I normally would not recommend no name brand TV but for $259 for a LED TV some may want it.
Spec
The Dick Smith 31.5" Full High Definition LED LCD TV comes packed with all the features you'll need for a perfect affordable TV for everyday use. Featuring a built-in HD DVB-T tuner, screen resolution of 1920 x 1080, adaptive 3D digital Combo Filter, USB media playback, AV Stereo and HDTV ready - it's a TV packed with features everyone can learn to use and enjoy.
Same. Great kids tv that can play files from usb.
I'm going to get one of these for the kids' gaming room.
50hz? price is otherwise in a good range
Maybe they use the 240 V AC power source also as a source of 50 Hz signal/clock…?
I'd say: go & view it in-store to see how it looks, but - as the ambient light in the shop is likely to be mostly from flouro tubes, take what you see with a grain of salt. :-/
For $258, I guess we can assume this is a "throw-away" item…
How close to purchase price would a repair cost?
Bought this a couple of days ago and it gives me a headache when watching Telly. The colors are very bright and even a bit of shadow will be shown completely black. There are not enough options to adjust picture only just the basics. It seems to work well with PS3 though. Also the media player does not play mkvs and there's no headphone jack.
Excellent review… Now, to help draw others' attention to it… why not NEG the deal…?
PS Did you notice these features on the in-store display model?
If not, have you requested a warranty repair / replacement? If not, do it now, before the warranty lapses, & let us know the result… :-)
(Maybe yours got dropped or messed-up in manufacturing…?)
Why live with a "dud" TV that gives headaches?
Maybe get them to take it back & even consider a recall, ie, if others have had similar symptoms.
Speak-up for yourself when you get a dud, at any price! :-)
A single person gets a headache and you want to neg the deal… There are 100 possible variants as to why this guy/gal has a headache…. and only one is the television..
Lol no it's definitely the TV the bright colors like blues, reds, whites etc are extremely bright. You don't get many options other than the few basics to adjust the pic ( contrast, brightness, color, sharpness and color temp)
I'm sure the OzB has a few pro-vendor Neg-Neggers (ie, folks who Neg others' Negs of Deals; NOT to be confused with "n1ggers" - a word which I do NOT use or intend here).
Why are we so forgiving of [reports of] poor product performance.
Here:
someone pointed out a concern for 50 Hz attribute, &
someone else reported getting headache from the same product
Why NOT neg in such cases?
Someone folks are forgetting to be good Consumer Advocates… and -maybe- that's because they aren't…
Ie, they -may- be here to help the vendors… :-/
I like to keep the scales balanced :-)
1) 50Hz is not an issue (personally I hate interpolated frames), and it's doubly irrelevant at this pricepoint.
2) If brightness and contrast are an issue, TURN DOWN THE BRIGHTNESS and adjust the Contrast! (pretty simple fix) (the complainant even lists them as options of adjustment)
We're all here to promote good buying, but you've gotta look at the evidence presented and respond appropriately!
EDIT - most of the reviews on the DSE website are positive. Many rate the picture quality very high!
Yes I am hoping to get it exchanged this weekend only bought it a few days back. Btw you can get 2 extra years of warranty for $55 if any one ends up buying one and want the extra warranty.
@scubacles of course I know how to adjust a telly I tried the basic options they have available but nothing has worked. On most other TVs you have many more options this one doesn't and the basic adjustments do not work for me at least. The bright colors are just too bright and if I try to turn the color down it looks really dull tried many variations but nothing has worked.
It may be you got a Lemon, Obviously I haven't seen the screen or the issue, but your description of the problem sounds like:
1) Contrast is at 100% - hence shadows are black and whites are too bright
2) Blue and Red are too high or Green is too low - hence causing Blue/Red to pop out.
And I can't think of many other options to adjust a screen than those you have listed, Hue and Saturation (covered mostly by Colours) maybe?
I have both contrast and brightness set to around 35-40. Tried playing around with the color temp as well but didn't do much so I set it to mild (warm looks so damn yellow on this). As I said no other adjustments are possible except for the basics because there's no option to do so (no backlight adjustment etc).
Def sounds like a Lemon then
How does this go against other similarly priced TV's? (ie Soniq 32" LCD for $200 or a low end Sony/Samsung Tv for sub $300)
Thanks.
