Dick Smith Branded TV vs Mainstream Brands

akf on 26/03/2016 - 10:06
Last edited 26/03/2016 - 15:37 by 1 other user

Hi guys,

Looking at buying a new TV for my mum since the new broadcast format has been released and her old DSE TV tuner has stopped working. Currently looking to replace a 4-6 year old DSE branded 32" LCD TV.

These are the ones I'm looking at:

LG 32" HD LED LCD TV 1366 x 768 $366
Samsung 32" LED LCD Series 4 HD 1366 x 768 $395
Panasonic Viera 32" HD LED LCD TV 1366 x 768 $395

DS 41.5" FHD DLED LCD TV 1920X 1080 $303.20
Dick Smith 41.5" UHD DLED LCD TV 3840 x 2160 $399.20

Anyone see where I'm stuck? Can someone please throw something in about the DSE having lower viewing angles or something so I can justify the extra money for an LG TV that is smaller with a lower theoretical resolution? I'm really stuck here.

Owned Samsungs in the past and never had any luck. She's had this TV for however many years and it's still going strong, just doesn't support the latest formats (and looks ancient on the wall)

Cheers

Electrical & Electronics

Comments

  • datafellows on 26/03/2016 - 10:25

    i wouldnt buy ds tv's because i know they are cheaply made and the menu experience would not be any good. i guess the viewing quality is close to similar though.

    i might buy one for someone like in your situation, but not for myself :)

    does Kogan have tvs on their eBay 20% off sale? might come from the same factory (well not really :) but at least you have warranty.

  • peter on 26/03/2016 - 10:31

    I bought a 101cm Kogan and was very disappointed with it, sold it after two months at a big loss. Picked up an 81cm Samsung on Gumtree and am delighted with it.

  • [Deactivated] on 26/03/2016 - 10:38

    I don't think you're making an apple/apples comparison.

    You should compare a DSE brand to a HiSense/Soniq/Palsonic TV. I'm pretty sure if you wait for a sale, you can get a 40" HiSense/Soniq/Palsonic for <$400 and with full warranty.

    I'd only look at DSE brand, if it's <$200, given the warranty situation.

  • aboabo on 26/03/2016 - 10:43
    +2

    What new broadcast format? Is it something a new set top box can't fix?

  • [Deactivated] on 26/03/2016 - 11:13
    +1

    Why would you consider buying a tv from a company that will be out of business in a month?

  • Ughhh on 26/03/2016 - 11:27

    If you put a cheap tv e.g.. DSE/soniq etc next to a Sony/LG etc you can tell the difference. One is hideous.

  • altomic on 26/03/2016 - 12:10

    I bought my parents a 42 inch 3 year old panasonic for $110 off ebay. they watch TV once a week.

  • QuickToThePointless on 26/03/2016 - 12:49

    Personally i reckon no-name brands (dse, soniq etc) are fine up to 32" as long as you are sitting about 2M + fromscreen - you dont notice colour/light bleed that way.

    Anything bigger get an LG at the least or Sony,Panasonic , Samsung etc at the higer end

    Your mum likely wont know the diff either way TBH

    Id Try and get one off gumtree from a professional type person without kids - would only have been used for a few hours per night , a few nights a week when not out and about

    If that too hard, Buyng new os not that much of a stretch - for under $500 you should get at least 5 yrs out of it….if you amortise that its a cost of $2 per week…easily justified

  • jimbobaus on 26/03/2016 - 12:51

    I have a 32' DSE Tv in my spare room.
    It is as good if not better than my higher end branded TV

    The TV's are made by the same chinese company that makes Soniq TV's for JB Hifi

    I agree with commenter above, over 32' maybe look at better brand.

    The DSE Tv has a very good display and the screen quality is amazeballs.

    The label on the front means bugger all these days, get the specs you like and pay the price you can afford.

  • tonyjzx on 26/03/2016 - 13:37

    I'm a fan of their 39.5 FHD TV. It has terrible sound but otherwise its a fine TV, especially for the $225 I paid for it.

  • [Deactivated] on 26/03/2016 - 15:32

    Block-quote Owned Samsungs in the past and never had any luck.

    Were these 40" or under too. TVs at this size even from the major brands who manufacture their own panels tend to be OEM jobs (usually Chinese panels) but you'll have to research the brand/model to be sure.

  • Baysew on 26/03/2016 - 15:45

    Some recent news on DSE TV'S to consider.

    $1.8 million worth of televisions added to the Dick Smith fire sale after bizarre legal case

    Customers wary of Dick Smith home brand stock

    Lower prices are just the beginning at the end

  • futaris on 26/03/2016 - 16:39

    I've got a 54.5" DSE FHD TV. It was cheap, but it was worth what we paid for it.

  • Jalif on 27/03/2016 - 08:23

    As a former DSE employee, I had these TVs running side by side for a long time, playing the same content.

    In the price range, the DSE TVs look better than name brand.
    Viewing angle is very good, equivalent to name brands.
    Sound quality is average, but that goes for all TVs now, Panasonic are slightly better, but are thick and chunky.

    The upscaling is not as good as an lg or Samsung, but in spite of the marketing, this is really why you pay 4x more.

    The Samsung 32 (non smart) is not very good, even compared to the rest of the Samsung range. This TV is the old 4 series and you can tell the difference.

    The only 3 TVs I had fail on the display wall in the last year were 1 JVC, a 32" Samsung(4100) and a 40" Samsung (5100).

    Steer clear of palsonic, unless they have increased their build quality dramatically, they had a huge failure rate.

    I hear mixed reviews on hisense,but never sold them.
    I think you need to look at hisense model by model.

  • Brendoo on 27/03/2016 - 08:53

    In my experience the DSE TVs are junk and the viewing angles are horrendous (e.g. have to literally tilt the TV constantly if we sit in a different chair at what is not an extreme angle). You can really only view it properly directly in front and level with it. They also cannot handle some HD channels so can only watch SD on certain channels as they cannot handle the data stream.

    I obviously do not own every model, but that is my experience on the smaller models (smaller than 32"). Worst TVs I have ever owned. Only thing going for it was the very cheap price - but not worth it.

    This was about 3 years ago, no idea if DSE TVs have changed suppliers over that time.

  • thefreelunch on 27/03/2016 - 09:37

    I bought a small Hisense and would not recommend. While the specs seemed fine for the lower price range, the software was very laggy; TV takes several seconds to switch on etc. I expected a firmware update, couldn't find one on the site, so called up. They would only check if I could provide a receipt… fortunately I found it… but there was no firmware update anyway. Weird service.

  • boccos on 27/03/2016 - 10:04

    I have two 55" DS TVs bought within the last 18 Months. All good here. Added a small sound system to both in order to face the speakers toward us and it works a treat, sound is excellent. Picture is good but not brilliant. Did try a JVC tv (also from DS) but the sound was very tinny even with an added sound system.
    Took out a 5 year extra warranty on both just-in-case, so far all good. Software/remote response is great.

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