Full HD TV or HD Ready TV? If the choice is with Full HD TV, whether the latest Integrated Digital Television (iDTV) or one with the aid of an external decoder (set-top box)?
These are some basic questions which consumers shopping for a new TV set these days should ask and determine beforehand.
The Consumer Council has conducted a survey on 29 models of Full HD TV sets of both LCD (25) and Plasma (4) models marketed under 10 brands.
Amongst them were 10 models equipped with internal digital TV tuner of screen size varying from 32" to 50" over a vast price range of $10,580 to $45,800. These iDTV models which do not require set-top box are available only of late on the market.
The remainder Full HD TV (19 models) requiring the use of a set-top box varied in screen size from 32" to 60" ranging in price from $11,800 to $89,900 (60").
In general, the larger the screen size, the higher the price.
If your intention is to buy a Full HD TV, be sure to check the resolution of the TV to ascertain whether or not it is 1920x1080 with 16:9 screen ratio. If the resolution is lower than 1920x1080, it is only HD Ready TV.
For convenience sake, if you do not already have a digital TV set-top box, you may well consider buying an Integrated Digital Television (iDTV), to save the trouble of acquiring a set-top box.
In the selection of a Full HD TV, particular attention should be paid to the TV panel specifications and number of terminals.
Besides price and features, consumers should take into account the high cost of maintenance of Full HD TV.
Upon expiration of the warranty guarantee period varying from 2 to 5 years, the annual subscription fee of maintenance schemes could range from a bracket of $920 to $4,000 (42") to a high $9,000 (60").
Maintenance problems topped the list of consumer complaints concerning TV. In the first 10 months of this year, the Council received 522 complaint cases of which 196 cases were related to maintenance service, followed by 174 cases in quality of TV.
Complaints concerning TVs have risen by some 30% this year so far compared with 403 cases in the corresponding period last year.
Consumers are advised also to be wary of the various promotional offers common in Full HD TV sales such as bank gift cheque, HD TV video recorder, digital TV set-top box, etc. Find out about the terms and conditions of these promotions to avoid disappointment and later disputes.
In addition, up to October this year, the Council received 195 complaint cases concerning digital TV set-top box.
The majority (137) of these cases concerned undesirable sales practices. In some cases, unscrupulous salesmen in door-to-door sale made the false claim of special discount price exclusively for senior citizens, which turned out to be higher than the market price. Or, they would spread the rumour that if public housing estate tenants would not install set-top box, their lease is at risk of cancellation by the Housing Department.
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