Dunno… I once paid $260 for a re-furbished 32" Sony, that's just fine, -except- for the less than Full HD screen resolution… making some texts & picture details a bit hard to read.
I was looking for something w/ Full HD at about this price, but I don't want to give its watchers headaches, eg, due to a slow refresh rate or whatever the 50 Hz referred to (or whatever the cause, in the other guy's situation).
I don't know or really care about TV's for TV sake; I really just want[ed] a big monitor for small group / classroom presentations.
IF it also receives TV, that's icing on the cake.
Thanks for the input… but I don't really understand why 1080p gives people headaches, are you implying that you got a tv with a higher refresh rate?
Link please.
50Hz is the refresh rate of every TV until the mid 1990's when some bright marketing guy/gal decided they could charge extra if they increased it (cause higher is better right?).
If you used to get headaches watching your old cube shaped telly, then you MIGHT have issues with this telly.
PS: 100 and 200Hz LCD screens are supposedly better for sport and other fast moving images. LCD's at 50Hz tend to blur the motion a little.. Frankly though, at this screen size you're unlikely to notice much blurring..
There's not much blurring going on like with many of the cheap Soniq sets I have seen at JB but the bright colors are my problem.
Brightness is a trait of LED TVs in general.
The price here looks tempting for a Full HD LED. compared to Soniq, you are paying $58 extra and free delivery.
What I like in Soniq is the recording plus media playback for mkv files too, though it is HD only.
Also I saw one of the boxes in JBHiFi and it said IPS Panel.
So if recording is a must for u, go with soniq.
Is this any better than last years 299$ Soniq 32" LCD from JBhifi? (picture wise)
Thinking on picking this up (bedroom use) and giving the Soniq to a nephew.
I bought the Soniq LED at $399 6 months ago. Whilst Dick Smith and Vivo TV give a good price I just cannot pass through the fact that I see shadows when I view it at Dick Smith. Definitely all in for Soniq but I suggest you head to the shops and see it for yourself.
Btw I decided not to neg because it's still a good deal IMO for just gaming or for casual use. I bought it for my room and I will be watching it a lot so need a decent all rounder. There's a basic 32" Sony LCD (not FHD) for $330 which I think would be a better option.
I think Negging folks' Neg's could build up -resistance- in the OzB community to negging later.
While I understand vendors' incentives for doing that, I'll never understand non-vendors' interest in doing it.
My 2.2 cents. :-) YMMV
does dse take refund if it happen to give user headaches?
I'm getting a headache reading about people completely misunderstanding a single complaint!
Does OzBargain offer refunds for headaches caused by people who blow everything out of proportion?
Scotty would be bankrupt 1,000,000x over if they did! ;)
I have also noticed a lot of backlight bleeding on my set not sure if it's a common thing with this model or just my one. Just pointing that out so any one who decides to purchase can check for themselves before it's too late to get a refund/exchange.
Sounds like you're using your TV in a Dark room..
The worst viewing conditions for an edge-lit LED TV.
Once again, Bleeding is an Edge-Lit LED issue - especially cheapies.
Whatever it is just gives me the s#!+s
Got this model 2 Months ago for the games room. Only use an XBOX 360 and a DVD player on it. No complains at all.
I bought this tv last time it was on sale for 261. I have only messed around with the settings once but i have to say while the colours and whites are bright the blacks are not very deep. Mucking with the contrast and brightness only goes so far. Blacks are more like dark blue. Id definitely recommend viewing before purchase.
I dont understand how this is a bargain. Its not from jb hifi so it can not possibly be a cheap deal
Is it any good as a computer monitor (where its main use is playing videos?)
Yes, they make great monitors, it´s been my only monitor for the last couple of months, replaced a higher res 24¨ monitor.
You can only really use the VGA as the HDMI is overscanned.
If you get one, drop the contrast really low and work from there other wise TV´s tend to burn the eyeballs out if set up for close use.
I have three of these exact same TV's in my home; have had them for several months when I took all my analogue TV's to the dump - what a waste. In my opinion, all my TV's work perfectly, although the speaker in one of them is slightly distorted when on high volume. Otherwise perfect. I just wish I'd waited till the price was as low as now. How cheap can TV's get?
Expired: this is now $348
I bought that TV when it was on special for $300 a while back, and have no complaints so far at all.