to ensure that I didnt drop it.
After setting the screen itself onto the sturdy metal stand, you then lock it into the stand by turning 2 screws on the back of the TV. Obviously if you wanted to - you could have this screen fitted into your wall, or alternatively on a wall bracket. Rented accomodation, so this just wasnt an option for me.
The TV itself is VERY easy to set up. The power lead was attached, and the scart lead from my SKY box. The TV when first turned on - will ask for confirmation of your Country, and also Language ( basic set up information ) The TV then also runs through and automatic channel search, so that if you had an analogue aerial attached to the TV, it would find all of the relevant channels that would be available. As I use SKY, and had this connected via a SCART cable from the SKY box to one of the two SCART sockets on the TV, the 'AV1' channel became my 'TV' - Immediately I could see that the picture quality was crisp and clear - and this was from set up - without 'tweaking' in any way, which I was impressed with. Also - remember that the benefit of a 'plasma' tv over say 'rear projection' tv's is that you can view the screen from any angle. If you have previously owned, or watched a rear projection tv, you will know that if you are attempting to watch the tv from a slight angle, at the side, then the picture is quite distorted, as these type of screens were designed to be watched 'head on' - thus the viewing angle is restricted.
The TV itself has 2 x Scart Sockets, and also 2 x PC inputs via either a DVI or your regular 'PC Monitor' connection. It also has your standard input for 'Left, Right & Video' and also one for Output 'Left, Right & Video' allowing connections from devices such as a camcorder to be used.
A cool feature of this screen is the 'Picture In Picture' option. The screen itself actually has 2 TV tuners, which basically means that the screen can, at any one time, display 2 sources. So for instance, I could have the TV on in one display, and also the PC on in the 2nd display - without having to actually change over via the remote control. This feature is easily accessible via the simple to operate remote control supplied. There are several features on the Picture In Picture mode, which allow you to actually change certain things, such as the sizes of the 2 displays - for instance, one large display, and the 2nd in one of the 4 corners - which can be enlarged if wanted, alternativly, you can do a 50/50 split, which then shows display 1 on the left hand side of the screen, and the 2nd display on the right hand side of the screen. Basically giving both outputs 50% of the screen to use, therefore still giving you a 21" Display on each. I use the screen on a daily basis, watching TV / DVD's etc, and also as I am now - as a monitor, for my PC. Not bad surfing the net on a 42" Plasma :-) - of course the wireless keyboard and mouse, make the ideal gift for the classic couch potatoe :-) - i can vouch for this........... he he
Ok basically I think this screen, for the price is great. I have seen other screens being used by friends / colleagues, who have paid double what I paid for mine, and they have even commended on the quality of the screen that I have. One friend was quite disappointed with a well known brand Plasma he purchased for just over £3k and we have both agreed that the display on the Grundig is definately better...... you can imagine he was a bit unhappy when he found out mine was around £2k cheaper :-)
Ok - the ONLY downside with this screen, is the sound. Dont get me wrong, its not poor quality, its very very clear, the only problem is that the speakers in the screen are not very powerful, and I thought that this was a bit odd, but actually after looking around at other screens at the time, and also comparing to friends etc, Plasma screens dont come with powerful dynamic ranging speakers. Remember these screens were designed to be as 'compact' on the depth as possible. The speakers work, you can hear your programmes / DVD's etc fine, you just might have to turn the volume up to around 50% if you have background noise.
However, remember in this modern day of technology, most people do actually have an AV Receiver, or some form of 'Surround Sound' system that they have linked to their TV / Cinema system. As I have this, the sound quality from the screen itself isnt an issue for me, as the sound is produced via the external AV Receiver, and passed through my surround sound system.
Quite funny really, checked out the Argos store recently, and this screen was £999.99 when I purchased, and they have now put the price back up to £1299.99 in the new book, still saving £200 on the original retail price.
If you want a screen upgrade, then I would seriously consider this.
More details
Ease of Installation
Very Easy
Remote Control
Good Quality
Instructions
Helpful / Easy to Follow
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